Chapter 85 — Sympathetic Nervous System
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"Let the battle for the tenth slot... COMMENCE!"
The moment the referee's voice descended, Terissa disappeared from where she stood as energy burst beneath her feet and cracked the stage slightly while a sharp wave of pressure swept outward across the snowy arena. Her sword screamed through the air in a clean arc aimed directly at Amelia's neck.
Clang!
Amelia reacted almost instinctively, dragging her sword upward just in time as sparks exploded violently between both blades and scattered into the freezing wind. The impact nearly tore the weapon from her grip immediately as her entire arm trembled violently while the pressure from Terissa's energy crashed into her body like a heavy tide trying to drown her whole existence.
"So weak..." Terissa laughed mockingly as she twisted her blade downward.
Blue energy surged beautifully around her sword, smooth and refined unlike Amelia's unstable flow that flickered roughly around her own body like a struggling flame refusing to stay alive.
Bang!
Amelia was forced backward instantly, her boots dragging hard against the stone stage while scraping trails across the frost-covered surface as she struggled to maintain balance. The crowd erupted immediately.
"Destroy her!"
"Don't let that Trueblood trash breathe!"
Terissa didn't even allow her a second to recover.
Dash!
She closed the distance again and unleashed consecutive slashes one after another. Fast. Precise. Elegant. Every swing carried cultivated energy behind it, causing sharp wind currents to slice violently across the arena while snowflakes spiraled uncontrollably around the two girls.
Experience is the best teacher... Amelia had no fighting experience whatsoever.
A cultivator without experience is like a farmer without a machete standing before a massive farmland.
Not only Amelia but most students of the Academy.
What's an Academy?
It's a place where one learns and understands things about the cultivation world.
An Academy is just like a university... what they mostly teach is theory. Only during tournaments like this will one truly witness combat. All other days... they read, write, cultivate, eat, memorize techniques, study history and absorb knowledge.
That's why if Socrates had entered Laurel Academy, it'll probably take him three years to reach Foundation Establishment Realm without true combat experience apart from the little brutality he learnt inside the Heavenly Dipper Dojo.
But Socrates had experienced life and death.
He had died countless times in a false world.
He had tasted fear.
Tasted pain.
Tasted helplessness.
The path he walks is difficult. Comparing him to an academic cultivator simply doesn't rhyme because Socrates isn't truly a cultivator.
He's a gladiator.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amelia blocked desperately but each strike pushed her farther backward until her breathing became rough and uneven. Her palms had already started bleeding from gripping the sword too tightly while vibrations from every collision traveled through her bones painfully.
Then suddenly—
Boom!
Terissa kicked the ground and appeared beside Amelia instead of before her.
Her knee buried itself deeply into Amelia's ribs.
Crack!
Amelia coughed blood instantly as her body bent sideways violently from the impact before Terissa grabbed her shoulder and flung her brutally across the arena.
Thud!
Her body rolled roughly across the freezing stage while snowflakes drifted softly onto her trembling figure. The crowd laughed loudly.
"Pathetic!"
"She's not even worth watching!"
Amelia slowly pushed herself upward again.
Her chest hurt badly.
Her ribs burned.
But the worst pain wasn't physical.
It was hearing the name Trueblood being dragged repeatedly through the mud.
Terissa walked toward her slowly while resting the sword casually on her shoulder, her boots crunching softly against the frost.
"I heard your family used to be powerful..." she mocked cruelly. "What happened? Did all your talent die with your ancestors?"
The crowd burst into laughter immediately.
Amelia lowered her head silently.
The fingers gripping her sword tightened slightly.
"You know what's funny?" Terissa continued while smiling faintly. "The Academy still allows you to carry the Trueblood name proudly when everybody already knows your bloodline is finished."
A vein twitched faintly on Amelia's neck.
Terissa noticed it immediately and smirked wider.
"Oh? Did I touch a nerve?"
Dash!
Amelia suddenly moved.
This time her energy exploded outward roughly as she rushed forward with surprising speed while icy winds swirled behind her figure.
Her sword slashed downward violently.
Clang!
Terissa blocked easily but her eyes narrowed slightly.
Amelia attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Her swordsmanship wasn't refined.
It wasn't beautiful.
But every strike carried years of frustration, humiliation and anger bottled deeply within her chest. The surrounding air trembled faintly from her unstable energy fluctuations while sparks erupted continuously around both girls.
The spectators slowly stopped laughing.
Because despite being weaker...
Amelia wasn't retreating anymore.
Clang!
Their blades locked tightly together.
Terissa stared directly into Amelia's eyes and what she saw there wasn't fear anymore.
It was stubbornness.
Ugly stubbornness.
"Why are you still resisting?" Terissa asked coldly while pushing harder with her energy.
"Because..." Amelia gritted her teeth as blood trickled slowly from the corner of her lips. "I'm tired of people looking down on my family..."
Boom!
Energy burst unexpectedly from Amelia's body as she forced Terissa backward by a single step.
The crowd widened their eyes instantly.
Terissa's expression darkened.
"You trash..." she muttered.
Her Mid Stage cultivation exploded fully this time.
The pressure descending from her body caused the air itself to become heavier while blue energy wrapped beautifully around her sword and frost spread slowly beneath her feet.
