by Yuri Ajin
The broadsword slashed through the air, aiming at Kai’s stomach, but it didn’t reach its target. An ice dome formed around Kai, reinforced by the Impenetrable Repelling Field Technique. The blade pierced the Field and got stuck in the ice.
Ranmaru activated an attack technique to destroy the protective dome. A faint flash appeared, covering the ice barrier with even more cracks, but it didn’t collapse. On the contrary, it began to recover.
Stumped, Ranmaru stared at it for a second. Not only did the technique turn out to be much weaker than he expected, but it was also difficult to activate.
It didn’t take him long to figure out that the Cold Void penetrated into his sword while he was trapped in the ice. He was far from being in the best shape at the moment, and the Cold Void was a whole rank stronger than anything he had in his arsenal.
I suppose I’ll have to change my tactic, Ranmaru thought as his eyes sparkled.
With a quick movement, he pulled the blade out of the ice and jumped back a couple of feet, preparing to launch a ranged attack.
He could’ve stayed in place and tried to break through Kai’s defense with his sword but the proximity to such a dense concentration of Cold Void particles weakened his techniques, which was why he opted for a long-range approach.
With a swing of his blade, he released a powerful air strike. The dome shook and cracked but remained standing and even began to recover again.
Damn. He’s really making this difficult... He sighed, but a second later he was already focused again.
Under the dome, Kai was rapidly losing strength. He was covered with wounds, and he had to constantly maintain the technique as Ranmaru’s attacks kept coming.
He swallowed a few more Energy Stones, filling his Source. But he couldn’t do this forever. He was running out of stamina he needed to control ki and the Forces. If he were an ordinary cultivator his Shell would’ve cracked by now. Even shattered. But since he was resistant to spirit attacks, the worst that awaited him was a loss of consciousness and fatigue that’d last for a few days. This wasn’t good either but it was the lesser of two evils.
He was close to finding a way to win, analyzing all the memorized technique schemes over and over again. He just needed a little more time, the one resource he didn’t have. Realizing that he couldn’t handle Ranmaru’s attacks anymore, he decided to sacrifice one more thing.
“Old man, help me... Let me spend another ten years of my life.”
Rune’Tan had quite a few things to say about this, but he stayed quiet. He understood how important it was for a cultivator to follow their path. One step back, and they could forget about the way forward. For them, it was all or nothing.
The spirit pain didn’t last long. It was almost like he had gotten used to it. And then a wild power filled his Source. The soul energy that had poured into him was instantly put into use. He spent one-quarter of it on strengthening his defense.
Kai could’ve tried to leave the dome and start dodging, but he doubted that he’d be able to create the Unbreakable Ice Technique again quick enough in case he needed it. So, he decided to stay put, as it was less risky. Then he poured the remaining three-quarters of soul energy into the Mind Gate, reaching the peak of combat meditation and enlightenment.
The revelation lasted less than a minute. During that time, Ranmaru practically destroyed the ice. Convinced that he was close to breaking the barrier, and running out of strength for ranged techniques, he rushed into a close quarters attack.
He jumped, pointing the tip of his sword directly at the center of the ice dome. Swinging his weapon downward, he hit the weakened barrier, shattering it into thousands of pieces.
The defense collapsed, and Ranmaru’s sword came down with it. It was rushing down when an ice-covered fist suddenly appeared from the snow dust that had risen after the explosion.
A blow to the head knocked Ranmaru back, but he remained conscious. Most of the hit was absorbed by the sand armor.
The snowy fog grew, but that didn’t prevent Ranmaru from seeing his opponent who had risen to his feet.
Clad in armor made of ice and with a pair of swords forming in his hands, Kai took a step forward. Besides the Cold Void particles, the armor consisted of an advanced technique that had much more power than those Kai had created in the past. Both it and the blades were imbued with the powers of three elements — Space, Cold Void, and Yang.
You have created [Weapon Technique: Fortified Ice of the Void].
