When I opened my eyes, I found myself back at the side of the arena—my friends next to me, our ten black-robed enemies opposite us. Looking around, studying everyone, I felt a weight settle onto my shoulders.

Kan and YuLong were good fighters, but quickly defeating multiple opponents was a challenge, even for them. The Blackblade Hall cultivators weren’t particularly skilled, but that poison qi more than compensated for their lack of ability. Even with my memories of that first bout, what were the chances my friends would actually be able to win?

Of course, I could step in and help them. Even restricting myself to abilities that the Bureau already knew about, I could eliminate the three poison cultivators without much difficulty. After that, Kan and the others would be able to handle our remaining opponents on their own.

But… should I? This was the first time my companions were facing down enemies who could—and would—kill them. After this tournament, we would be targeted by every Martial Master in the kingdom. Wouldn’t it be better to use this as a training scenario to help them prepare for that?

Making up my mind, I connected to an avatar in my inner world. “System, give me another five temporary rest points. The next five times I die, send me right back to this moment.”

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Was five enough? Maybe not, but it seemed like a sensible limit. The Earthy Dao didn’t appreciate “quick, repeated, intentional resets,” and I didn’t want my friends to be stuck bashing their heads against a brick wall. If they couldn’t win this fight after five more attempts, we would have to move on to a different strategy.

Focusing back on my team, I lifted my right hand, used my ‘blessing’ to extract a memory orb from ‘our sect’s library,’ and passed it to Kan. “Before we go any further, all of you need to review the contents of this orb. It will help you prepare for the fight ahead.”

This earned me a few odd looks, but they followed my instructions without asking any questions.

As Kan surfaced from the trance of absorbing the orb’s memories, his eyes widened. “Ancestor, what—”

YuLong shot out a hand, grabbing the boy’s shoulder as he shook his head, stopping Kan from saying anything more.

“No need to worry,” I said, a faint smile at the corner of my mouth. “That’s a record of what you’re about to face. If you step on stage now, without any further preparation, you will die.”

I reached into my inner world, pulled out a set of cultivation mats, and tossed them on the ground. “Let’s break down everything you just saw. Before any of you walk back onto that stage, I want each of you to have a clear plan for how to win.”

Everyone exchanged uneasy looks, glancing between me and the spectators that surrounded us. Any or all of them might be listening in on our conversation, and discussing events that hadn’t happened yet was sure to raise countless suspicions.

“Don’t worry about them,” I said, waving this away. “Focus on defeating Blackblade Hall.”

JiuLi and Kan weren’t aware of my full range of abilities, but YuLong and Meng LuYao knew enough to understand what I intended to do. So, after one last wary glance at the crowd, they pulled the other two into a quiet discussion about a fight that had yet to unfold.

Secure in the knowledge that they would have multiple attempts to get things right, YuLong and Kan didn’t hesitate. The instant the Bureau’s representative announced the start of the match, they charged, ignoring the weaker fighters who tried to block them, and headed straight for the three poison cultivators.

Unfortunately, the poison cultivators were anything but soft persimmons.

As Kan and YuLong closed the distance, two of the poison cultivators stepped forward to intercept them, while their leader hung back and continued to saturate the arena with toxins.

Since these poison cultivators carried Rank 2 weapons, blocking wasn’t an option. Kan and YuLong were forced to dodge every strike. Under normal conditions, this wouldn’t have been an issue, but with five extra enemies crowding their steps, even perfect execution of their movement techniques couldn’t prevent the inevitable. Tiny cuts and scratches began to accumulate along their limbs.

Such minor wounds shouldn’t have been a problem—they shouldn’t have even been noticeable. However, with every cut carrying a tendril of poison qi, it wasn’t long before the boys began to slow and, eventually, falter.

Because of his reckless charge, YuLong was the first to fall to his opponents’ blades. This time, though, I wasn’t going to let my friends die so easily.

Reaching out with a Spirit-Seizing Palm, I grabbed YuLong and flung him off the stage, sending him away from any who would do him harm. The men who had been attacking him jumped back in shock, but after a few brief nods, they turned their attention toward eliminating the rest of my friends.

Kan was the next to fall. Then, Meng LuYao. And, finally, JiuLi. Each time a life hung in the balance, I snatched them up and hurled them to safety. Before long, I was the only one left, still sitting on my wooden stool.

Seeing this, and having witnessed everything that had just transpired, none of my enemies were too keen on rushing forward to confront me. I didn’t care.

I snorted, unleashed a wave of soul needles, and watched all of them die, one after the other.

Paying no heed to the Bureau’s representative, I walked over to my sect and handed everyone a memory orb. “Record your thoughts on the fight. Include anything that might help you do better the next time around.”

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Kan and JiuLi were still trembling from everything that had just happened, so I said nothing and patiently waited for them to finish. Then, after gathering up everyone’s orbs, I sat down, leaned my back against the stage, and swallowed a poison pill.

You have died.

Returned once more to the side of the arena, I reached into my inner world and pulled out six jade orbs. After absorbing my memories of the first fight, and their own memories of the second fight, my four teammates sat down on their mats and did their best to figure out how to handle our black-robed opponents.

This time, when the battle began, no one charged forward. Instead, YuLong dropped back to support Meng LuYao while Kan dropped back to support JiuLi.

Carefully controlling the tempo of the fight, YuLong pushed and pulled his opponents at will, positioning them exactly where he wanted them. Then, without any warning, Meng LuYao sent out a thick spike of wood, spearing one of the weaker fighters through the neck.

