Shang reached the Trash Bird very quickly again and unleashed another strike.
The Trash Bird threw another clump of earth at Shang's face, which he managed to block this time by closing his eyes for an instant.
Shang felt his sword hit part of the Trash Bird's thigh, but he sadly couldn't hear the satisfying sound of his opponent getting injured this time due to his hearing loss.
The Trash Bird stopped its shouting again and jumped forward, blood flowing down its right leg.
Shang recovered from the strike and shot towards the Trash Bird again. Shang's Mana had been used up healing his left arm, which meant that his hearing wouldn't recover for at least several seconds.
The Trash Bird and Shang reached a small clearing with a twenty-meter-tall and ten-meter-wide rock in the middle of it.
The Trash Bird's steps became uncertain with its injured leg, and it slowed down by a lot.
Then, when it saw the rock in front of it, it realized that fleeing wouldn't work. If everything continued as it had been for the last seconds, it would eventually die.
The Trash Bird suddenly stopped in front of the rock and faced Shang, who was charging at it.
It opened its mouth again and unleashed its soundwave again.
Luckily, Shang was currently deaf, but his mind still shook from the soundwaves.
The Trash Bird lifted its left foot and stabbed forward with it. Its strike was surprisingly fast.
Shang had to cancel his attack since he hadn't known that the Trash Bird's attack would be so fast. He had read about it, but he had actually never fought one.
Instead of striking the Trash Bird's body, he tried to hit the leg.
However, the leg pulled back with just as much speed, and Shang's strike missed.
Then, the Trash Bird jumped forward by using its injured leg.
The Trash Bird didn't just simply pull its leg back into a passive stance but into another aggressive one.
As the Trash Bird jumped forward, it unleashed another stab with its left leg.
Shang's sword was currently lowered, which meant that it wouldn't be able to block.
Well, that would be true if this were the Shang from a year ago.
Out of reflex, Shang took a step back as his entire power was focused on his sword.
And then, he slashed upward with all his power.
BANG!
The Trash Bird pulled its leg back when it saw the sword, but it wasn't fast enough. The front halves of its talons exploded off its foot as the sword hit them.
When the Trash Bird saw that, it stopped its cry for a second.
Then, it jumped back as its chest expanded.
Shang knew what would come next and readied himself.
When the Trash Bird opened its beak again, Shang felt like he had run against a wall.
The Trash Bird was no longer considering its health. If Trash Birds were backed into a corner, they could gather all their Wind Mana and unleash an even more powerful screech.
Of course, that would severely drain their reserves, and it would even injure their throats.
Shang's vision swam, but he knew that he would only need to evade its next couple of attacks. After that, it would be severely weakened.
At that point, he would win the fight.
However, Shang also wasn't in the condition to dodge the next attack naturally, which meant that he had to rely on his left arm yet again.
Shang could achieve higher speeds on average with his new ability, but his left arm was still the best thing when it came to sudden bursts of speed.
Shang was thrown to the side as he unleashed a Fire Blast, barely evading the Trash Bird's claws.
Shang nearly fell over as his equilibrium was all over the place, but he still managed to remain on two feet.
As he looked back at the Trash Bird, Shang could see thin droplets of blood shooting out of its opened beak.
Its throat was already being injured, and it wouldn't take long now.
The Trash Bird jumped at Shang again, and this time, Shang managed to evade the attack by jumping back normally.
The Trash Bird wasn't good at fighting, which was why Shang had been able to evade without his left arm this time.
Shang saw that more and more blood came out of the Trash Bird's throat.
'Soon! One or two more attacks!' Shang thought as his vision swam.
The Trash Bird focused on Shang again.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Shang's eyes widened as a violent explosion suddenly consumed the Trash Bird.
A wave of terrifying heat washed over Shang's body, but he was used to worse.
At that moment, Shang's hearing recovered.
"SHUT UP!"
Shang heard the angry shout of a man come from the big rock beside Shang.
Shang looked over, and his eyes widened.
A huge gate had appeared in the middle of the rock!
Shang was certain that there hadn't been one previously!
An old man with greying red hair stood at the gate as he glared with anger at the distributed, burned pieces that had once been the Trash Bird.
For a moment, it was difficult for Shang to come to terms with his current situation.
The fight had just reached its climax, but his opponent had suddenly died.
Also, where did that gate come from?
"Sir?" Shang asked uncertainly.
The old man wore bronze-colored robes that seemed rather humble. He definitely wasn't someone who put much importance on what other people thought of him.
The man turned to Shang with a frown. "Why did you bring a Trash Bird here?!" he shouted with annoyance. "It's not forbidden for you younglings to walk around this place outside the trial period, but this is obviously just a direct provocation!"
"Has no one taught you any manners?! What did your parents teach you that you think it's a good idea to bring the loudest and most annoying beast for thousands of kilometers around to my place?!"
Shang only looked with shock at the old man.
"Sorry, but I didn't know that anyone was here," Shang said with surprise.
"What? You didn-… hmm."
The old man first wanted to rebut Shang, but then he noticed something. "You're a physi?" the old man asked.
Shang remembered that this was what most Mages called warriors.
Shang nodded.
The old man scratched the back of his head in a mixture of annoyance and acceptance. "Fine. Then, you probably didn't know that I was here."
"But now you know. In the future, please keep these annoying things away from here," he said.
Shang looked at the man and at the rock.
"What is this place?" Shang asked.
"This?" the old man asked as he gestured to the rock. "It's the Old King's Trial."
"The Old King's Trial?" Shang asked.
The old man nodded. "Yes. The former King of the Skythunder Kingdom created this Trial. It's to test new Adepts. If they do well enough, they get some of the old King's inheritance."
"Of course, the old King didn't really care about physis. That's why you guys don't know about it, but it's also not really a secret. My job is to keep watch over this place. So, it would be really appreciated if you could avoid this place in the future," the old man said.
At that moment, Shang felt a familiar feeling appear in his mind.
"This place has the ore," Sword said in Shang's voice. Over the last year, it had learned to communicate rather well.
Shang only looked at his sword in confusion.
"THE ore. The one I need," Sword said.
That's when Shang understood.
The ore he needed to make his weapon fully compatible with his Affinity.
Soon, the procedure would take place, and with it, Shang would probably unlock his true Affinity. At that moment, he would also need a fitting weapon.
Shang looked at the rock again.
So, he could find the ore he needed in the Old King's Trial?
Then, Shang turned to the old man. "Alright. Thank you, sir. I won't do so again in the future."
"Good," the old man said with a nod.
Then, he went back to the gates, opened them, and entered them.
After the gates closed, the door vanished. It was like it had never existed.
Shang threw one more glance at the rock.
He knew that he wouldn't be able to enter today.
First of all, this was a trial for Adepts, which were Mages in the Second Realm.
Even if Shang got the permission to enter, as someone in the First Realm, he wouldn't be able to get far anyway.
'All in due time,' Shang thought. 'I should ask the Dean after the procedure.'
Then, Shang looked at the burned pieces that had once been the Trash Bird with a frown.
'Guess I can only bring the beak back. It's definitely not in top condition, but it should still be worth something.'
Shang sighed and put the beak into a beast sack.
And then, Shang walked back to the Farm Line.
