Novels by endlessinspiration260

Blood poured from Diego’s lips as he lay among the pieces of broken stone.Every stare inside the combat hall moved from his fallen body to Chris, who remained standing on the platform without any sign of exhaustion. Confusion passed through the crowd as the candidates tried to understand what they had witnessed.Diego possessed a perfect nine-ring core and had trained under the finest instructors the village chief could afford. He had even used the Waterfall Fist, the technique that made his father feared throughout the surrounding territories.Yet he had just been defeated by someone they believed did not possess a core.There's no way it was possible.“That was sorcery!” one student suddenly shouted. “He must have used forbidden sorcery against Diego.”“That explains everything,” another student said. “No coreless cultivator could defeat Diego in a fair fight.”“He cheated before all of us!”“He should be disqualified and driven out of the academy!”The accusations travelled throug

For several heartbeats, nobody inside the combat hall moved.The candidates stared at Chris, then at the cracks covering the platform where Diego’s fist had landed. None of them could reconcile the destruction before them with the fact that Chris was still standing without a wound.“That cannot be possible,” someone finally said. “There was nowhere for him to go.”“Diego must have withdrawn his strength at the last moment.”“That has to be the explanation. He was only trying to frighten Chris and give him enough confidence to continue the fight.”Relieved laughter moved through the seats as the crowd accepted the excuse. It was easier to believe that Diego had shown mercy than to admit that the coreless orphan they had mocked had escaped a strike none of them could follow.Rachel laughed with them, although her fingers tightened around the edge of her dress.“Diego was merely being generous,” she said loudly. “Chris should be thanking him instead of pretending he accomplished somethin

Loud laughter rolled through the combat hall as Chris climbed onto the platform.Diego watched him approach with a mocking smile, but Chris met his gaze without the slightest hesitation.“You think I am afraid of you?” Chris asked. “If anything, I am afraid that you might get hurt so badly that you will never recover.”The noise from the crowd rose until it was almost deafening.“He was only trying to be kind to you!” one of the candidates shouted. “Yet you are insulting him for it.”“You should be grateful that someone of Diego’s standing is willing to fight a worthless nobody like you,” another added.Their words did not disturb Chris. His attention remained on the spiritual energy flowing through Diego’s body. It pulsed around his stolen core, then spread through his arms and legs in bright streams that only Chris could see.The coordinator pointed towards the weapon racks lining the walls.“You may both select any weapon you want.”Diego glanced at the polished swords, spears, and

Murmurs ran through the crowd as the candidates waited for Chris to answer. Most of them did not believe he would actually accept the fight.“He is going to back out,” someone said. “Look at him standing there without saying anything.”“Anybody would be frightened. Diego could kill a coreless cultivator without using half his strength.”“I would not even consider fighting him. There is a difference between courage and having a death wish.”The coordinator listened to them with a pleased smile. Chris’s silence appeared to confirm what everyone already believed. He had demanded a chance to prove himself, but now that the opportunity stood before him, fear had finally returned him to his senses.Chris was not thinking about running.His eyes remained fixed on Diego, but he was no longer seeing him in the same way as everyone else. Streams of spiritual energy moved through Diego’s body, gathering around his core before spreading into his arms and legs.Whenever Diego shifted his fingers,

The shock on Rachel’s face came too quickly for her to hide. For one unguarded moment, she stared at Chris as though a corpse had walked out of the mountain and followed her to the Academy.Diego also froze beside her. His confident expression vanished as his eyes travelled over Chris’s chest, searching for the wound that should have killed him.“You are supposed to be dead,” Rachel blurted. “How are you still alive?”Her voice carried across the registration grounds, drawing several curious glances.Chris looked at the woman who had smiled while Diego tore the core from his body. “That is a strange question from someone who should be pretending she knows nothing about my death.”Rachel’s face tightened. Diego touched her arm before she could respond, and the fear in her eyes disappeared behind a cold stare.“I only meant that you entered the mountains alone,” she said. “People die there every day, especially people without cores. There is nothing for you here, Chris, so leave before

Chris turned slowly.The old man was still sitting beneath the tree, but his eyes were open. He coughed again and spat a mouthful of black blood onto the ground.The last traces of poison disappeared from his body with it.“You are alive,” Chris said.“Were you hoping otherwise?”The man placed one hand against the tree and stood. Moments earlier, he had been unable to breathe without pain, but now he straightened his back without any help.His pale face had regained its colour, and the dark marks around his heart were gone. Even his voice sounded stronger.Chris, on the other hand, looked worse than before. His hands trembled, sweat covered his forehead, and the poison he had absorbed had left his skin unusually pale.The old man studied him with open curiosity. “You removed all of it.”Chris looked through his body once more. His essence channels were flowing properly, and the poison that had almost reached his heart had completely vanished.“I suppose I did.”For the first time sin