Once supper was over, Verus exited the dining hall and began walking toward the main hall. It was time to meet back up with Elder Balint. Verus wasn’t alone either. A dozen other initiates were going to the same place, so they ended up walking together.

Of the over a hundred students in the temple, these thirteen were the only ones to reach the Foundation Realm, marking them as gifted. It took years of training for most people to gather enough ki to ascend out of the Origin Realm, if they ever did, and Verus was among the youngest initiates in the temple that had accomplished it. He was only fifteen.

Every year new young students arrived, and older ones left. Now it was finally Verus’s turn to graduate. That’s what the meeting he was headed to was about. It was the final test before graduation.

Among his peers, Verus saw his roommate Warin, who gave him a smile. Verus gave him a grin back. Warin was his closest friend as well as his roommate. They did almost everything together, although they weren’t much alike.

Like all the other initiates, Warin was a boy with a shaved head. He was a little heavier set than most and had darker skin though. Despite the spartan and regimented lifestyle of the initiates, he had somehow managed to keep a bit of belly and had chubby cheeks. It was almost impressive.

“This is it! We’re going to get to show off our talent to the elders and leave this place with our heads held high!”

“It’s supposed to be a test of some sort. That means we can fail and embarrass ourselves in front of everyone,” Verus pointed out as they came to stop. Failing might also have more physical consequences. The elders could be merciless when it came to their lessons.

Around him, all his peers stopped walking as well. The large wooden double doors that led into the main hall were closed. That meant the initiates would have to wait out here in the hallway until the elders were ready for them.

Warin chuckled. “Stop being such a nervous mouse, it is unworthy of a proud cultivator of our sect!”

“Maybe he should be worried,” a patronizing voice announced as someone stepped up behind Verus. “I think it was a fluke that little Verus here got to the Foundation Realm. The elders undoubtedly know this too and will fail him right away.”

Turning, Verus saw his fellow initiate Lee and frowned. Lee was the tallest and biggest of all his peers. He was also the rudest and quite obnoxious to be around. He had a very unascetic-like habit of using his bulk to push others around. Unsupervised fighting was forbidden by the elders, but that didn’t stop him from subtler forms of harassment. Behind Lee were two of his friends, although they were more like his followers. They basically did whatever Lee told them, including laughing at his lame jokes.

Meeting Lee’s gaze, Verus ignored his fears and gave him a frosty look. “I’ve more than earned my advancement. Perhaps you’re the one that should be nervous. You’re among the oldest of the students here, while I am one of the youngest. I hear age is an important consideration when the elders are judging initiates.”

Usually he just avoided the bigger boy and the trouble he brought with him, but this time he was going to stand up for himself and not back down. Soon, he’d be leaving the temple, so there was very little Lee and his followers could do to him now. Besides, it wouldn’t be strange for the elders to be watching and judging the initiates already. They were all at lofty Realms that gave them incredible powers.

A look of surprise flashed across Lee’s face. He was clearly unused to being confronted, but soon fury overtook his confusion and he glared at Verus. “Well, you better hope they don’t test our strength, because you’re a puny little rat. If we fought, I’d beat you like a drum.”

Any reply Verus could give was cut off by a sudden loud creaking groan. The doors to the main hall were swinging open. All the gathered initiates fell silent and then slowly approached the door. The mood was suddenly tense and uncomfortable.

The main hall of the temple wasn’t a room that the initiates entered often. The huge cavernous hall was saved for special occasions and use by the elders. Usually, the only reason the students came in here was to help the servants clean up. Now though, it had been opened just for them.

Gulping, Verus walked through the doorway with his peers. The room had no windows. It was lit by bright spirit lights that hung from the tall arched ceiling. The mysterious orbs glowed gave off white light that illuminated the rows of banners hanging on the walls. Rectangular in shape, the huge chamber was almost empty, except for several elders.

Off to one side, five elders were sitting in chairs along the wall. They looked mildly interested as they studied the students, and Verus recognized them as being among the most senior elders in the temple. Even Elder Caius was there. The old man with the long white beard was in charge of the entire temple and the initiates rarely ever saw him. Most the elders were mysterious. As per sect tradition, they all went by their first names without any reference to their family names. This was supposed to show their dedication to the sect.

Two more elders were standing in the middle of the room. One of them was Elder Balint, but the other was unknown to Verus. He was about the same age as his companion and was wearing a similar robe but looked quite different. He was several inches taller, wore his long black hair in a ponytail, and had a clean-shaven face. Despite this, he still looked disciplined and authoritative thanks to his straight posture and reserved manner.

Elder Balint stepped forward as the initiates approached. “Attention, initiates of the Great Wind Sect! This is Elder Sevus from the main branch of the sect. He has graciously come here in order to choose several students from among you to take back to the main branch. Show him the proper respect due to an illustrious elder such as himself.”

All the initiates, including Verus, quickly stopped and bowed.

Elder Sevus’s gaze swept over the gathered youths. He seemed utterly unimpressed. “Greetings young initiates. Know that any of you I select will travel with me all the way to the capital in order to train at our glorious sect’s main temple, where you will have an opportunity to join the inner sect there and become known as one of our sect’s young geniuses. However, this is an honor you will have to earn. Only the best will be chosen.”

