That loud yell rang through his house, almost causing Harry to jump out of his bed in surprise.

'Again?' Harry groaned blearily. 'Those Alchemists came back?'

But that voice… it didn't sound like Nelson or any of his friends. It didn't sound like Noah either. Yet, it was familiar. Where had he heard it before?

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!"

'There ought to be a rule against yelling in the dorms in the morning,' he thought groggily. He buried his head under his pillow –

"JAMES EVANS, COME OUT!"

It didn't seem this nuisance was going to leave any time soon, so Harry sighed and got out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he did so. He headed towards the front door, planning on giving whoever it was a big slap on the face. And when he opened the door, he saw a large and angry man standing right outside, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"JAMES, GET – "

It was Maynard Hatton.

"James! I challenge you to a fight. Follow me to the Dueling Hall!"

Harry blinked in surprise, not expecting to see Maynard back. With all that transpired over the last week, he actually managed to forget about this muscle head. But why was he challenging him to a fight now?

'There's something different about Maynard today', Harry frowned. All his injuries were gone, for one. But that was expected, as a large clan like the Ivory Fist Clan could surely heal him. What was strange was, his body was giving off a slight pressure, which he hadn't felt in their last meeting.

It didn't take long for a large crowd of Outer Disciples to gather. Maynard's shouting was loud enough to ring out across the Outer Dorms. Even the heaviest sleepers would be jolted awake. Everybody came out to see the disturbance.

"Hey, Maynard came back. Is he challenging James to a fight?"

"Looks like it."

"Why's he so confident now? Did he forget what happened last time?"

Suddenly, Harry realized what changed.

"Did you enter the Qi Absorption Realm?"

"That's right," Maynard proudly boasted, not trying to hide it at all. "My father not only healed my injuries, but gave me enough resources for me to break through the Qi Absorption Realm. I've spent the last week cultivating. Now, I'll wipe away that previous defeat. Come on and fight!"

"What? Maynard's already in the Qi Absorption Realm?"

"Doesn't that mean he's already an Inner Disciple?"

Discussions broke out all around as Outer Disciples looked at Maynard enviously. The first of them to become an Inner Disciple was Maynard! Actually, that was what most people expected, but they just didn't think it would happen so quickly.

Harry just snorted.

"You entered the Qi Absorption Realm, and your first action is to fight someone in the Body Tempering Realm? Don't you feel ashamed of yourself?"

Indeed, challenging someone an entire cultivation realm lower was a very shameful matter. No true expert would be willing to lose their face like that. If Maynard won, then that was expected because his cultivation was higher. And if Maynard lost, then the defeat would be ten times more humiliating. Therefore, not only was it a shameful action, there was also no benefit to it.

But surprisingly, Maynard didn't act like he was ashamed at all.

"So? You only have yourself to blame for cultivating so slowly. Or are you saying I have to wait for you to catch up?"

"Maynard, it seems that ivory technique of yours has really thickened your face. Why should I accept an Inner Disciple's challenge? I can't be bothered to fight you."

After saying that, Harry turned around and entered his dorm, intending on going back to sleep.

"James, you coward, come out and fight me! Or just admit you're too scared!"

Everyone just oddly looked at Maynard.

Coward? Too scared?

Perhaps Maynard didn't know about James' actions over the past week, but they all knew very clearly.

This was the Outer Disciple who slapped a teacher right in the face!

This was the Outer Disciple who fought in the Beast Surge, and killed Magic Beasts with his bare hands!

This was the Outer Disciple who flattened an Alchemist's nose, then stole all of his pills!

If James was a coward, who could still be considered brave?

"Maynard, is there something wrong with your memory? Don't you remember last time, when I beat you with a single kick? That 'fight' was over right after it began."

Suddenly, Maynard felt a surge of anger. That event was the greatest shame of his entire life. The day of the recruitment event was meant to be the day he proved his strength, and awed the Swan Sea. He should have gotten the title of the strongest Outer Disciple, and brought glory for himself and his clan.

Instead, his spotlight was stolen, and he was publicly disgraced. Not just that, he also disgraced the Ivory Fist Clan. In the last week, he was cultivating angrily and desperately, all so he could enter the Qi Absorption Realm and defeat James.

