The Azure Sword Sect rested peacefully within a large valley, surrounded by giant crimson mountains. Yet the surrounding of the sect is strong, with blue rivers and beautiful azure skies above.
Within the training grounds of the sect was a 16 year old boy. By all means he was average. Black hair, roughly 6 feet tall, and neither scrawny nor bulky. But his eyes, his eyes told a different story. They had a fire in them that was hard to see but impossible to miss once you notice it.
This was Yan Mo, practicing the basic Azure Sword Technique, one given to every single outer disciple, which included Mo. He only recently joined the sect, maybe a week ago, as to why? Well, to put it simply, he had outgrown his last pond.
He's only in the 4th Layer of the Body Tempering Realm, but that was enough to beat up any cousin or brother or even livestock animal back in his home. That's all he has and all he cares for, the thrill of battle.
He loved being face to face with another being, human or animal, and punching, kicking, and grabbing in what Yan Mo could only see as a primal dance. A primal dance that's been around since the beginning of life, deciding who will stand on top and who will be below.
He hasn't learned any formal techniques until now, relying mostly on what his instincts had told him. He still believed they were superior to the formal techniques. Instinctual fighting didn't have any patterns unless you let them, from his view, a technique only has so many stances and moves that can be learnt and memorized over time that would make them useless!
Of course that wouldn't stop Yan Mo from learning it, if at the very least, he'd learn new moves that he can train with countless of repetitions to train muscle memory to only better his fighting and be able to aim higher!
Speaking of fighting…he eyed a nearby fellow disciple. Not very notable, but Yan Mo could tell the man was older and certainly stronger, even if they were the same cultivation rank.
He approached the man with a smile, being pretty blunt, "Hey! You look strong, fight me!"
The man could only pause, to think. Who the hell is this random kid that's been here for maybe a week or two and now asking him for a fight? The 783rd best outer disciple in the entire sect? Foolish! Out of all the outer disciples, he would be in the top 60 percent! He might have been stuck at the sect for several years, for…several long years…not even breaking through the 4th layer of the Body Tempering realm in over a year…his skill is not to be scoffed at!
He might be old, relatively at least, but that doesn't make it a weakness! In fact, it's quite the opposite, "Sure kid, I'll fight you. What's your name?"
Yan Mo's smile never left his face and his eyes only lit up further, his first fight against a real cultivator!
"I am Yan Mo of the Yan Clan, 4th Layer of the Body Tempering Realm!" He shouted in excitement, putting two fists together and bowing lightly.
The man did the same, "I am Han Bao of the Han Family, 4th Layer of the Body Tempering Realm," the man drew his training sword, a dull wooden sword that'll definitely hurt, but not easily kill.
Yan Mo did the same, though he wasn't yet super comfortable with a sword, it would be better to already try using it for now. He would also attack first, a light horizontal slash to see how Han Bao would react.
Han Bao dodged instead of blocking, weird, Yan Mo thought. He hadn't hit hard and blocking would be infinitely easier. He only further confirmed his suspicions as he made his slashes faster, making dodging be a waste of energy compared to blocking the light swats.
He's hiding something! A trick up his sleeve! Yan Mo thought with a toothy grin, only making Han Bao stutter in surprise. Why was his opponent so excited after only a few light exchanges?
His stutter, however, left an opening that Yan Mo took advantage of quickly. He dashed forward and attempted a piercing attack, something he couldn't dodge, show me your tricks old man!
He blocked the sword easily, too easily, swatting it over to the side with little effort, no, it was without effort. Yan Mo stumbled to the side, not getting a chance to think of his new revelation as he was attacked.
An over head slash that Yan Mo tried to block. He was forced down to his knees as he blocked the strike, these dense muscles, his strength is equivalent to somebody in the peak layer of Body Tempering! How lucky for Mo, his first opponent was somebody quite special.
He could see through Han Bao's strategy. Dodge so the opponent won't know of your surprising strength and end the fight in a decisive swing, but it failed as soon as he was forced to block an undodgeable attack! Yan Mo had forced him to reveal his strength!
