The Furnace Sect certainly had named themselves rightly. Sweltering heat built up inside the area they controlled. That was their preferred place to train. For other fire type cultivators it wasn’t a disadvantage when sparring… but John felt like he was about to melt just stepping into the area. For the sake of his own dignity and the Tenebach clan, he couldn’t let that happen. He did his best to not appear like he was straining himself just being in the area.

Tena Milanovic introduced him to the sect elder who was currently present. “This is Fortkran Tenebach, from the Stone Conglomerate. He has come to the Green Sands for training, and wishes to spar with students of some of the great sects, including the Furnace Sect.”

The elder nodded his head. “Of course, we encourage our disciples to spar with those outside of our discipline. I shall see who is available. What cultivation level would you prefer to spar against?”

“I have heard of the Furnace Sect’s reputation, and I believe a disciple with similar cultivation at the early Foundation Phase like myself should be appropriate.” There wasn’t another answer he could give. He was at the tenth rank , and while it might not be inappropriate to spar against someone a cultivation rank below him where there was an attribute disadvantage… one rank below would be someone in the Spiritual Collection Phase. That wasn’t a good look. Saying he could beat someone higher rank than himself was not only a bit arrogant, but probably untrue. He knew he had some ability, but doing so at an element disadvantage… he wouldn’t want to try it. Anything could happen in a battle, but that also included him losing horribly more than half of the time if he overestimated himself.

“Of course, follow me to the sparring arena.” The elder led him into the complex, and it only seemed to get hotter. It was the sort of heat that would kill a normal human, and it made John realize how much different he was in just the past months. This was a world of rapid change and great power. He had been swept up in its tides, though he had no idea if that was a bad thing or not.

John didn’t like the fact that he could see the air. Heat waves radiated from every surface in the courtyard where they finally arrived. At least everything should be quick. Either he would learn to overcome heat somehow… or be destroyed. Though that didn’t necessarily have to happen in a single battle.

As he was waiting he continued to watch the ground radiating heat waves into the air. There was something about it. Maybe it was just that everything reminded him of cultivation now. Then again, maybe everything was cultivation… or cultivation mirrored the world, more accurately. Sometimes it was a strange funhouse mirror, but a mirror nonetheless. The ground was earth, heat was fire, air was air… and if he wanted water it was probably his sweat. How long were they going to take to find someone?

John watched his sweat fall to the ground, expecting it to sizzle like encountering a frying pan. It seemed things weren’t quite that hot, as it merely splattered. It did evaporate extremely quickly, however. Soon, a servant arrived with refreshments. It seemed the Furnace Sect had no intention to win by letting him collapse on his own at the start of the match. The cool water they had in a cup was already heating up… but he drank it down quickly to lower his internal temperature.

He watched the radiating heat more. Just discerning that there were elements in the area didn’t do him any good. That was always true. What could he learn? Earth radiated heat into the air. Unfortunately, that was only when the concentration of heat on the earth was higher than the air around. If he had control over air or water he could cool himself with convection, but one of those was still some way off, and the other even further.

Inside of him, the sapling was only able to absorb a small amount of heat, mostly what was produced by his other totem and little more. It didn’t just feed on other elements, it needed a proper balance. A tree in the sun for too long could shrivel and die. At the very least, it needed enough water and good soil.

After a short eternity, an opponent for John finally arrived. It was probably merely a few minutes, and he knew if they had been stalling it would have been longer… but it had certainly seemed to drag on.

A young man of around the same age, in his early twenties, arrived along with the elder. He wore light armor and had at his side a chain weapon. John was glad he’d studied those at least a little bit… because they could be quite tricky weapons.

The elder explained the expected rules for the spar. There was nothing strange about it, but making it clear was still reasonable. No killing your opponent, though the sparring area should stop that from happening. As a friendly spar, of course, any attempt to maim the opponent would be a breach of protocol. Accidents could happen, but intent was important. John could probably get away with something because of his status… but he had no quarrel with the Furnace Sect or intent to gain quarrels. That would happen all too often on its own.

“Karolis, Fortkran, ready yourselves…” the elder made sure they were prepared. “Begin!”

Flames immediately climbed along the length of the chain in his opponent’s hands. A cultivator would be protected from the heat of their own fire element for the most part, but not entirely. At least his intentions were obvious. Both ends of the chain had weights, instead of one side at least having a blade of some sort. While a weight might break an arm, that indicated the intent wasn’t to cause damage with the weapon itself. It was merely a catalyst for carrying fire elemental spiritual energy. His opponent swung the chain faster and faster. If John stepped inside it would easily wrap around him, and he had already missed the best opportunity to move in. However, his opponent also had to attack at some point. Keeping up the level of energy he had on the chain wasn’t possible forever- even in an advantageous environment. In fact, it was already starting to glow red-hot. Doubtless the material could withstand the temperature, but whether Karolis could keep it that way was another question. John held his sword low and ready.

