"Ready! Set! Fight!"
Both groups then started to fight each other. All 4 women currently fighting were using swords and were either Stage 3 or Stage 4 Qi Condensation. They rushed at each other to attack and were able to show decent swordsmanship. At first, Mira wasn't going to pay attention to the fights since there was no need. She knows that she is stronger than everyone here and that for her to lose to anyone, she would literally have to just stand there and let them hit her. But Mira noticed that their swordplay wasn't that bad. For the most part, all 4 women were able to parry, block, and attack well. Like they were trained in the art of the sword. Maria could do these as well, but she lacked a proper teacher and knowledge about using the sword. Understanding different weapons can make one understand their own weapon better, so Mira decided to watch the battles to try and learn different styles and techniques used with other weapons that might help her increase her proficiency with the scythe.
Mira watched them fight for nearly ten minutes before someone in Group 1 made a mistake and their opponent capitalized on that mistake and parried the attack and put their sword against their neck.
"Group 1, Number 2, Ava, Winner!" The Judge called out. Mira was surprised that the Judge knew their names, but it made sense that they should know the names of the disciples that joined the Sect. She also noticed that there were several wooden tablets near the Judge. She assumed that their names and numbers were written there.
Ava had a large smile on her face as she bowed towards her opponent and both of them walked off the arena.
"Number 3 and Number 4! Come up!" The Judge for Group 1 called up the next set of women. Both of them walked up to the arena and took out their weapons and Mira noticed that these 2 women also used a sword. They both took their positions and waited for the judge to start the fight.
"Fight!"
Group 1 began battling again and Group 2's first fight was coming to an end as well. Mira noticed that the winner in Group 2 also took advantage of a mistake to end the battle. Mira noticed more mistakes than that and she can also force mistakes to happen, but these were young women who didn't seem to have that much experience in battle. Mira didn't expect them to fight or spar with someone every day. This also might be the reason for joining a Sect. They'd get better training with their weapons.
Mira continued to watch the battles until finally there was someone that caught her interest.
***
Most duels didn't last that long. Around 5 to 10 minutes seemed to be the average time for a duel as most of the women here had very similar battle prowess and cultivation. Nobody was abnormally stronger or weaker than the other both in terms of skills and cultivation. Mira had watched 30 battles so far, 15 from each group. This meant that Round 1 is over halfway over. The 16th battle for Group 2 caught her attention though. The judge called for Numbers 31 and 32 to come up and Mira noticed Celaine walking up to the stage.
Mira ignored the other fight that was going on in the other arena as she wanted to see how Celaine fought against another person. Celaine felt someone staring intently at her. At first, she thought that it might be her Grandpa or family watching her, but the feeling she got from this stare was fear. She looked around and noticed a girl with a black mask on and silver hair looking her way.
'Why is she still watching me?! What does she want?! Is this way of her telling me not to lose? What will happen to me if I lose?! The last time I failed her expectations, she forced me to execute magical beasts that couldn't even fight back along with throwing me right at magical beasts to fight them. I'd also get beat if I didn't kill it! AHHH! Screw it! I'm just going to win this match and ask her later!' Celaine thought as she took out her saber and prepared to battle.
Celaine is at Stage 2 Qi Condensation while her opponent is at Stage 3 Qi Condensation. The battle will be a little more difficult due to the cultivation difference, but nothing that can't be overcome with a strong body and experience.
"Fight!"
Celaine immediately dashed towards her opponent with her saber held out in front of her. Mira noticed that she kept the saber close to her chest. This is different from the other women who used swords. They kept their sword a bit farther away from their body and used larger and longer swings.
Celaine didn't do this and when she reached her opponent she diagonally slashed at her then cross-slashed from the other direction and stabbed at her opponent in one swift and fluid movement. Celaine's opponent was able to block the attacks but was having a hard time keeping up with the fluid movements from Celaine. There was clearly a gap in teaching between the two. Celaine kept up the pressure by swinging, slashing, and stabbing at her opponent. She'd also parried any attacks that came her way and used that to her advantage. It only took Celaine a minute until her saber was pressed up against her opponent's neck.
"Group 2, Number 31, Celaine, Winner!" The judge called out as Celaine released her saber, stepped back, and bowed towards her opponent.
She then looked over at Mira only to see her slightly nodding at her. Celaine let out a deep breath. It seems like she was able to gain Mira's approval with that fight. Though she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. This little sight didn't escape the eyes of the Elders watching though.
***
"Did she just look over towards Mira like she was worried about not meeting her expectations?" One of the Elders asked as they wanted to confirm this.
