Chapter 533 - Tournament Approaches.
It has been approximately five months since Yang Dao had come back from Olympus Overlord. He spent his time learning a variety of skills and his growth rather was shocking to the people. The elders in the sect never expected this guy to have such potential. His thirst for knowledge was one of the reasons he excelled.
However, what they did not understand was how was he able to absorb all this? In the past five months, Yang Dao had reached a master-level rank in formations, Alchemy, and artifact refining. He was a grandmaster in beast taming, innately. His music and painting endowments were also shockingly, saint-level.
It was not that music and painting were easy, but because he would sneak away from other classes to practice these two. He would paint Athena and play music with her. In the end, Elder Jing Shui grounded the two of them, and then only did the boy move forward. That was not all, his weapon skills have reached another level as well.
His sword intent was now enough to split lakes and mountains. Sun Eckhart had once taken him inside the forbidden ground of the sect, the place where the ancestors of Sovereign Sect rested in peace. Shi Lang learned a lot there from those old relics. Oh, yeah the ancestors were not dead, they just spend time in seclusion.
When Sun Eckhart brought Yang Dao inside the region, the old people were ready to scold the sect leader, but when they saw Yang Dao\'s forehead, they all volunteered in teaching him. Shi Lang did not let them down and after spending a month inside his temperament and knowledge increased by a huge level.
...
At this moment, Sun Eckhart was sitting on his throne with all the supreme elders sitting on their respective chairs. He glanced down at them and asked, "The pentagonal tournament is close, what are we doing about it?"
Elder Chime said, "The disciples have begun screening, and we will soon select nine of the strongest in the set age group."
Sun Eckhart nodded and Elder Jing Shui stood up from her seat as she said, "Dao has reached the golden core realm."
Sun Eckhart raised his eyebrow and asked, "When?"
"Umm, last night I had him refine a Spirit cleansing pill, and it happened then. He seemed to have been suppressing his cultivation to the limit and that was why it burst open," replied Elder Jing Shui.
Sun Eckhart nodded and said, "It is good if it was a natural breakthrough. Also, leave a slot for him in the candidates for the tournament."
Suddenly a cough sounded in the hall. Everyone gazed at the source of the cough and found Elder Tao, the supreme elder of artifact refinement. Sun Eckhart looked at the old man and asked, "Elder Tao, what is it?"
He was the oldest among the elders and thus Sun Eckhart gave him due respect. Elder Tao said, "Sect Leader, fellow elders. I would like to vote against this. Yang Dao is a prideful person and he will not be taking in the slot of a candidate without getting tested. You all know this. Two months ago, I asked him to stop cleaning the workshop after he was done refining, and he became angry. You do not want that, I swear."
Sun Eckhart sighed and said, "This child sure is different from others. There are those in the world who do not want to have to do any work. Yet here is this guy always trying to do more."
The other elders all sighed at this in agreement. They all had seen that child running around in the whole domain planet like a haunting spirit. As soon as he finds something related to his topic, he would run to that branch in a jiffy.
While the elders were all worried about how to keep his skills low-profile. Yang Dao was skipping his way through the sect library to the training field. He was going to practice sword with Athena. They were only allowed to meet in public view because if they were alone, they would lose track of time.
Yang Dao did not mind this restriction at all. He even supported this by saying that he needs to balance time between his practice and personal relationships. Soon he skipped his way to the training field and spotted the beauty dressed in emerald robes with a slender long sword tied around her waist.
It might feel a little twisted, but age was literally treated as a number in the immortal plane. Even those who could not cultivate were able to live twice what a normal human would in the mortal realm. Athena had taken fancy to Yang Dao\'s skills, then his intellect shocked her up.
The girl also caught sight of the young boy walking over to her side and her eyes sparkled at his appearance. Yang Dao was greeted by a lot of true disciples and he returned the greeting very genially. Some of them asked him for a sparring match but he asked them if they could wait for him to finish practicing with Athena.
If someone else was to do that, the disciples would have thought lowly of him but since it was Yang Dao they all agreed with a smile on their faces. The young boy came closer to Athena and asked in a soft tone, "Ready?"
Athena nodded and the two located a spot that gave them enough space to dance with the swords in their hands. The training ground was an open wide field where the disciples gathered to practice freely. The two of them stood ten meters apart from each other holding swords with the tips pointing at the sky. A gust of wind blew and they vanished.
What followed later was a chain of metal clashing echoes. Athena was not weak, she had improved tremendously like Yang Dao. Although she did not have multiple talents like him, she was also an alchemy master and also a sword grandmaster. She credited Yang Dao for her growth with the sword skills.
The boy would guide her very patiently, and his guidance was on par with the elders of the sect. Yang Dao did not hold back in attacking her when they sparred. Sometimes he even left her body laced with bruises. Although he would personally tend to her and refine healing pills for her, the fact that he would beat her could not be denied.
Yue Jing had complained to him a lot of times and he would just say, "If she fell in front of an enemy, who is after her life, do you think, she will be given a chance? Remember, only when you fight with all you have can you make it through life and death situations."
Yue Jing would be left speechless by his words, after all, this guy was correct. The two people fought each other with all their speed and skills at stake and attracted attention from other disciples inside the training ground.
Suddenly a loud voice sounded, "Seems like Dao is bullying Athena again, I am supporting Athena against this bully."
Then another figure entered the fight. Yang Dao was used to this and so were the others, the newcomer was Trent. He would enter the brawl and try to fight with Yang Dao, two against one. There were times when Yang Dao would fight four against one and still mop the floor with them. Daina and Daniel would also join the brawl to accept some bitter love.
However, such fights definitely boosted their strengths to a level where they stood at the forefront of young disciples. A lot of people were inspired by them and they all started this event called, "Free for all"
It was a fighting event organized by the disciples to fight with anyone in their sight. It was a chaotic practice but it honed their senses to a completely different level. Following the true disciples, the general disciples and lower rank true disciples all accepted this practice and will hold the even weekly.
Yang Dao dealt with the two people and then went on to spar with other true disciples who asked him earlier. He would point out their loopholes and guide them. After the fights were finished Yang Dao, Trent and Athena made their way to the refining hall.
Daina was now a prominent rising new star, chasing hot on Yang Dao\'s heels. This loli was able to wield a war hammer as a weapon and she had comprehended the intent of the weapon as well. They were going to pick her up, and then show up together at the square of the beginning. They had Daniel reserving a spot for them.
They will participate in the test to get the rightful place among the sect candidates. Yang Dao was not the only one with ambition, but they all were, they all wanted to prove their worth, and only then will they enjoy the seat at the top. Otherwise, it will look like a stain.. This was the pride of the cultivator inside them.