"Consider today a learning experience." Zeke arrogantly spoke to him.
Currently the two were standing on an arena facing each other waiting for the formation to activate to begin. This wasn't a friendly spar like when Alrin sparred with Edward no for Zeke about removing an obstacle. As for Alrin this was about testing his strength he may not have reached the fifth core but the energy stored in his body had still increased since the fight with Csepel. This was also the best chance he had at the moment to test the effectiveness of The Radiance.
"For a senior you are pathetic, rejected yet acting like a beast in heat." Alrin said in response angering him. The others naturally laughed especially Alara whose laugh angered Zeke the most.
Taking a deep breath Zeke did not act out in anger his personality might have been trash but that did not mean he was a fool at least not a complete fool. Having gone on many missions for the sect naturally had him dealing with the disciples of other sects and competing with them so this much he could endure.
"It seems respect will have to be instilled into you." As he said that the formation activated. "You can have the first move." Now that the spar had started Zeke put his hands behind his back showing his confidence,
Alrin had no information of Zeke's path and chose to rush him with his greatsword to get that information. Not holding back Alrin with his greatsword in the air swung it down at Zeke but before his sword could hit him he was suddenly flung back with great force crashing into the barrier of the arena.
"You're movements lack the refinement of a sword cultivator so I'd guess are most likely a body cultivator." Zeke analyzed based on what he saw so far.
"And you cultivate the wind path." Alrin said falling onto his feet after hitting the barrier. He was not able to react due to being in the middle of his swing but he had seen the energy gather in Zeke's attack.
"You realized after one attack I guess you amount to something but what can you do about it?"
"You will have to see." He said putting the greatsword away the size and weight would hinder him for this fight.
Holding his hands out wide an orb of energy began appearing in both hands. Once the reached the size of a tennis ball he slammed his hands together resulting an explosion between his hand. The force of the explosion tried to force his hands apart but he only opened up the gap between his fingers keeping the palms together. The result was a a powerful shock wave that sent Zeke flying back as he had only been watching believing Alrin as a body refiner would be easy to defeat.
Zeke caught off guard by the attack was indeed sent flying but he reacted quickly as he used his wind to create a counter force slowing him and preventing him from slamming against the barrier. The difference in this situation and Alrin's was that Alrin even if he was confident in a battle he was relentless.
In that short time Alrin crossed half the arena was soon to be on him. Seeing that Zeke was trying to use his wind to send him flying back but after experiencing once Alrin was prepared for it. He swiftly dodged to the side every-time an air blast came and after dodging multiple attacks he was finally withing range to hit Zeke.
Seeing this Zeke did not panic or overreact instead enhanced by his wind path began dodging Alrin's attacks. Alrin was fast but Zeke being in his late twenties was experienced and using his wind path to enhance his speed was able to doge all of Alrin's attacks.
Seeing his attacks continuously miss Alrin jumped back while also gathering energy in his hands again.
"It was a waste the first time so why wouldn't it be this time?" He said seeing that.
Alrin avoided Zeke's attacks while he was gathering the energy and once it was ready he held the energy in his palms and dashed at Zeke.
For this battle Zeke's goal was not just to win it was to humiliate Alrin. He wanted Alrin to use everything in his arsenal showing how weak he was before ruthlessly crushing him but that was about to be a mistake.
Alrin dodged one, two, three air blasts to get in-front of Zeke. Once he was within range he slammed the energies together again. The difference was that this time instead of focusing the force of the explosion he let it envelop him and Zeke.
Seeing that Zeke concentrated the force of his wind to protect himself but for Alrin that was nothing more than a distraction a way to blind him. He easily went through it appearing at Zeke's side and punched him as hard as he could in the face piercing through the concentrated wind. The attack dazed him and caused many of his teeth to go flying.
Their had been two factors as to why this had worked. The first was that Alrin made Zeke believe he was going to use the energy to attack not create a distraction. The 2nd factor was that Zeke had failed to take into account throughout this battle was that he could not sense Alrin's energy. He had not even tried to evaluate his strength when he saw that he was only an outer disciple resulting in this situation.