"I think she just did. It also seems like she released a deep breath after she saw that Mira nodded at her. I doubt she would've fought so hard if she wasn't scared of what Mira might do if she failed. What a terrifying individual! She was able to instill a special type of fear mixed with respect after just 1 day of working with her!" Another Elder affirmed her thoughts.
"I think this might be a good opportunity for us. It seems Mira is also interested in Nisha and Audra. I say we pay attention to their interactions during the tournament. Mira might be able to increase the battle prowess of a lot of our disciples. Of course, we'd have to ask her and provide enough benefits for her to do something like this for us though. You can also tell that even Maria, who should be close to Mira, still holds an innate fear and respect towards her." Another Elder suggested as everyone agreed to this.
"We might be able to do the same thing as Mira, but in the end, I don't think any of us would really be able to kill any of our disciples. Also, if an Elder did try to kill a disciple then the others might just leave and find a different sect if they had to fear the Elders. But Mira would only be a disciple. I think if we give her free reign in some type of training sessions then we might be able to see a qualitative improvement in our disciples. Even I hold a bit of fear from Mira just because of how apathetic and aloof she is. If she was as strong as me then she would definitely be someone I wouldn't want to mess with. But if we get on her good side and create a place she'd want to stay at then I only foresee good things for us and our disciples in the future." Another Elder chimed in. Not everyone agreed with her about being afraid of Mira, but they could agree that she was like a sleeping beast that shouldn't be poked unless you plan on killing her.
The Elders were now waiting for Audra or Nisha to come up to battle to see how they interact with Mira. Will, they try not to disappoint her? Will they even care about her opinion?
***
Mira was extremely satisfied with Celaine's battle. She knew Celaine should be incredibly talented. She gave off all of the signs of someone extremely smart and talented. In all of her hundreds of years of living, Mira got pretty good at spotting talented and smart people. Flat-chested, on the shorter side, a lot of times they have darker hair and are hesitant to show what they are capable of. These are generally unpolished gems that are just waiting to be tempered. Celaine is that gem right now. If she is able to live and get stronger then she would be an extraordinary cultivator. She could be feared by the masses and become a major power in the world. But the problem with people like this is there is always something that is holding them back from showing their true selves and power. This ends up getting them killed before they can fully blossom. Many geniuses die every day because of this or they die because they are too weak to protect themselves in a world full of terrifyingly strong people. Mira felt that Celaine could reach the peak with her and all Mira would have to do is prevent her from dying. She would also be a great sparring partner along with being someone that might be able to take in her teachings on martial arts. Mira wasn't going to give up on Maria since she has already come this far, and Maria also had incredible instincts. She felt that Maria had a good chance to reach the peak with her. Though this is just a hunch of hers.
Mira's thoughts were interrupted when she saw Nisha walk up onto the Group 2 arena. Mira was also interested in Nisha as well. Maybe not as a friend, but she could be a great sparring partner. Mira wanted to see Nisha fight at her best so she focused in and sent a bit of killing intent towards her.
Nisha was walking onto the stage when she felt a terrifying chill crawl up her spine. Someone was directing their killing intent towards her and it was terrifying. There is only one person that immediately comes to mind who might have this amount of killing intent. She looked around and saw the Black masked, silver-haired little girl staring daggers at her. Nisha froze for a second and gulped.
'It seems Mira wants me to know that she is watching. I don't know what she wants exactly, but whatever it is can't be good for me. I had originally wanted to avoid Mira as much as possible, but it seems I have already caught her eye. I'm guessing she doesn't want me to disappoint her or something? I will just have to do my best not to end up like Celaine!' Nisha gathered her resolve and walked onto the stage and readied her dual daggers to end this battle as quickly as possible.
"Fight!"
Nisha coated her body and daggers in her dark element and charged towards her opponent. When Nisha did this, it becomes harder to see her as the light that is normally reflected off of her is now absorbed into the darkness that is coating her. Obviously, her understanding of the Dao of Dark is not so deep to allow her to become invisible so her opponent can see her, but they have to focus on her movements more. It only took Nisha 10 moves to end the fight before she ended up behind her with both daggers pressed against her neck.
"Group 2, Number 42, Nisha, Winner!"
Nisha bowed towards her opponent and looked over towards Mira to see her give a slight nod of approval. Nisha also gave a slight nod and walked off the stage, but inwardly she was happy that Mira seemed to approve of that fight.
The rest of the battles continued until all 96 people got to fight. Mira noticed that Audra was Number 49 in Group 1 and won't be fighting until Round 5.
"This brings an end to Round 1! We will take a short break and allow everyone to recover then resume the battles!"
