Butterflies fluttered nervously in Verus’s stomach the next morning, but he presented a calm face as he walked to the meeting spot for the sect’s participants in the tournament. It was a courtyard off by one of the main temple’s side gates. The gardens there were interesting to look at, but Verus’s attention was caught by the people present. It seemed he was one of the last to arrive, so many of the other contestants from his sect were already here.

However, before Verus could look around too much, an older man in a long grey robe drew everyone’s attention. He looked very proper and at ease.

“I’m the imperial official in charge of bringing the young disciples of the Great Wind Sect to the preliminary. Please follow me and do as you’re told, and there will be no problems.”

The official then led everyone else present out into the streets of the city and to a complex next to the palace. There was a large crowd standing out in front of the main gate of the complex, but the disciples simply walked past it and headed over to a small side gate.

Once inside, they got a good view of the vast building they’d just entered. It was a massive circular arena. Ahead of Verus’s group lay a brief hallway that led to the center of the arena, where there was a vast dirt floor with a raised platform in the center. Crowds of people were scattered around the that platform. There seemed to be several groups, but the largest were four long lineups that looked to hold almost a hundred people each. They seemed to be waiting for their turn to go up onto the platform, although because of the crowds Verus couldn’t see what was up there.

However, after studying the lineup for a few moments, Verus’s gaze wandered off to the side. The sloped walls of the massive arena held dozens of rows of seating. Surronidng him on all sides, these seats towered over the crowd below, but they weren’t all empty. A few hundred more people were all looking down at the scene on the platform.

The sound of countless conversations echoed throughout the structure as the all the gathered people talked amongst themselves, and this steady buzz was only occasionally broken by a loud thump or bit of yelling form the center platform.

Verus stared nervously at all the people. He could sense that they were all cultivators. It seemed like the preliminaries were going to be very public. Gulping, he steadied himself. He’d expected this and could deal with all the attention.

“Fear is an illusion. The unbound soul seeks balance,” Verus whispered under his breath. The mantra immediately eased his anxiety, allowing him to deal with the crowds better.

After glancing around again, Verus was sure the princess wasn’t present. That allowed him to relax some more. All the spectators looked bored and none of them seemed to anyone important. They were probably normal cultivators here to alleviate their boredom or check out the competition.

That was when the imperial official that had led the disciples from the Great Wind Sect here spoke up. “This is the location of the first of the preliminaries. All of you were chosen by your sect to participate in the upcoming tournament by your sect, and undoubtedly think yourselves exemplary and accomplished, but there are far too many entrants who wish to take part. Thus, the number of participants will be narrowed down by three preliminary rounds. Only those combatants that pass all three of these trials will be allowed to take part in the tournament proper and fight before the princess.”

Frowns appeared on many of the disciple’s faces, but no one was too surprised. They’d expected there to be a preliminary, although three rounds were more than Verus had guessed there’d be. He hoped he had what it took to pass all three.

“Your all in the youngest and most important category so please join one of the two lines on this side of the arena and wait your turn to be tested. Another official will help you when your turn comes,” the official told them before wandering off.

The Great Wind Sect disciples did as they were told and split up to join one of the four lines. Verus quietly joined the closest line and patiently waited as it slowly advanced. A few hours later, he was close enough to the platform to see what was happening upon it.

The arena had been divided into four, and on each of the subdivided areas a cultivator was fighting a hulking stone golem while various officials in grey robes watched. These golems were much larger than the ones Verus had trained against. Made of grey stone, they were twice as tall as a person and had thick arms that hung down to their knees.

As Verus watched, four different competitors fought the golems. The hulking constructs moved with startling speed. One fighter was caught by surprise and took a punch that threw him right out of the ring.

“You’ve been eliminated,” yelled an official. “Next competitor come forth.”

Verus’s line shuffled forward slightly as a new cultivator stepped up to fight a golem.

It took another hour before it was Verus’s turn to fight next. Once he was waiting right at the edge of the platform, and official in grey approached him.

“When it’s your turn, you must defeat the golem to pass the first preliminary. It’s nigh indestructible, but if you hit it had enough glowing runes will appear to signify that it has registered the hit. The golem will shut down after taking enough hits of sufficient strength, but it will also grow faster and stronger the longer the fight goes on. You lose if you pass out, are knocked out of the ring, or surrender. Do you understand?”

Verus nodded. “I do. Thank you for the instruction.”

This was almost exactly like the sect’s training golems. Although the golems for this test were bigger and faster, he thought he had a good chance of passing this test if he didn’t hold back too much. Before when he’d been fighting the training golem, he’d purposely used his weakest techniques to train them.

A few minutes later, the cultivator ahead of him on the platform managed to land a flying kick on the golem’s head and the stone glowed brightly for moment. The golem then froze and didn’t react at all as the cultivator landed on his feet next to it.

“You pass,” an official said as he tossed the man something. “Next competitor step forward please.”

That meant it was Verus’s turn. With a sigh, he stepped onto the platform and faced off against the golem. It was even taller looking from close up. It towered over him, looking as heavy as a mountain, which it closely resembled because it was made of rough stone. The construct had a single big crystal eye on its face.

Briefly, Verus went over the plan he’d made while in line. The huge golem was fast and strong, so he couldn’t hold back, but he didn’t want to reveal his cards in public. There were lots of people watching him, and everything he revealed could be used against him later. Thus, he was going to try and use his human ki techniques. Their straight up power was a good match up for the golem, and he definitely didn’t want anyone to see his void ki yet.

