Chapter 10: Life-and-Death Duel

Words : 1760 Updated : Mar 26th, 2026

With a thought, Archie Cutmore entered the first level of the Chaos Pagoda and began to cultivate. In the blink of an eye, more than fifty days passed. Under Archie's relentless training, he finally grasped the basics of Mystic Fire Sword Finger. He could only force it out with difficulty, but as a Low-tier Profound Martial Technique, its power still surpassed Fire Cloud Palm even at the perfection stage. And it was not just the technique. With the support of four bottles of Energy Nurturing Pill, Archie's cultivation rose from the early stage of First Level of Spiritual Master to the mid stage of First Level of Spiritual Master. After stepping into the Spiritual Master Realm, his cultivation speed had slowed to a crawl. He had thought the four bottles of Energy Nurturing Pill he took from Fabian Cutmore would be enough to push him to the peak of the late stage of First Level of Spiritual Master, maybe even break through to Second Level of Spiritual Master. Instead, those four bottles only carried him to the mid stage of First Level of Spiritual Master. "If my Spirit Flame Bloodline hadn't been ripped out of me, I wouldn't be stuck dreaming about Second Level of Spiritual Master. I'd have reached the Grand Spiritual Master Realm long ago," Archie muttered through clenched teeth. But there were no ifs. "Hah…" He exhaled a breath of stale air and forced the anger down until his pulse steadied. Losing his bloodline had crippled his cultivation speed, but with the Chaos Pagoda, he could make up for that disadvantage. One day, if he seized a great opportunity and regained a bloodline, he would soar straight into the heavens and leave every so-called genius in the dust. "Given the Energy Nurturing Pill's current effect, once I reach Third Level of Spiritual Master, I'll have to switch to higher-grade pills," Archie said, his voice low. "I need to raise my alchemy level as soon as possible." He was only a mid-tier first-rank alchemist. He had to reach second-rank soon, or his cultivation would only slow further and further. "Once I deal with Flynn Cutmore and pass the academy assessment, I'll head to the trading market to buy pill formulas and ingredients." With his next steps set, Archie willed himself out of the first level of the pagoda and returned to the outside world. The sun still blazed overhead. Only six hours had passed outside. Fabian Cutmore's corpse had already been picked clean by nearby demon beasts, leaving nothing but a patch of dried blood. "Flynn Cutmore. I'm here to send you on your way." Cold light flashed in Archie's eyes. He blurred into a streak and shot toward Quirby… At that moment, Central Square in Quirby was packed shoulder to shoulder. Today was the day the three great academies held their joint academy assessment. The heads of Quirby's major clans had all arrived, bringing their most outstanding juniors. In the center of the square stood a massive stone platform. On it were two middle-aged men, one fat and one thin, along with an elderly man. They were the proctors sent by the three great academies. "I am Remy Zorn, outer elder of Sun Academy," the potbellied man announced, his voice booming like a great bell and rolling across the entire square. "Together with Corbin Casson, outer elder of Moon Academy, and Bobby Looske, outer elder of Star Academy, I will serve as a proctor for this Quirby academy assessment. I hope every participant performs well, passes the assessment, and joins an academy." At the edge of the crowd, Flynn Cutmore felt the terrifying aura Remy Zorn released and stared in shock. Beside him, Santiago Cutmore shook his head and said heavily, "Sun Academy is the foremost of the three. Elder Remy's cultivation is at least Eighth Level Grand Spiritual Master." Flynn's eyes lit up. "Eighth Level Grand Spiritual Master, and he's only an outer elder? Sun Academy really is the empire's number one academy. Its foundation is terrifying. This assessment, I have to get into Sun Academy!" Santiago patted Flynn's shoulder and smiled. "With young master Griffin Cutmore backing you, your entry into Sun Academy is already settled." Griffin Cutmore, the young master of the main branch of the Cutmore family, was one of Sun Academy's ten true disciples. Griffin's talent had always been monstrous, a standout even among Sun Academy's disciples. After using Sun Academy's secret art, along with all manner of rare treasures, to fuse the Spirit Flame Bloodline extracted from Archie with his own Fire Snake Bloodline, it mutated into a seventh-grade bloodline: Flame Serpent Bloodline. In a single leap, Griffin became one of Certonville's top geniuses. These days, Griffin's status within Sun Academy was exalted. Even ordinary inner elders could not compare to him. Rumor had it Griffin was challenging for the position of chief senior disciple. If he succeeded, his standing within the academy would tower over the elders, second only to the academy master. Hearing his father, Flynn nodded hard. Once he entered Sun Academy, with young master Griffin Cutmore shielding him, his future would be nothing but brilliance. Flynn scanned the square, then clicked his tongue in disappointment. "The only thing that ruins it is that Archie Cutmore, that cowardly turtle, went into hiding. If he showed up today to honor the life-and-death duel and I butchered him in front of everyone, that would be perfect." The words had barely left his mouth when a clear, icy voice sounded from behind him. "Flynn Cutmore. Half a month is up. It's time for our life-and-death duel." "Whoa!" The square erupted. People spun around in a wave, all staring toward the back. A lone figure walked forward, unhurried and steady. It was Archie Cutmore. As the former number one genius of the side branch, Archie was known to every major family in Quirby. Seeing him openly challenge Flynn, and for the cruelest kind of life-and-death duel at that, Central Square instantly boiled over. "I heard Archie Cutmore was already crippled!" "A cripple dares challenge Flynn Cutmore? Is he tired of living?" "If it were the old Archie, maybe this duel would be worth watching. But as things stand, Flynn could kill him with one finger." … On the stone platform, Remy Zorn had been about to announce the start of the assessment. He frowned slightly, thinking, He's a Cutmore… then he must be from the Quirby side branch. If it were a junior from any other clan making a scene before the academy assessment, Remy would have scolded them on the spot. But since this was a side branch of the Cutmore family, the one Griffin belonged to, Remy decided to turn a blind eye. A life-and-death duel would not take long. He could treat it as entertainment. When Flynn saw Archie had actually come to honor the duel, a vicious grin spread across his face. "Archie Cutmore, since you're in such a hurry to reincarnate, I'll grant your wish!" The crowd immediately scattered, clearing a wide space for Archie and Flynn. Archie actually made it out of the Quirby Range alive. Did Fabian Cutmore fail? The thought flashed through Santiago's mind, then he crushed it at once. Impossible. Fabian was a late-stage First Level of Spiritual Master. Killing Archie should have been effortless. Archie must have gotten lucky and slipped past Fabian's pursuit.

Chapter 10: Life-and-Death Duel

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