Magic spells. 

Shu Himo was surprised to hear such words.

Able to command nature to bring ‘abnormal changes’, they were feared yet loved everywhere. They could be used starting at Acupoint Opening phase because, as the name suggested, that phase would open up the pathway to external Qi.

Unlike before where it was possible only to ‘absorb’ the external Qi, it would become possible to ‘command’ it via magic spells.

That was, however, a nearly impossible task for most cultivators. It was usually only at Dantian Core Formation realm that most would learn magic spells, and even then, it was still all but easy. Only when a cultivator reached Nascent Soul realm would they be considered talentless if they couldn’t use magic spells, but in most cases, such cultivators wouldn’t reach that realm at all.

The fact that Seji could use magic spells despite his realm was abnormal.

But even in front of such revelation, Shu Himo’s grin only widened more. “Very well, come at me!”

Seji nodded and pointed a palm toward him. He took a heavy breath, and then began a chant.

"I order thee,

Bend thou wilt to mine and convoke a blazing flame,

A flame to vanquish my foes;

Fireball!"

A small red spheric flame grew in front of Seji’s palm. It stood still for a short moment, looking like a harmless flame. But suddenly, it sped up toward Shu Himo.

In response to that, Shu Himo just used [Hopper] to dodge to the side. He blinked in incomprehension as he looked at the weak flame flying to his former location, but what happened afterward sent a shiver down his spine.

The ‘harmless’ flame exploded.

Engulfing everything in a radius of five meters, the flame charred the ground black and released a wave of heat which spread to the stands.

“You see? This is the strength of magic spells. Did you like it?”

Shu Himo nodded, but looked unconvinced. “Its explosion is able to hurt me severely, but its slow speed and the long chanting time makes it predictable. It’s a bit impractical in a one versus one battle, don’t you think?”

Seji smiled at those words. “That depends on how you use it!” Said that, he rushed toward Shu Himo, all the while chanting the spell. “I order thee—”

Shu Himo widened his eyes at the sight. There’s no need to stand in place while chanting it! That opens up a myriad of possibilities! He felt a wave of excitement rush from his heart as his lips curved into an uncontrollable smile.

“—Bend thou wilt to mine and convoke a blazing flame—”

Noting that Seji was already halfway through the chant, Shu Himo used [Hopper] to close the distance and slashed with his sword as to stop the chant.

It was a mistake.

Just before he could reach Seji, the child jumped backward and pointed a finger toward Shu Himo. 

“—Fireball!”

He shortened the chant! Shu Himo was shocked. 

In but a moment, the small spheric flame sped up toward Shu Himo. Even if he were to use [Hopper], its speed wasn't nearly enough to dodge.

Its normal speed, that is.

Knowing that he didn’t have anymore leeway to hold back, Shu Himo chose to resort to something he didn’t want to use. A ‘stacked’ [Hopper].

Not wasting a second, he formed a first invisible platform under his right foot, and shortly afterward added a second invisible platform under the first one.

The result was overwhelming.

Multiplying several times each other’s thrust, the two platforms literally sent Shu Himo flying with no control.

Crk.

A crack echoed throughout the arena, followed by a bloodied Shu Himo stepping out of the crevice he had just made in the wall. How embarrassing, to injure myself with my own skill.

While the stacked [Hopper_x2] was several times faster than the normal version, it was also way harder to control. After seeing all his failed attempts, the Dark King Dragon had predicted that before reaching Acupoint Opening phase Shu Himo would keep failing to master it.

It was for that very reason that he didn’t try to use it against the assassins. If he were to crash into a wall while fighting all those opponents, his head would hardly remain attached to his body.

“Can you still fight?”

Shu Himo felt like laughing when Seji’s worried voice reached his ears. Can’t you worry if I’m alive instead?

“Let’s continue and see who will win!” Shu himo raised his fist, his eyes beaming with fighting intent. He soon let out a heavy breath, for he had made a hard decision.

