"Huh?? He just won like that?" someone said in shock.
"What was that last attack?? It was so dazzling." Somebody else said.
"Look at that stage. The Elders must be angry right now."
"Of course. If they had known that the fight was going to take this turn, they would've sent them to a higher numbered stage."
"Is brother Huo Tu alright?" another person spoke.
"What was that inner sect disciple's name again? Yu Ming, right?" People started remembering his name.
"Is he a core disciple now?" another person asked. Numerous people were talking about the outcome of the battle just now.
Somewhere far away, a middle-aged man with a bald head and no facial hair was looking towards Alex who had long since left the stage and walking out of the sect valley.
At first, when he had heard that the match was between a core disciple and an inner sect disciple, he had given no attention to the match, but after the first few explosions, he had turned his attention to the match and watched it ever since.
"Who is that? His fight with Huo Tu left even stage 15 in tatters," he asked. Next to him were two people, both around the same height and wearing yellow robes with orange lining.
"I have never seen him, master. He must be new here. Maybe he is one of those new disciples that keep joining and leaving?" The young female spoke up. She had fair skin, with long black hair tied behind her back. She looked like she was 20 years old.
The male on the other hand didn't bother speaking at all. He seemed to be in his early 20s and had no facial hair on him. His stoic and handsome face showed no emotions at all.
The master didn't wait for the male to speak up either. He knew how his disciple was.
"Go and find out who he is and what his rank is," the bald man gave the order and the young female immediately ran off towards the fighting stage where Huo Tu was being carried out.
After a minute or two, the female disciple returned. "His name is Yu Ming and his rank is 86. Apparently, he has been improving his ranks very fast. Like I thought, he must be one of those new disciples that are very talented. I think we should rope him in master," the female disciple said as she chuckled.
"Hmm… beating a core disciple as an inner sect disciple, that is quite a feat. I hope he hasn't…," the bald mumbled almost to an incoherent level. He then looked at the Huo Tu that was being taken away.
"Do you think you could've beaten Huo Tu as he did?" the master asked.
"Absolutely not. I doubt I could've even won against him normally without his annoying pills and talismans. Not to mention, The pills and talismans do Meridian Tempering 1st realm damage. Thankfully, he doesn't have higher-ranked pills and talismans" said the female disciple.
"His father and master know he is trash, so they won't let him get anything more expensive," The master explained and then turned to the young man next to him and asked, "Would you have problems fighting him?" he asked. The young man thought for a while and spoke, "The armor would be annoying."
"Other than that, there is no problem, right?" the master asked with a smile and the disciple nodded.
* * * * * *
Alex was walking back to his house. Along the way, there was only one thought in his mind.
"If I register for the 18th rank right now, I will be a core disciple too." That was all he could think of.
"No, I can't. That will only make the other core disciple's target me. And after some time, I will have to fight against someone that would withstand Heaven's Impact. I can't handle them right now."
He soon reached home and logged out for some afternoon lunch. This would be his last afternoon lunch in the dormitory. Just as he was about to leave, he saw his phone blinking. He opened it up to see that he had missed a call from his cousin.
He immediately called back.
"Oh, Alex. You finally picked up. Were you in the game?" Hannah was on the other side of the phone.
"Yes, sister. Did you need anything?" he asked.
"Yeah. I just called to tell you that you should pack your luggage today so that you won't have to worry about early tomorrow. You did tell your parents you were moving, right?" she asked.
"Oh yes, of course. Everything is ready. I just need to pack my luggage, which isn't a lot."
"Alright. I will send you the location tomorrow morning. Grab a cab and get there, okay?" she said.
"Ok, sister."
Alex went to have lunch with the rest of his roommates.
"You are leaving tomorrow, Alex?" Logan asked.
"Yes," Alex replied with a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"Where will you be living?" Matt asked.
"With my cousin, a few distances away from here. Her friends all left, so she was alone and asked me to move in with her."
"What about university?" Eric asked.
"Oh, it's not that far away I hear. It should take me at most half an hour to get to the university," Alex said.
"That's not bad."
"What about you guys? You guys decided to stay or leave?" Alex asked. The dorm had still not made any sort of announcement as to what they would do regarding the new capsules coming out.
"We will wait until next week and see what the dorm says. Even finding a room in the city is hard and not to mention it costs a lot. I am surprised that your cousin and her friends can afford so much. Aren't you guys supposed to be from the countryside?" Eric asked.
"Oh, haha, Yes I am from the countryside, but my cousin is not. In fact, she is quite rich. Her parents pay for her apartment rent," Alex said.
"Ah, I see." They talked for a while and Alex went back to the game once more.