25 Sloped Lands

"For the tournament has ended!"

"..."

"Huh?"

"Don't tell me.."

Everyone trembled as they all turned their heads and looked at the leaderboard in the sky. There, a table that shook everyone's hearts shone.

'1ST: Sector D256300 POINTS

2ND: Sector A214600 POINTS

3RD: Sector A15300 POINTS

4TH: Sector A34900 POINTS

5TH: Sector B12600 POINTS

.... '

"How..?!"

"How many did that monster kill to achieve such a score?!"

...

"You done?"

Su Min, leaning against a metal wall, spoke aloud at the closed door next to him. His eyes seemed to carry a troubling weight as the everpresent haziness clouded his pupils: swishing with a faint grief that couldn't be relieved.

"Mhm."

"Hm... I think we need to go soon..."

Su Min titled his head up to the sky as he felt an intense dread fill his chest; strutting around his body and filling him with a shivering sensation. An ancient light seemed to dwindle in his eyes as he looked right at the three existences; It was like a sixth sense, where no matter how hard someone hides, he will know they are there.

'To make me feel such dread...'

It was an unbeatable presence, where no matter how hard he tries it is but a futile effort. It is the worst type of dread; a dread with no escape.

*Creeeak*

The door beside him opened with a soft touch as a girl walked out in a simple t-shirt and skirt. Her blue eyes were lifeless, like a corpse; although she still carried an adorable disposition with her silky, black hair.

"Lets g-"

*CRASH*

A sudden crash resounded as the door, not too far away, slammed open without care. An arrogant figure emerged, pressuring outwards with a disciplined frame, making the girl next to Su Min jump back.

"Hmph!"

Staring at Su Min, Qiu Jin snorted before walking off into the hallway, presumably downstairs. Su Min just sighed before saying to the girl who had somehow ended up all way to the back of the hallway.

"He isn't dangerous, so don't be scared. Even if he was it wouldn't matter, considering I am pretty strong myself, remember?"

The girl seemed to pause as she nodded, where she stumbled towards Su Min with a fragile plodder. Just as Su Min was about to leave as well; the ground shuddered as it sprang into a trembling motion that shook the world. It was at a rate that made the girl nearly lose her balance, throwing her onto the wall in the hallway.

Following this, the same arrogant voice thundered through the ears of everyone, roaring with an intense vigour.

"Haha! Of course, since it ended, we might as well send you off! Although, you could consider this a test too... Hehe!"

Grabbing the panicking girl, Su Min frowned as he felt himself become weightless. A faint whooshing sound rang outside as the building he was in had somehow flown into the air, shining in the sky like a metallic meteor.

He looked around and found nothing useful, so, lamenting, he sat down. However, he just ended up floating in midair; bobbing up and down. He looked at the terrified girl hugging him, rubbing his head in confusion on what to do.

"Uh..."

...

...

*THUD*

A sudden, intense thud smacked at a grassland. There were numerous hills in the distance, sloping with subtle to steep curves. Small huts were scattered around these planes, where the occasional figure ran out holding an axe.

*THUD* *THUD THUD THUD*

Dilapidated metal bases hit the earth at a quickening pace that resembled artillery fire. It was like a shower of boulders falling from the sky, yet the ground beneath these boulders didn't fragment nor shatter; instead, it stood still like it had the toughness of iron.

*WOOSH* *WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH*

"W-WHA..?!"

Each base that landed only had to wait a few seconds until a strange force shrouded it with a welcoming embrace, flinging the inhabitants out of their shelters like kites in the wind.

"AHHH!"

"I-I'm going to p~puke..!"

Piles of people got shoved face first into the grassy dirt; either puking or screaming with muddled minds.

*THUD*

Within this atmosphere that was slowly turning horrific, a common thud rang out as it slammed into the solid ground. The door wooshed open as always, where the same strange force shrouded it like the devil.

*WOOSH*

"..."

"Where's my sword?!"

"Hm~ph... Guh."

