Zhi tagged behind his master and Principal Liam as the two elders chatted happily while Liam personally led them through the university halls.


    One would expect the two to have a cultured conversation, given their stature as the principals of two of the most prestigious universities on floor zero, however, their conversation was anything but cultured.


    "I must say, Mu Ban, your beard does look amazing. It has no freckles, no frizz, it''s just so straight, shiny and sexy" Liam said, as he admired Mu Ban''s long and luscious beard.


    "The secret to my beard is Trond horse poop. I apply a pack twice a week on my full beard….. it makes my beard as long and sexy as a horse''s tail" Mu Ban said as Liam nodded in keen interest.


    "As you can see, I suffer from a lot of beard entanglement…. Maybe I could use some horse poop myself-" Liam said, as he pointed towards his own curly and patchy beard, which Mu Ban inspected with keen interest.


    "I was once admiring a horse''s tail and that''s when it struck me— A moment of pure genius if I say….." Mu Ban said, while stroking his beard.


    "Horse''s tails are always covered in their poop, but they look so good. I thought the pool must be secret to their hair quality and I was absolutely right…. The stupid alchemists try brewing all sorts of beard oils, however, nothing beats Trond horse poop.


    It''s organic and best for the beard" Mu Ban said, as Zhi could not help but feel ufortable listening to the two esteemed elders talk about poop and beard.


    Thankfully their conversation was cut short by their arrival to the swordsmanship training arena, where Rocky was already waiting for Zhi to show up.


    Zhi immediately began sizing Rocky up upon arriving at the swordsmanship training arena as the two locked eyes and began gauging each other.


    Zhi was notably shorter than Rocky, being only 5 ''11", which made Rocky seem like a towering giant in front of him with his massive orcish frame.


    Although Rocky covered his upper torso with a loose t-shirt, Zhi could still make out the shape of his rippling muscles under the fabric as it was pretty obvious that Rocky was in tremendous physical shape, with each muscle tissue on his body seemingly pronounced and well defined.


    "What a freak of nature…." Zhi murmured under his breath, as just by being in Rocky''s presence he felt pressured and intimidated as if he was a mere mortal in the presence of a True Champion Of God.


    On the other hand, as Rocky observed Zhi, he did not find his opponent to be anything special.


    A bald monk covered in loose robes, Zhi looked like he was slightly malnourished, as although his muscles were well defined and visible under his skin, he looked like he weighed 50-60 kilograms maximum, which was way too lean for his height.


    He did not exude an aura of dominance at all and was pretty unnoticeable in a crowded room if one was not explicitly focusing on him.


    Unlike Rocky, Zhi did not carry himself with the maic energy of someone who was the Champion Of God and was pretty calm and mundane as the most noticeable feature about him was the bald shiny head over his head, which seemed polished and clean like a new bowling bowl.


    "Shall we?" Liam said to Mu Ban, as the two principals took a seat amongst the crowd of spectators, while Zhi made his way to the center of the swordsmanship arena where Rocky was waiting for him.


    "KICK HIS BUTT!"


    "THAT MONK LOOKS SO WEAK, SOMEONE FEED HIM SOME MEAT"


    "GET MORE PROTEIN IN YOUR DIET BUDDY-"


    Shouts like these were directed from the crowd towards Zhi as they tried to throw him off his pre-match game, in support of the home boy Rocky, however, their chants seemed to be falling on deaf ears, as Zhi did not react to them at all.


    Unbothered, he kept staring in Rocky''s eyes, as he removed a pair of nunchucks hidden inside his pants and assumed a fighting stance.


    "Amitabha, I must say that it''s an honor to fight you. I''m hoping to draw out your best…. Also, don''t worry, for I shall not try to kill or maim you-" Zhi said respectfully as he bowed slightly before Rocky.


    Rocky raised an eyebrow at Zhi''s words, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.


    "Don''t worry about me, monk. I''ll make sure this is a fight that you won''t forget." He said, as he unsheathed his dual swords as well and assumed his own fighting stance, with muscles coiled and ready to unleash their strength.


    Zhi bowed slightly, his nunchucks held steady. "Amitabha, I''m honored to face you here today, may we both learn a lot and grow from this encounter."


    Rocky nodded respectfully. "Absolutely. Every match is a lesson, and I''m looking forward to seeing what you''ve got."


    Zhi''s expression remained calm. "A calm mind that speaks with rity…. I''m already impressed Sir Rocky, for your friend Miss Sophia did not show such rity in judgment.


    She was hasty and easy to throw off her game, however, you seem like a more sensible opponent" he said, as Rocky chuckled at his words.


    "Well I''m not her, and while my friend might have made the mistake of underestimating you, I won''t do the same-" Rocky said, as he did not me Sophia for losing against Zhi and tried to save some face for her.


    "You should definitely not underestimate me, as while I am impressed by your incredible physique and mental rity, I still have the utmost confidence in my ability to win this fight-" Zhi said, as Rocky''s cocky grin only grew wider.


    While he was not really feeling fired up for this fight before meeting Zhi, the more he talked to the monk, the more he felt the urge to crush him, as by this point he was more than ready to go all out and win no matter the cost, as he really wished to humble the cocky monk.


    —---------


    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target good job everyone! ///