“Those that fail this test will still graduate, but they will be taken to other lesser temples in order to train and serve the sect,” Elder Balint explained.

Verus bit his lip nervously as he studied the elder. This opportunity seemed like everything he could have hoped for. There were many paths a cultivator’s life could take in the empire, but all his life, Verus had known he wanted to follow the way of the ascetic and become an elder of the sect. A simple life detached from petty concerns and focused on pursuing enlightenment suited him. Not everyone had this option though. There was a lot of competition among cultivators, but if he managed to get into the inner sect of the main temple then his path would be secured. He couldn’t fail this test!

“My test will be simple,” Sevus told the students. “You will be split into pairs and spar. There is a circle on the floor in front of me where you will fight. If you get knocked out of the circle you lose, although winning is no guarantee of passing. I will judge each initiate’s performance and decide who is worthy, so you should show me your best.”

Noticing his friend's worried expression, Warin leaned his way. “Ha, this shouldn’t be too hard. Very few of our sect brothers can match our skills. We’ve got this!”

Verus smiled. Warin was always cheering him up. He couldn’t have asked for a better friend or sect brother. “Maybe, I just hope I don’t have to fight Lee.”

Really, the test didn’t sound so bad. All the initiates were used to sparring. There was no better way to judge how proficient you were with a technique and to test your will power. None of them feared violence. They’d been taught time and again that pain and strife had to be overcome to reach enlightenment. The path of a cultivator was not for the weak of heart.

Wasting no time, the visiting elder picked out two initiates and ordered them into the white circle that had been drawn on the stone floor. Verus wasn’t close to either of them. Both fighters took up position, bowed to each other, and then began fighting.

Although they’d only just reached the Foundation Realm and were barely considered to be cultivators, all the initiates in the temple were trained in martial arts and possessed strength beyond that of a normal person. The combatants came together in flurry of swift punches, solid blocks, and agile kicks. Every blow was powerful but controlled as they attempted to knock their opponent out of the circle. After a few moments, it became clear that the larger of the fighters had the advantage. He advanced steadily with a series of jabs that drove his opponent back toward the edge of the circle, and then he managed to land a solid kick to his adversary’s chest. There was loud thud from the impact, and then his adversary was sent flying out of bounds. The defeated initiate coughed as he hit the stone floor hard, but he got up a moment later and conceded the match with a quick bow that his victorious peer matched.

“Next,” Elder Sevus announced as he pointed to two more initiates. This time he’d chosen Verus and Lee.

Verus groaned and felt a twinge of fear, but he quickly leapt to obey. He knew better than to hesitate in front of an elder. Ugh. Sometimes life made it difficult for him to ignore his negative thoughts, by proving even the worst of them right.

Smiling smugly, Lee leered at Verus before swaggering into the circle as well.

“You’re not so chatty now, eh?” the bigger boy chuckled as he eyed his opponent.

A grimace appeared on Verus’s face. Fighting Lee wasn’t going to be fun. Not only was Lee one of the toughest fighters among the initiates, he also now had a grudge against Verus and wouldn’t be inclined to hold his punches. A sparring match like this was the perfect place to humiliate and beat an opponent, and that was exactly the type of bullying that Lee enjoyed.

Verus’s mind worked furiously as he took his position in the circle and bowed. He was already controlling his breathing and circling ki throughout his body in order to strengthen himself. That wouldn’t be enough though. It had been quite a while since Verus had last seen Lee fight, since before he’d ascended to the Foundation Realm. That meant he didn’t have a lot of information to use to make a plan. Lee was also bigger and stronger than him. Even worse, he was far from dumb and had a talent for underhanded moves. Verus was going to have to keep his eyes open.

Verus’s Wariness paid off immediately. Lee bowed in return, but he ended his bow with surprising swiftness and immediately leapt at Verus. The bigger boy’s fist shot forward as he exploded forth with a lightning-fast punch. The blow was aimed right at Verus’s face and it was accompanied by a loud martial yell. The suddenness of attack combined with the loud noise almost made Verus flinch back – which would have been a costly mistake – but instead he steeled himself and stepped forward to meet the attack. All of Verus’s doubt vanished as the clarity of combat took over. Nothing but the exchange of blows and the battle of wills mattered.

A flick of Verus’s hand diverted Lee’s punch to the side as he began to counter with a hopping knee strike. However, his enemy was already dodging to the side. The big boy was fast. Undoubtedly, he was enhancing himself with ki as well.

Deflecting another punch with a raised forearm, Verus charged in close to his foe and distracted him with a jab before going for a kidney strike. Lee’s bulk made getting in close a gamble, but he also had longer arms, which made trading blows at a distance even riskier.

Lee snarled as he turned away from the punch aimed at his kidney and countered witha swing at Verus’s chin. The younger boy ducked under the attack and tried to sweep his opponent’s feet out from under him with a low kick. Instead, Lee jumped back out the way of the sweep, so Verus followed after him with a hopping sidekick. This blow landed, piercing Lee’s guard and hitting his chest with a thud. It knocked the bigger boy back and made him stumble, but it didn’t appear to do much damage.

“You’ll pay for that,” Lee hissed as he recovered and threw himself back into the fight.