Ignoring all the yes that suddenly focused on him, Verus took a combat stance and began cycling human ki throughout his body. This was the most basic body enhancement technique he knew, but it was still effective.

The golem didn’t give him time to reminisce. Without warning, it moved to attack immediately. Apparently, it was set up not to waste any time.

There was a loud thud as its stepped forward, as even the power of its step shook the ground slightly, but its real attack was a punch. A huge stone fist swung right toward Verus. It was the size of his head, and it had a massive inevitable weight to it.

Dread tingled down Verus’s spine, but thanks to the power of his ki he managed to duck under the golem’s heavy swing and then jump back. He was surprised by the intensity of the attack, but he managed to throw a quick counter and kick the golem’s forearm as it retreated.

There was no reaction from the golem. Not the faintest hint of a glow in response.

“Archon damned pile of rocks!“ Verus hissed in a very non ascetic-like way. His foot hurt now.

The golem didn’t let up its attack. Its arms soon swung back around to hit Verus again. This time Verus was ready though, despite his sore foot. Ki swirled with his channels, and just as he was about to be hit, he activated the Vanishing Feather Step.

The giant fist blasted through the ki illusion Verus left behind and he appeared at the golem’s side.

“Let’s try this!” Verus growled as he twisted his body around and then unleashed his most powerful punch.

Ki raged throughout his channels, empowering his muscles, and his fist shot forward to slam into the section where the golem’s chest met it’s torso. The force of the impact sent a shiver down Verus’s arm, but his perfect form prevented him from getting injured.

In response to the attack, a swirl of glowing lines appeared on the golem’s side. They flickered for three seconds before disappearing. However, the glow was still somewhat subdued and the golem wasn’t pushed back at all.

“Why in Archon’s name did they make this thing so tough!” Verus cursed as he jumped back. The designers of this test seriously weren’t messing around. It was obvious that they really wanted to cut down on the number of competitors. From what he could tell, almost none of Verus’s peers had attacks strong enough to pass this test.

“Ha, give up already! Other people are waiting,” someone yelled from off stage. “stop wasting our time. You’re nothing special. Dozens of cultivators better than you have already been eliminated.”

Verus resisted the urge to turn around and start swearing at the person. He was ascetic, and thus better than that. Besides, he still had to worry about the golem that was currently trying to turn him into a bloody smear.

The golem advanced again and raised both its arms up high. Its massive fists seemed to block out the sun, hanging up in the sky above Verus, and then they descended.

“Hells,” Verus yelped as he threw himself out of the way.

A moment later, the massive fists slammed into the ground, shaking the entire platform and throwing a cloud of dust up into the air.

Veru wanted a moment to steady himself and let the tremors stops, but he saw an opportunity. Thus, he leapt into action and charged at the golem. After its heavy attack, both of its hands were still resting on the ground. Leaving its head open.

The golem’s body was very resistant to attacks, but it had to have a weakness. This test had to be more than a punching competition, and Verus had seen other competitors go after the golem’s head, and its cyrstal eye was a tempting target. It was worth a try.

Sprinting ahead, Verus jumped up onto the golem’s hands just as they started to rise back up. His weight was nothing to the golem, so he was able to run right up its arms and then launch a flying kick right at its eye. However, the construct turned its head at the last moment, protecting eye.

There was a loud smacking noise as Verus’s foot hit the stone on the side of the construct’s head, and the golem stumbled back. Verus bounced back and then landed safely on the ground before the construct could recover. Its head glowed brightly for a few seconds as it righted itself and turned to face Verus again. The young disciple’s attack had done some damage, but he hadn’t won yet.

Verus moved to attack again, but the golem beat him to it. It surged forward with new speed, startling Verus and forcing him to dodge a dangerously powerful punch.

“I can’t waste any more time,” Verus mumbled to himself as he cycled his ki in preparation. As had been explained, the golem was growing faster, and would soon become unbeatable.

Verus held his ground as the golem lunged at him with both arms outstretched as if to crush him. His mind was calm as he furiously cycled his energy. Human ki raged through his body in a endless cycle, growing faster and faster. His past life’s instincts rose up. He did not fear combat or danger. He welcomed them like old friends.

The golem’s hands slammed together, but Verus was no longer between them. His footwork technique had already carried him away, and he was once again standing at the golem’s side. Almost leisurely, he reached out with two fingers and stabbed them into the constructs side, where he’d hit it before.

A thought sent the swirling storm of ki within Verus boiling out through his arms and then it blasted out of his fingers, right into the golem. There was a loud crack as the power slammed into the stone and blew a fist-sized chunk out of the golem. It staggered back and its entire body started flashing. The golem then froze as the complex lines on it glowed brightly for several seconds.

“You pass,” an official in grey announced. He sounded slightly surprised.

The nearby crowd also went silent, before new conversations sprang up. Verus was now the center of attention.

“What technique was that? He actually damaged the golem!”

“Who is that? I don’t recognize him.”

“An internal power technique? That’s not an attack a disciple should be able to use.”

Feeling both embarrassed and extremely proud of himself, Verus hurried over to talk to an imperial official. He’d drawn more attention than he’d indented, but he’d passed!