Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique-Chapter 32: Seris’s Resolve

Chapter 32: Seris’s Resolve

Jaro and other inner sect disciples’ faces were plastered with extreme shock and dumbfoundedness.

Victor’s confident sneer completely froze on his face.

He instinctively tried to pull his right fist back, furiously circulating his Level 9 essence to its absolute limit.

However, his face warped in sudden anxiety.

His fist did not move even a single inch!

It felt as if his knuckles were clamped inside a vise forged of impenetrable steel.

Rhain stood there, looked at the fiercely struggling Victor and lightly asked, "Do you accept your defeat?"

"You... Impossible!" Victor angrily roared, the essence in his body surging wildly.

He furiously jerked his arm backwards three or four times, utilizing every last ounce of his strength, but all of that was futile.

He looked at Rhain’s calm, unreadable face, his eyes filled with absolute denial.

"What kind of demonic trick are you using?!" Victor yelled.

For him to be defeated so easily by someone of the exact same age, to the point where he did not even have the qualifications to struggle?

How could he possibly accept this!

Rhain’s expression remained utterly indifferent.

He casually loosened his five fingers and released Victor’s fist.

"Then give it another try," Rhain stated, his voice completely devoid of any fluctuation.

The sudden release of force caused Victor to violently stumble backward.

Victor paused, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

Absolute humiliation burned in his eyes.

With a furious roar, he abruptly surged forward.

This time, he pushed his essence beyond its absolute limits, striking toward Rhain’s chest with desperate, unadulterated violence.

Smack.

Another dull, quiet sound echoed across the stone training ground.

Without shifting his footing even half a step, Rhain’s caught the incoming fist with the exact same casual, effortless motion.

Victor’s momentum died instantly.

Once again, his arm was locked in an inescapable grip

Watching the desperately struggling Victor, Rhain did not immediately push him away.

Instead, he measured him with a calm gaze and casually praised, "For someone at the same realm, your strength is indeed quite good."

Victor gritted his teeth, desperately pulling his arm while staring at Rhain with horrified gaze.

"But before me," Rhain continued. "You are still very weak."

Rhain opened his hand.

Victor stumbled backward once more.

But this time, his legs completely gave out.

The sheer, unbelievable disparity in their strength, combined with the violent overexertion of his essence, completely drained him.

Victor dropped directly to his knees on the hard stone.

He panted heavily, his shoulders rising and falling as he frantically gasped for air.

When he raised his head to look up at the Rhain standing calmly before him, the absolute pride in his eyes had been completely shattered, replaced only by an unconcealable, trembling fear.

"Do you accept your defeat?" Rhain looked down at the fiercely trembling Victor.

Victor slowly lowered his head.

"I accept," he squeezed out a voice full of unwillingness.

Rhain tilted his head, his gaze landing on Harmon. "Sect Master."

Harmon nodded slowly.

He stepped forward, his heavy, authoritative gaze sweeping across the stunned disciples and the silent elders.

"I will say it one final time," Harmon’s voice echoed across the stone training ground, carrying absolute finality. "The Disciple Leader for this hollow realm exploration will be Rhain."

This time, there was no questions raised.

There was no confusion. No refusal.

Absolute silence reigned over the disciple group.

Jaro was unwilling.

But what could he possibly do?

Even Victor had been thoroughly defeated without Rhain taking a single step.

He could only obediently swallow his fate.

The gathering went on in a solemn manner for another hour.

Night completely fell over the Azure Cloud Sect.

Finally, Harmon raised his hand.

The murmurs ceased instantly.

"The preparations are complete," Harmon announced. "Return to your quarters. Rest well tonight."

Harmon’s gaze slowly swept across the thirty individuals who were about to step into the jaws of death.

"You are the absolute elites of our Azure Cloud Sect. Your bravery and your willingness to sacrifice your lives for the future of this sect is something this old man will never forget. I only hope... that you all return safely."

As Harmon looked at the faces of these elders and youths, a deep, unspeakable sorrow flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Looking at these familiar faces now, he did not know how many of them he would ever get to see again after tomorrow.

Perhaps, for some, this was the final farewell.

"Dismissed," Harmon said softly, waving his hand.

With a heavy heart, Harmon turned around.

Accompanied by Great Elder Silas, Fourth Elder Torin, and the other top elders, he slowly departed.

The remaining elders and disciples also began to slowly disperse.

As they left, almost every single one of them couldn’t help but take a few glances at Rhain.

Soon, the training field was completely silent.

Only two people remained.

Rhain, and standing at a distance of a few paces away, standing quietly in the cool night breeze, was Seris.

The cool night wind blew past, gently fluttering Seris’s deep purple robes.

Under the moonlight, her silver-white hair that was now tinged with a breathtaking ice-blue swayed slightly.

Rhain unhurriedly walked towards her. As he drew near, he could clearly feel the faint, icy aura radiating from her delicate body.

The moon in the sky seemed somewhat fond of her, as her body was enveloped by the faint grace of moonlight, giving her skin a translucent, etheral glow.

Stopping half a pace in front of her, Rhain’s dark grey eyes openly measured her up and down.

He suddenly smiled and slowly spoke, "If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought a fairy had taken your place."