Rank: Royal
Quality: Low
It was unlikely he’d be able to repeat something like this in the near future, having put everything he had in this. To achieve enlightenment once again during battle, he’d need to face an even stronger and more dangerous opponent, or rather, several. And he doubted he’d find someone as strong as Ranmaru anytime soon.
Thanks to the Fortified Ice, which he created based on similar techniques (including the one Shacks had used to create weapons from fog), he was now able to form armor and weapons similar to real artifacts. The only issue was their fragility, as well as the absence of any passive or active features, except for the icy fog they emitted, which severely lowered the surrounding temperature.
As an Exorcist, Ranmaru couldn’t be harmed by cold as long as his energy shield remained active. However, the Cold Void particles that spread through the air began to affect his sand technique and slowly destroyed his armor, sending a chill down his spine.
The changes in the arena happened too quickly. Ranmaru almost defeated Kai, breaking through his barrier, but then Kai threw him back using a technique no one had ever seen before. Such a force frightened the students, making them recall the events from two years ago, when Lightus hit the Abode like a hurricane, becoming number one in less than six months.
If he had such a technique, why didn’t he use it earlier? many of them wondered.
“Enlightenment? Who could have imagined...? This is bad.” Tassarion frowned.
Kai waved his hand.
Dozens of low-quality Royal-rank ice swords began to form in the air. One after another, they rushed toward Kai’s opponent.
Ranmaru swung his sword, creating a powerful gust of wind that sent the ice shards flying back. But they all turned around and headed toward their target again. Ranmaru tried to break the connection between Kai and the projectiles but he failed.
The swords were influenced by Fortified Ice, and by individual manipulation of gravity, so each blade was directly connected to Kai’s aura, which Ranmaru couldn’t suppress. The most that he could do was to sever a couple of these bonds, which didn’t help him much as there were more than two hundred of them.
As a result, he had to reactivate the energy-consuming Sandstorm, which significantly reduced the accuracy of the swords, and started destroying them.
Meanwhile, Kai, no longer fearing injury, rushed at him. The Ice Armor did an excellent job of dealing with Ranmaru’s Gold-rank techniques.
Shooting ice swords, Kai continued to circle his opponent. Ice flashed and steel sparked as Kai’s weapons collided with Ranmaru’s armor or sword. Had Kai been in peak shape right now, he’d definitely be the winner.
But he wasn’t.
He could move his left leg only due to the armor and the Field. He replaced his missing hand with an artificial one, also created from ice. Due to spirit fatigue, it became increasingly difficult for him to use ki, which forced him to abandon all techniques except for Five Weightless Steps and Fortified Ice.
Ranmaru realized that with every attack that hit him, a small amount of Cold Void, Yang, and the element of Space penetrated his sand armor. Under the influence of Fortified Ice, they turned into microscopic blades that cut through the sand and made their way deeper and deeper, weakening the armor, and forcing Ranmaru to spend more energy to maintain it.
In hopes of destroying Kai, Ranmaru directed energy and Forces of the Path of the Sword into his body and armor. But he was late. Too many particles had made their way to
him and his core, forming a technique of a higher rank than his.
He was getting weaker and weaker with every passing second due to the ice that covered his body. It became difficult for him to move, control energy, and even think. It was getting colder and colder.
And although he saw that Kai was also barely holding on, he felt that his opponent could still put up a decent fight. He didn’t understand how a mortal could use so much energy for so long, but he did.
He was going to lose.
Deflecting yet another strike of Kai’s blades and grimacing in pain after another ice sword hit him in the back, finally destroying the armor and reaching his flesh, Ranmaru launched his final attack. He was going to put all he had left into it and pray to the Heavens that it worked.
Kai was about to attack again when Ranmaru growled and then suddenly stomped. His attack was so fast that Kai didn’t have time to react, halting in his tracks as if he had run into a solid wall. The power of the wind blew him away like he weighed no more than a feather.
