Chapter 18 - To Be A Man

Seven days flew by, and in a blink of an eye, the day of the training camp's final assessment had arrived. The assessment was divided into two parts. The first part was the usual combat ranking, and the second was conducted by the assistant instructors. As the name suggested, the trainees would fight against the official disciples during the final assessment.

The day was clear and the sky looked like it had been polished. Sunlight fell unobstructed on the training camp's building rooftops, casting a glistening reflection onto the fields.

Two figures were on the field, entangled together, with one of them already defeated. Another figure backed away several steps before stopping.

"The winner, Li Wei."

After hearing the announcement, Cassius casually left the arena. Ten minutes later, he returned to the center of the field. Five seconds later, he defeated his opponent and returned to his spot after the announcement.

His sharp and efficient performance drew the attention of many present. The people at the training camp naturally knew who he was. Sitting among the five instructors, a thin old man sporting a snowy-white beard glanced over, interested.

Moments later, Cassius returned to the field and defeated his opponent again.

"Well done." The old man nodded approvingly, then asked the instructors, "What's the name of that boy over there? He's quite good at basic Combat Techniques. His moves are very clean and decisive." He paused for a moment before he concluded, "With such a fierce fighting style, he must have already reached the second stage."

"His name is Li Wei, and he's under my guidance. You're right; he's reached the second stage in basic Combat Techniques. I plan on taking him as my disciple after the training camp ends," Lisa said a bit nervously.

"What's the hurry? Don't worry, my hands are already full with four disciples; I won't try to fight you for him." The old man shook his head, a faint smile on his face..

"I'd be a fool to believe you," Lisa muttered to herself. Sam, the deputy master of the Wind Elephant Sect, was a fourteenth generation disciple and was considered a martial uncle to the fifteenth generation disciples like herself. He loved selecting disciples with excellent potential.

Li Wei's potential was above average, which should be relatively safe. But after his remarkable performance, there was a chance Sam might take a liking to him. Although Lisa believed that Li Wei would still choose her as his teacher even with Sam in the picture, it would be best to avoid making things too complicated.

In the end, Sam didn't try to fight with Lisa for Li Wei. He had already chosen someone well before he arrived. To no one's surprise, it was a genius with excellent potential and who had ranked in the top five in every combat ranking.

The final assessment of the training camp began in the morning and took them into the afternoon. Cassius perfectly maintained his rank at twenty-five. In the second phase, his fights with the assistant instructors were satisfactory. Once his previous scores were added up, he came out to ranking between twenty to thirty in the final assessment. Li Chu ranked thirty-nine in the combat ranking, demonstrating a stable performance in the second stage. Her final estimated ranking was around the lower thirties.

However, Jojo, whom Cassius had been helping, had no hopes of passing the assessment with an estimated final ranking between seventy and eighty.

Two days later, in a spacious white hall in the Wind Elephant Sect.

Fifty boys and girls who passed the assessment stood quietly in the center. Golden, warm rays of the sun shone down on them through the window above.

At the very front of the hall, an old man with a goatee loudly recited an oath, about being loyal to the Wind Elephant Sect, how they were prohibited from revealing the core technique of the Covert Martial Arts, and the consequences that would happen should they rebel. Every time he said something, the students would echo after him.

"You have inherited the legacy of the Wind Elephant Sect, making all of you a part of the sixteenth generation of the sect. The sect's continuity relies on a constant influx of new blood. You are the future of our Wind Elephant Sect!" The old man ended with an emotional encouragement and immediately dismissed them.

Cassius followed Instructor Lisa to a quiet room. It was relatively narrow but very bright. The sunlight streaming in through the window created a golden square on the floor. Lisa and Cassius sat cross-legged next to it. The two faced each other, both wearing the light yellow training attire with blue wind and cloud patterns encircling the edges of their sleeves.

Lisa spoke slowly, "Now that you are officially a sixteenth generation disciple of the Wind Elephant Sect. I will teach you our core technique of the Covert Martial Arts." She pulled a book from her chest pocket.

Cassius's breathing picked up unconsciously.

Lisa's tone was exceptionally cold and serious. "Before we begin, let me state that our core technique of the Covert Martial Arts are absolutely not to be shared! If discovered, the traitor will be dealt with by the Wind Elephant Sect. There will be no mercy for even their parents and friends."

"I understand."

"Good, take it." Lisa placed the book on Cassius's lap, then stood up to leave the quiet room, closing the door behind her.

Cassius took a deep breath and opened the nameless book.

Drawings of human postures filled the yellowed pages, accompanied by lengthy annotations. When he flipped to the end, he found an introduction of a set of boxing techniques. Each move had illustrations and even diagrams of human meridians. It gave off an inexplicably mysterious vibe.

Cassius forced himself to calm down and started from the beginning, flipping through it, page by page.

This was the core technique of the Covert Martial Arts, the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts. It was divided into training methods and fighting methods.

Called the Elephant Soul, the training method was designed to train one’s physique and break through their physical limits. It included special movements, breathing techniques, and ointments which had to be used in tandem. Depending on the level of training, the users would experience three different sensations on their skins: Prickling, Bug Bite, and Burning Wind.

Those were also known as the three levels of the Elephant Soul. Each time a practitioner moved to the next level, there would be a significant leap in their physical qualities, like in their strength, speed, and defense .

Besides the training methods, the attacking techniques were also known as fighting methods. The Wind Elephant Fist also had three levels and were called Gale, Elephant Herd, and Wind Elephant. Each level had different characteristics. The airflow that emanated from Lisa's palm, for example, was a characteristic of the Gale level of the Wind Elephant Fist.

"I wonder what level of the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts is needed to reach the accelerated blood flow stage that Instructor Lisa mentioned?" Cassius closed the book, a look of wonder in his eyes. After 160 days of hard work, he had finally earned himself the chance to touch the extraordinary.

The doors to another world had finally opened a crack! It was extremely tough, but completely worth it.

The sunlight outside grew stronger, warming Cassius's back. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

The next day, at the entrance of the Wind Elephant Sect training camp.

Li Chu stood in the shade, watching Li Wei and Jojo in the distance. Li Wei patted Jojo's shoulder, seemingly saying something to him. Jojo carried his belongings in a large bundle for his journey home. Moments later, Jojo smiled and waved as he left.

Li Wei stood in place until Jojo disappeared from view.

"Little Wei, what did you two talk about?" Li Chu curiously came over after seeing Li Wei hand something to Jojo.

Li Wei shook his head. "I gave him the watch that Instructor Lisa gave me. I told him to do whatever he wanted with it. Sell it for money if he needed to. He has eight people in his family, and his father recently got pneumoconiosis while working in a factory. He said he wants to go home and take on the family's responsibilities.

"Obstacles can't stop a brave person, much less a real man. I wish him the best of luck."