Hearing Rhain’s sudden, teasing praise, Seris’s delicate face instantly flushed a deep, rosy red.

"Don’t make fun of me," she lowered her head shyly, her voice soft like a gentle breeze.

Rhain let out a low, amused chuckle.

Rhain stepped closer, his calm gaze sweeping over her mesmerizing silver-blue hair. "I am not joking. But, you must tell me... what exactly happened to you? How did you reach the eighth level of the Essence Awakening Realm in just two weeks?"

Seris lifted her head. Her pale purple eyes met his dark grey ones.

"It was the pill you gave me," she explained with some disbelief.

"That night, after you gave me those pills... I wanted to cultivate properly so I wouldn’t become a burden to you. I swallowed the flawless pill you gave me."

A lingering trace of fear flashed through her beautiful eyes. "The moment it entered my stomach, a strange power suddenly erupted within my body. It was so cold... I lost consciousness almost instantly."

She paused, taking a soft breath. "When I finally woke up, my room was covered in thick frost, my hair had turned like this, and... I was already at the sixth level of the Essence Awakening Realm."

Rhain’s eyes narrowed slightly by a fraction of a millimeter.

It sounded very much like an awakening of a special physique just like him

"After that," Seris continued, her voice growing a bit firmer, "I challenged an Inner Sect disciple. I won, and they promoted me to the Inner Sect."

She paused, her pink lips pressing together in a slight pout.

"I came to your courtyard a few times over these past two weeks to tell you. But you never came out even once, after me trying to knock dozens of times on your door."

Rhain stilled for a long time as he slowly settled his thoughts.

Looking at her sour face, he ascribed with a slightly guilty expression, "I must have been very absorbed in my cultivation."

But then his expression changed into something extremely solemn, "Seris, Hollow Realm is an extremely dangerous place. Even Essence Condensation experts are not safe there. I do not want you to enter."

Hearing his words, Seris instantly shook her head. The gentle softness in her eyes was replaced by an unyielding, absolute stubbornness. "No! I must go!"

She looked directly into Rhain’s abyssal eyes, "I know it is dangerous. But... I do not want to be left behind by you! I want to stand by your side, not merely watch your back as you walk further and further away!"

Facing Seris’s eyes filled with deep resolve, Rhain stared for a moment before letting out a slow sigh.

He knew she won’t agree to him.

Fine," Rhain let out a slow, quiet breath, "If you want to come, you must prove your strength to me."

He uncrossed his arms and stood casually.

"Attack me. If you can satisfy me with your strength, then and only then will I let you come."

Seris’s eyes widened slightly, but she quickly nodded her head in silent agreement, "Alright."

As her voice dropped, an icy aura suddenly surrounded her delicate body.

A mesmerizing, transcendent silver light silently seeped out of her snow-white skin.

The temperature in the training ground plummeted in a flash.

The previously cool night breeze instantly became piercingly cold like sharp blades.

"Be careful, Rhain." she whispered softly.

With an astonishing speed, she lightly stepped forward and punched out with her small fist.

Without any suspense, Rhain effortlessly caught the small fist in the palm of his hand.

However, a flicker of surprise crossed his dark grey irises.

The force behind her strike was surprising according to her realm.

The quality of her icy essence completely crushed ordinary essence.

Even Victor, the undisputed rank one disciple at Level 9, would likely be frozen and defeated by this single strike.

It’s just that Seris was facing Rhain.

To his Abyssal Sovereign Physique, the freezing energy was completely neutralized the moment it touched his skin.

But Rhain could clearly feel that she did not use her true strength at all.

She was deliberately holding back, afraid of hurting him.

Rhain unhurriedly released her soft fist and spoke with a stern face. "I told you to satisfy me with your strength. Do not hold back even the slightest bit."

Seris blinked, slightly surprised to see Rhain catching her fist so easily.

But when she heard Rhain’s words, she hesitated, "Are you... really sure?"

"Do it," Rhain commanded, his dark grey eyes sharpening.

Seris took a deep breath.

This time, the silver light around her body violently erupted, illuminating the dark training ground.

She punched again, but her strength this time astonishingly surpassed the entire realm of the Essence Awakening Realm!

Her delicate fist was wrapped entirely in a dazzling, icy silver-blue energy, tearing through the air with an overwhelming power that had undoubtedly reached the second or third level of the Essence Condensation Realm!

BOOM!

Rhain caught her fist once again.

A shockwave of freezing air exploded, but Rhain’s body did not move even half a step.

Instead of letting go, Rhain fell into deep thought.

He stood completely still, his fingers firmly wrapped around her small, ice-cold fist as he meticulously scanned the strange, freezing energy coursing through her skin

What kind of essence is this?

It’s innate, not influenced by any martial arts.

Furthermore, Rhain felt his own blood freezing for a second.

What kind of power did Seris awaken?

For a while, Rhain was completely lost in his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Seris stood trapped before him.

She stood frozen, her delicate fist firmly gripped by Rhain.

A red blush instantly spread across her flawless face, making her look like a ripe apple under the moonlight.

"Rhain..."

Seris weakly tugged her arm and looked down, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

She whispered in a voice as small as a mosquito.

"Can you... let me go now?"