Cultivation Nerd

Hu Jin gazed at the bloody arena, where the mangled and headless corpse still lay in a puddle of blood. This kind of brutality he had only seen before during the Beast Waves.

The higher-ups from all the Sects stood on a platform separate from the masses of disciples. It was a marble-white podium with stones resembling small eggs, built with intricate details.

He turned toward Zun Gon, the muscular core elder he had helped rid of poison, and invited him to come and look. Though it was an unnecessary risk, his master had wanted to show him what the people he needed to surpass looked like.

"Are all the fights to the death?" Hu Jin whispered to Zun Gon. He knew everyone could hear him but was whispering to be courteous.

Usually, he would have asked his master. Still, his master wouldn't risk making his presence known so close to a Nascent Soul powerhouse.

"Normally, fights aren't to the death," Zun Gon said. "But there have been many times where an opposing fighter has come back from the brink of a brutal loss and won. This is why the elders often hesitate to end a fight. Also, in this case with Song Song, she was just bloodthirsty… well, you saw what happened."

"It seems wasteful and unnecessarily cruel," Hu Jin murmured under his breath as he stared at the two elders walking toward the arena. One stored the dead man's head in a storage ring, and the other stored his body.

The elders went through their motions with a bored look in their eyes as if seeing a headless corpse was nothing.

Hu Jin had seen many cruel methods within Sects and Clans, but he never expected that even a powerhouse like the Blazing Sun Sect would have something like this.

He was about to look away from the leftover pool of blood in the arena when he noticed one of the people in the upper stand. The Core Elder from the Void Piercing Sect was a tall woman with a straight posture and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She still had a mature charm, and it was clear she must have been a beauty in her youth.

However, what worried Hu Jin was that the woman was staring straight at him. Her cold stare was accompanied by dark eyes that seemed to draw him into an invisible void as if she were looking at his soul.

Hu Jin shook his head, dismissing such thoughts. Though a chill went down his spine as her glare intensified.

"Honorable Elder, I think you should overlook this young man's comment as something made due to the naivety of youth," Zun Gon suddenly said.

Hu Jin realized he might have said something offensive and hurriedly bowed his head. "Sorry for any inconvenience I have caused the honorable elders and the Sect Leader."

For a second, Hu Jin had forgotten that he was in the presence of the most dangerous people on this side of the world and that he should be careful with what he said.

Bowing his head toward people stronger or more talented than him always caused him to feel anger burst in his chest. Just thinking about it made him want to throw up.

Even though Hu Jin had been born with good talent and hailed as a genius within his clan, he had to bow his head and eat dirt more times than he could count after his cultivation was ruined.

He was going to show them all! Even these arrogant Core Elders who looked at him like he was an ant would someday bow their heads to him!

"Also, when it comes to these kinds of things, people who lack skill usually fail to survive," Zun Gon suddenly said, breaking Hu Jin out of his thoughts. The Core Elder's muscular chest twitched as he added, "That guy who died against Song Song could have at least given a verbal surrender. If he panicked or was too scared to speak, then it was good that he died."

Zun Gon nudged Hu Jin, his powerful elbow feeling like a stab from a knife, and Hu Jin's body shook.

What was up with this guy's strength? Hu Jin internally grumbled. Zun Gon had regained his strength after the poison and was in a strange position where he had to get used to his new power. He wouldn't accidentally kill anyone, as he was a Core Elder and already had experience using as little strength as possible. But now, even that was a bit too rough.

Zun Gon shook his head, and his lion-mane-like beard swished around. The muscular Core Elder touched his ear...

Ah, that was his way of secretly saying there were people here who could hear them, and he shouldn't talk much.

However, judging by everyone around them, Hu Jin wasn't sure how secret this endeavor was.

Another fight began as the announcer called the two fighters to the field. One competitor was from the Azure Frost Sect, and the other was from the Void Piercing Sect.

But as Hu Jin was trying to concentrate on the fight, he heard the Core Elders beginning to talk among themselves. Like the previous round, they didn't seem to care about the result.

"The previous fight was more one-sided," declared one of the Titanic Blade Sect elders. He was a tall, lanky man with a long, broad sword on his lap. "That Song Clan girl is dangerous. If allowed to grow under the right circumstances, she might become a Nascent Soul Cultivator."

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"Just being ruthless and having a slab of bloodlust doesn't make you a Nascent Soul Cultivator," added a Void Piercing Elder, a short man with a balding head and a patchy beard. He chuckled, continuing, "The Song Clan is filled with people like that. Murderers, killers, and borderline demonic cultivators. Wasn't that Song girl's father the one who was kidnapping cultivators to experiment on them? There were rumors back in the day that he was looking for women with extreme physiques."

"The so-called victims of Lord Song were demonic cultivators," said one of the Blazing Sun Sect core elders. He was tall, well-built, and handsome, with mostly gray hair and a well-trimmed beard. He had icy blue eyes that would chill down the spines of anyone who looked at them.

"So you say," muttered the Void Piercing Sect elder.

"Just because our Song Clan killed one of your dozen sons, there is no need to speak ill of people behind their backs," continued the Core Elder from the Blazing Sun Sect. "Also, my niece was the first one who was injured. So don't blame her for going all out and accidentally killing her opponent."