At nearly the same time, JiuLi used her snake-like guandao like a hook, pulling one of the black-robed cultivators off balance, and allowing Kan to deliver a devastating blow.

With two opponents down, this round was starting to look promising. However, when the poison cultivators stepped forward, things quickly changed for the worse. Like before, every nick and scratch of their blades was filled with poison qi, and having just seen two of their comrades fall, they weren’t holding back.

In less than a minute, I was forced to send a wave of soul needles, ending the fight, and saving my friends’ lives. Then, after grabbing everyone’s memories, I took a pill and scurried back through time.

You have died.

“I don’t know, Fang. I can’t…” YuLong let out a heavy breath, depressed. “If I had a decent weapon, it would be easy. One good slash, and they’d be done for. The problem is, I can’t attack them. If I try, those damned Rank 2 sabers cut right through my blade. If I could send out ranged attacks like LuYao, maybe things would be different, but right now… I think we’re going to need your help.”

I nodded, worried that YuLong might be right.

I could kill everyone from Blackblade Hall without breaking a sweat, but what would that teach Kan and JiuLi? To fall back and ask the Ancestor for help whenever things got tough? Not helping them could be even worse, though.

As I sat there, silently debating my options, considering whether I should just abandon this training scenario and destroy any memory of it, JiuLi took the decision out of my hands.

After looking over at Kan, whose face was set in a line of grim determination, she turned her glare upon YuLong. “No, we’re not giving up. We can do this. We almost had it that time. We just need to be a little faster.”

Completely ignoring that our opponents could see and hear everything she did, JiuLi began pointing to the cultivators opposite us. “We each just need to be able to take out one person the moment the fight begins. We always get matched up against the same people. If we can learn their patterns, this shouldn’t be too difficult. LuYao and I are almost there. Just focus on finding your opponents’ weaknesses.”

Meng LuYao nodded in confirmation.

JiuLi turned from YuLong to Kan. “We can do this. We just need practice.”

During the fourth fight against Blackblade Hall, everyone split up and focused on learning the movements and habits of one particular individual. Since JiuLi had freely announced that this was what they intended to do, it didn’t work quite as well as it could have, but over the ten-minute-long fight, I noticed dramatic improvements in everyone’s attacks.

Eventually, everyone succumbed to the flood of poison qi, but not before they had each landed at least one devastating blow against their chosen target.

During the fifth fight, YuLong and Kan dashed forward with murder in their eyes. Before the Bureau’s representative had even left the stage, their blades were already sweeping through the air in brilliant arcs—followed a heartbeat later by a spray of blood as steel bit into flesh.

Off to my left, JiuLi lunged forward. Her saber-wielding opponent grinned as he raised his Rank 2 blade to slice her wooden guandao in half, but JiuLi only smiled right back at him.

With a burst of qi, the blade of JiuLi’s guandao tore free from its haft and shot forward like a wooden javelin. The man twisted to the side, barely avoiding death, but the spike still punched into his shoulder with a sickening crack.

Her target survived, but as a proof of concept, JiuLi’s attack was a clear success.

Meanwhile, off to my right, Meng LuYao wasn’t having nearly as much luck. She had managed to impale her opponent with several large spikes, but he was still able to fight back, and her weapon wouldn’t be able to take much more abuse.

Still, by the time the poison cultivators realized things had started to fall apart, three of their comrades were dead, and JiuLi was working with Kan to take care of a fourth.

In the end, this still wasn’t enough. When the three poison cultivators stepped forward, they were quickly able to stabilize the situation. Then, as time wore on, my friends began to fall. However, they were close.

Close enough, at least.

This time, after rescuing everyone, I didn’t immediately grab their memories and rush back through time. Instead, I laid out the cultivation mats and had everyone talk through what they could do to improve. Then, once everyone knew how to deal with their opponents, I took their memory orbs and connected to an avatar in my inner world.

“System, combine everyone's memories from the past few lives into a single orb. I want one orb with all of YuLong’s memories, one orb with Meng LuYao’s, one orb with JiuLi’s, and one orb with Kan’s.”

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After one last look at my friends, I knew we were ready.

You have died.

During our sixth and final fight with Blackblade Hall, neither JiuLi nor Meng LuYao showed an ounce of mercy. They sprinted forward, thrust out their weapons, and launched wooden spears straight through their opponents’ hearts. At almost the exact same moment, YuLong and Kan drove their blades into targets of their own, executing swift, clean kills.

After only a handful of seconds, four of our ten enemies lay dead.

The poison cultivators panicked. Instead of charging in as usual, they poured all their qi outward, desperately trying to smother my companions in a choking cloud of poison.

This time, however, I decided not to let them have their way. I didn’t want to openly interfere—this was their moment—but I subtly manipulated the poison with my qi affinity, dispersing it just enough that it wouldn’t have any effect.

Still full of energy, my friends were able to cut down their next three enemies in mere moments, leaving only the three poison cultivators behind. And when these three realized the battle had turned so decisively against them, they tried to flee.

My friends didn’t allow it.

They activated movement techniques to close the distance, while I used a soul technique to lock our opponents in place—not for long, just long enough.

And with that, the fight was over. Did my friends realize that I had interfered? Maybe, but they had proven to themselves that they could win, and that was what mattered.

I still had one temporary reset point left, but I saw no reason to use it. Better to hold it in reserve and see what the final round of our Heavenly Ascension had in store for us.