"Bastard, shut up! Do you think that will happen again? With your pathetic 7th level cultivation, how can you beat me, at the Qi Absorption Realm?"

"Who says I can't beat you? When you were at the 9th level, did you think I could beat you? No? Now that we've both advanced a level, of course I'm still stronger."

Maynard took another look at Harry, and his eyes widened.

"You – you're at the 8th level of the Body Tempering Realm? How?"

"I cultivated. How else?" Harry snorted.

"What? James is at the 8th level?"

Not just Maynard, all the Outer Disciples were shocked too. None of them bothered to examine James earlier, because no one expected James to advance a cultivation level just a week after entering the sect.

"James is Spiritless! How can he reach the 8th level?"

"Isn't that impossible? Before meeting James, I didn't even think Spiritless cultivators could get to the 3rd or 4th level of the Body Tempering Realm."

"Well, he did get 25 Purple Qi Fruits. Eating ten or even five of them would allow anyone to advance a level," someone remarked.

Most of the Outer Disciples agreed with that line of reasoning. Even a pig could advance a cultivation level after consuming so many resources. But after thinking about that, they felt like their hearts were bleeding. Just a couple of Purple Qi Fruits could help them advance a level in the Body Tempering Realm. But those precious fruits were actually wasted on a Spiritless Cultivator!

"You – fine, I admit I'm surprised you reached the 8th level so quickly. But so what? The gap between realms can't be compared to the gap between the 7th and the 8th level. Therefore, I'm much stronger than you now. Even if you've advanced a level, I can still defeat you easily," Maynard boasted.

"Ok, you're much stronger than me, and you can defeat me easily," Harry conceded, too lazy to argue further. "In that case, there's no need for us to fight. I'm going back to sleep."

It took a few seconds for Maynard to realize what happened. Once he did, he immediately flew into a rage.

"James, just accept my challenge! If you don't, then you're a coward! You're nothing but a turtle! A cowardly turtle! Get back out here! If you have guts, don't hide in your dorm! You are a turtle, your mother is a turtle, your father is a turtle, your –"

To everyone's surprise, James actually stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"What did you say about my parents?"

"Your mother is a turtle, your father is a turtle, your grandparents –"

"I accept your challenge."

Hearing that, the crowd almost all fell down at once.

'What the hell, aren't you angered way too easily?'

"- are turtles – wait, you accept?"

"Right, I accept."

"Haha, great!" Maynard laughed. "Follow me to the Dueling Hall. Everyone must come and watch as I crush you into a pulp!"

Maynard turned and ran off towards the center of the sect, and Harry followed behind. And of course, the rest of the Outer Disciples followed Harry to witness their clash.

As the name suggested, the Dueling Hall was where disciples went to fight. It was actually the only place in the sect where fighting was allowed. It was less of a hall, and more of an arena. The Dueling Hall just consisted of a large outdoor stage with some seats surrounding it – it was only referred to as a "hall" to align with all the other buildings of the sect. There were usually groups of disciples using the stage to practice sparring, as it was the only place they could do so without breaking the rules. Those were friendly spars, where serious injuries weren't allowed, for the purpose of training.

But the Dueling Hall had another function, though less often used. It served as the place for disciples to settle disputes. As long as both parties agreed, they could fight to whatever terms they liked, short of death. Whenever two disciples had a disagreement that couldn't be worked out, settling the result with a fight was a common solution.

Maynard walked in front, and whenever someone passed by, he would tell them to follow him to the Dueling Hall, and watch his upcoming fight. He was just like a little kid who got a new toy, and wanted to show it off to as many people as possible. The sight actually made Harry speechless, not realizing Maynard had such a childish side to him. But Maynard's actions had their desired effect. A crowd began to form, all of them eager to witness the former two strongest Outer Disciples clash.

Who would win? Maynard, who was defeated before, but was now at the 1st level of the Qi Absorption Realm? Or James, the madman who brought surprise after surprise?

"It's got to be Maynard," someone in the crowd whispered. "James is strong, but Maynard is at the Qi Absorption Realm now."

"True, it's impossible to fight across realms. James is just too rash," people agreed. That seemed to be the general sentiment.

"James! James! Are you actually going to fight Maynard?" Turning around, Harry saw Shaun urgently running over.

"Yeah, don't worry. It's just Maynard."

