"Firstly, there are 3 primary classifications of Nomads. The first are Sellswords, who are essentially mercenaries - they do various jobs for a price. Their skills usually focus on battle components, with various other, less important abilities, but combat potential is the most important for a Sellsword. The second are Adventurers, who travel around the continent for various reasons, most often seeking treasure, since that is the most economically sound exploit. They rely heavily on escape, detection, and survival abilities, with combat abilities also being rather important, as they always are. The third type are Duelists, who fight in different stages purely for the sake of improvement and honor. These, naturally, focus purely on combat, as after all, that's the only thing they do, by definition.

You are taking the assessment to become a Duelist. As for what happens after that, well, we'll see after the exam depending on how you do!

Before we get there, however, I do have a warning: without fail, there are always hidden dragons taking the Nomad exam, hidden dragons who, if you provoke, could kill you without a second thought, and chances are the clan wouldn't be able to do anything about it. So, for your own sake, try to be careful and not step on anyone's toes."

With that, the speech was over, and the Iron Fox explained to Qian Feng how this carriage worked:

"This is going to be a long ride, so there are separate rooms for the both of us inside this carriage. This has been arranged using portal inscriptions, and each door acts as a portal that leads one directly to a pair of designated rooms in the clan. To activate a door, all you have to do is brand it and then imprint it, and then simply push your Qi inside to use the inscription.

The way the doors work is that they're only made to recognize the Spirit Fox bloodline, so to brand them and gain ownership, you must drop your blood onto the handle, which will allow you to imprint it with Qi: this step is essentially an energy signature, and will allow the inscriptions to only recognize your exact type of Force Qi, effectively binding it to you. The doors, as a result, are extremely precious, so after the trip is done, you'll have to sever the connection and allow them to be used again."

Qian Feng followed the instructions, painstakingly collecting a drop of blood and dripping it onto the handle, before pushing his Force Qi into the door, watching it open to reveal a disproportionately large room. The Iron Fox, having already gone through the process, was already inside of his room, doing whatever he did in his spare time.

Qian Feng hastily rushed in and closed the door, sitting down on the mat, eager to try out the Ancient Cosmos Pearl for cultivation for the first time.

Entering the pearl, Qian Feng immediately headed towards the white jade clearing. Familiar with the process of activating the formation, Qian Feng inserted all of his Qi into the nine slots, greatly increasing the density of Qi in the area, and drastically speeding up his cultivation.

His Force affinity cultivation base skyrocketed; what was originally almost to the threshold of the fourth level broke through to the fifth within five hours - a speed that was absolutely insane, insane enough that Qian Feng would never have believed it. In normal circumstances, Qian Feng would have taken a week or more to cross that barrier, but now, thanks to the pearl, it took five hours.

He didn't neglect cultivation because of the breakthrough. Qian Feng wanted to solidly break through to the sixth level of the Martial Warrior stage in all affinities by the end of the trip. Hopefully, Qian Feng would have extra time, which would allow him to temper his body some more.

That reminded him, Qian Feng hadn't yet gotten the Force affinity body tempering technique!

Anyways, because of the recent breakthrough, all of Qian Feng's affinities were at the 5th level, although each at different points throughout the level. Placing the matter of getting the body tempering technique for his Force affinity aside, Qian Feng set out to cultivate his Earth Qi in the formation, since his Force Qi was still half-full after being expended, despite his breakthrough, which replenished it some.

According to his teacher, the journey would take about three weeks - the need for stealth significantly slowed them down, and even outside of that, the distance was incredibly far. By Qian Feng's standards, that was more than enough time to reach his goal of level 6 Martial Warrior in all of his affinities.

Thanks to the Ancient Cosmos Pearl, Qian Feng's cultivation was sped up several times over, his speed even exceeding the warrior's expectations as he completed his goal with a week to spare - a week that Qian Feng planned on using for body tempering.

"Master, I've trained the Tian Mountain Technique to the Knowledge state. Could I have the Force-affinity body tempering technique?"

"I don't know just how much you can do in a week, but given that you're already in the Knowledge state of a body tempering technique that's beyond your level, I look forward to being surprised," the Iron Fox responded, taking out a booklet from his spatial ring and passing it over. "There you are. Study it carefully and safeguard it well - for most people, what you're holding in your hands right now is a precious treasure."

Qian Feng bowed and left the room, energetically entering his own and then the Cultivation Area, ready to test out the effects of the waterfall area on body tempering.

Looking over the technique, Qian Feng was quickly impressed and expectant, finding that the technique was of the same caliber as the Tian Mountain Technique and perfectly complemented it - with mastery of both, he would have an offense just as formidable as his defense, and that was saying a lot, since the toughness of his body was nearly unprecendented for his cultivation level.

Qian Feng, wanting to get some experience with practicing the body tempering technique first before moving on to an emvironment as demanding as the waterfall, began sending Force Qi coursing throughout his body, driving it through different acupoints and meridians and soaking it into his flesh.

A smile appeared on his face - the Overbearing General Tactic was indeed not bad!

It took about an hour of training before Qian Feng was confident in his ability to use the technique under pressure. And so, cycling the Overbearing General Tactic even as he moved, Qian Feng leapt underneath the great waterfall, still in midair when the water hit him, which resulted in a sudden great wave of force sending Qian Feng to the dirt below, the boy unable to resist in midair and caught off guard - it was a silly mistake, really.