A sand snake crawled out of the ground behind him. Ranmaru had hidden it before in order to surprise his opponent at the right time.
The serpent’s mouth opened wide, and then a gust of compressed air and sand came out of it at tremendous speed, crashing into Kai’s back. A loud explosion followed.
The forces of the two attacks counterbalanced, slowing Kai down for a bit. The sandy tentacles that suddenly sprouted from the ground grabbed him by the arms and legs, and then pulled him down, toward a pit filled with spears that opened under him. They didn’t pierce Kai’s armor, but they destroyed a part of it. He was driven headfirst into the ground with monstrous power.
Kai was stunned for a couple of moments, which gave Ranmaru time to prepare a technique that he had only recently learned but hadn’t yet mastered.
The phantom blade, which assumed the form of his two-handed sword, flew forward, instantly closing the distance between Kai and him. The audience saw only a blurred silhouette.
The attack pierced through the armor and the Repelling Field and it was supposed to hit Kai, but it was struck by dozens of ice blades that were still hovering in the air, enhanced by energy at the last moment.
The hail of blades approached Ranmaru’s technique but began to collapse, failing under the influence of the sand grains that were spinning around the phantom sword.
Nevertheless, Kai achieved his goal. The sword that reached him changed its trajectory. But it turned out it wasn’t enough. Flying past him, it suddenly exploded, releasing thousands of wind blades, tons of dispersed sand, and hundreds of tiny blades of scarlet energy.
A moment later, another explosion occurred.
Ranmaru had used his strongest attack — the Union of the Three Forces. He personally created this technique when he reached enlightenment a few months ago. The base for its creation was the fifth volume of the Unity of Sword and Wind Technique, into the scheme of which he managed to weave the Path of Sand. This was, perhaps, one of the strongest Gold-rank techniques in the entire Abode.
When the dust, energy, and ice settled, a fog lifted. Gradually, the artificially lowered temperature returned to normal. There were no more attacks coming at Ranmaru.
He could no longer feel Kai’s aura.
No! Anything but that! Alarmed, he rushed forward. How did this happen?! Didn’t the Abode manage to save him?!
He didn’t want to see Kai, someone he admired for his strength and courage, dead. He was horrified to think that he had killed him, even by accident.
Moving through the dissipating fog, he saw a small crater, in the center of which lay Kai’s motionless body, covered in remnants of frost armor. There was no life left in him. Turning into steam, the armor began to melt away.
The spectators also realized that Kai’s aura had disappeared.
“You amaze me again, Ran. But I didn’t count on such an outcome. We’ve lost such a talented student...” Tassarion leaned back with a sigh. “What’s the point of this whole fight if the one with whom I made an oath is dead... Wait! The oath!”
At the same time, Ranmaru also realized he had overlooked something. He glanced at the Abode mark, which he could see even through the armor.
The mark was still red, which meant...
He didn’t have time to react. He felt someone’s presence at the moment when they were only a few feet away. It was a ridiculous distance, even for a much weaker cultivator than Kai.
A moment later, an icy blade pierced Ranmaru’s back.
“The blade is less than a millimeter away from your artery. If you move, you’ll die,” Kai’s voice came from behind.
After a few seconds of silence, Ranmaru chuckled. He wanted to laugh but he realized that even that could mean death.
“Well... I lost. Fair and square.”
The blade shattered, and the icy fog disappeared. This wasn’t Kai’s doing, but the Abode’s. That way, the Law wouldn’t be accidentally violated if Kai didn’t have time to remove his energy and Forces.
The marks disappeared.
The duel was over.
Ranmaru coughed up blood, falling to his knees. Trying to stop the coughing fit, he felt pain in his back, followed by a chill.
“Thank you,” he said hoarsely, realizing that an elixir had just been poured onto his wound. He did the same thing himself, but he spilled one on his chest, and managed to drink the next one. “Complete Concealment of the Aura... Right? You managed to open all... hidden acupuncture points?” he asked with difficulty, turning to Kai.
