Chapter 34: Peak Acting and Solo Battles (Part 1)

After reading the notification on his plaque, An didn't really understand anything at first. He decided to read it again, trying to figure out what it all meant.

Putting the plaque back in his pocket, he stared at the empty projections for a while, thinking through his plan of action.

'Maybe it's just some kind of mistake, and they really only want my testimony as a witness?' He didn't really believe it himself, knowing that the chances of it being a simple mistake were very low.

Standing up from his seat, he took out the tournament ticket the Hall of Justice officer had given him before the altar. Activating his Qi, he triggered its reverse teleportation function.

Squeezing his eyes shut and waiting for the blinding flash to pass, he opened his eyes, already standing on the altar in the large Coliseum hall from where he had teleported to the stands. Putting the ticket back in his pocket with his plaque, he hurried toward the exit.

Once outside, on the street filled with people, An activated Qi Legs and Qi Clouds, shooting through the air toward Hope Peak.

Finally arriving at the Hall of Justice, he stopped right at the big gates. Catching his breath after such a sprint, he went inside.

Standing in the hall, he first looked around and, seeing the reception counters on the side with disciples sitting behind them, An headed toward one.

Behind the glass sat a girl who looked about twenty, holding a stack of papers in one hand and propping up her head with the other, mumbling something to herself with a thoughtful expression.

Hearing his footsteps, she raised her gaze, stared at him, and furrowed her brows, making it clear with her whole demeanor that An should hurry up and not waste her time.

An took out his personal plaque and showed it to her.

"I received a notification to give testimony about a theft case."

Hearing what he needed, she put the papers on the table and took out a large book from a compartment. Without opening it, she placed her hand on the spine and began mumbling something, searching for something. "Give testimony... Hmm... That's not it... Testimony... Outer disciple An?"

Hearing his name, An nodded.

"Hmm... Go straight down to the basement, seventh room. That's the first basement floor, just so you know. Now go, don't interfere with my work." Pointing her finger in the direction he needed to go, she began shooing him away. Her face made it clear that she already hated this job and just wanted to be left alone.

An put his plaque away and walked down the corridor the girl had indicated.

Going down one floor, he found himself in a cozy corridor. Similar in structure to the Alchemy Hall's basement, only the distance between the rooms was much greater. And the style of decoration was like night and day. The entire floor was done in warm tones, with wooden walls and floors, and doors made of a mix of iron and wood. On the walls hung many paintings, while vases and marvelous figurines decorated the corners. The entire place was decorated better than the main hall one floor above.

'She said room seven…' An walked down the corridor, looking at the numbers on the signs.

Right in the corridor, by some doors, stood disciples with their heads lowered. Some of them were just nervous, while a few already had tears appearing in their eyes, which they were unsuccessfully trying to hide.

Walking forward, weaving around groups of disciples, he finally reached the room labeled 'seven'. Just as he raised his hand to knock, he stopped.

He took out his plaque, which contained not only his name but also his status as an Alchemy Apprentice. Even though this was not a high rank, even this status was held by only a small number of disciples.

He knew the chances of him walking out of that room after simply giving testimony, as written in the notification, were almost zero. His encounter with Ru Meng, when he had been ambushed, had shown that clearly.

‘I can't act as usual… I have to change my approach if I want to avoid what's waiting for me behind that door...’ For the first time, he decided to behave more arrogantly. He had absolutely no desire to end up in a cage again, "Whew... Here we go!"

BOOM!

An kicked the door with all his might.

Inside the room, three people, startled by the crash, dropped everything and jumped up, not understanding what was happening, their mouths and eyes wide open with surprise.

"You! How dare you tear me away from my alchemy! From the practice my master designed for me personally! Master Shoa! Huh?! What are you gawking at?! Useless good-for-nothings! Idlers! Morons!" An, with wide, confident strides, his nose raised higher than his forehead, approached the large desk and punched it directly with his fist.

He had slightly wrapped his fist in Qi, so that upon impact, an energy wave would form, raising not only dust, but the snow-white wavy hair of the girl standing behind the desk.

Her blue eyes, still wide with surprise and confusion about what was even happening, were fixed directly on An.

All three didn't know what to do, frozen in place.

"Dog got your tongues?! I'm waiting for an explanation! Peasants! And don't you dare make me wait! Or you'll regret it!" An placed his hands on his hips and released his Qi to its fullest, filling the entire room with his energy.

Even though all three before him were much stronger than him, and the pressure of his Qi had no physical effect on them, but psychologically, it worked, even made one of the three start trembling.

"I... I am a Hall of Justice officer..." The girl, finally coming to her senses, tried to start speaking. As soon as the initial shock passed, she wanted to explode, to smear this arrogant idiot who had suddenly fallen on their heads, but at the mention of Master Shoa, she immediately realized who he was talking about; all her anger, as if blown away by the wind, vanished, and she decided to proceed with caution.

"I don't care who you are! How dare you slander my name?" An began shouting, his voice starting to crack.

"Accusing me! The future of Alchemy! Are you trying to slander my Master's name as well?! Ha?!"