Now in a disadvantageous position, Qian Feng marveled at the sheer force of the water crashing down onto him. That marvel soon changed into annoyance, however, when Qian Feng found just how much of a struggle it was to get up. Still wanting to avoid the use of Qi for training purposes, Qian Feng was forced to squeeze every bit of energy in every muscle fiber, pushing further and further. Every time there was a point where his muscles shuddered, on the brink of collapse, Qian Feng repeated in his mind that should he give in to the immense pressure, he would have to do this all over again, or just admit defeat and crawl out of the riverbed.

Finally, Qian Feng got up onto his feet, but this feat of strength did not mark the end of his struggles. No, instead, he had to bear the pressure even as his muscles sputtered and gasped, the lack of a respite after being utterly exhausted weighing on him increasingly.

This experience helped the proverbial Atlas to realize that the struggle of standing up under this pressure was not getting up, but staying up after doing so.

Just when Qian Feng was about to fall, however, he felt a cool stream of revitalizing energy entering his muscles, nourishing them and helping them recover. This signified that the Overbearing General Tactic had begun to take effect.

This pleasant feeling was soon skewed; the originally nourishing energy quickly turned rampaging, the Overbearing General Tactic living up to its name as it wreaked havoc in his muscles and tendons, toughening and strengthening them immensely but sending debilitating pain coursing throughout his body.

It took about 30 seconds before Qian Feng could bear it no longer and smashed into the packed dirt of the riverbed once again, still spasming from the intense expenditure, the boy's muscles sapped completely dry.

The Martial Warrior's control and knowledge of his body had been finely honed, however, by his cultivation and skill in his body tempering technique, meaning that using the last attempt as a trial, he already calculated just how much energy it took to stand up and stay up. Using this, he was able to be perfectly exact in his training, waiting until the moment he recovered just enough energy for him to be able to make the attempt again. This cycle continued, Qian Feng unable to notice his progress due to his muscles not being able to recover yet, but confident he was making great strides.

For a day and a half, Qian Feng toiled in this endless cycle of suffering and growth, finally finishing when he was able to stumble out of the waterfall and immediately collapsing onto the soft grass, falling into a deep slumber almost immediately afterwards.

Thanks to the warrior's increased metabolism, it only took a few hours before he hopped up, fully recovered and finally able to feel the full effects of his training.

His body's strength had increased by more than 2 times, and his stamina by over half. To Qian Feng, it was almost as if he was a new person in a new body.

Perhaps if Qian Feng was truly as old as his body would suggest, his vanity would come out, and he'd start flexing, marveling at his chiseled body, harder than stone. Nevertheless, Qian Feng was absolutely sure that should he reappear on Earth, he would instantly become a celebrity given his body smelted in iron and bathed in silver. But the warrior had no time for such petty things. He had training to do!

Having learned his lesson from last time, Qian Feng slowly tread under the waterfall, enjoying the dull sounds of the water drops striking his flesh, bracing hiself for the full force that would materialize out of nowhere the moment he completely immersed himself.

Chiseled knees sagged and Qian Feng nearly dropped to the ground again, the now-familiar struggle beginning to take its toll upon the boy again. And so, more training began.

"Boy, we've arrived!"

Qian Feng sat on the floor in meditation, calming his mind, when his master's old voice sounded through the portal door, miraculously teleported as well.

His eyes popped open wide, excitement and anxiousness showing themselves in the crystal-clear gray pupils as Qian Feng flexed his uscles and released a ripple of power onto the ground, sending him hurtling upwards and onto his feet with carefully-controlled force.

The door swung open to reveal the Iron Fox, who nodded and led him outside the carriage, asking "Are you ready, boy?"

"Yes, master."

"Good. Now, for you, this might not be too difficult, but watch out for those tricky bastards who hide their true power while taking the test. They might give you some trouble."

"Of course, master."

"And don't try to stick out too much. Save all the showing off for your time as a Duelist."

"I will, master."

"And don't bother listening to me, because I'm a rambling old man who doesn't deserve respect."

"Indeed, mast-"

A wrinkled hand came up with the speed of lightning to smack the back of his head, jolting Qian Feng out of his reveries.

"What was that, boy!?"

"No, master, that's not true?"

"That's right! And what else?"

"You're in the prime of your life, master, and are in no way, shape, or form an old man?"

"Say it with more passion!"

"YOU'RE IN THE PRIME OF YOUR LIFE MASTER AND ARE IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM AN OLD MAN!"

"Good..." The Iron Fox said happily.

The pair walked up in silence, Qian Feng marveling at how much his master had loosened up over the short time span they'd been together. As he remembered it, the attitude change only seemed to happen after he came back from the forest... Just what changed>

"Are you here to register for the Duelist Nomad exam?"

An attendant asked while sitting down at a wooden desk in front of the building Qian Feng and his master arrived at. The building looked more like a colosseum of his previous planet than anything else, throwing the boy off slightly before he regained his composure.

"Yes, indeed we are." The Iron Fox handled the talking, an arrangement that Qian Feng was completely happy with.

"Please tell me the applicant's name, cultivation level, and affinity."

"Qian Feng, Martial Warrior Level..." Qian Feng remembered that the Iron Fox wasn't sure what level his student had advanced to, so quickly whispered into his master's ear his cultivation level. "6, and Force and Earth affinities."

Hearing that Qian Feng had dual affinities, the attendant perked up her eyebrow slightly in surprise, before, returning back to her normal stone-faced demeanor and leading the pair to a waiting room in the colosseum.

"The assessment will begin shortly; in the meantime, please wait here."