Chapter 16 – Mercy in Motion
The evening after the tournament, the training grounds buzzed with renewed purpose. Outer disciples grabbed allies, practiced drills, and recited formulas until their voices cracked. The sect elders stood on the grand dais, nodding in satisfaction.
Elias wandered through the courtyard, still wearing his light-bending "Chameleon Veil," looking deliberately unremarkable. Dust kicked up by sand sandals, scents of herbal ointments and sweat, rotating banners—he took it all in like an anthropologist studying a tribal rite.
"Train harder," the elder’s voice boomed. "Outwork your blood, outthink your soul!"
The disciples cheered. Among them, Fu Yu—pale, gaunt, eyes hollow—moved like a ghost.
Elias sidled over. "Fu Yu," he greeted quietly. "You look down?"
Fu Yu offered a shaky smile. "I... didn’t even make the top fifty." His voice trembled.
Elias considered the kid—average body, average Qi, but a spark of desperate ambition.
"Don’t take it personally," Elias said, offering reassurance. "Most of the real talent was still here. You—you weren’t far off."
They walked together to the training wall. Fu Yu jabbed a dull Qi strike that fizzled in mid-air.
"It’s useless," Fu Yu sighed. "I tried everything in the library."
Elias looked at that technique—its patterns, timing, inefficiencies. The divine sense interface lit up around him. He saw it all: micro timing gaps, inefficient Qi leakage, misaligned muscle relaxation.
He waited until Fu Yu took a break. Then, in the quiet of the crowd’s chanting. Elias walked up to him, "hey go take a rest, don’t let the fatigue catch up to you, who know you might be better tomorrow." Fu yu replied and walked away ghostly. "Ok, see you tomorrow then".