Apotheosis

Kim stood tall and solemn like a mountain.

To help himself stand out among the hoard of talented disciples at Jade Peak, and to rank the second place among the inner disciples, he had made an awful lot of efforts and sacrifices.

Frankly, he didn't hold any special talents. He was slower to learn martial arts than the others, who had strong comprehension abilities. However, he managed to surpass the brilliant minds at the peak and brought laurels to his name. It was the fruit of his tough labor.

Step by step, his strength had improved steadily. However, he seldom got angry and never belittled anyone.

A good head on his shoulders along with the great efforts he put in enabled him to be a hundred times stronger than the so-called geniuses.

Unbinding the spear on his back, Kim clutched it, saying in a cold voice, "Start the battle, and you will know if my strength is sufficient to force you to draw your sword. But let me state beforehand: I won't hold myself back even if you don't use your sword."

Rocher nodded at him. "Of course. In the battlefield, you should be in top form. I refuse to use my sword against you, though. I'm about to face many other competitors ahead, disciples much more powerful than you. My sword will be out when I fight them."

In truth, Rocher didn't want to draw his sword not because he looked down upon his opponents, but because he valued them.

The All Peaks Competition tested not only the candidates' strength, but also their endurance and strategy.

At the consummation of the natural level, Rocher possessed comparatively more strength than the others, but there was always a chance of encountering better competitors he had overlooked. Obviously, he wanted to come first in the contest. He wondered

mong these, he was unable to escape Kim's spear cusp.

The spear technique Kim performed was steady, an unbeatable rival for radical and strategic moves.

Rocher's step skill, however, was special. Whenever he moved, a faint shadow of a sword took shape, pointing in a certain direction. He kept moving accordingly and with perfect speed in order to dodge Kim's spear.

"Sword Step! That's the Sword Step! Rocher has grasped the Sword Step!" someone shouted from the sidelines.

"My God! It's actually the Sword Step! Rocher is amazing! He hasn't even drawn his sword so far. How strong is he? With his Sword Step alone, he has proven himself superior to ninety-nine percent of the disciples at Cloud Sect!" another exclaimed.

The Sword Step was a unique step skill—the length of each step of a performer was exactly equal to that of their sword.

Since the step's length was predetermined, the Sword Step suffered a loss in flexibility. However, one's Sword Step could especially manifest itself out of one's own sword intent. If someone could grasp their sword intent well enough, their movements would become much faster than those of the average body.