"Xiao Mei, you will be his opponent this time!"
"Huh, what? Why me again?" Mei said, distressed.
Feng Ling shot her a severe look that made the small girl shrink back.
"You must show what the Flying Sword Sect is capable of." Hearing this, Tristan felt that Ling's words did not include him.
"Good luck!" Xiao Ning said to her sister.
"And you, don't hurt her, or else… or else I'll…" Tristan glanced at her briefly. The girl fell silent and retreated in fear, causing him to roll his eyes.
He looked at the available weapons. Air cultivators were not known for their physical strength, so they preferred lightweight weapons. He picked up a thin, double-edged longsword with both hands. Mei chose a similar sword, though slightly smaller.
Tristan assumed a combat stance.
Wasting no time, Xiao Mei charged toward him.
[Heavenly Breeze Steps]
'This again,' he thought.
Tristan tried to follow her movements with his eyes, but he failed miserably. Xiao Mei was one of the sect's most talented disciples; she had already reached Solid Red and mastered more than one technique. In an instant, she closed the distance between them.
But this didn't surprise him.
His eyes, which were black before, now turned completely white, and a faint light emanated from them.
[Tyrannical Eye]
This was a small trick he had developed over the last few months. His Light essence flowed from his eyes, subtly covering the surroundings. As he didn't have much essence to spare, his ability only covered the area slightly. However, it was enough for his diagnostic ability to detect changes in the light before they reached his eyes.
The image that formed wasn't sharp, but Tristan's brain could perceive that something was approaching. Like a blur, he could sense her blade coming toward his abdomen.
[Ten Plumes Slash]
He recognized this attack. He knew that if he were hit by it, ten holes would appear in his abdomen. Master Feng was supposed to prevent the disciples from getting seriously injured. Still, Tristan thought it was better not to rely too much on that.
He used his sword to block the attack and leveraged his superior physique to push her to the left with a twist of his sword. She staggered a bit from his strength.
'She's faster, has more combat techniques than I do, and her swordsmanship is much better. My advantages are my constitution, mind, and core. But the most important thing here is that I know her style, whereas I don't even have one yet. That makes me unpredictable!'
He advanced with a thrust, trying to keep the combat at close range.
Mei tried to pull away quickly, but Tristan concentrated his essence in his legs and followed her. His leg aimed at her thigh, trying to trip her.
[Feather-Light Feet]
She quickly dodged his strike as if the wind had shifted her position.
Tristan attempted to strike her with a horizontal slash, spinning his entire body.
She lowered her body to evade, but he changed his position and punched her in the abdomen. She reacted well, managing to avoid part of the damage by retreating.
[Inclement Gale Slash]
She used her whole body in a vertical slash from top to bottom, with wind swirling around her blade.
He decided to meet this strike with one of his own, knowing she wouldn't have much essence left after using so many techniques. He circulated his essence throughout his body, clashing with her sword in a clockwise horizontal slash. They were locked in a struggle of strength for a few seconds until Tristan began to overpower her. He slid his blade down toward her hilt, and with an extra burst of power, he knocked her sword aside.
"No!" Mei exclaimed as she saw her sword flying away.
"End of the duel, you two sit down. Juhaon and Dijanin are next," Feng said irritably.
"Congratulations, you did it," Yue said as he sat down next to her.
"Thanks."
***
After the training, Tristan spent his afternoon working on the movement technique he had been trying to create.
'I've watched Jian fight; I've also fought people from the Southern Carp Body and Spirit Sect, and I've spent the last few months studying the fundamental principles of the Flying Sword Sect's techniques.'
'I feel like the day I'll create a new technique is almost here.'
Tristan approached a tree and gathered its leaves, throwing a bunch of them into the air with force.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on channeling his vital energy to his tendons and muscles.
[Tyrannical Eye]
He opened his eyes, which were now completely white.
The colors of the world disappeared, and he could only see some white outlines moving. He looked at the falling leaves, noticing that it was easier to detect their movements; he could see the air shifting around the leaves. However, the shape of the leaves themselves was harder to see, as if they had become ghosts of light.
A black mist emanated from Tristan's body, covering him like a thin cloth.
He gripped the training sword and began to move. He kept his feet stationary, moving only the upper part of his body.
His arms seemed to blur as they moved quickly in all directions, his sword slicing through the air. No matter if the leaves were behind him, as long as they were within the reach of his blade, they would eventually be cut.
When all the leaves had fallen to the ground, he observed the result of his efforts.
More than half of the hundreds of leaves he had tossed had been cut in just a few seconds.
'Almost there.'
***
After his afternoon training, he went to sleep.
But the next day, Tristan was woken up in the middle of the night by a knock on his door. He didn't want to check what it was and continued to sleep, but then a few seconds later, one of his roommates approached him.
"What?" He asked with a yawn.
"It's for you."
"Who is it?"