The force of the punch sent Zeke flying but Alrin easily kept up with the speed he flew and before Zeke could stop himself or hit the barrier Alrin grabbed his leg and used it to slam him into the ground. He coughed up blood as he slammed into the ground.
Alrin was not going to be lenient in this moment. Lifting up his leg he was about to use his to crush his head but as the kick was coming down Zeke vanished having regained his focus. Similar to a flash and spatial flow known as breeze he became one with the wind for a moment and reappeared behind Alrin.
"Wind Severing!" He shouted using a powerful attack meant for killing.
Alrin had not been able to move in time. Zeke's breeze had happened as Alrin's kick was coming down and by the time it landed Zeke had used Wind Severing. Hit by the attack one of Alrin's arms had been cut off while his back had a bone deep wound across in it.
As long as the formation made by a peak immortal was active their souls would be tied to their body so even if someone were to be beheaded inside this formation it would eventually heal of course it would still leave the trauma from the pain.
"Alrin!" Alara shouted but she could not interfere with the formation active. "Zeke your going too far if you go any further you will regret it!" Once the spar ended she planned on crushing Zeke's pride even if it meant ruining a core disciple. Even if Alrin would not die for her he had finally gone too far.
"Too far!? I haven't gone far enough. This idiotic outer disciple injured me even if I killed him it would not be far enough." Getting hit in the face by Alrin had finally pushed him over the edge.
"The Radiance." Alrin thought to himself after he had fallen on the ground. Once activated a small fiery aura enveloped him. The aura was unstable like a candle the would flicker out any second but it was active and his strength began to surge.
Standing up Alrin grabbed his left arm before retreating.
"Good you still have some fight left in you."
Gathering energy in his right hand Alrin threw his arm at Zeke catching not just him but everyone off guard. He dodged the arm but behind it was a blast of energy that blew up Alrin's arm and the energy he channeled into it
This was the type of attack you could never be prepared for without experience and this was Zeke's first experience.
Moving even faster than before Alrin was almost instantly in-front of Zeke but he had learned from his earlier mistake even if he could not see Alrin he could use the movements of the air to track him.
Despite being faster this time Zeke deflected Alrin's fist and went to slice off Alrin's right arm but his left arm had already recovered a calculation Alrin had made destroying it himself. Using the moment Alrin swung his left fist straight into Zeke's abdomen crushing all his organs.
Before Alrin could hit him again Zeke retreated with his breeze appearing at the barrier and simultaneously ate a pill to heal..
"Is this it I expected more?" Alrin said but the power increase granted by cores was not a qualitative one but a quantitative one. Normally the bigger factor would be that somebody of a higher core would have much higher understanding of their paths resulting in a more qualitative increase in power.
Hearing that Zeke began raging pulling at his hair in frustration, "More you want more!? Fine you'll get it!" Saying that Zeke's hair changed to a brownish green as the air in the arena came under his full control.
The first thing he did with that control was concentrate all the air in the area in the area into the palm of his hand causing Alrin to immediately start suffocating from a lack of air.
Doing this would not cause Alrin to pass out or die like it would for others but the feeling of suffocation was still dreadful even for Alrin. His mind knew their was no air for him to breath but his body desperately tried to get more air but before he could get it under control Zeke continued.
"You liked explosions so I will give you one ah I guess you can't hear me anymore." Saying that Zeke began pressurizing the sphere of air he had causing it to shrink and compress until it went from the size of basketball to a marble.
Using a breeze he appeared in front of Alrin and tried to grab him but Alrin would not let him do that so easily. With The Radiance still active he watched Zeke's movements and the moment he materialized he instead grabbed the arm that was trying to grab himself. At that same moment air blades appeared all around Alrin trying to cut him down.
Alrin made the decision to ignore the blades of air and instead went for the option he promised Alara he would avoid and went for the explosive air bomb Zeke was holding. Seeing that Zeke used a gust of air to sent it at Alrin allowing to take it while he activated his breeze.