"Who is behind this?! Who dared?! Who dares to accuse me of stealing some first-rank spirit plants! That rotten trash!"

"How dare you?!" With a red face and veins bulging in his neck, he began waving his arms around. This whole performance, even An himself didn't know where exactly it had come from, perhaps everything he had ever read before and seen here, about how disciples with clans behind them behaved.

In the end, his act was so vivid that he felt awkward himself.

Constantly shouting and slamming the desk, he took out his plaque and threw it directly into the girl's face.

Just as doubts about his performance were beginning to form in her mind, she saw and caught his plaque, reading the information from it.

'Wait… she said he was a nobody, only just joined the Sect... and he's already an Alchemy Apprentice... so there's a good chance he's telling the truth… Even if he is lying, what are the chances? I can't take that risk…' Ignoring the shouting in her ear, she analyzed the situation, and without thinking long, decided to truly back down.

She understood that even if the probability that he wasn't lying was very low, it still existed. And for a personal favor, from a friend of a friend, she wasn't ready to risk everything.

"Please forgive us. We received information from an unverified source! We will conduct an investigation and punish the guilty! And those shameless people who dare to slander the name of Junior Brother An and his Great Master! Be assured, the guilty will be punished!" Straightening up, she folded her hands in a gesture of respect and bowed her head slightly.

"Ha! You'd better find the guilty! If this happens again, my Master and I will not leave even ashes of you!" Snorting, spraying her with saliva, he hit the desk again, this time using more Qi and force, splitting it in two.

Waving his hand, he took his plaque and, with large strides, walked toward the exit, all the while cursing and expressing dissatisfaction with all three, not forgetting to kick any furniture that got in his way.

As soon as the door slammed behind him, the girl fell into her chair and exhaled.

"What was that about? Why didn't you, Senior Sister, knock all his teeth out?" One of the three, with hands trembling from the rage overwhelming him, looked at her.

"Do you think I'm such a fool that I didn't realize what was happening, that this was all a stupid circus from the very beginning? But the moment he threw his plaque at me... This is his first year in the sect, and he's already an Alchemy Apprentice..." Exhaling heavily again, she tilted her head back.

"You mean?" The other asked, the only one of the three who had been truly frightened.

"Yes. Even if slight, the chance that everything he said was true... exists."

"Then, what do we do now?" He suddenly became frightened again, imagining Elder Shoa showing up here and truly turning them to ashes.

"Erase all records of the accusation, and don't forget to mark his name. We will no longer accept any orders on his behalf, no matter who the client is. Even with the slightest chance that his words are true, it's not worth it." She stood up from her chair and headed for the exit.

"Understood. It'll be done!" The first one jumped toward the large cabinets by the wall and began rummaging through them.

"Whew... Damn it, I'm covered in spit." Almost running out of the Hall of Justice, An began using his Qi to remove traces of his own saliva from his clothes.

He hadn't expected to get so deep into the role.

‘I almost got caught. If I had thrown my plaque any later, I wouldn't have gotten out of there…’ An knew he had been very lucky with his timing. He had managed to throw his plaque at just the right moment, startling and confusing the Hall of Justice officer in front of him.

While putting on his performance, he had been constantly watching the Qi flows around him, specifically the emotions of the three. And even though he could barely read the Qi from the girl, he could see and understand that a storm was raging inside her, ready to burst out. And throwing his plaque directly in her face had significantly postponed the inevitable.

"But I don't know how long that will last... What if they try to confirm my words and find out it was all a lie? How long will it take them to come up with a new case... And who even put them up to this? Could it be Rollo Por trying to get me this way? But that’s highly unlikely… why would he suddenly make a move after all this time?" An walked back toward the Arena, muttering to himself the whole way.

He knew that he would need to be very lucky for this to be the end of it, "But again, it's unlikely they'll try to confirm my words, it could cause them serious trouble… The only thing that really worries me is that I used the elder's name… hopefully no one outside that room will find out." He didn't want the elder to know that he, even if indirectly, had used his help. Elder Shoa had already helped him so many times, and using his help again without any repayment, An felt uncomfortable about it.

Thinking about how to avoid something like this in the future, the only solution he came to was to keep cultivating and to obtain the status of Alchemy Practitioner as soon as possible.

But obtaining that status could create more new problems, if word got out to the general masses, not only among outer disciples.

Already walking down the shopping street, maneuvering between people, he wondered whether it was worth going back to watch the Tournament. Maybe it would be better for him to go home now and lock himself in, cultivating until he turned blue, at least until all his supplies ran out. But shaking his head, he decided that he should watch the Tournament to the end. Even simple observation would give him some experience and knowledge of other techniques, and how they worked.

Already inside the Coliseum's main hall, An headed straight for the room with the altar.

His path was blocked by several cultivators in red robes, Hall of Justice officers.

"Ticket or personal disciple plaque of the Heavenly Soul Sect!" said the one standing in the middle of the group, his hand extended.

An took out his ticket and handed it to him.

Taking the ticket, he read it and made some change on it, wrapping his finger in Qi.

