Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

"Let's go over the format again." The emperor announced to 600 people from the top of a hilltop. He, the elites, and the special forces soldiers stood above a sizeable 200-by-200-foot training arena.

It was a lifeless area with a brown dirt floor enclosed by 18-foot t-walls.

Inside the walls were two soldiers—Brad Hall, the calm blonde athlete elite, and Aaron Levingston, the red-haired man who gave the demonstration after him.

"The fight will continue until someone is injured or deemed dead." Kaze announced, "The winner will get the healing technique and will heal the wounded.

Your job is to calm them and yourselves down with the technique to facilitate the process.

After that, the fight is concluded, and both will get the technique.

Are there any questions?"

"I do." General Michaels announced boldly, "Won't these techniques destroy the walls?"

"You needn't worry about that." The emperor smiled, "I've placed a barrier over them.

That's how the training targets became strong enough to withstand your power.

So we need only worry about our fighters, who do not have a barrier over them."

"I see…." The general replied, "No further questions."

The soldiers' and elites' hearts pounded, watching the two people stare off below.

Brad's heart was loudest of all. He had watched the terrifying skill of the red-haired man before—now he was in a no-holds-barred deathmatch with him.

There was no comfort in technically not dying when he was certain to get mauled. However, he stood tall because he had a reason to be in the ring.

—5:42 AM, Current Date | Lockheed Mansion—

"Rein, Brad, Sammy, and Lily." Kaze addressed, pulling the four to the side with Evalyn and Kiera, "You four are the [prospective] head elites.

As you have already seen, there are immeasurable perks to that role. However, it also comes with responsibility. You must be a symbol of strength to everyone else."

Everyone dry-swallowed and nodded in assent.

"I've taught every elite a basic movement technique." He continued, "With speed and power, they should be able to compete with the special forces soldiers through brute force alone. I expect the same from you."

Once again, the head elites nodded, even Rein, who had a serious look in her eyes.

"However, it's not enough." Kaze declared, sending a wave of anxiety over them, "I'll make you privy to confidential information.

Another Qi influx is coming, and the world will soon devolve into chaos. Fighting to protect ourselves may be our only option."

"Another one?" Brad cringed, "Is it as bad as the last one?"

"Worse." The emperor replied bluntly, "The magnitude will be around eight times the size."

Icy chills crawled down their spines, and each froze in a state of disbelief.

"No way." Rein whispered, looking up at him with an unbelieving expression, "You must be exaggerating."

"I'm not." He replied dryly, "There are signs of warp gates over the world eight times the size of the last ones.

We can expect that most of the army will also get Qi Sickness. It's truly the apocalypse."

The others were devastated, shaking slightly.

"We need people ready to lead others, set examples, and keep others safe." Kaze said bluntly, "Pain is coming, and you must be ready.

I'm asking you to spar with the elites tomorrow on equal footing to set an example. It won't be a fun experience, but you will not fear death and get compensated handsomely."

"Even cheating, we're up against an international superpower's top elites." Brad prefaced, "Do you think we're ready to be the face of power?"

"Of course not." The emperor chuckled, "I will give those who accept the call additional techniques and a current placement as an Immortal Skye head elite.

The additional training will be enough to fight on equal ground, and that's more than powerful enough to showcase our might."

"If it's just practice, why provide us a warning and incentivize us so far?" Rein asked discernibly.

Kaze gave her a strange smile. "If you understand the nature of the situation, you can imagine what training is necessary to prepare you.

Beyond that, I will not prepare you further. As a true elite, you must prepare to face all situations that arise. You will not get compensated for doing your job in the future."

Every one shuddered, looking at each other nervously.

"What type of techniques will you give us?" Brad asked nervously.

"Real ones." Kaze smiled ominously.

—Present Time | Immortal Skye Arena—

Brad looked at Aaron with fear pulsing through his veins. "The Emperor has trusted in my potential since the beginning. After everything he's done for me, I can't prove him wrong."

He thought about the apocalypse party and how Kaze had given him Illuminecent Breathing and sent him home before the riot. Before he left, the emperor told him not to prove him wrong.

It was easier said than done. A real elite amongst world elites with thousands of hours of combat training was standing before him.

Now, they were about to fight.

"If the Emperor is confident in my victory, then so am I." Brad whispered after a deep breath, "Even if it is only for the element of surprise."

"Are you ready?" The emperor yelled from the hilltop.

Aaron waved once for assent, and the athlete followed.

"You may begin!" Kaze yelled.

Aaron immediately rushed forward, closing the distance to prevent the devastating range attacks that the elites had showcased.

At a distance, the two were lopsided. However, at close combat, the two were incomparable.

That was the rational inference that Aaron concluded, anyway.

