by Yuri Ajin
Tassarion seemed to have been right, however. This was still not enough for victory.
Ranmaru’s blade filled with energy that was almost immediately discharged in a powerful airstrike. For a moment, the whirlwind of sand and ice split in two, allowing the spectators to see the fighters, after which the elements merged again, closing the curtain on the fight.
Kai couldn’t get away from the attack, held in place by tentacles that appeared from the ground. Another technique hit his ice shield and shattered it, making it to the target.
Releasing the Gravity Break Blade Technique, Kai fought back with the swords. The collision caused an explosion, and he lost consciousness for a moment, which cost him a hand. It was torn away and destroyed by the sandstorm. The snow, with which he had lost contact during the blackout, began to weaken and dissipate.
But Ranmaru wasn’t going to stop there. Reaching Kai, he swung his huge sword as if it weighed nothing, forcing his opponent to retreat further and further. He took advantage of the temporarily weakened blizzard, which allowed him to form dozens of sand spears that came down at his opponent from all directions.
Things went from bad to worse. Ranmaru kept pushing him back, not allowing him to counter in any way. Most of the attacks were clearly aimed at the stump of his right arm, which made its recovery even slower. If this continued, Kai would lose.
“All right... Time for the big guns,” he whispered.
Eight bright sparks of the Eight Yang Flashes Technique lit up inside him. He used his trump card, a mix of the energy pattern of his bloodline ability and the Yang concept. Dividing in two, Flashes headed toward the limbs.
Ranmaru swung again to prevent Kai from fighting back when the latter’s right hand suddenly recovered. At the last moment, Kai managed to block the sword coming at him.
Unperturbed, Ranmaru only intensified the onslaught, taking advantage of the moment before the blizzard recovered.
A dozen spears burst out of the ground. The same amount fell at Kai from above. A huge sand serpent that Ranmaru created immediately after the airstrike was approaching Kai from behind.
Kai stomped the ground with his right foot with all his might, releasing another charge. The Eight Yang Flashes rippled through his limb. For a moment, the power of the blow almost tripled.
The ground cracked. The resulting shockwave threw the serpent back and destroyed some of the sand weapons. Kai protected himself from the rest with a barrier. Ranmaru felt the power that came from the ground shake his insides and crack some of the bones in his legs.
He didn’t have time to recover fully but he still managed to react by raising his sword to block Kai’s next Flash-enhanced attack.
The sword was knocked out of Ranmaru’s hands. All he managed to do was to return the weapon to his Ring before he was knocked off his feet. His sand armor fell apart, unable to withstand the force of the blow. He crashed into the arena’s wall, making a dent in it. Blood spurted from his mouth.
But Kai didn’t stop there.
Using another Flash, he pushed off the ground. Raising his blades over his head, he prepared for another attack. Ranmaru was wounded, but he was still conscious and capable of fighting, so no Laws were violated.
With blood clouding his vision, Ranmaru could no longer see. But he felt the approaching danger. Realizing that he wouldn’t have time to dodge or withstand such a blow, he activated his strongest defense technique.
“Tomb of Eternal Sand,” he shouted as soon as he completed the energy scheme.
All the power of the sandstorm rushed to its creator. After overtaking Kai, it formed a pyramid around Ranmaru.
Seeing this, Kai decided not to hold back. He summoned not one Flash, but two. The strength in his hands had tripled. Forming two Gravitational Break Blade Techniques at once, he brought down his swords on the pyramid.
There was an explosion. The shockwave went far, making the entire arena shudder. A dent appeared in the sand, after which the pyramid began to crack.
Kai assumed that such a blow would reach Ranmaru who was hiding inside. He’d need time to check, but he didn’t want to risk Ranmaru springing a nasty surprise at him.
But he did.
An armor-clad fist emerged from within the sand and hit him in the stomach, forcing him to bend over. He then received a blow to the head and fell back.
His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry but he managed to feel the third attack coming. It grazed his weakened aura, giving him enough time to escape.
