The Samsara Jade

Chapter 36

The morning fog finally melted away. The bright, warm sun climbed high into the blue sky, shining down on the Azure Sword Sect. 

The great stone arena was completely packed. It was a massive square stage, lifted ten feet off the ground, made of huge, solid grey blocks. 

All around the arena, thousands of disciples sat on tall stone steps. They were cheering, talking, and laughing. 

The noise was incredibly loud. Giant wooden drums were beating in the corners. Boom. Boom. Boom. The sound shook the ground and made everyone’s blood pump faster. 

High above the crowd, on a special wooden balcony covered in beautiful red silk, sat the Inner Sect Elders. They drank expensive tea and looked down at the young fighters. They were here to find new talent. They were looking for the strongest, fastest, and smartest disciples to bring into the Inner Sect. 

Down in the crowd, standing quietly near the edge of the arena, was Li Chen. 

He was entirely alone. A wide, empty circle surrounded him. No one dared to stand close to him. The news of what he had done to Wang had spread through the Outer Sect like a wild forest fire. Everyone was whispering and pointing at him. 

"Look at him," a young girl whispered, hiding behind her friend. "His skin looks like dead iron."

"I heard he shattered Wang's steel sword with a bare hand!" a boy replied, his eyes wide. 

"That is impossible," an older disciple argued. "He is a Broken Root. He has no Qi. He cannot use magic. He must have fallen into a secret cave and found a body-tempering treasure. Maybe he ate a millennium blood-ginseng! Those rare herbs can make a normal human body as hard as rock."

"Even if his body is hard, he will lose," another boy sneered. "Pure strength is nothing against high-level magical spells. A rock can be burned by fire or cut by wind. He is just a brute."

Li Chen heard all their whispers. His hearing was incredibly sharp because of his Void-Iron Physique. But he did not care. He did not look at them. He stood perfectly still, his hands resting in the pockets of his long, black Enforcer coat. His pitch-black eyes stared straight ahead at the fighting stage. 

He was comparing the arena to the Beast Chasm. 

In the chasm, the ground was slippery mud and sharp rocks. The air was filled with deadly acid. The enemies were giant, terrifying monsters that wanted to eat his bones. 

Here, the ground was smooth and clean. The air smelled like sweet roasted meat and nervous sweat. The enemies were just spoiled children playing with wooden swords and weak magic. 

"This is not a battle," Li Chen thought coldly. "This is a game."

Suddenly, a loud, ringing GONG echoed across the courtyard. 

The crowd went completely silent. 

An old referee wearing black and white robes stepped into the center of the giant stone stage. He held a large scroll in his hands. 

"Welcome to the Outer Sect Tournament!" the referee shouted. His voice was magically amplified so everyone could hear. "The rules are simple! You may use any weapon. You may use any spell. The match ends when an opponent gives up, falls off the stage, or cannot stand up! Killing is strictly forbidden!"

The referee unrolled the scroll. "First match! Gao 'The Iron Ox' versus Li Chen!"

The crowd gasped. Then, excited whispers broke out. 

"The Iron Ox!" someone cheered. "He is at the 4th Level of Qi Condensation! He is the strongest physical fighter in the Outer Sect!"

From the other side of the arena, a massive young man jumped up onto the stage. The stone floor shook when he landed. It was Gao. He was incredibly huge, standing almost seven feet tall, with muscles that looked like giant boulders. He carried a heavy iron hammer resting on his wide shoulder. He wore no shirt, showing off his thick, hairy chest. 

Gao smiled a confident, arrogant smile. He looked across the stage at Li Chen. 

Li Chen slowly walked up the stone steps. He stepped onto the arena floor. His long black leather coat blew gently in the morning wind. His expression was completely blank. 

"So, you are the dead boy who came back to life," Gao laughed. His voice was loud and rough. "I heard you broke Wang's arm. That is a good trick. But Wang is a skinny little rat. I am a mountain! I will show you what true physical strength looks like!"

Li Chen did not answer. He just pulled his hands out of his pockets and stood loosely. He did not take a fighting stance. He did not gather any dark Qi. He kept all his magical power hidden deep inside his stomach. He was only going to use the pure, raw strength of his Void-Iron body. 

"Begin!" the referee shouted, jumping backward to get out of the way. 

Gao roared like a wild beast. He slammed his heavy iron hammer into the stone floor, making a huge crack. Then, he activated his magic. 

"Earth Armor Art!" Gao yelled. 

A bright yellow light exploded from Gao's body. Thick, heavy yellow Qi rushed out of his pores and covered his skin. In one second, Gao's skin turned into solid, jagged yellow rock. He looked like a giant stone golem. This was a high-level defensive spell. 

"Let us see your 'treasure-hardened' skin break my rock!" Gao shouted. 

He charged forward. He moved surprisingly fast for a big man. He threw his massive, stone-covered right fist directly at Li Chen’s face. The punch was so strong it pushed the air away, creating a loud whistling sound. 

The crowd cheered wildly. They expected Li Chen’s head to be smashed like a rotten watermelon. 

Li Chen watched the stone fist coming. To him, it looked incredibly slow. It looked weak. He remembered the giant stone-crab monster in the chasm. That monster's shell was ten times harder than this fake earth magic, and Li Chen had shattered it.