"Your Void Piercing Sect's... What was it called again? Kong Clan? They're not that much better either," said another Blazing Sun Sect elder.

Hu Jin was used to cultivators from the Blazing Sun Sect fighting each other for resources or other unimportant reasons. But it seemed like they would display a united front when a foreign lion entered their den.

"Well, this generation is quite lackluster overall. Back in my day, things would have been much clearer," one of the Titanic Blade Sect Elders said, the one with a sheathed broad longsword on his lap. "Especially the Void Piercing Sect… how shameful. One of their own, crying like an infant. I don't know what I would have done with myself if one of my students turned out like that."

That made the Void Piercing Sect elder frown, and just as it looked like he was about to say something, he sighed and closed his mouth. He stopped himself.

Hu Jin felt like the Titanic Blade Sect and the Blazing Sun Sect were teaming up against the Void Piercing Sect.

After the second fight of the day, the conversation in the upper deck died down. However, there was still some unresolved tension in the air.

The next fight was between Ye An and a Titanic Blade Sect cultivator. But as Ye An walked into the arena, her glare was glued to the upper stands, specifically at Hu Jin.

Was she still pissed off about that thing?

Hu Jin had only taken a Yang element flower that his master said bloomed only once every fifty years. It was used to jumpstart his cultivation and repair his body so that he could enter Body Tempering.

While valuable to him, it was not worthwhile to many others. His master had said that Ye An had some extreme physique, but he hadn't specified which one. Extreme physiques came in a wide variety, with many giving their owners peculiar abilities.

But as the fight began, Ye An didn't have the leisure to keep her eyes on him.

"At the peak of Qi Gathering at that age?" The Titanic Blade Sect Elder put a hand on the sword on his lap, running his finger along the blade as a strange smile appeared on his face. "Also, is she related to the Ye Clan? Or is it just a coincidence?"

As he said that, he turned toward the elders from the Azure Frost Sect. But they gave no answer and kept looking toward the ongoing fight with a resolute look.

"I think even in that uptight Sect, someone who reached that level of power at such a young age would be valued," mumbled the Titanic Blade Sect Elder, knowing full well that everyone here could hear him. But the strange smile on his face made it seem like he knew something no one else was privy to.

But the smile slipped off his face as the announcer declared the beginning of the fight. Ye An's opponent was a large man who took a saber out of his storage ring and swung his blade, creating an invisible slash that cut the arena in two and rushed toward Ye An.

Hu Jin narrowed his eyes as he could have sworn that while the attack seemed invisible, there was a red hue at the edge of the attack.

Was this just his imagination?

But despite the perilous situation, Ye An's cold glare didn't change, and she moved at breakneck speed, dodging the flying slash and charging at the Titanic Blade Sect disciple before he could prepare another attack.

With a thought, she summoned a pure white sword with an icy edge in her hand and swung it at the wide-eyed Titanic Blade Sect participant.

Hu Jin narrowed his eyes, preparing for the grotesque show he was about to witness. However, contrary to his expectations, the sword passed through Ye An's opponent's body as if going through a ghost.

At first, Hu Jin thought the guy must have used an afterimage technique or something similar. Still, the panicked look in the" afterimage" eyes didn't suggest that.

"Huh?" The victim seemed confused at first, but suddenly, white steam came out of his mouth. Ye An put her sword back in her storage ring and walked away. In the next instant, the guy was frozen in a block of frosty clear ice. The angry look on his face as he was ready to attack again was frozen for everyone to see.

"The Blazing Sun Sect wins another fight!" declared the announcer slightly smugly. He was from the Blazing Sun Sect, so he wasn’t even hiding the smugness and a bit biased toward his Sect. "The winner of this fight is Ye An!"

Despite winning her fight against an opponent of a similar cultivation level, Ye An didn't seem happy or impressed with herself. Instead, her dangerous gaze turned toward Hu Jin.

Having seen her overwhelming power, Hu Jin felt like a block of ice was sliding down his spine. He swallowed hard and tried to show a strong front. At the same time, he was conjuring up a plan on how to never be alone or in a place where Ye An could corner him.

Thankfully, she had to leave the arena to make way for the next fighter, so she couldn't glare at him as much as she wanted. Well, she wanted more than just to glare at him.

A couple of Blazing Sun Sect elders approached the arena, their hands slightly crimson-colored like heated metal. Their hands were so bright that he could see the bones in their hands, and the blood that ran through their veins almost looked like lava.

They put their hands on the ice block that encased the Titanic Blade Sect disciple. The block of clear ice began steaming and slowly melting. At first, they only melted the ice quickly enough to release the frozen disciple's head, and after he was freed, the disciple began taking deep breaths and coughing.

It didn't take long before the block of ice was just a pool of hot water on the ground. At least the opponent had survived this fight. After that, the elders hurriedly cleaned up, and one of them mended the arena through some strange technique as the rocks came together.

Soon after, the next fight was announced, "Kong Lijuan and Song San, step up into the arena!"

The next fight was between a green-haired guy from the Blazing Sun Sect and a tall, dark-haired woman from the Void Piercing Sect.

Hu Jin didn't know either of these people, so he didn't think the fight would be interesting, but he still planned to watch it.