Qi Like Tar

As a cultivator, there were countless things that one could be working on at any given time. Paike constantly felt behind, and every second he wasn't doing something to progress was a waste. He had started so far behind, and it was all he could do to keep up.

He recognized that he was making progress. No one else was at Topaz. But that was only if he was being generous to himself. He was years older than his peers at the sect. When they were his age, well, still most of them would be Ruby. 90 percent of them would never get past that stage. However, he wasn't satisfied with that. Now that he knew he could cultivate, he would push himself even harder. Honestly, those didn't even really count as real cultivators. His family wouldn't take it.

If he considered those in the physical cultivation class, when they were his age, they would be past him. He needed to push harder. He just had to ignore the voice that told him age wasn't the important metric, but rather how long they had been cultivating, which path led only to stagnation. No, he would just have to work harder until he caught and surpassed his brother.

All this ran through his mind when Paike, Guan Li, and Liming arrived at the arena and found so many outer sect disciples sitting around, doing nothing but watching. Didn't they have something better to do? He would understand if they were sparring, but they couldn't cultivate with all the noise, and most didn't even appear to be watching their competition, just talking and laughing.

It made no sense. Here they were blessed with talent, and they squandered it. While he had to fight for every scrap of progress, tear his soul apart to channel.

Well, not everyone. But perhaps it was best to forget about much of the population. He couldn't compare himself to them.

"Come on, brother," Liming said, breaking him out of his thoughts as she tugged on his sleeve. "Let us find a place to sit."

She led him and Guan Li over to an open spot. As they walked down into the crowd, conversations stopped. This was something that the Kong siblings were used to. At their home, their family had been treated with respect, even those who hadn't yet become cultivators.

When they went to any mortal town near their family compound, they were always the center of attention. Guan Li looked uncomfortable, but he bore it as they sat. Guan Li and his sisters started to gather some qi to replenish what they had spent. Paike had very little left himself, but there was no way he could spend it all on some quick fights.

It was only after they stopped moving that Paike realized they were not looking at him and his sister, but at him alone. No one was paying much attention to the tree duels taking place in the arena below. Paike could understand why. They weren't very interesting. Mostly fighters with decent form and no experience, trying to hit each other but unwilling to take risks. Hot-house flowers, all of them. None in his family would be so embarrassed. They were raised better.

He cocked his head and paid attention to the words spoken around him. With his Topaz enhanced hearing it was not an issue to be able to pick up what they were saying.

"Wasn't the big one supposed to be slow?"

"Were the Kong family hiding him all this time?"

"I thought the little sister was supposed to be the prodigy!"

This amused Paike. And confused him a little. By the only metric that really mattered, results, he could be considered impressive, but his whole life when people talked about prodigies they spoke of cultivation talent. Could one be good at something without actually being good at it?

"Last I heard, I was seventh in the sect rankings." Paike asked.

"Sixth now," Liming confirmed. "They didn't move you up after the last few fights, but everyone you beat was moved down. I think you moved one spot as Zhao Liantain fell past you, but that was it."

Paike turned about, found her face full of annoyance; if this was still bothering her after all this time, he would have hated to see her face when it was full of fury on his behalf.

Guan Li apparently shared the sentiment, as he grumbled something that Paike heard but didn't understand. It was something so heavily accented and full of slang that he didn't even try to decipher it.

Paike wasn't sure what the impetus for this unfair treatment was. Did they not count his victories when he was using an uncontrolled battle trance? He did have some good fights without it, but his most impressive feats certainly included it. If he were giving the elders the benefit of the doubt, he would believe that. His sister and friend appeared to think it was because of his lack of talent. Anyone he beat was just weak or lazy and would fall, but he wouldn't move up.

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It didn't really matter; he just needed to prove them wrong.

"What about you?" Paike asked.

"Up to fourth," Liming reported. "I wanted to make sure I was safe, even when you passed me. I want to keep the extra stipend from the family that it gets us."

"Yes, can't disappoint Mother." Paike agreed. "Was that why Mei Lingchi was so antagonistic?"

"Yes, I passed her. I just have Xia Jun, Li Feng, and the alchemist boy ahead of me." She answered.

"How long did you say I had to get in the top 5?" Paike asked.

"To the end of the month, so a couple of weeks. Oh, and you also missed the last dream announcement," Liming added. "The top ten were pretty different this time. There were no tokens gifted, but sect points are awarded based on the standings weekly."