Appearing ten feet away, he barely dodged the sand serpent’s tail. The snake continued its pursuit and tried to devour him, but the technique Kai released from his sword was enough to fend it off.
Reaching his opponent, Ranmaru swung his weapon and chopped off Kai’s left arm.
Kai tried to retaliate but Ranmaru easily stopped him, forcing Kai to direct the remnants of the blizzard at him. Countless Cold Void particles rushed at him but were swept away by the sandstorm.
Ranmaru realized that all he needed to do was to disrupt Kai’s connection with the distortions of space with which he manipulated the snowflakes. As for the Field of Superiority, he ousted it from the arena with his will. The bloody snow kept falling, but Kai could no longer control its movement.
Fortunately for him, all this occupied most of Ranmaru’s attention, allowing him to slip away. The sand snake resumed its chase but failed to catch up to its prey.
“Give up!” Ranmaru shouted. “I don’t know what allows you to regenerate like this, but I don’t want to have to disable a talented cultivator like you. I recognize your strength. But you can’t win. Not today.”
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy. But I’m not going to give up,” Kai shouted back. His hand had almost finished recovering. “I didn’t come here just to fight. That’s not why I challenged you!”
Ranmaru stared at him for a moment. And then, plunging his sword into the ground, he slowly bowed.
“I apologize, little brother,” he said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to offend you. My disrespect was only due to my shortsightedness. Let’s continue.”
Ranmaru straightened his back, picked up his sword, and assumed a fighting stance.
“Let’s.” Kai nodded as his hand recovered. The second blade returned to its place.
Kai dashed toward his opponent, gradually accelerating with each step. Picking up speed and momentum, he activated the Five Weightless Steps Technique. His silhouette blurred. Almost reaching Ranmaru, he kicked off the ground, releasing the Yang Flash. The surface of the arena under him exploded in a shower of stone and sand, hiding him from sight.
Facing his opponent, Kai brought down his blades on him, releasing the prepared techniques. What he did at that moment was almost no different from how he defeated the Dummy in the First Guardian’s Test.
Ranmaru instantly reacted. The blades clashed, and then a burst of energy lit up the arena. Kai’s techniques rushed at the opponent, but, instead of breaking through the sandy armor, they crashed against it. Ranmaru also launched an attack, but Kai covered himself with a layer of ice, which absorbed most of the blow. The next attack broke the pseudo-armor and ripped a part of his skin, but failed to go further.
Something that Kai couldn’t have never imagined happened in the next moment. His swords exploded from the strain, shattering into fragments. They were low quality and didn’t have a unique built-in attack, but they were still of Royal rank with excellent conductivity of both energy and Forces and enormous durability.
As for Ranmaru’s sword, it remained intact. Not even a scratch appeared on it.
So that’s why his attack wasn’t as strong as I expected. He had directed everything he had into my weapons. He probably used some technique for it... Kai concluded.
Unfortunately, this conclusion gave him nothing. Ranmaru continued attacking with his sword, forcing him to defend himself. The Impenetrable Repelling Field Technique wasn’t suitable for this as it was intended to block ranged attacks.
In order to protect himself, Kai decided to sacrifice his arm, simultaneously covering it with Cold Void, which he strengthened with Yang particles. His limb was cut in half, but its loss bought him some time.
Kai’s leg flew up. If it were a normal attack, Ranmaru would’ve been able to react. But the last Flash had been activated, accelerating and strengthening the limb. At such a short distance, even Ranmaru couldn’t dodge.
Using the opportunity, Kai kicked him right in his ribs. At the same instant, the sandy armor, suddenly covered with an ice crust, cracked and shattered into pieces. Such an attack should’ve thrown Ranmaru aside, but Kai didn’t let him move too far, using the Force of Attraction.
He pulled out his old sword. He had bought this weapon back in Udin, so it looked pretty shabby, especially after the First Guardian’s Test. But he had no other choice. He could create an ice blade, but that was even worse.