"James, I know you're strong, but he's at the Qi Absorption Realm now! Are you sure about this?"

"It'll be fine," Harry brushed Shaun's concerns off. "I just need to teach him a lesson for insulting my parents."

"…ok. Be careful," Shaun finally said, not knowing how to deter James from the fight. He understood that once James decided on something, he would carry it out, no matter stupid or reckless it seemed.

"Don't worry," he whispered softly. "If something goes south, we'll step in and stop Maynard from doing any serious harm to you."

"Thanks," Harry smiled. He didn't need Shaun's help, but it was the first time he ever had a friend watching his back. The sense of brotherhood caused a warm feeling to grow inside him.

Before he knew it, they arrived at the arena, and both of them climbed onto the stage. Maynard stood on the left side, while Harry was on the right.

"What are the terms of the fight?" Harry asked.

"No limits besides death!" Maynard immediately shouted back. All the gathered spectators, which seemed like the majority of the Swan Sea Sect, clearly heard his loud voice. Even some Elders were there for purposes of maintaining order and enforcing the rules of the fight.

"I agree." Harry replied.

Another ripple waved through the crowd. Was James crazy?

"James, are you sure about that?" one of the Elders stepped forward. "Out of all the possible terms of the Dueling Hall, those are the least restrictive. Essentially, anything goes in the fight, except for death. If you accept this fight, then us Elders are not allowed to interfere and protect either of you, unless one of you is about to kill the other."

"I understand," Harry nodded.

"James, do you really understand? In the past, when two disciples have a conflict they cannot resolve, they have used this rule to settle the most extreme grudges! There have been many cases of the loser being beaten, amputated, or even having their cultivation crippled! Once, there was even an incident when two enemies fought, and the winner tortured the loser on stage. Unless that torture arrives at the point of death, we cannot interfere. Are you still sure?"

"That's fine. It gives me more time to teach Maynard a lesson about insulting my parents."

The Elder wanted to speak again, but just closed his mouth and stepped back into the crowd. He, like the rest of the sect, knew that James was crazy. He already did his best to prevent such a fight, and from now, whatever happened to James couldn't be blamed on him.

Across the stage, Maynard started uproariously laughing.

"Haha, hahaha, what a funny joke! James, you'll teach me a lesson? Who do you think you are? I'm going to beat you in five seconds, then payback all the humiliation you gave me!"

"I'll let you know something before your defeat. Even though I'm at the 1st level of the Qi Absorption Realm, my strength is close to the 2nd. And when I use the Ivory Strengthening Technique, not even those at the 2nd level can hurt me. You have no chance today," the laughing smile on his face turned nasty and sinister.

That declaration brought shock to the spectators. Having the ability to fight a level above in the Qi Absorption Realm was very rare. The gap between levels was far larger than in the Body Tempering Realm.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? You'd actually tell your opponent how strong you are?"

"Hmph, so what if you know?" Maynard sneered. "If an elephant tells an ant how strong it is, what can the ant do? I just want you to know despair before your defeat."

Without another word, he immediately displayed the Ivory Strengthening Technique. Compared to a week ago, his mastery of it greatly increased. The ivory he condensed was thicker and stronger than before, and it covered his full body in a flash, like a knight magically donning a suit of white armor.

"Do you see the difference between us? How can you fight against me?" Maynard roared. His voice was already loud, and augmented with the power of his Qi, it was sent reverberating across the arena.

"Thicker eggshell is still eggshell," Harry taunted.

Originally Maynard was full of confidence, but when he heard that comment, he immediately became angry. That was one of the last things he heard before James crushed his armor in their last encounter.

"An ant like you dares to comment on the great Ivory Fist Clan? James, I just need one move to defeat you now! You can regret after you taste my fist!"

Maynard stamped his feet, then crouched and exploded forwards. He crossed 10 meters with each step, like a white blur racing across the stage. In mere seconds, he crossed the large stage and threw a punch at Harry.

As he punched out, a layer of Qi formed around his fist, augmenting his power even further. It was like a hammer smashing down, backed by the combined power of the Qi Absorption Realm and the Ivory Strengthening Technique.

Strengthening Flesh! Rebirthing Muscle!

Two fists flew through the air, creating two shockwaves of wind.

Bang!

They collided in midair, and an explosion rang out when they smashed into each other.