Seeing that John wouldn’t take the initiative to step in, Karolis stepped forward. As he did so, John released darkness elemental spiritual energy throughout the area, dulling his vision and senses. It wasn’t enough to fully blind him, but it would at least slightly hamper him. He moved forward, extending his chain in a large sweep. John knew that blocking it would just let it wrap around himself or his sword or both. His sword slashed up to push the chain higher while he himself ducked down. Guided by Karolis’ energy, the chain tried to wrap around him regardless… but John dashed under the chain quickly enough to avoid its reversing direction. Even so, he felt its heat wash over him, adding to his already growing temperature. He wished he could make use of it somehow, but it just wasn’t possible yet.

John dashed forward while the chain was extended, feinting with his sword at Karolis. Of course, Karolis had a length of chain in both hands ready to stop his blow. John hadn’t committed fully, pulling his sword away as Karolis attempted to wrap around it. He wasn’t concerned about his weapon being damaged by the heat, but he certainly wanted to avoid being disarmed.

The majority of the chain whipped back towards the two of them as Karolis yanked on it. John had to quickly move around behind, using Hidden Steps so Karolis couldn’t anticipate his exact movements. Regardless, the chain swung around again. John was ready with something else, holding up his shield to block it. As the chain began to wrap around the shield, he used his own energy to free his arm from the shield and push it away. The shield was merely a burden- since he couldn’t truly block with it, having a free hand was better. With his sword hand, he slashed at Karolis- who dodged out of the way.

Karolis already had the elemental advantage, and that would only build as they continued the battle. John had to win quickly, before he exhausted himself. Of course, trying to rush things could lead to mistakes… which was why he had to be clever about it. With his left hand he threw a dagger covered in twisting darkness to keep Karolis occupied while he looked for a good opening. The chain was troublesome if he let it wrap around him, but it also took a long time to come to bear at a distance or to retract. John planned to use that.

He let himself be pushed back to a less optimal range for himself and began to gather earth elemental energy, something Karolis knew was defensively weak against his attacks. However, John twisted darkness energy along with it to hide his intentions and to add a little bit of something more. He held his sword behind him, concealing as much as he could as he reversed his grip on his sword.

Karolis began a wide sweep with the chain, just at mid level so John would either have to drop to the floor or jump over it. Either way, John imagined it would alter its trajectory to meet his movements. Just to provide another minute advantage, his left hand threw another dagger as he performed his maneuver. Hopefully, considering dodging would prevent Karolis from reacting to his plan. He pushed his sword out to the side to meet the chain, blade down and crossguard above it. As his sword pushed into the chain it was immediately folding around it, but John’s arm was already moving downward. It was a combination between Unbreakable Boulder and Gravity Blade. In short, earth and darkness combined to bring stability and ‘gravity’ holding it to the blade as he drove it into the ground. He was already vaulting over the chain as it spun around beneath him, but he drove the blade deeper into the ground. The floor of the courtyard was merely stone, not protected from the attacks of cultivators because it could easily be replaced. The crossguard of the sword caught the chain against the ground, though the loose end still grabbed out at John’s leg, brushing against him and causing searing pain.

The handful of meters between the two combatants was small for cultivators. While his blade might not even remain holding the chain for ten seconds, John was already to Karolis with a dagger drawn in two seconds. The chain in Karolis’ hand almost became a liability, restricting his movements as he attempted to block with it. However, a flurry of slashes and stabs from John kept him from disentangling his chain. Cuts appeared along his arms, as most of his energy had been used for offense.

Karolis eventually dropped the chain as John pushed him away from where it was attached. He wasn’t incapable of fighting without a weapon, but it still put him at a disadvantage. Fiery fists could burn John only if he was ready to take a slash along his arm in exchange. Before he built up too many injuries, he used his remaining energy to leap back. “I concede!”

John bowed, “A well fought match. I’m sure my tactics would not be so easy to repeat again… but I could not overcome the disadvantage otherwise.” Karolis did not seem particularly upset at his loss, though perhaps a tad disappointed.

The elder of the Furnace Sect got his attention. “Would you like to arrange for another sparring partner?”

John shook his head. “Not at this time. Perhaps tomorrow.” He would have to be prepared to lose tomorrow. He wouldn’t lose on purpose, but he still couldn’t overcome the weakness to fire directly. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

Aydan put his hand on John’s shoulder as they stepped out of the area. “You did a good job.”

“Thank you,” John said. His shoulder hurt a bit from being held up by just a handful of fingers, but it was much more dignified than collapsing on the streets. He still had to move his legs to support a small portion of his weight, but at least he made it back to the inn… where he promptly dunked his head in a bucket of water.