Ranmaru fought back against the pull of Kai’s technique and then made a lightning-fast uppercut. A gust of monstrous force of wind rammed Kai, tore apart his body, and then slammed him into the wall, breaking his arms and legs, piercing his lungs, rupturing his stomach and spleen, and damaging the rest of his organs. There was a lot of internal bleeding. Kai barely remained conscious.
He heard footsteps approaching him. Ranmaru was in no hurry to deactivate his techniques, but he wasn’t going to attack either. He understood that Kai was exhausted. He felt pretty lousy himself. Even though the sand and armor took a major part of damage, he was still pretty beaten up.
“Since the Abode hasn’t come to your rescue, and our marks haven’t gone out, that means you’re still conscious and capable of fighting. At least in its opinion. But you’re barely holding on. Perseverance doesn’t always lead to success,” Ranmaru pointed out. “Do you really want to continue this duel?”
Chapter 21
SEARCH FOR ENLIGHTENMENT
Kai tried to get up. His regeneration was working at full speed but the recovery rate had significantly decreased after he used the Eight Flashes of Yang Technique.
Oh, I’ll regret this… He sighed, clenching his teeth.
Two more sparks lit up in him, releasing the power of the Yang Flashes. The first spark was spent on healing, completely restoring his body, and the second increased the current value of Kai’s parameters for a couple of seconds. But the price for all this was his regeneration, which disappeared and was unlikely to come back for a few days, forcing him to continue the fight without it.
Armed with a sword, Kai jumped up and attacked.
We can’t cross blades anymore. This is the last weapon I have.
Having failed to react in time, Ranmaru received a cut on the left side of his torso. Kai tried to attack again, but the power of the Yang Flash had run out.
A cautious battle began. Kai could no longer afford to not avoid his opponent’s attacks, so he had to be vigilant. This, however, only made Ranmaru attack harder.
The fight became a challenge for Kai, forcing him to pay close attention to every step he made, and making him realize just how dependent he was on his bloodline. Fast recovery was his strength, but also his weakness. Avoiding another attack, he promised himself that when he’d win he’d learn how to be strong without relying on the strength he didn’t receive by his efforts. There was no way of knowing who he could meet in the future. Perhaps he’d run into someone who could suppress bloodlines. He hadn’t forgotten about the wound he had received from the guardian of the Black Pyramid.
At the end of the second minute, Kai felt that he was already at his limit. He still had good energy control and all his Forces in his arsenal. But his entire body ached, and it became increasingly difficult to suppress this pain. Using ten Yang Flashes in less than an hour was taxing on both his body and mind. The only thing that was keeping him afloat was the Field of Superiority, which allowed him to maintain perfect control of his body. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to even stand.
Ranmaru wasn’t in the best shape either. Numerous internal wounds aside, he was also running out of ki. He could still fight thanks to the Spirits, but they’d soon leave him. This was why he was focusing on close combat, trying not to use techniques like Sandstorm, which required a lot of ki.
After half a minute, Kai lost his last weapon. The sword didn’t just shatter but turned to dust, forcing Kai to continue the fight with his fists. Fortunately, he had the skill and experience.
The transition to hand-to-hand combat was even more dangerous. Ranmaru’s body was still covered with sand armor, from which he could launch projectiles without a warning. Any attempt to attack unprotected carried a risk of suffering a fatal wound.
Having found himself in an even worse position than before, Kai retreated. He looked like an idiot, running from Ranmaru throughout the arena.
But his current predicament didn’t discourage him from trying to win. All he needed was to buy himself some time to come up with a plan.
He had managed to pull off something similar before, in the Great Tournament on the Celestial Plateau. He imprisoned his opponent in ice, buying himself time to prepare. He tried to do the same now. After two failed attempts, the Unbreakable Ice Technique managed to hold Ranmaru off for only ten seconds.
