A Failure's hopeful Journey

You Xi Wang led the thirteen people back to school by road as they carried heavyweights on their bodies. Ten people fell in the second hour of the run. You Zhichi, Neo, Rafael, and Lina were the only ones who still kept up with the monster in front. Neo was powered by his will while the other three were core formation realm cultivators. Those who fell had to witness a smirk on his face. Yuki and Allan somehow stood up and kept running. The others were also tired, but their pace was very slow. 

One guy is called Hercules. The one who was flung over the shoulder in the match the day before even accused You Xi Wang of wearing lesser weight than the others. But the truth was the opposite. You Xi Wang was carrying five tons of weight over his body. They were all shocked. They asked how was he so strong? You Xi Wang replied, "Because I do not give up. I was born with narrow meridians, so I put more effort in refining my physique." to his surprise, this lie even worked for them.

Only Yuki, Neo, Allan, and You Zhichi knew that it is because he is proficient in five elements that he can carry so much weight and still run at a carefree and irregular pace. The motive of this run was to know the extent of strength, will, and flexibility of these guys. With this data, they can form a better plan in the future. Although Lina and Rafael did witness him blowing up that 'nightmare' they were told that You Xi Wang used a prototype spirit bomb. These two also asked little after that.

When the group was ten kilometers away from school. You Xi Wang started sprinting. Everyone thought that he would again change the pace later, but this monster did not do any such things. You Zhichi was the strongest among them. She fell a hundred meters before they reached the school gate. She had no energy left inside her. You Xi Wang carried her on his back. No matter how strong he was, it was still his sister. The two waited for the others to arrive. You Zhichi sat down on the ground and started meditating. 

Takeshi Kinben and Adonis arrived with other students at the school gate, and You Zhichi also woke up. The two seniors stood at a side, waited to see what kind of treatment You Xi Wang had in store for these people. The boy stood in front of all the people, just gave them a look. He turned around and said to Adonis, "Instructor, how about we take back the name from the battle fest?"

Adonis was shocked. He was expecting something, but this lashing was too strong. Still, he followed along, "Yes, I also think we should take back the name. If we were to represent the city in such a state, then I think we will only invite mockery from the others."

Every one student looked down in shame. Whether it was Snow, Yuki, Allan, Hercules, Neo, Damon, Rafael, and so on. But they all noticed one thing when they looked down. You Xi Wang's legs were slightly shivering. They all opened their eyes wide. This guy was obviously tired, but he did not show it on his face and did not let it affect his actions. They all felt a fire spark up inside their heart. Their every expression was right now monitored by Takeshi Kinben. You Xi Wang had asked him to watch them via text from his Holo-Phone. He did this when they were running back. 

Takeshi Kinben spoke, "You Xi Wang, give them another chance. They are all raw jades. Polishing them will take some patience and diligence. You can do it. Okay?"

The students looked at Takeshi Kinben with grateful eyes. They wanted to ask this themselves but Takeshi Kinben took the lead, making it easier for them. Hercules spoke, "Captain, give us one more chance. We will not let you down."

You Xi Wang said, "Don't let me down? You better not yourself down. Do you think you can do anything for me when you cannot keep up with me? Only my sister was the one who kept up with me. She fell just a hundred meters away. That too, because her breath broke. Do you want a second chance? Good, get inside the gym and I will give you a second chance. Do not blame me, but once you take a step inside, I will not let you leave until either you complete the routine or you fall into a coma. Dare you to step in?"

The people all spoke in unison, "Dare."

You Xi Wang said, "Good." and led them to the gym, but not without winking to Takeshi Kinben. The team all stepped inside the gym. You Xi Wang took them all to the place where arrays were setup. These arrays were all usable as long as the practitioner provide a spirit stone. The array in front of them was a nine realm array set up. He was familiar with this array and said, "If you all can beat the opponent one major realm higher than you. Then we will have a talk about that second chance. I will enter first." he put a spirit stone in the slot and stepped in. The screen outside the array lit up. They could all see how You Xi Wang tackled the first puppet. 

BANG! BANG! 

You Xi Wang and the puppet with fists confronted each other. The first puppet was defeated with ease. This array was just like the one at home. So You Xi Wang used White Tiger Fist and defeated the first stone puppet. Soon the second puppet activated and started fighting with You Xi Wang. This puppet used the palms to fight. You Xi Wang had a hard time with this one. As he was not proficient with palm attacks. He started observing the stone puppet while he parried its attacks. But soon he was defeated and had to retreat.

He came out and said, "Get on with it. Decide who gets the first turn. The goal is at least the second puppet by the end of the day."

He spoke and came to sit down on the side to meditate and reflect on the battle with the second puppet. the whole battle ran through his mind like a film. now and then he would hear the others say something about the battle. He did not bother with them and kept doing what he was doing. Unknowingly their practice caused a lot of sounds and attracted the attention of other students.

Some students in the school came to see what was happening. 

They started speaking, "Hey, isn't that Senior sister You? Why is she playing inside the array?"

"I think this is their way to train themselves."

A girl spoke, "Look, You Xi Wang is meditating there." she pointed towards the corner where the boy sat.

Many students wondered why he was sitting there in silence? While some people said that the array was easy to break. The members of the battle fest team turned numb to all this nuisance. They suffered repeated defeat at the hands of the stone puppets. Some could get through the first one, but they were all stuck at the second puppet. They would all try again after some rest, but the progress was not very prominent. 

They were all stuck and the people on the sidelines mocked them. Hercules got irritated by this repeated commenting. He retorted in a loud voice, "If you find it so easy, then why do you not try to show us how to get it done? huh?"

The entire crowd turned silent, with no one daring to utter a sound. Do not undermine the authority of this person. He was a senior student of the sixth grade. He had his own reputation in the school. The strongest in the standards did not take part in the group stage of the battle fest as they were all reserved for the solo competition. Only You Zhichi was an exception as she was experienced with group survival and she can play a crucial role in the battle fest.

You Xi Wang stood up and opened his eyes. He spoke, "Ignorance is bliss, Hercules. let them talk, you need to learn to avoid skirmishes and keep calm. Now my turn."

Hercules sighed and calmed down. He turned to sit down and watched You Xi Wang step inside the array. The captain stepping in the second time made them wonder if he can break past the second level. This was also an opportunity for the melon-eaters (aka the crowd) to see if he can succeed. If You Xi Wang broke through, then they would eat melons, and if he lost, then they will spit out the seeds on him.

Would You Xi Wang care about these people? He was right now in training mode. The rest of the world was unrelated to him. He inserted a spirit stone inside the slot and stepped inside the array.

The light curtain formed and the screen outside showed the situation inside. Everyone saw the first stone puppet and You Xi Wang both moving towards each other. You Xi Wang threw a punch to intercept the punch from the puppet.