Chapter 45 - 5th Floor!

Chapter 45: 5th Floor! "Congratulations on clearing the 4th floor. You have 10 minutes of rest, and you’ll be fighting against a mid-qi refining cultivator, a 4th stage." The tower spirit announced, already getting used to going back to her natural ways of doing things by now. And this time, instead of telling her to move forward, Ken actually took the time to rest. He sat down and did the wisest thing at the time. Consolidate what he gained. He had been fighting for almost an hour till now, and even he needed some rest, but more than that, he needed to analyze his own previous moves and see what he could have done better. As far as dealing damage went, he had maximum efficiency, but in movement, which was what he was training at, even though he wasn’t hit even once against 4 enemies at the 3rd stage of qi refining, he thought that maybe he could have been better. But an art is an art, and it wouldn’t have been called so if it didn’t promise the best. Thus, Ken had found himself more astonished by the fact that he didn’t have anything to improvise, becoming once again grateful for his providence. Literally speaking, he was still using a weakened form of the efficiency arts, but still, he was far beyond the scope of mere 3rd-stage qi-refining spirits. Thus, he shut down his brain for once in who knows how long and got some well-deserved rest for 10 minutes. By the 4th floor, he had to fight with entirely different spirits due to the large strength difference between them as well as the skill difference. Some were archers, others used spears and maces, and only one used the sword again. but even then, he had to give them pointers; By now, he was already seen by some weaker spirits, especially warriors, as a master. Ken had become famous amongst them too. The spirits had their own little realm, a different dimension than the one humans normally lived in, but in the same world, they could phase in and out, but they were technically in the same place. This inverted world was out of reach for most humans, but they could still interfere and even bring them out, shackle them, or enslave them, even summoning and worshipping them. Such things happened often back when humans had yet to start cultivating and the world was dominated by demons and beastmen. In this world, information traversed quicker than the internet, and if something interesting happened, the entire community knew about it in an instant. And thus, the stadium, which was already filled back when Ken was fighting on the first floor, was starting to burst beyond belief at this point. And since all disciples should have ended their fights by now and were in a state of sleep, waiting for Ken to finish for them to be thrown out of the gate, the numbers were sky-high. And with the elders watching from their own places as well as the core and official disciples. Ken was on his way to becoming the first influencer in this world. "Challenger Ken, the 5th floor is here for you to conquer." The tower spirit, somewhat tired of always saying the same things, tweaked her words a little; it was her own way of saying ’frig you all’ and rebelling. She couldn’t handle not talking with Ken for this long. Ken, who was in a state of semi-sleep, opened his eyes, and for a second, the entire stadium went still. But in a split second he gained composure and looked forward, at the massive gladiator. A minotaur spirit with an axe, a genuine mid-qi refining realm cultivator. He got up, dusted himself, and took another look at the stadium. The wind was almost nonexistent, but the sand on the ground was full of marks from the previous fights; in some places it had pits, and in others, it had sand piled up. In a flash, it went from becoming straight before it changed into a stone-tiled floor with a lotus engraving in the middle. The edge of the stadium, which had an outline made of stone circling around it, had torches suddenly sprout up from the ground. The sun was dead in the center, and the stadium burst from the collective cheers of the spirits that had burst forth in an instant from all sides. "Before we start, challenger Ken. Let me thank you on behalf of the entire spirit community for training our young ones." The minotaur dropped his weapon, bowed with his hands clasped in full respect, and rose before he kneeled to get his weapon back. "I’m equally grateful. It is my pleasure to train alongside them." Ken bowed on his own turn with a soft smile on his face, his entire demeanor radiating kindness. In a way, this was a part of his true self. A part of him that he only showed in situations where genuine intents had to be shown, or when a serious situation was unfolding, like back in the 1st trial. Calm and collected with calculating eyes... this was how anyone who took long enough of a look at Ken would describe him. But most couldn’t dig deep enough to know how he truly was inside, unless he allowed them to. "The battle will start now." The tower spirit watching all of this unfold waited until both participants were ready before she announced. Ken’s hands were drawn to the side as his xian liansuo appeared for the first time. He wanted to fight a real battle, and he thought the minotaur should give him that. The minotaur tensed up, realizing that Ken was going to get serious. He had been watching him, and even he feared him, because he couldn’t assess his true strength. Until now, he defeated all of his opponents in a single strike, and he knew every detail about them... because he was instructing them all along. *Clink* *Clack* The chains were once again circling around his hands. There were two parts, one on each hand, and they weren’t connected. A loose part of it with the blade was hanging down from each hand, giving Ken just enough to launch them fast if he had to. Seeing this, everybody focused, from the crowd to the elders, intent on seeing Ken’s weapon fight. "3, 2, 1... START!" ------End------