Amelia's face paled immediately.
The difference in cultivation was simply too obvious.
But before she could retreat—
Terissa arrived before her.
Too fast.
Slash!
A deep cut opened across Amelia's shoulder as blood splashed brightly into the cold air.
Before Amelia could even scream, Terissa's elbow smashed directly into her face.
Bang!
Her nose broke instantly.
The force spun her body halfway before another kick buried itself directly into her stomach and launched her backward violently.
Thud!
Amelia crashed hard onto the stage while blood stained the snowy ground beneath her body as her sword slipped slightly from her grip.
The crowd exploded loudly once more.
"That's more like it!"
"Kill her confidence completely!"
Terissa walked toward her again.
Not hurried.
Not pressured.
Like someone slowly playing with prey before killing it.
She stepped directly on Amelia's sword before crouching slightly.
"Do you know the problem with weak people?" she asked mockingly.
"They keep believing effort can overcome talent."
Amelia's breathing turned ragged.
Her vision blurred heavily.
Her entire body screamed in pain.
But then...
She remembered the whispers.
The humiliation.
The way people spat on the Trueblood name.
The way even instructors looked disappointed whenever they saw her.
She came from the Trueblood family... a once glorious family within Chania City.
But after the death of her father who was the former Patriarch of the clan... everything changed.
The family declined both in strength and economic influence.
They were being oppressed constantly by other clans.
The Trueblood family had lost its status.
Its pride.
Its future.
They no longer had talented young geniuses anymore.
"What are you waiting for, Terissa? Are you pitying her? Her stupid foolish brother killed our brother... You've to pay back!" Alyssa screamed loudly and the whole crowd heard clearly.
"What did Alyssa say? Amelia has a brother?"
"Oh... aren't you aware?"
"She has a younger brother named Socrates..."
"That Socrates was a true talent... he defeated someone at a higher realm. He's supposed to be the student of this Academy... not this useless fool..."
"What happened then?"
"Rumors have it Amelia was also a true talent before... She wasn't always like this. She performed the Yin-Yang Ritual for her lover and helped him enter Early Stage Qi Condensation Realm. That was when Alee Ashur abandoned her..."
"Oh... what happened next?"
"He created trouble inside the Trueblood family... but unfortunately for him, Socrates killed him while sacrificing his own meridians for victory. That caused eternal hatred between the Ashur family and the Trueblood family..."
"Oh... two families that used to be best friends..."
"So where's Socrates now?"
"Probably dead... or somewhere useless. What's the fate of someone who can't cultivate?"
"Ah... and what if his soul is watching from heaven seeing the person he sacrificed everything for behaving like an imbecile?"
"God forbid... I'll never pray for a sister like this..."
"She's useless..."
"Completely useless..."
"I pity Socrates... he sacrificed his future for the wrong person..."
The voices penetrated deeply into Amelia's ears.
Every single word stabbed deeply into her heart.
'Is it true brother? Are you really not alive?'
'Did you make the wrong decision?'
'Why did you destroy your future for my sake?'
'What would've become of your life if I wasn't there?'
'I'm the problem...'
'I've caused you too much pain...'
'Now I'm nothing but pathetic...'
'If you were the one here, you would've taken the first slot easily... and I can't even secure the tenth...'
Her body trembled violently on the floor while tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks and mixed with blood.
"It's not time to get emotional... Your brother isn't here to save your ass. You're nothing but a footstool..." Terissa screamed while striking downward with her sword.
"I'm not a footstool..." Amelia replied fiercely while gripping tightly onto her sword as she deflected the strike and slowly rose from the ground.
"My brother said I'm not a footstool... so I'm not one..." Amelia replied aggressively as adrenaline surged violently throughout her body.
"Pathetic... Your brother that's long dead..."
"Impossible... He said he'll come back for me and he'll surely come back. When he does, I can't disappoint him... I've to take that tenth slot and head into the dungeon to gain experience..." Amelia declared fiercely as she charged toward Terissa with violent strides.
The crowd became completely flabbergasted by her sudden outburst.
How was she able to switch like that?
It wasn't magic.
It wasn't supernatural.
It wasn't impossible.
It was scientific.
A normal explanation beyond fantasy.
Trigger.
Emotional trigger.
That's all.
She had been accumulating sorrow, humiliation and emotional pain for years until it buried her deeply and convinced her she was worthless. But the moment Terissa called her a footstool and declared Socrates dead...
Something snapped within her.
Her emotions triggered her sympathetic nervous system.
Instead of activating flight response...
It activated fight response.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
Her blood circulation increased.
Her awareness sharpened.
The sword suddenly felt lighter.
Her body hotter.
Her energy brighter.
The last time something like this happened was when Socrates was almost captured by the other families.
Her body had reacted before her mind could even process it.
The sympathetic nervous system knew.
It always knew.
It reacted according to thought, emotion and instinct.
And right now...
Amelia wasn't angry at Terissa.
She was angry at herself.
"Brother sacrificed for me because he believed in me... I won't let him down..." she whispered softly while closing her eyes and gripping the sword tightly with both hands while pointing it downward.
"Fool..." Terissa muttered as she closed the distance instantly and sent a brutal chop toward Socrates' sister from behind...