"This is your second-to-last free chance to use teleportation during the Tournament. If you leave the stands again and want to return to the Arena, it will cost ten spirit stones. Now, move along!" Returning the ticket to An, he waved his hand toward the Altar.

Getting onto the Altar, he had to wait about twenty minutes for a significant number of people to gather, only then was the altar activated.

Enduring the bright flash once again, he opened his eyes, and found himself right back in the same spot he had teleported from last time.

Sitting in his old seat, he heard the people around him talking and discussing how magnificent the Paired Battles had been, especially the final clashes. He realized he had missed everything and returned just in time for the break before the final, Solo Battles.

"I didn't think so much time had passed, almost five hours I lost because of the Hall of Justice…" An put his palm to his face. The fact was, on the way back, he had walked, not using his Qi, which had taken him almost three hours. Even An himself was surprised that he hadn't noticed how long he'd spent on the return trip.

While he was lost in thought, he saw out of the corner of his eye how all the projections merged into one, focusing on the center of the Arena.

On it, a huge number of small platforms had already been erected, all of them surrounded by individual, almost transparent barriers.

In the center, the platform where the finalists usually approached to receive their awards in the Non-Combat Tournaments, all four Sect Leaders were already hovering in the air, but this time they were not alone, behind them hovered four groups of elders, each representing their own sect.

At the base of the central platform, already standing in rows, were the disciples who had qualified for the Solo Battles based on the results of the previous two stages.

They all stood at attention, afraid to even speak, watching the elders and Sect Leaders above them.

"Well then! Here we are, approaching the final part of the Champion Tournament! From over 100,000 participants, only you remain, four thousand worthy of the chance to make a name for yourselves and pave your own future!"

"Today! Based on the results of the solo battles, your fate will be decided! Your first step on your path! The path that will carry you to heights you cannot even imagine! But, to take the first, the hardest first step, you must give two hundred percent! Forget pain! Forget fatigue! This is your chance! The only chance! Each victory of yours will slightly open the gates to your new future! Don't stop! Until you find yourself on the first step before the gates of your path!" Gu Bai's voice, like thunder, spread everywhere, even in the most remote corner of the sect, his voice kept booming and continuing along the mountains.

"Your skill, your perseverance, your intelligence! All of this will be seen by the elders of your sects, searching in you for the seed to pass on their knowledge! Today, victory is not the main thing! Potential! That is what gives you the chance to move forward without looking back, leaving everything and everyone behind!" Gu Bai continued his speech, each word, growing louder and louder, making the blood of the four thousand disciples boil.

"…In today's tournament, together with the elders, we have decided to make some changes. Specifically, to change the prizes for the finalists! In today's Solo Battles, five finalists will receive the opportunity to cultivate in the sacred Qi Hearths of their own sects!"

Hearing this, all the participants, who had already been barely holding themselves back after the Heavenly Soul Sect Leader's speech, upon hearing about the main prize, began to gasp and whisper among themselves, no longer able to restrain themselves.

The participants who had still been hesitating whether to use their hidden cards threw away their last doubts upon merely hearing about the Qi Hearths, understanding that such an opportunity might only come once in a lifetime.

Gu Bai, seeing confusion on some faces among the participants, realized that there were those who didn't know what he was talking about. And he decided to dedicate the next few minutes to this topic.

According to the Heavenly Soul Sect Leader, Qi Hearths were an enclosed area hidden from the masses by a huge number of protective formations. The Hearths were located deep underground, near the intersections of Qi Veins, and one cultivation cycle in these places sometimes equaled hundreds of cycles outside, beyond the Hearths.

As he spoke, Gu Bai got carried away, and said more than necessary. He explained where Qi Hearths and Qi Veins came from. The entire world has Qi: deserts, wastelands, mountains, oceans, everywhere and everything, has Qi. But in rare cases, due to natural cataclysms near the planet's core, chaotic Qi integrate and merge with each other, and even then, the chance of such a phenomenon was almost zero.

Once merged, due to their weight and density, the Qi begins to attract the nearest Qi from the environment, and over time, this mass grows.

When people find these masses, they build Sects on top of them. But these masses themselves, the Qi Veins, do not really provide an increase in Qi density outside, within the Sect. For that, Qi Hearths are created artificially, by cultivators themselves. Using formations and runes, the Qi Veins are connected to artificial and separated spaces, to the Qi Hearths. And through the formation, the energy is redirected into those places.

The Qi Veins are one of the reasons for the formation of the Alliance of Four. The thing is, all four righteous sects are located on one enormous Qi Vein. And the main and foremost reason for forming the Alliance is protection from other sects outside the Alliance of Four.

And at present, all four sects have their own Qi Hearths.

"…The finalist who takes first place will have the opportunity to spend twelve hours in the Qi Hearth. Second place, six hours. Third, four hours. Fourth and fifth place, two hours each. This is your chance! Snatch your victories and walk toward your dreams!" Gu Bai smiled and spread his arms.

DONG! DONG!

As soon as the bell began to ring, the runes on the surface of all forty small arenas lit up, and the participants, without warning, began teleporting onto the arenas.