Seji, grinning to those words, was about to start chanting another fireball, but before he could move a finger, Shu Himo vanished from his view once again...

...And reappeared from the other side of the arena, walking out from a newly made crack in the wall. 

The announcer paled. Was Shu Himo trying to destroy the arena?

Shu Himo sighed as he dusted off his chest. The speed derived from stacking [Hopper] easily overcame that of a cheetah. It wasn't a surprise that controlling it would be difficult.

No matter how many times he tried, he would always be thrust so fast that he couldn't regain his balance before crashing to the wall.

The thought of stopping passed through his mind for a moment. But how could he give up? He wasn’t someone who would surrender(his BS points) even in front of such a crisis! Determined to use the match as a chance to learn this technique, Shu Himo was about to try again, but he stopped suddenly.

An idea had popped up in his mind.

Right, why didn’t I think of that? I could just use the wall! He bent his body slightly forward. Two invisible platforms formed beneath his right foot, stacking on each other—and thrust him along the wall.

Abruptly, the previous still sight of the arena reflecting on his eyes shifted into that of the countless bricks he kept overtaking. Enclosing toward him due to the walls' circular shape, the bricks seemed about to crash on him at any moment. But...

Twisting his body slightly, he forced his own legs forward and stepped on the wall.

Success!

He grinned. The arena’s circular wall was the best place to train for this. Promptly, he used another stacked [Hopper_x2] and got thrust once again.

Step. Thrust. Step. Thrust. 

The cycle repeated itself several times as his speed quickened each round of the stage.

It didn’t take long before his speed peaked, his figure blurring from the sight of Seji and audience alike.

“I order thee—” Seji began to chant.

While Shu Himo’s speed may appear impressive, he was merely skipping on a straight path—the arena’s circular walls. Devoid of the ability dodge, a single fireball shot in his path would be the best tool for the situation.

But Shu Himo was waiting for that.

Already used to the high speed, it was of no problem shifting his next stacked [Hopper_x2]’s destination. And his new destination was Seji.

He twisted his body and stomped on the wall, the impact collapsing it to a small crater. Aiming toward his opponent, a chuckle escaped his mouth as two invisible platforms formed under his feet.

“—Bend thou wilt to m—” A shiver went down Seji’s back before he could end the chant. He tried to move from his place but before he could make a single step, a figure crashed on him—sending both him and itself flying toward the wall.

Ckrkr.

Facing the collision from both Seji and Shu Himo, the wall broke completely, cracks and fissures sweeping through its foundation.

The two extended a hand outside of the hole they made, grabbing the edges. Shu Himo dragged himself out of it and sat on the ground, but Seji didn’t move, feeling both tired and in pain.

Directing his gaze to Shu Himo, Seji forced out some words through his breath. “Hey… Himo… can you wait a moment here? I need to ask one thing to my master.” A glint of excitement hid within his silver eyes.

“Sure.” As tired as he was, Shu Himo didn’t want to move a finger anymore. Are they going to ask me to join their sect? He was puzzled by their request, but the winning signal from the announcer prompted him to think about something else. System, I will stop here. The quest is over, right?

[Quest Success: Show your strength with a win streak in the arena!]

[Quest Difficulty: D- ~ A]

[Quest Reward: 2 BS points for every 5 win streak. (Win streak reached: 25 wins.)]

[You now have 26 BS points!]

Great. I can buy the next phase with those points.

“There is no need to ask. “A middle-aged man appeared at Seji’s side and healed its injuries with a wave of his hand. “I know what you want to say, and I approve of it.” He then turned to look at Shu Himo. “Are you interested in coming to a hidden remain with us? Follow me to the VIP resting room, I will explain to you more in details there.”

“Sure.” While he appeared indifferent on the outside, Shu Himo excited and happy in the inside. Is this the hidden remain arc? Fantasizing about the events that may happen in the remains, he seemed to forget his weariness as he followed behind the middle-aged man and Seji, leaving behind a traumatized audience.