â But before that, you need to train harder. You need to build powerful senses and instinct, â The figure spoke, the next moment he controlled one of the shards and instantly injured Bai Lungâs arm before he could even react in time to dodge.
â Eesh!!! â
Bai Lung winced as the sharp pain shot through his arm, blood trickling from the fresh wound.
He gritted his teeth, glaring at the figure on the throne unable to understand why it suddenly attacked him.
Originally he had thought he could easily win but he was proven wrong mercilessly.
Hahaha!
The figureâs laughter echoed through the chamber which was a haunting sound that seemed to mock Bai Lung.
â Do you understand now? â The figure said with calm yet menacing Voice. âStrength alone will not help you escape. You need to sharpen, your senses, your reaction speed, the room there is completely dark, and you will be attacked with magical arrows from multiple directions, â
â You must have thought, you only need to answer but you canât be more wrong, you need to pass three different tests and only then you will be able to take the final test, â The figure added.
Bai Lung clutched his wounded arm.
The pain remained him of his vulnerability, the shards were truly sharp and painful, he might actually die.
Then again, he thought for a second about its words,
He knew the figure was right. If he was to escape this abyss, he needed to be more than just strong. He needed to be perceptive, quick, and wise based on the mystery regarding the tower in the sky.
âFine!â Bai Lung said with a steady voice despite the pain. âIâll train. Show me what I need to do, â
He was ready to leave this place as quickly as possible and see what are those other worlds.
The figure nodded, a flicker of approval in its dark, shifting form. âVery well! Follow me!â
Swish!
With a wave of its hand, a door appeared in the wall behind the throne.
The figure rose from the throne, its form gliding silently across the chamber.
All while, Bai Lung followed.
â¦
The door led to a vast training hall, illuminated by an eerie, bluish light that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves.
The hall was filled with various obstacles and training devices, all designed to maximize the skills.
Bai Lung came quite understand how this person managed to build all this and keep it unharmed or non-polluted.
âFirst of all,â the figure said, turning to face Bai Lung.
âwe will work on your perception. You must learn to see beyond the obvious, to sense danger before it strikes,â
Bai Lung nodded silently as his eyes scanned the room.
âStand in the center,â the figure spoke coldly.
âClose your eyes and listen. Use your other senses to perceive the world around you,â the figure added.
Bai Lung did as he was told, closing his eyes and focusing on the sounds around him.
The silence was oppressive at first, but slowly, he began to pick up on the faintest noises.
He could not only hear the sound, but he could also feel it.
( Echo Manipulation )
The feeling was indescribable for him but he could feel the sound was sort of him, his soul.
âGood! It seems you are pretty good at the sound, you must have received skill related to sound,â the figureâs voice broke the voiceless silence. âNow, open your eyes and moveâ¦â
???
Bai Lung began to walk, with steps that were cautious and measured.
He strained to hear any changes in the environment or any sign of danger.
Suddenly, he felt a rush of air to his right and instinctively ducked.
A sharp object whizzed past, missing him by mere inches.
âNot badâ¦â the figure said. âbut thatâs not impressive,â while he held the shards
For hours, Bai Lung trained his senses which were becoming more connected to his surroundings.
He was currently training his sixth sense, and perfect hearing.
He learned to trust his instincts, to move swiftly and silently.
âThatâs enough for today,â the figure said, â Now! we will test your strength and speed. You must be able to react quickly and strike with precision, â
The figure led Bai Lung to a series of training dummies, each equipped with daggers.
âThese dummies will strike back. You must learn to parry and counter their blows, â
Bai Lung squared his shoulders, ready for the next challenge.
He didnât think too much of these dolls, they looked shabby and weak.
He believed he could easily handle them.
â¦
As the first dummy swung at him, he blocked the blow with his forearm and struck back with a powerful punch, shattering the dummyâs head.
As expected they were weak.
The next dummy attacked from behind, and Bai Lung spun around, using his shards to deflect the blow before delivering a swift kick that sent the dummy crashing to the ground.
Hours turned into days as Bai Lung trained relentlessly, 24 hours.
He didnât get a single break for a month straight, train, train and train,
He could feel the sound of something coming from far away and easily visualize the object in his mind alone.
The test puppets which he thought weak turned out to be the hardest thing, his goal was to destroy all of them before they could recover.
And the recovering speed was fast, as he destroyed one and attacked another, the first one would recover instantly, plus the distance they maintained gave a really hard time for him.
At most, he could only destroy 4 per second while the other 16 still standing.
â¦
After months
As Bai Lung collapsed onto the floor, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, the figure approached him,
â You have exhausted yourself after only a month? the young ones sure are weak, I could train for 10 years straight without getting exhausted⦠Anyway, let me teach you how to properly use the shards, â
Bai Lung looked up with eyes full of joy, âWhat must I do?â
He asked hurriedly as he wanted to learn how to fully use the shards.