"That is good to know." It eased Paike's worries a bit. If he were passively earning sect points, it would be easier to afford his next lesson with his brother. That reminded him he still needed to tell his sister. He looked around. There were people nearby, but he was self-aware enough to know that if he put it off again, he might never tell her. That would probably end up worse than having someone overhear her speak poorly of a family member.

"By the way, I had a lesson on battle trances," Paike started, getting his sisters' interest. "You will never guess who was teaching it."

"Who?"

"Taka."

A wave of emotions crossed Liming's face. However, in a sign of maturity, she suppressed Paike's expectations and didn't shout, so he continued. "He actually apologized for how he acted before he left for the sect and did a good job with the lesson. I think. But he asked me to pass along his greetings and apology to you as well. He would like to speak to you if he could."

Paike held up his hands to ward off his sister's increasing emotions. She was practically vibrating, keeping them under control. "I'm just passing it along. But I would suggest you think about it a little; he could be very helpful."

"Until he stabs us in the back," Liming muttered darkly.

"Should I be following?" Guan Li asked. Paike opened his mouth to explain, but Liming beat him to it.

"Best you don't know." She said, but then gathered herself and abruptly changed the topic.

"It looks like the bout is done! Who wants to go first?" She asked with a forced smile.

"Well, we are here for me," Paike said as he stood up. "Might as well get this out of the way."

As he walked down the side of the arena, he took the time to scan the crowd, looking for anyone he remembered to be ranked above him. Li Feng wasn't there, probably still recovering from their morning exercise. Guan Li and his sister had already had time to regain some strength, as they hadn't lasted as long.

However, he was disappointed. No one else from the physical cultivation class was here. And he remembered that a few in the top ten were not entirely combat-focused and might not be interested in dueling for position. Really, the only person who wasn't also above his sister was the healer, Mei Lingchi. This might not be so simple.

Paike was considering how he would prove himself when a familiar face caught his attention. Dao Hua, the name came to him after a second of concentration. He had been the only one brave enough to accept his challenge last time. Paike had made a promise to him.

He indicated Dao Hua and beckoned him down. The boy had advanced to Middle Ruby, ahead of the pack, but still far behind the real powerhouses.

The boy appeared surprised, but stood nonetheless. He walked down and bowed to Paike. "I'm honored that you remember me, Master Kong."

"Of course." Paike said, "Show me what you have learned."

Dao Hua lunged forward. It seemed that in the time since their last bout, he had picked up the sword. It helped him a bit.

Reach had been an issue with his smaller frame, but his main issue had been just a lack of experience. Paike resumed his lessons, repeating attack patterns that the boy struggled to figure out. Even as he was battered around, the boy learned and got better. Each time, he managed to keep his weapon or avoid a debilitating blow. Paike made the next exchange a bit more difficult.

They went back and forth, Paike doing his best to show off his skill while drawing out the best in his opponent. After only a few dozen exchanges, though, his attention started to wander. He noticed that while there had been up to three pairs fighting at a time, there was now just them in front of the audience.

Once he had concluded that Dao Hua could no longer continue, Paike bowed slightly in respect. "Your progress is more than respectable. Continue working hard."

Dao Hua bowed low in return. "Thank you for the instruction, teacher."

Paike smiled at the respect. He always found it satisfying to instruct.

His student stumbled back to his seat, under the gaze of the watching audience. Many of the side conversations had died down, and Paike took advantage of this to issue a general challenge to anyone watching.

As Paike stood waiting, he looked through the crowd. Even though he didn't see anyone above him in the rankings, that didn't mean there weren't worthy opponents. Someone like Lan Zhu might not have been ranked in the top ten at the start, but she was still a fearsome opponent. It was only luck that she had run into him and his sister that kept her out of the advanced physical cultivation class. Maybe beating someone like her would help him move up. She might be in the top ten now, his sister had said it had changed.

No, that left one other option. outer sect dispels from previous years. Many of them were already in Topaz. The rankings were only for the new members of the sect. Eventually, they would be combined with the already existing members. Paike had already fought with them a couple of times, and now that they were on equal footing, it was a lot more attractive option.

If no one was going to accept, he would start calling out those in the stand individually. See if their pride could survive refusing him then.

Luckily, it appeared it wouldn't be necessary, as two cultivators he didn't recognize stood and walked down to him. Now that wasn't something he had considered. He wasn't sure if there was a precedent for ranking duels against more than one person. Surely that had been done before, right?

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