His opponent was still conscious. But as soon as Life Rampage ended, and the Body Gates closed, hell awaited him.
“Yes.” Kai nodded, having drunk a couple of elixirs as well.
“You kept this ability hidden until the very end… You chose the right moment… created a false body from ice, and then tricked me… I’m amazed,” Ranmaru said honestly and calmly. “It was an honor to fight against you.”
He grabbed Kai’s outstretched hand and got up to his feet.
“It was an honor for me, too.”
“It seems that I’ll be the one to pay for all the damage done in the arena.” For the first time in a long time, Ranmaru smiled. The First Law stated that it was forbidden to damage the Abode itself, but arenas were considered an exception. And if they were damaged, then, in the event of a duel, repair money was deducted from the loser.
Before Kai could say anything, he was interrupted by a wave of shouts and exclamations. Unfortunately, Tassarion, who was already descending into the arena, didn’t share the audience’s excitement. He looked gloomier than a cloud before the storm.
Following him, almost a hundred other Exorcists descended into the arena as well. The Great Pack headed toward Kai. They wanted revenge, and there was no better moment for it.
Unfortunately, their plans weren’t destined to come true.
The entire structure suddenly shook with an explosion. The audience glanced toward the north wall, where the flash came from, followed by a series of explosions that affected the entire first level.
Everyone suddenly became quiet.
“THIS IS YOUR FIRST WARNING!” three dozen dorgans from the Seventh Faction shouted simultaneously, amplifying their voice and taking advantage of the Master’s Will. All of them belonged to the Bloodfang family, and they were among the first two thousand on the list. Even some of the first hundred were here.
Most of the audience sharply turned toward the voices, and those who were close managed to see the devilish glint in their eyes.
One of the dorgans suddenly pierced his chest, squeezing his heart. Instantly, all his soul energy, all his ki, as well as the power bestowed upon him by the forbidden potion he had consumed, merged into one. A second later, a monstrous explosion occurred, instantly killing a couple dozen nearby Exorcists and seriously injuring another hundred. Several more similar explosions followed.
Screams, flashes, death, flying body parts, blood, and pain filled the arena.
The spectators tried to escape but the remaining dorgans rushed toward the largest groups of the disciples, preventing them from fleeing.
“What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening. Here?!” Tassarion growled angrily, noticing several suicidal dorgans rush toward his closest subordinates. “The crazy bastards!”
Noticing the dorgans, the most important members of Tassarion’s faction began working on a defensive technique. However, judging by the insane power of the explosions, even their joint barrier, created in a hurry, couldn’t withstand the attack.
No one saw how this happened, but Tassarion appeared among his subordinates before they could finish forming the barrier.
“Everyone, gather around me!” he shouted, and then, almost instantaneously merging with a Spirit, he activated a technique. “Great Steel Fortress!”
A huge metal structure appeared before them, hiding all of Tassarion’s servants and even some random students in it. He wasn’t afraid to violate the Second Law because he knew that if something like this was happening in the Abode, no one would punish anyone for protecting its students by using energy and Forces.
Chaos reigned outside the barrier. Many hoped that they’d be able to escape but died, having failed to activate a defensive technique, use an artifact, or simply by getting trampled by the fleeing crowd.
“Defend yourself, brothers!” Aldus shouted, running after the dorgans who went to capture Kai.
But he didn’t have time to help his brothers, like Tassarion did. More than a dozen explosions happened at once, merging into one.
“Elea, hide behind me!” Sator shouted, merging with a Spirit and forming his strongest barrier.
“Ranmaru...” she whispered, biting her lip.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Sator looked down at the arena. That is, what was left of it. “Those two can take care of themselves. You saw the fight.” He tried to cheer Elea up. “Everything will be fine.”
A few seconds later, the explosion reached them as well.
“I don’t feel like dyin’ today. Do you?” Shacks asked Ailenx, getting up from his seat.