By mid-morning, the guard brackets started.
This was different from the disciple matches. Guards fought with practical brutality, no fancy forms, no aesthetic considerations. Their combat style was developed for real scenarios against actual enemies, not tournament demonstration.
But even here, the corrected techniques were showing effects.
Guards who'd been practicing the improved breathing methods had better endurance. Those who'd incorporated the flowing movement principles could adapt faster to unexpected attacks. The subtle improvements compounded into noticeable advantages.
Raon's match came in the second round of Guard Bracket C.
Guard Raon versus Guard Kang Minwoo.
Minwoo was a solid practitioner, Martial Expert Initial Stage ,same as Raon's publicly known cultivation. He had six years of guard experience, competent technique, and a reputation for reliable performance.
**Assessment: Clean signature, no corruption detected. Straightforward opponent, can't say the same about you though.**
They faced each other on the platform. Minwoo gave a respectful nod, guards didn't have formal bow protocols. His expression was friendly but focused.
"Let's make this a good one," Minwoo said simply. Raon nodded back, settling into stance. "Agreed."
"Begin!"
Minwoo opened with a testing strike, probing Raon's defense. A solid Blue Ripple Palm with good form.
A signature Blue Pearl Sect technique that channels energy into the user's palm and releases it as a concentrated ripple of force.
Unlike blunt strikes, the Blue Ripple Palm spreads energy outward in smooth, wave like layers disorienting opponents while dealing internal damage through vibration.
Raon moved past it with minimal effort, using Mirror Water Technique to redirect rather than block. His expression stayed neutral, carefully controlled
He kept his cultivation suppressed slightly to cultivation levels to avoid revealing his actual advancement.
Raon had been secretly practicing at night and progressing absorbing the Qi refinement pills given to him by Elder Jeong. His martial process increased and he's now able to absorb almost 70% of the refinement pills and properly circulate Qi internally after guidance from the system.
**Remember: You're supposed to be talented but not suspiciously talented. Fight like a skilled guard, not a hidden master.**
"I know," Raon thought, countering with a basic combination that Minwoo blocked competently.
They exchanged strikes for nearly a minute, both testing, both evaluating. Guard versus guard combat was different from disciple sparring. Less about demonstrating perfect form, more about efficiency and effectiveness.
Minwoo tried to overwhelm Raon with a Torrent Strike variation, rapid palm strikes meant to stagger and pressure. His breathing stayed controlled, his face showing mild exertion but nothing desperate.
Raon responded with Flowing Pearl Steps, properly repositioning using minimal movement to avoid maximum attacks. His feet barely whispered across the platform as he avoided attacks rather than blocking them.
**Did you take ballet in your past life?**
The energy efficiency was obvious, while Minwoo expended Qi on aggressive offense, Raon conserved energy through superior positioning.
Minwoo's brow furrowed slightly. The energy difference was becoming obvious. While he expended Qi on aggressive offense, Raon conserved through superior positioning.
When Minwoo overcommitted on a heavy strike, Raon saw his opening.
Calm Sea Thrust, concentrated, precise, efficient. He didn't need flashy techniques. Just the right technique at the right moment, delivered with controlled power.
The thrust caught Minwoo in the chest, disrupting his Qi circulation enough to stagger him.
"I Yield," Minwoo said immediately, recognizing superior skill. Guards knew when to quit, survival instinct overrode pride.
"Victor: Guard Raon!"
Polite applause from the guard section. They'd expected this result, Raon's recent improvements had been noticed, even if they didn't understand the source.
But as Raon left the platform, he noticed Elder Cho watching him intently. The old man's expression was calculating, suspicious, and very, very interested.
**You're attracting attention. That's either cover for your spy hunting or a problem waiting to happen.**
"Both, probably," Raon muttered.
The Afternoon Matches - Tension Rises
As the tournament progressed into afternoon, the quality of combat intensified.
The remaining inner disciples were all highly skilled. Core Formation Middle to Late Stage practitioners with years of training and real combat experience. These weren't students anymore, these were the sect's future elders, the practitioners who'd lead the next generation.
