BOOOOOOM!!!
The chair beneath me exploded.
There was no warning.
No fluctuation of energy.
No killing intent.
Nothing.
Only destruction.
My body moved before my thoughts could.
SWISH!!
The world blurred.
An instant later, I appeared several metres away.
The place where I had been seated disappeared beneath a violent explosion.
Stone fragments.
Condensed energy.
Black alloy debris.
Everything was swallowed by the blast.
A powerful shockwave rolled across the chamber.
Dust surged into the air.
Silence followed.
I glanced at the smoking crater.
Nothing remained of the chair.
Only shattered fragments scattered across the alloy floor.
So this is the first lesson...
Around me, the others had escaped as well.
But not flawlessly.
Several had reacted a fraction too slowly.
One trainee's sleeve had been burned away.
Another had a shallow cut across his cheek.
A third stumbled after landing, barely recovering his balance.
None had escaped untouched.
None...
Except me.
Caelion's Goldish-blue eyes swept across the chamber.
Calm.
Cold.
Calculating.
Every reaction.
Every hesitation.
Every unnecessary movement.
Nothing escaped his notice.
Finally—
He spoke.
"Slow."
No one answered.
"Every one of you reacted."
A pause.
"But reaction..."
"...is not instinct."
He slowly walked through the chamber.
Hands folded behind his back.
"If I wished to kill you..."
"You would already be dead."
The words struck harder than the explosion itself.
"You waited."
"You analysed."
"You decided."
He stopped walking.
"Combat does not wait."
His gaze settled upon a trainee whose shoulder still trembled.
"Tell me."
"When did you realise the chair was going to explode?"
The young man swallowed.
"When... when I sensed the energy."
Caelion nodded once.
"And if there was no energy?"
Silence.
"You die."
He continued walking.
"The greatest warriors are not the fastest."
"They are not the strongest."
"They are the first to move."
"Before fear."
"Before thought."
"Before doubt."
His eyes swept across us once more.
"That..."
"...is instinct."
Silence lingered.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Then—
A deep mechanical hum echoed throughout the chamber.
MMMMMMMM—
The ancient runes carved into the alloy floor ignited.
One after another.
Concentric circles blazed with silver light.
The walls vibrated.
The air itself seemed to grow heavier.
Then—
Gravity descended.
At first...
Barely noticeable.
Then—
It multiplied.
My shoulders sank slightly.
Twenty times gravity.
No...
More.
The chamber itself amplified the force.
Environmental pressure fields intertwined with the gravity array.
The burden climbed rapidly.
Forty.
Eighty.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
Every breath became heavier.
The air felt like liquid steel.
BOOOOM!!
Divine energy erupted throughout the chamber.
Golden.
Azure.
Crimson.
Silver.
Every trainee instinctively reinforced their body.
Veins bulged.
Muscles tensed.
Some gritted their teeth.
Others struggled to remain upright.
Most cultivators focused on spiritual energy.
Few truly trained their physical body.
Their flesh had never experienced pressure like this.
Unlike mine.
My brother had never allowed comfort.
The System had never accepted excuses.
Gravity.
Pain.
Endurance.
Failure.
They had become familiar companions.
Even so...
Two hundred times gravity wasn't something to ignore.
It settled over my body like an invisible mountain.
My muscles instinctively adjusted.
My breathing slowed.
Steady.
Controlled.
Then—
I noticed something.
The others remained standing.
But only just.
Every movement had become sluggish.
Every breath slightly heavier.
Even maintaining posture required effort.
Meanwhile...
My body adapted almost naturally.
Interesting.
Without warning—
A cool sensation spread through my eyes.
My pupils narrowed.
Azure light quietly bloomed within my irises.
Not brilliant.
Not overwhelming.
Subtle.
Ancient.
The world sharpened.
Every heartbeat echoed through the chamber.
Every fluctuation of spiritual energy became visible.
Even the faintest twitch of muscle stood out with startling clarity.
My breathing slowed further.
The pressure...
Seemed lighter.
Not because gravity had weakened.
But because my body understood it.
A faint smile appeared.
So this is what you're testing...
Across the chamber—
Caelion noticed.
Our eyes met.
Time seemed to stop.
For the first time...
Something flickered within those emotionless Goldish-blue eyes.
Interest.
His gaze lingered.
Longer than it had on anyone else.
Then—
The corner of his lips curved upward.
Only slightly.
Almost imperceptibly.
A predator...
Had finally noticed another.
Without looking away, he raised one hand.
His fingers snapped.
SNAP.
The chamber trembled.
The runes beneath our feet shifted.
Streams of spiritual energy gathered throughout the room.
They twisted.
Compressed.
Solidified.
One by one...
Shapes emerged.
A massive black bear.
A silver wolf.
A crimson serpent.
A giant eagle.
Countless beasts materialised across the chamber.
Every trainee found one standing before them.
Silent.
Motionless.
Waiting.
Then—
One appeared before me.
A white tiger.
Nearly my height.
Snow-white fur shimmered beneath the chamber's silver light.
Its muscles were lean.
Perfectly balanced.
Its Azure eyes locked onto mine.
Unblinking.
I studied it.
Immediately...
Something felt wrong.
Its aura lacked the vitality of a living creature.
Artificial.
Yet impossibly refined.
An energy construct.
No.
An energy clone.
Created from condensed spiritual energy.
And judging by its aura...
Its creator could only be one person.
Caelion.
Its cultivation wasn't particularly high.
In fact...
Several trainees possessed greater raw power.
Yet...
Danger radiated from every fibre of its existence.
Not because of strength.
Because of experience.
Every muscle rested in perfect balance.
Every breath remained measured.
Every movement carried purpose.
It wasn't standing.
It was waiting.
Watching.
Calculating.
Exactly like the man who created it.
The chamber fell silent once more.
Twenty prodigies.
Twenty beasts.
One instructor.
Caelion's calm voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"Your opponent..."
"...is not here to defeat you."
A pause.
"It is here..."
"...to reveal you."
The white tiger slowly lowered its body.
Muscles coiling.
Azure eyes never leaving mine.
For the first time since entering the Gathering of Prodigies...
A genuine smile spread across my face.
Interesting...
Very interesting.
Then—
The tiger vanished.
SWISH!!
End of Part II