But Kai kept using the technique over and over again, creating an ice cage several feet thick. Unlike Ranmaru, he was able to absorb energy in large quantities even during combat. He quickly swallowed a dozen Energy Stones. Controlling the process, he made it so that the energy poured into his Source like a waterfall.
Continuously activating the technique, Kai plunged into the depths of his mind. He didn’t understand how he managed to do it, but his consciousness seemed to have split into two. One was in control of his body, while the other was trying to find the key to victory.
All cultivators knew that the stronger the pressure, the greater the danger, and the closer to death they were, the more valuable their reward would be. Any fight meant development. That was the only way to increase strength. In some ways, fights could be compared to breakthroughs as the chance of gaining enlightenment was highest during one. Unfortunately, the chance of dying was high, too. Almost all cultivators who achieved at least something worthwhile in their lives sooner or later found that in the midst of a fight, at the most difficult moment, they were in a state of high concentration, able to peek under the veil that covered the secrets of the path of cultivation. At such moments, new facets of strength opened up. Some found a weakness that they hadn’t seen before. Others slightly increased the understanding of Forces. And some finally managed to master the technique that they had been trying to learn for a long time. Or even create a new one.
Such a state, which was called combat meditation among the masters, usually happened spontaneously, and lasted only a moment. Kai now intended to create it artificially. He was facing a strong opponent. The fight was nearing its peak. And the tension inside him grew, despite the Cold Void. Thus, he was in the perfect state to try to surpass himself and overcome his limits.
Plunging the other part of his consciousness deeper and deeper, he began to go through his memories, separating those that were associated with techniques.
Seven years ago, he began his path as a cultivator. Since then, he had seen other cultivators form techniques hundreds, maybe thousands of times. He read a huge number of scrolls in the libraries of the Celestial Plateau and in the Technique Pavilion at the Cloud Abode. He still remembered them clearly, and he could reproduce them at any time.
He had an abundance of information on how to create techniques. He knew the types of energy weaves, their basic patterns, and methods of implementing Forces. He remembered how and at what moment energy needed to circulate to achieve the desired effect. What he needed now was to search through all those memories and discover just what he was missing to win, what memories he needed to retrieve, and just what he could create.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the fight was in full swing. By this time, Ra
nmaru had almost reached his opponent, having overcome the Unbreakable Ice Technique again and again since he couldn’t evade it. Slowly but surely, he made his way to Kai.
Another trap slowed him down for five seconds. Infusing the broad blade of his sword with energy, he broke through the ice wall with a powerful swing. Kai’s right hand, which was a few inches from the technique, was caught in the blast and cut off.
Blood gushed from his wrist, but it quickly solidified, closing the wound. Kai did his best to run away, but Ranmaru pursued him, raining blows on him whenever he got the chance to.
Kai tried to fight back with techniques and dodge, but this didn’t help. Despite still being covered with ice and frost, Ranmaru destroyed the Cold Void particles that had penetrated into his body. Regaining speed and power, he began to hurt Kai more often, bringing the latter closer to defeat.
Kai wasn’t his usual self. Due to the divide of his consciousness, he moved slowly and made mistakes. What was left clearly wasn’t enough to stay fully immersed in the fight.
Then things got even worse. Ranmaru caught him, knocking him down with his knee, and thrust his sword into his thigh. Fortunately, the blade was turned horizontally, so Kai managed to pull his leg off it. Just like with his hand, the blood solidified, closing the wound and preventing him from bleeding out. The severed muscles didn’t recover, so he had to control the limb using the Field.
He tried to jump back, but another attack reached him. This time, an aerial technique threw him back, and he ended up on the ground again. Ranmaru wasn’t afraid of killing Kai because he knew that the Abode would halt the fight if one of the participants was in critical condition. Still, not even the Abode was perfect, so Ranmaru avoided hitting Kai’s head as no technique nor potion would help him put his brain back together.
However, things didn’t go as Ranmaru planned. Kai still had some strength left in him.