And hidden among them, were infiltrators.
**Inner Disciple Bracket E: Chen Hua versus Yoo Jihun**
Chen Hua versus Yoo Jihun.
Raon's attention snapped into sharp focus the moment Chen Hua stepped onto the platform.
**Confirmed infiltrator detected. 8% demonic Qi corruption. Observation priority: Maximum.**
Chen Hua looked perfectly unremarkable. Average height. Plain features. The kind of face that blurred in crowds and slipped from memory. His expression showed appropriate nervousness—not too much, not too little.
Perfect camouflage.
But Raon's enhanced perception saw beneath the mask. Those plain eyes held no real emotion. His breathing pattern was too controlled, too mechanical. Every movement calculated to appear natural while being anything but.
Yoo Jihun stood across from him, straightforward and honest. His face showed determination mixed with healthy respect for an opponent. Real emotion. Real humanity.
The contrast was chilling.
"Begin!"
The match started normally. Both exchanged testing strikes, feeling out each other's defense and rhythm.
But Raon saw what others missed.
Chen Hua's Qi flow was wrong. Subtly, carefully wrong—like an instrument slightly out of tune. His Blue Pearl techniques looked correct on the surface, movements perfect, but the internal energy circulation... corrupted. Demonic cultivation masked beneath water element techniques.
**He's masking demonic cultivation. This isn't amateur work**
As the match intensified, Chen Hua's true nature began showing through the cracks.
His Azure Stream Palm came at Yoo Jihun with proper form, but the Qi carried an edge it shouldn't have. Dark. Aggressive. Wrong.
Yoo Jihun blocked it but his face twisted in confusion. His brow furrowed deeply. Something about that strike felt off, though he couldn't identify what. His skin crawled with instinctive warning.
"What...?" Yoo Jihun muttered, shaking his head.
Chen Hua's expression never changed. Still perfectly neutral. Still perfectly fake.
He pressed his advantage with what looked like Tidal Flow Slash, but the consecutive strikes built pressure through corruption rather than proper technique. Each attack wore down Yoo Jihun's Qi like acid eating through metal.
Yoo Jihun's confident expression crumbled into alarm. His breathing turned ragged faster than it should. Sweat poured down his face in sheets. His blocks grew desperate, sloppy.
"This isn't right," he gasped. "Something's not..."
Chen Hua struck then. A "gentle" palm technique that should've been harmless.
The corruption hit Yoo Jihun's system like poison.
His eyes went wide. His face drained of color. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, gasping like a drowning man. His hands clutched at his chest, where his Qi circulation had shattered into chaos.
"I.. I yield!" he choked out.
"Victor: Chen Hua!"
The crowd applauded, seeing only a clean victory.
Chen Hua's expression showed appropriate satisfaction, still perfectly fake, still perfectly empty. He offered Yoo Jihun a hand up with manufactured concern.
Yoo Jihun took it, his hand trembling. His face was pale, confused, scared. "What... what did you do?"
"Nothing," Chen Hua said smoothly. "Perhaps you overextended your cultivation."
But his eyes for just a flicker, showed cold amusement.
Raon's jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
Medics rushed forward. Ara Lin knelt beside Yoo Jihun, her professional concern shifting to alarm as she checked his meridians.
"This pattern..." she whispered, her smug expression replaced by genuine worry. "I've never seen anything like this."
Another physician leaned in. "Qi deviation from tournament stress?"
"Maybe," Ara said doubtfully, but her light brown eyes showed fear she was trying to hide.
Raon wanted to intervene. Wanted to warn them. But he couldn't. Not yet.
**You're letting him get treated for the wrong condition.**
"I know," Raon thought, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned white.
As Chen Hua walked off the platform, perfectly calm, perfectly fake, he passed close to where Raon stood.
For just a moment, their eyes met.
Chen Hua's expression never changed. But something flashed in his gaze, recognition? Challenge? Threat?
Then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd like the unremarkable background character he pretended to be.
Raon stood frozen, every muscle tight with barely controlled fury and helplessness.