Bang!

A second later, Maynard's other ivory-coated fist pounded onto Harry's chest, who didn't bother to dodge it. Instead, he landed an uppercut on Maynard's stomach. The two of them stood locked in that position, neither backing down, each staring at the other in shock.

With his strength at the 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm, Maynard thought for sure he'd knock James out in a single hit. This time, he was sure he'd break down James' unnatural defensive strength. Yet these two strikes showed that James' defense was even more powerful than he thought!

As for Harry, similar thoughts were running through his mind. With Rebirthing Muscle, he thought he'd defeat Maynard easily. It seemed Maynard wasn't just making empty boasts – he truly had the defensive strength of the 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm.

If Maynard challenged him yesterday, he would probably have lost this fight. He was lucky Maynard picked today to return.

But the most shocked of all were the spectators. Maynard's strength was expected, since he broke through the Qi Absorption Realm. But James, how could James fight against Maynard evenly? He was still in the Body Tempering Realm!

The two of them leapt back to their original positions, both warily gauging their opponent.

"You – how?" Maynard couldn't even finish his sentence. A nervous expression replaced his confident look, and for the first time, he appeared unsure of himself.

"I what?" Harry interrupted. "Didn't you say you'd defeat me in one move?"

"James, shut up!" Maynard bellowed, and charged back in.

BAM!

The two of them met in midair, creating another shockwave that rippled out a dozen meters.

Rebirthing Muscle was like Strengthening Flesh, in the sense that Harry could keep it activated for long periods of time. He didn't know how long, but he felt that even an hour wouldn't be a problem. It wasn't like Burning Blood, which only lasted a few seconds, and required careful planning.

He didn't want to activate Burning Blood now, partly because he wanted to test Rebirthing Muscle. It was also his backup move, in case Maynard had a trump card prepared. But he had no reservations with using Rebirthing Muscle whenever he liked.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Each of Maynard's fists were like hammers crashing onto Harry, but they all smashed onto his body uselessly. And each of Harry's fists were like rocks pounding onto Maynard. They left small chips and cracks on his armor, but they were quickly repaired by Maynard's continual use of the Ivory Strengthening Technique.

This was a fight of pure offense. Neither combatant bothered to dodge or block attacks, as both had impenetrable defenses. It was solely attack, attack, and more attack.

"How is this possible?" one of Maynard's junior brothers asked in fright. With their Young Master's strength, he could crush anyone in the Body Tempering Realm like an ant. Yet, James wasn't at a disadvantage!

How could James fight against an entire realm above him?

Nobody answered him. They couldn't explain what they were seeing either.

Suddenly, Maynard's hand shot out like a claw, and grabbed onto Harry's neck. He lifted Harry a foot into the air, and prepared to smash him into the ground. As if by reflex, Harry shot his feet up, connecting them with one of Maynard's weak spots – his chin.

Bang!

That spot was one of the few areas Maynard didn't condense any ivory on. Harry noticed it earlier in the fight, but had no way to reach it, not past Maynard's flying fists. Now that he was given the opportunity, he immediately took it.

Maynard was sent flying five meters through the air, and landed on the stage with a large crash. Harry landed on his feet, and calmly watched as Maynard got back up, nursing his chin.

The first to injure their opponent was actually James!

Cursing, Maynard got back onto his feet, and reassessed his opponent.

"James, if you have guts, take off your armor!" he suddenly yelled.

'What armor?' everyone simultaneously thought.

"Are you blind? Do I look like I'm wearing armor?" Harry yelled back, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Then how do you explain how hard your body is? Obviously, you're wearing invisible armor!"

"Invisible armor? Idiot, if I could afford to buy invisible armor, would I wear these crappy burnt robes? The only one wearing armor is you. If you have guts, you take it off. Do you dare?"

Maynard scowled, but didn't reply. Obviously, he didn't dare.

"James, you're stronger than I expected," he reluctantly admitted.

"But the outcome will be the same. Earlier, I was just using a portion of my strength. Now, I'll stop holding back! You'll still be defeated!" Maynard yelled.

It was unknown if he yelling due to anger, or because he needed to give himself more confidence. Maynard channeled his Qi around his body, and his armor began transforming.

"Ivory Strengthening Technique, 3rd Form! Ivory Thorn Armor!"