The truth was far murkier. Deadly with the element of surprise.

"[Acute Perception]." Brad whispered, voicing the new Spirit Qi technique aloud to help summon the blueprint.

Time instantly slowed to a crawl for the athlete. With heavy Spirit Qi pumping through everyone's hearts, he used a technique that exponentially increased his perception of the world.

He watched the soldier running at him at time 0.25 speed, which included the cultivation gains.

The athlete immediately began moving but confirmed his body didn't move as fast as his mind, as he was warned about.

Brad remembered his crash course training that morning and activated a second technique, [Air Glide]. It was a movement technique that used Qi to propel the body.

Usually, the human body must jump in the exact direction they want to go with the correct pressure. However, the technique allows Qi to propel the user omnidirectionally once they're airborne, free of friction.

Mastering the technique made a person far faster by accelerating motions and allowing superior flexibility.

It was a sky technique and far more challenging to master than anything they had learned. However, he only needed it for basic speed increases.

Brad channeled Elemental Qi to his legs and jumped to the side at the last moment.

Whoooosh!

Aaron's eyes widened in shock when his fist, destined to impact the young man's chest, flew forward, knocking him off balance.

He caught his step and turned in the athlete's direction.

His only saving grace was that Brad had little control over the technique. Jumping to the side made him fly ten feet to the side before turning back.

As a result, Aaron turned just in time to watch Brad returning with a punch aimed at his face.

He dodged—barely.

The soldier felt a wave of dread wash over him, feeling the athlete had no control over his strength and would have accidentally killed him.

His fight-or-flight signal triggered, cranking adrenaline to pump from his amygdala violently, slowing his world further.

He bent his body backward and used the blonde-haired athlete's movement against him.

Brad's eyes widened in shock as his fist missed, and he felt hands picking him up slightly, preventing him from stopping his movement as he passed.

As a result, he flew forward ten feet before touching down and didn't have time before—

BOOM!

—he jumped again and crashed into a t-wall at 20 miles per hour.

The audience cringed reflexively, with the Lockheed elites feeling dread wash over them from the terrifying impact and the soldier's hearts pounded from watching the stunning reversal.

They knew better than anyone how much danger Aaron was in, so it became unbearable.

However, one person was still functioning.

"Team one! Use the tranquility technique on the soldiers." Sandra yelled, her straight ponytail whipping to the side from the abrupt movement change.

"Team two! Use the technique on the Immortal Skye elites. Follow the procedure before acting. Move out!"

The special forces soldiers were far more disciplined than ordinary people. So while the elites still couldn't breathe, the teams had already set into motion.

Two teams of fifty summoned the mental blueprint and started practicing.

It was far more complicated than anyone imagined. Only three people successfully used the technique to calm down others with the technique.

However, [who] they called down with their procedure made a big difference.

They calmed themselves down.

As a result, their concentration and confidence increased, increasing the number of successful attempts to ten, five from each team.

Meanwhile, the battle didn't end.

Brad hit the wall and felt a sharp pain rattle his entire body. He imagined he'd die from the impact at that speed, but it only hurt him as much as running into a wall would do before cultivation would begin.

It hurt, but it wasn't severely damaging.

He looked up and found Aaron gritting his teeth with his hand pulled back. He was preparing to turn the athlete into the training target he decapitated the hour before, but a psychological barrier prevented that.

So he was instinctually waiting for the teen to move somewhere the soldier wouldn't hit his skull and kill him.

"Thanks for not being a douche." Brad chuckled, "But you gave me enough time to prepare."

He jumped up quickly, triggering the red-haired soldier to shoot a flurry of Qi slashes at his legs.

Unfortunately for the soldier—

"[Minor Barrier]." Brad growled, creating a blunt wall of warping Qi around him. All the slashes crashed into the twisting space, bent around it, or exploded. "[Sharp Winds]."

As everyone saw the new technique in disbelief, a flurry of tiny Qi shards blasted the area. It was similar to razor flurry but with a third of the surface area and power.

Still, the sudden area of effect attack shocked everyone, including Aaron. The soldier tried to dodge, but there was a five-foot wall of death and it [moved], following him.

As a result, his lower body got shredded by Qi, forcing him to the ground.

Brad released the barrier and ran forward with his arm out. He got to the soldier in a second using his movement technique on the offensive.

The battle wasn't over from the brutal attack, which told him that the emperor wouldn't conclude the match from viciousness or pain alone.

Determined to end it quickly, he punted the man in the ribs.

CRaaaaaACK! … BOOM!

Aaron's eyes widened in pain when the foot connected, making his ribs explode upon impact.

He was right. The teen had no sense of control over his power level. As a result, he tried breaking a few bones but shredded the soldier's entire left lung instead.