An unconscious girl, a panicked robed youth and a pale arrogant figure all flew out in succession,flying face first into the rock-hard dirt; however, Su Min never appeared...

*BOOM* *WOOOSH*

Instead, an immediate, rupturing boom smacked the air inside the base as a blurred figure got thrown out of it. Flying at a terrifying velocity, the figure darted towards a sloped hill that protruded out of the ground for a few metres.

It only took a second for the blur to travel 50 meters as a solidified wind flourished around it, nearly materialising into a cone. A fierce shockwave spread out due to this; causing the grass to ripple outwards.

*BANG*

A bang that resounded like a bomb exploded out from the hill as an even more intense shockwave clawed at the air and forced some people to step back. Trying to open their eyes, the few who had recovered gaped at the scene.

"All I wanted to do was walk out slowly..."

An annoyed sigh spread out from the hill that had somehow remained unscathed, where a youth plopped down a listless girl onto the floor. She seemed fine, though.

"Mhm... What a nice view."

Su Min's expression changed as he saw the glimmering daylight shine rays onto the thatch houses in the distance, where chimney smoke billowed. He could see a forest even further back, where figures walked up and down, carrying massive logs of wood and heaving axes.

Although, due to how far away they were, they seemed like ants to him.

"Ah, someones coming."

*RUMBLE*

A now familiar rumble shook the plains once again, although the world seemed to stand its ground as it remained unchanged. The only thing that trembled was the air; although it was like comparing the heavens and the earth with how the tournament forest shook down to its roots from before.

"Nice view, eh? Well, this is your new home anyway, outer disciples!"

A single figure appeared within the ruptured slit above their heads, wearing red robes. However, for some reason the aura he emitted didn't change the sky nor did it pressure everyone's souls; instead, the red robed man seemed more like a scholar than a cultivator. Ignoring the fact that he was flying, of course.

For the first time, people could look up to him and see his features. His skin was like precious jade whilst his red hair blazed in the subtle winds that blew around him, roaring with a thunderous heat that distorted space itself.

However, people found it strange that whenever they tried to recall what he looked like, all they got was blankness. As everyone was trying to remember his features, the man roared once again, although a lot quieter compared to before.

"This is the outer world of our sec- ah! I forgot to tell you, but we are known as a sect in the cultivation world, not a dojo. Anyways, now that you are in a world made for immortals; don't expect to be able to break it easily. Hehe."

He seemed to be looking at Su Min as he said that, which aroused some people with keen eyes. In return, Su Min only felt confusion.

'When did I break the tournament world?'

The girl beside Su Min quivered as she saw the man who floated in the air with an otherworldly air. Su Min patted her head in reassurance, waiting for what he had to say next.

"Now, please wait for a second!"

*CLAP*

The red-robed man looked at the huts in the distance, clapping twice. The claps resounded through space as they seemed to travel across the world almost instantly. Just afterwards, a wooshing sound rang as a man carrying an axe flew over with a speed that neared half the speed of sound.

A rupturing smack resounded as he halted in front of the red-robed man, clasping his hands in respect. His body seemed to be inhumanly large as his muscles bulged to the point of being ridiculous. He carried an intense pressure that, although passive, forced some onto their knees. It was a physical pressure that, due to his fleshly strength transcending the mortal limit, made his body exude a supernatural sense of power that materialised.

"I'm guessing Elder Du Fang wants me to the do the same old with these new disciples?"

He glanced at the dumbfounded disciples below as he smiled; like he was accepting a monthly delivery. The red robed man laughed before nodding with the same 'You know what to do' look.

"Hahaha! I guess I don't need to explain myself, although..."

He paused for a second as he looked at the man holding the axe. It was only brief, but everyone felt that something weird just happened; although they didn't know what.

"Well, now that you know what to do I'll be seeing myself out!"

The red-robed man coughed before stepping back into the slip in space, disappearing from the world.

Su Min's eyes shone with a strange light as he looked at the burly man remaining.

'Bodily strength huh?'