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WHIT 201 - START OF THE PRELIMINARIES
Thousands of boys and girls, young men and women flocked through the Great Mouth, the entrance that led into the Evergreat Sect. After going in about two miles, they came across two tall guards standing before the huge gate blocking the whole path. Instead of holding spears, the guards were holding metal rods in their hands. “Only those who can withstand the pre-preliminary test can enter through this gate,” one of the guards yelled aloud. “What?” some people were shocked. “We were not informed of any such test?” “What sort of joke is this!” some straight out got angry. “We didn’t come here from thousands of miles away to get stopped before even participating in the preliminary rounds!” “Easy, folks,” another guard stepped forth and said, “the test is really simple. I will strike your shin with this iron rod, and if you’re able to stand after taking the hit, then you can happily walk through the gate. We won’t be stopping you, and you can take part in the preliminary exams.” “You
WHIT 202 - CRAPPY JOB
Among the 382,349 participants, only a little over a hundred thousand had managed to penetrate through the barrier of boulders before dawn. Those who arrived late struggled even more because of the lack of vital air and the excess heat permeating through the whole tunnel. Fighting in such an environment was not something they were prepared for, so the number that failed was quite high.And those that passed were all allowed to rest and eat for four hours in the indoor town before the second round began.The second round was simple. Crush a coconut with one’s foot without slipping and falling on one’s butt. One hour was the time limit for everyone. No weapons must be used. Drive, of course, could be used. In case someone fell to the floor while trying to break the coconut, they wouldn’t get eliminated but would just be given a fresh coconut and was told to break it before the time limit.People used all kinds of foot-striking techniques they could think of to break the coconut. By the
WHIT 203 - DOUBLE TROUBLE
Though the preliminaries had finished, Edgar and Fabby were still at the Great Grove. Because they were members of the sect, they were given a separate room.Edgar had been trying the double-brick challenge for three days, and he was yet to succeed in the way those directly qualified to the main rounds did. He was able to break both the bricks in one go, but he couldn’t break the lower brick without breaking the brick on top first.Unlike Edgar, Fabby succeeded in breaking just the lower brick after a day of practice. Now, she was just practicing on her drive on the side and kept advising Edgar now and then that he was lacking the ability to restrain and control the drive to make it flow non-destructively.He knew that already. He was able to make the drive flow smoothly through the top brick, but that wasn’t enough to destroy the lower brick. He was trying to switch his drive from soft to hard mode at the right moment, but he couldn’t get the timing right, not even once.“Should I te
WHIT 204 - THE ARRIVAL
Normally, the official disciples wouldn’t wear uniforms all the time, as there wasn’t a strict dress code followed in the Evergreat Sect. However, since outsiders were pouring in through the Great Grove, even the foot disciples of the Evergreat sect were slipping on plain jackets that had the symbol of the sect. They escorted the competitors and guests to different halls, where any troublemakers would be spirited away to Folberg, a mountain named after a guy who believeD whatever his heart said and blindly acted on it.Unlike the typical competitors who would be participating in the Youth Games, the guests of the event didn’t necessarily come through the Great Gate. Some of them came through the aerial route, especially the knights and lords of some provinces.Even those from the Four Great Sects, excluding the Evergreat sect, also didn’t necessarily enter through the Great Grove, for they had a prestige to maintain, so they arrived in their own fashion.About a hundred or so people c
WHIT 205 - FOLKS FROM ALL CORNERS
At the Great Light zone, where the elder’s hall was located at.Mighty local peacocks displayed their bright plumage and welcomed the guests. They were like the feathers of angels and easily captivated the souls of many.Magnificent structures of earth and wood were made to accomodate all the guests. The young ones chose the spots that were to their liking. The adults and the elderly greeted each other first.The elders and masters of different sects also greeted one another. The patriarchs of the four great sects, however, met in the large pavilion of Evergreat sect’s patriarch.There were thousands gathered in a single place, so naturally, some quarrels arose, but before the quarrels escalated into bloody fights, Gavin made entrance and spoke with his thunderous voice that went violent on people’s ears. “Get some rest, fellows. You all have a competition to clear, starting from tomorrow morning.”His voice scared most into submission.“Is that Gavin Beyza, the High Elder of the Ever
WHIT 206 - THE NIGHT BEFORE THE COMPETITION
Bontu was still roaming around in the Great Light zone.Just when he was thinking of leaving, he noticed a woman in hood talking to the Ogvi Warriors. He couldn’t see her, but the breeze brought her scent to him, and it felt strangely familiar.“Is she…” his hands began to shake from a strange sense of excitement. He hid himself behind a wall and watched. Since just watching wasn’t helping him, he strained his sense of hearing, hoping he’d be able to overhear a bit of the conversation. However, he heard nothing. “Are they using some kind of sound barrier? They must be.”He patiently waited. Once the hooded woman was leaving, he snatched a mask that was next to a sleeping person and secretly followed her. She was heading to the Great Joint where the outer disciples stayed.After going some distance, she stopped in the middle of the woods and glanced back. Bontu immediately hid behind a tree. (Did she sense me? No. I’m confident in my stealth. There’s no wind here, and I’ve kept myself
WHIT 207 - THE ONE WHO LOVES PEACE
In the early morning, the Youth Games started with a huge celebration that involved some dance and music performances. It was an artistic dance where the artists on the stage imitated real-life activities such as fighting and exercising.At the end of the celebrations, Dusul Jayman the patriarch of Evergreat sect, Keeze Monn the patriarch of Red Roses sect, Chadd Dawg the patriarch of White Tigers sect, and Shadelle Spie the Matriarch of Ogvi Warriors sect took to the stage.Shadelle spoke first. “Nothing burns hotter than a passionate heart,” she was tall, muscular and had ash-gray hair from where fire particles kept leaking out faintly and made her hair look extremely cool. “Fight with passion, and you will win even if you lose.”The brown-skinned Chadd spoke second. “Hahaha, you can’t win without putting some effort into refining your body. It’s all in the muscles, folks.” He began stretching his body and showing off his muscles, making some elders in the camp shake their heads and
WHIT 208 - FIRST ROUND (I)
The fog took everyone to the testing grounds of the outer disciples, where the stage was set. Not a literal stage, but plenty of long-distance targets for the participants to strike. There was thicker fog moving about, hanging low from above the ground. Venel’s mother, Alysse Green, a master of the Evergreat sect announced with loud vocals that reached all the ears around, “The Spear Chasing Sect chose the first round this time. All you have to do is strike the targets floating in the sky using whatever means you have, but of course, the one who hits from afar will get more points than the one who hits from a closer distance. Needless to say, you only get once chance, and if you miss landing a strike, you fail.” “We have to hit those floating boulders?” some of the disciples frowned. “The closest one itself is at least hundred meters away.” “Wait, is one of those stones moving?” “That’s not all. They are being screened by the fog, and it’s no ordinary fog. It will likely thwart any