"Yeah. Next fight." Anmos felt the Apola's hand leave his shoulder, restoring movement throughout his body. Sweat poured down his brow, but strangely he wasn't that tired. Every time that stream of Qi circulated throughout his body, he felt revitalized, ready to battle again.

"Continue? Are you sure?" Elder Apola was caught off guard - he wanted to continue? At the second level, it's already surprising for him to be able to fight twice with such ferocity.

The crowd was also expecting Anmos to step down. Shocked by his adamant decision to continue fighting, some began to cheer for him. Others believed his decision wasn't wise, how can you beat another after pushing yourself to the limits? Rather, it's better to step off the stage and collect your reward. Nevertheless, they stayed to watch the third fight.

The third challenger happened to be an eleven-year-old little girl. She was shorter, smaller, and lighter than Anmos. Her long brown hair went past her shoulders, and her eyes held an excited sparkle of youth. She flashed a bright smile to Anmos as she stepped on stage.

"You seem pretty tired, you should forfeit now. If not, make sure to try your best! My name's Akya, nice to meet you!" Her innocent smile stopped the adrenaline-pumped Anmos in his tracks. He hesitantly looked at Elder Apola.

"This is allowed?"

"Why not? Forfeit if you don't want to fight." Apola had no problems, in fact, he watched Anmos closely. He waved his hand, signifying the start of the fight.

The crowd was even more shocked, a little girl is going to fight such a ferocious youth. Isn't this some kind of injustice? A large amount began to complain.

"Wait wait, can I cho-" Anmos was still trying to negotiate with Apola when he felt his forearm being grabbed. Turning his face, he looked directly at Akya's sparkling eyes. A cherry smile on her face, which seemed to diffuse the tension in the air.

Yet, he suddenly felt his arm being twisted, Akya moving behind him and bringing his arm with her. She wrapped her hand around his other arm, kicking him to the ground, and pulled as hard as she could. He abruptly found himself lying face-first on the floor, his arms being pulled behind him like she's trying to rip them off his shoulder sockets.

"Ahhh!" She continued to pull aggressively, placing immense pain on his shoulders, forcing him to scream into the arena floor. Her knees landed on his back, holding him in place. He suddenly felt the fierce desire to kick up, throwing her off him. He could almost see what he would do in slow motion - throwing her off before assaulting her with a fierce barrage of punches. He could tell his ferocious side would explode with a spark.

"I forfeit!" Anmos shouted out quickly, unwilling to explode on a little girl like her. Akya lightly hopped off of him, losing her grip on his arms. His arms fell down to the ground, his shoulders burning, while his face still lay on the ground. He finally pushed himself up, dusting off his azure robes.

"Good game! Thanks for going easy on me!" Akya winked gracefully but had a naughty smile, as if everything was a game. Anmos could only sigh and head to Elder Apola.

"Here's your Identification Plate." Apola shook his head in disapproval. In the cultivation world, gender does not matter - cultivation rules all.

"Thanks." Anmos reached over and grabbed the palm-sized stone plate. It held his name, initials, status, the number of wins in the Arena, and the number of rewards, plus more. It was your identification, as well as what you give to the Pill Workshop to receive rewards.

Anmos had three low-tier cultivation pills as his reward. One from his original battle, two from his second battle. The more you win in a row, the more cultivation pills you receive. The quality and number also depends on your cultivation and status.

Hopping off the stage, Anmos saw Theo in the crowd, waiting for him. He lightly shook his head when he saw Anmos approaching.

"You're back from the Mission Forest?" The two joined up and began walking toward the Pill Workshop.

"Mhm, just needed to scout out the missions available. I'll choose one eventually. More importantly, why didn't you attack that girl? You could have won easily." Theo flashed a casual smile, unworried about his current situation.

"I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean, we were at the same level, but it just didn't seem right. Know what I mean?"

"Eh. Listen, you're no longer in the mortal world. Cultivators couldn't care less whether your male or female. They'll kill who they need to, and befriend who they need to. The people who underestimate are the people who die. Remember that." They started onto the road

"I'll think about it." They continued down the road, passing different disciples. Some were heading to the Martial Arts Library, which wasn't far from the Pill Workshop.

Eventually, they reached the Pill Workshop, a medium sized building with four openings for disciples to talk with the elders. The two naturally lined up in the smallest line, enjoying small talk.

"Well, this is as far as I'll take you. I'm heading off, enjoy." Theo said his goodbyes and walked away. Anmos nodded and turned to the people in front of him.

"So, how do you think you're going to perform in the tournament? Do you think you'll manage to become a Core Disciple?" Two people in front of Anmos were conversing.

"I think I'm pretty good. It's the beginning of the year, I've got plenty of time. I think my best bet is to get to the seventh level first." A rare fifth level inner disciple was speaking. He was clearly confident in his chances of becoming a core disciple.

Eventually, the two left, collecting their rewards. Anmos stepped up, looking up at the Pill Workshop elder.

"Identification Plate?" The elder briskly asked.

"Here. All of the pills, please." Anmos handed his plate over. The elder looked over it quickly, then reached into some compartment in the workshop.

"Three low-tier condensation pills." He placed three small, glossy, white pills in Anmos' hand.

"Thanks." Anmos could feel the faint Qi packed within the low-tiered condensation pills. Placing them into his robe's pocket, he began walking toward his living quarters.

He could feel eyes looking at him as he walked away from the Pill Workshop, but after looking at his face they turned away. Puzzled, he ignored it and walked home.

Opening the door labeled "572", he stepped into an empty house. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on Theo's lower bed. Crossing his legs, he entered meditation.

He did hand signs to observe his dantian, throwing the three pills inside. The three pills landed softly within the abyss of darkness, before dissolving into gentle Qi. The Qi, however, was pitifully weak; especially when in Anmos' dantian. Anmos manipulated the gentle thread of Qi toward his original stream. They merged together, yet there wasn't any visible improvement.

Anmos sighed. Three low-tiered condensation pills weren't anything. He would need much more resources to boost his cultivation. He decided to save condensation pills up, and then use them all at once for the best results.

Disappointed, he closed his eyes and directed his thoughts toward the mystical painting. His vision once again filled with the Yellow Sun and the Silver Moon, he began to selectively absorb from a single cloud. The Qi absorbed from it was countless times different from the pills, both in quality and quantity. His mind quickly became entranced.