Seeing him use it for the third time Alrin was not just going to let him get away. While Zeke was trying to run Alrin with The Radiance active was able to grab him, and pulled him out of the breeze preventing his escape.
Once he held Zeke he grabbed the pressurized air bomb and as he was about to use it on Zeke himself, Zeke decided to blow it up before Alrin could do anything dangerous.
The moment it went off instead of an explosion sending them flying Zeke had modified the effect. Instead millions of particle sized wind-blades exploded out with great force disintegrating everything they were passing through.
Alrin's right hand that was reaching out for it was the first to go. Unconsciously when that happened he pushed The Radiance as far as he could causing his golden aura to expand out blocking the wind-blades from defeating him.
Alrin was still holding onto Zeke while this happened but it became a problem of what would destroy him his own forbidden art or Zeke's attack.
Zeke on the other hand was struggling his hardest to escape Alrin's grasp. With the The Radiance active the aura surrounding Alrin was starting to burn Zeke alive and also helped keep him trapped with increase in strength.
Currently stuck Zeke created more air to fill the arena once more allowing Alrin to breath once again but more importantly restoring the ability to transmit sound.
Zeke rose his hand to Alrin's head and snapped using his wind path and a bit of the sound path he amplified the sound transmission and in an instant Alrin's brain was rattled along with both of his ear drums bursting.
This was naturally not enough to stop him but for a moment Alrin's Radiance flickered and Zeke used that chance to break free of his grasp.
It was at this moment finally had the chance to claim victory with Alrin still holding back the air blades.
Holding his palms an inch apart a forming out of the wind was a perfectly circular disc 10 inches across and as thin as a sheet of paper. Once it was formed it began rotating with increasing speed. It rapidity went from rotation a second, to five hundred a second until it reached its peak at 3000 rotations a second. This had happened in only a few second and once it was fully formed Zeke let go of it with his left hand. Using his right hand he threw it at Alrin with his full force.
Seeing it coming Alrin knew he could not withstand being hit by that so he pushed his Radiance even further causing his internals to begin being destroyed from the heat generated. At the same time he summoned his greatsword to block the attack infusing it with Sencia.
The disc was fast approaching and just as it was about to hit Alrin's greatsword it rotated around it bypassing it. Reacting quickly to the sudden change Alrin dropped his sword and used his arm to try to block it.
Before the disc could proceed onward to take Alrin's neck interference appeared. Alara had requested help from her master in-case things went to far. Although rare their had been cases of a disciple using this formation to keep playing around with an already defeated disciple.
Appearing in the arena was a projection of Lilith.
"Zeke you won the battle but you lost in every other regard." Lilith spoke a few words to him since he was a core disciple but did not spare him another glance.
"Alrin you did well despite your limitation but you are further limiting yourself by not fully incorporating your soul into your movements." She said to Alrin and before she could say anything she turned to Alara.
"Alara I won't interfere for something like this again. If you can't protect your own people then they will suffer because of you." Saying that the projection of her vanished.
With Lilith's appearance Zeke would naturally no longer continue so he left dejected and angry. He could not understand what she had meant by he lost in every other regard.
Alrin on the other hand came out of the spar satisfied. He may not have won but he did get a good grasp of the level of his strength. In addition to that Lilith had given him advice that was extremely valuable for him now.
"Alrin I'll make sure hes not a problem after today." Alara said jumping up onto the arena.
"No need next time we fight I will come out victorious." He said full of confidence.
"As expected on my protegee keep following me and you will be peerless once you ascend." Kor said flying on his head.
"That's a big promotion you got there." Alara said joking about Kor now calling Alrin his protegee.
"Indeed with such a mentor winning the inner disciple competition will be a breeze." Vera said walking up.
"Oof even I feel bad for the other outer disciples this time." Rex said.
"They still have a chance top 4 get promoted." Edward said.
This was part of the loss Lilith was talking about that Zeke could not understand. Just because cultivation was a path walked alone did not mean their were not paths parallel to you that could keep you company along the way.