But he didn't have much time to revel in his self proclaimed combat genius as he was struck again and again, each swing of Bao's sword forcing him to take several steps back.
Crap, he knew the secret of his opponent but now, he hasn't figured a way to stop it! His mind wandered to several strategies, his go-to methods that would fail immediately against this opponent! He can't grapple him, as the strength and technique outmatch is too much, and he can't drop his sword to try to go to his preferred melee, as Bao's would then additionally have a reach advantage.
Any method his mind came to would fail, and that only widened his smile. His pupils dilated larger as he met the gaze of his opponent, catching and trapping his sword at his left side with his left arm, while wildly swinging the sword at his right.
Han Bao was clearly surprised but simply took the hit, the sword bounced off as if it hit a thick tree. The last thing Yan Mo saw was a closed fist before it all went to black.
And he awoke again immediately after. The terrain around them had changed though, becoming an endless void with only the uninjured Yan Mo and Han Bao within.
There, they fought again, and after Yan Mo was beaten, it all only repeated. They fought again and again without tire in this endless void for tens of fights, recovering to full power at the end of each fight.
This was Yan Mo's biggest and most innate talent, his Dreamscape Arena, the name is in progress but the talent is not. Within his dreams, he can recreate and fight any opponent he has seen fight before with frightening accuracy to real life!
Losing that fast did make him a bit mad, he would've loved to have the fight last longer, it wasn't as enjoyable when a fight against a stronger opponent ended so fast! He could imagine clearly the sensation he got from when he had to wrestle against a small alligator for over 7 hours, slowly tiring the beast out and then finishing it off once it was clear who the winner was.
Outside Yan Mo's dreamscape, two people observed, both confused. One was of course Li Bao, but the other was a girl with short, silvery hair. She had watched the fight intently after hearing the loud and excited shouts from Yan Mo, Just what is wrong with that kid?
Usually, when fighting, one would want some type of gain, like silver or contribution points, but the kid wagered neither, just wishing to spar. Usually, one would do this in order to get some kind of enlightenment on technique or combat style, but the black-haired kid didn't seem to want either.
It was like he wanted something else, What could the kid have possibly gained from the fight? Was he just seeking ranks? Or did he want to bully the older disciple as a thing of ego? Hmm, maybe I should keep an eye on him…
In the end, both shook their heads and sighed, going back to their regular tasks. Han Bao attempting to cultivate and break through his year-long plateau, while the silver-haired girl was tying several bandages onto her uninjured arm.
Several hours passed and the sun set, the many disciples on the training grounds slowly filtered out and only a few remained, two specifically. One was of course Yan Mo, who has just woken up.
His vision was blurry and eyes groggy. The back of his neck also had a certain ache to it, must've slept weird, he shook his head, looking around and seeing the time of day, sunset? That makes sense, the fights were mostly short so that'd mean around…1 or 2 minutes for each battle? How exciting! Even after thousands and tens of thousands of rematches in his mind, he hadn't beaten this old uncle even a single time! It also revealed to Yan Mo a broader perspective of the cultivation world, even if ever so slightly.
He always thought cultivation was simple, the higher layer or realm, the stronger. The weaker can't beat the stronger and the equal-ranked would go into a long stalemate if they ever sparred at full sight.
But he had first-hand experience that told him the latter was definitely untrue. While he and the old uncle were the exact same cultivation layer and realm, he hadn't won a single fight, neither in the real world or the dream arena.
Yan Mo cracked his neck, stretching to get rid of the ache. He slowly got up and looked down at his hands. There was exactly one thing that stops him from beating Han Bao, muscle, his body. There exist two energies in this world, vital energy and Qi or Inner Energy. In the Body Tempering Realm, where he was now, Qi is meant to boost his inherent vital energy, the stamina that runs his entire body.
In the next realm, Foundation Establishment, the opposite is set up, the Qi becomes the main energy and weapon used, with vital energy only as a secondary force. To do this, however, one needs a durable enough body to survive the transformation, that's why you need to temper your body.
Yan Mo's eyes lit up.