Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

The old man came charging at Alex with his hammer, his resounding steps a clear indication of his power. A sort of technique aided his speed, allowing him to reach Alex in a single burst.

He swung his axe the moment he arrived next to Alex, targeting his chest to break open his rib cage.

Alex struck out at the right moment, parrying the strike, dispersing the energy behind the blow. The rest of the force traveled through his body, flying out through his legs.

Large cracks formed on the solid surface beneath Alex.

The old man seemed surprised at how easily Alex had dealt with his attack. Meanwhile, Alex smiled as he realized the strength behind the old man. He was still far from Alex's own physical strength, but it was high enough that there could be some difficulty for him.

If nothing else, this could work for him as simple training.

Alex swung back at the old man, who quickly pulled his hammer back to defend against the blow. The old man flew a few paces backward before sliding to a stop on the ground.

The old man took a moment to orient himself and slowly nodded as he realized that things weren't going to work out as easily as he had thought they would. Their first clash was enough for him to know that victory wouldn't be easy to come by.

Still, for the sake of victory, for the sake of the Elixir the attacker showed them, he would fight.

He dashed back into the fight and began swinging his hammer wildly and yet with incredible precision.

Alex fell into defense, mostly through his own volition. Since he was training his Sword Intent alone, remaining on the defensive helped him train that.

Alex blocked every incoming hammer strike with his sword and retaliated with sword swings that carried with them just the Sword Intent. He used little to no physical strength in his attacks, relying entirely on swordsmanship.

Alex struggled against the old man. The strength of his sword alone was far from enough to win in this fight, especially since he was mostly relying on Sword Intent.

And yet that was all he could use.

He stepped back to dodge another hammer swing and stabbed forward with his sword that glowed slightly with a white outline. The old man twisted his chest, dodging the sword swing before stepping up close to kick Alex in the chest.

Alex stepped to the side at the last moment, spinning around the leg as he went for another swing.

The man had pulled the hammer by his side by then and struck the sword as it arrived.

Alex and the old man separated, with the old man frowning. He struggled with Alex as well. Worse, there was something about Alex's fighting style that he had never encountered before. He simply couldn't put his finger on it.

It didn't look like Alex was holding back since he was clearly struggling, and yet he also didn't look like he was going all out.

That made for a very weird fighting experience.

Alex was entirely focused on his sword. He pushed his Sword Intent at every attack, trying to overpower the man with just that. He knew it wouldn't work in this fight, but as he continued doing so, he would keep improving himself until one day it did.

Fighting against a human was also quite good. For one, they weren't so large that he could attack anywhere and have it count. He needed to be thoughtful and precise with his attack, which required more usage of his Intent.

Secondly, they fought back way better than most beasts did, so the battles lasted much longer. Alex could hone his Sword Intent for quite a long time as a result.

The crowd of Hundred Flame Sect's disciples and elders kept watching as Alex fought their Grand Elder to a standstill for minutes on end. The fight continued as it went closer to an hour.

The clanking of steel and iron rang for so long that the group was starting to feel desensitized to it. The battle that had excited them at the start was beginning to feel like a chore to watch an hour in.

Alex continued fighting the old man, his attacks never changing in the slightest. He kept to basic swings and slashes and stabs, as his only purpose in this battle was to train.

The old man huffed each time he swung his hammer. Such an intense battle over the period of an entire hour was getting to him. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, his back wet with it long since.

He looked at Alex, confused thoughts screaming in his mind.

Alex showed no sign of fatigue. No sign of slowing down or being bored. He fought with the same intensity now as he had the first time. Nothing about him had changed at all.

The old man could not understand why that was. All he did understand was that if this continued, he would lose.

Losing meant not just losing the Elixir, but having to watch the man who humiliated their sect just walk away with no consequences at all.

As the Grand Elder, he could not just have that.

Anger flared through him at that moment and he stepped back, taking a moment.

Alex paused, wondering if the old man was giving up. Before he could ask him, the old man opened his mouth.

"Sect!" he roared. "In formation!"

Alex's eyes widened slightly as he realized what was happening. Many of the older men and women in the sect, mostly the elders and stronger disciples, quickly stepped forward, the sect master leading their charge.

'A battle array,' he thought. 'Of what kind?'

He waited for something to happen to him, but it seemed this wasn't that type of battle array.

The old man had been the target, who seemed rejuvenated all of a sudden, the tiredness from the previous hour having disappeared all of a sudden. His muscles bulged underneath his robes as strength filled him.

Alex smiled. "You should have used that from the start."