Though he had been defeated and dropped out of the tournament, Fortkran would be remaining to watch the final rounds. There were several reasons, firstly that he had come with his family… and had no desire to walk back to the Tenebach estate on foot. Going by carriage was much more pleasant, especially since they had an enchanted carriage and particularly fast iron-hooved horses. He wasn’t sure if their hooves were actually iron, but they certainly had a metallic sheen to them. Another reminder he was now in a different world.

The more practical reason to stay was that watching battles was good for his training. Not as good as fighting himself, but he could glean something from seeing people stronger than him fight. Everyone remaining in the tournament was either eighth or ninth level in the Spiritual Collection Phase. Though Fortkran had seen better techniques, there was something about real matches instead of sparring that brought out the best in people. Besides, watching his Foundation Phase parents train was… a bit much. Their movements were too quick to keep up with, so he didn’t learn much. His grandfather was another stage ahead of them, and didn’t have many people he could reasonably train with. Not nearby, anyway.

A ninth stage earth cultivator from the Emerson clan won. Stuart Emerson was one of the favorites for the tournament, so nobody was surprised. If Fortkran had not dropped in cultivation he might have been a match with his third tier spiritual totem, but then again he wouldn’t have even known about the tournament. His family hadn’t been willing to include him as he was before… or as the previous person in his body was. He was certainly a different person, but his memories were still around, ready to present themselves as appropriate.

While useful, Fortkran found that remembering things was often inconvenient despite its utility. He just wished some of the things he remembered hadn’t happened, but he couldn’t exactly change that. Thus was the case when a young man about his age appeared in front of him. Fortkran vaguely recognized him, but as he spoke the memories came flooding back.

“I have come upon you at last, Fortkran Tenebach!” the young man spoke from outside the family’s box, which they had not yet departed after the conclusion of the final match. The man possessed the most common earth elemental spiritual energy for Marble County. “I have been training for the past years to outmatch you, and now it appears I have reached my goal! I demand a duel for the injustices you inflicted upon my sister!”

To Fortkran’s chagrin, that information didn’t tell him enough to properly identify the man in front of him. He really preferred avoiding thinking about his past when he didn’t have to, because it reminded him why the family was so willing to just… replace him with someone they didn’t even know. That was convenient for John, but it didn’t mean there were no problems that would bother him from the past. Like this.

Fortunately, the young man continued. “I am Kyros Tomasson, and I invoke the official rite of the duel with Fortkran Tenebach!”

There were a number of things to process with that statement. First, that name… there was certainly a Tomasson he remembered. Presumably the man’s sister. There had been inappropriate advances made when he was drunk once… and later when he wasn’t drunk. However, things hadn’t gone further than that. That was good, because he wasn’t sure if he was ready to handle some of the more serious situations. But a formal challenge for a duel still required a response. He could refuse, but that wouldn’t look good. It would either be an admission of weakness or guilt. Losing would be bad as well, and the man in front of him was eighth level of the Spiritual Collection Phase, and his aura didn’t indicate he had a low tier spiritual totem. He would be difficult. He felt the eyes of his family on him. He could refuse, but he didn’t think that would resolve the situation in the best possible way. “Very well. In order to defend my honor, I accept your challenge. In one month’s time we shall have a standard duel here in the arena.” A standard duel was not a death match, though there could certainly be serious injuries, the arena’s defenses would do their best to prevent death. One month was the longest a duel could be delayed without the consent of both parties, and he doubted that the man would be willing to wait.

“Very well.” Kyros Tomasson deflated slightly when it was clear he wouldn’t get to duel immediately, but he knew the official rules just as well as any. “In one month’s time.” With that, he turned to leave. Though the Tenebach clan had many cultivators who could easily subdue him, in a city and following proper protocol there wasn’t much they could do. Not that it would look good for anyone beyond his stage to get involved unless he actually attacked.

Fortkran sighed. He knew his parents would want an explanation- or maybe they already knew about the incident in question. Either way, they would speak on it later.

-----

Gerben Tenebach, Fortkran’s father, stood across from him on the training field. While the current controller of the body wasn’t responsible for what had happened, he had to deal with the consequences. The family had agreed that the duel was the most appropriate course of action- not that they could have backed out at this stage- but winning was important. That meant training, and training meant… difficulties.

Gerben Tenebach favored a steel whip, a very difficult to deal with weapon. When controlled with energy, it could move however the user pleased- though it was still affected by normal laws of physics. However, just because it had momentum in one direction didn’t mean energy couldn’t be expended to immediately pull it in the other. Fortkran found that to be true many times in a row.

Once more they prepared themselves, and Fortkran moved forward, taking a proper stance. Even though his father had lowered his level of output to slightly above Fortkran, he found himself unable to keep up. He could barely match the movements of the whip, and it almost immediately twisted around the base of his sword and yanked it out of his hands. Even using his own energy to try to maintain his grip didn’t help. However, he did pull away the barest traces of his father’s energy. He would later be able to feel it and inspect it to try to advance his own cultivation more quickly, which he needed to do. If he didn’t reach the seventh level within the next month, his chances of winning the duel were very low.

Though he had no weapon, Fortkran was not without the ability to defend himself. In some ways, it was easier to move without a weapon, because his spiritual energy moved throughout his own body much more easily than on a weapon. He used his energy to slap away the whip as it came towards him, then grabbed onto another section, yanking on it. Even as it twisted out of his grasp, he kept control over it for a brief section with what he had learned from using Gravity Blade. Then he was struck by the whip. His energy shook, nearly breaking. It could have been broken, but this was for training. He wasn’t supposed to be truly injured… but if he didn’t do his best, he would indeed end up hurt. As the familiar energy struck him again, he tried to direct it around his body instead of letting it concentrate in a single point. His success varied, but he kept his feet long enough to step forward and attempt an elbow strike.

Wisps of darkness rose around him in front of his father’s eyes, but they didn’t successfully obscure his vision. Why would it? He had the same blessing of the family’s guardian beast and could see through darkness… especially that of someone much weaker. Fortkran still tried though. He had to be able to change something such that it would work. This time, it just ended up with him completely wrapped up by a whip, slowly getting crushed.

He gritted his teeth, resisting the pressure as long as he could. His bones creaked and his energy trembled throughout him, flowing out from his dantian into his meridians until he was run dry. Right before everything fell apart, he spoke. “I surrender.”

His father nodded, and the whip loosened. “That is… enough for now. Continue your cultivation. Remember that you absolutely cannot lose this duel.”

He nodded. His life might not be on the line… but that didn’t mean it wasn’t an important part of his future in jeopardy. If he didn’t show enough improvement, his family might be willing to dispose of him like their previous son. He hoped they would be more sympathetic than that, and the original Fortkran had truly crossed the line too many times… but it was a bit hard to fit in with his new family.