Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Even the entirety of the martially involved audience had gained a profound understanding of the two martial art skills the two combatants were using during this match, and they would most likely be able to copy them later.

  Both the Qi Shield and the Qi Thorns were considered low ranked martial art skills, nevertheless, both of them caused great damage to the opponent when struck.

  A bang much larger than the first thundered through the air. The impact was so hard that a shockwave filled up and went beyond the stage, and both youngsters were sent flying back from the ricochet.

  This time, it was Gao Yan who was wiping away blood from the corner of his mouth while Cheung Chan Ti was unable to move his right arm.

  “I forfeit”, rang through the silence, as Cheung Chan Li managed to climb back up. As a part of the audience, it was obvious to see that both times Gao Yan had managed to inflict more damage to his friend than what he himself had taken.

  When Cheung Chan Li had called out his forfeit, the entire audience stood up and gave an applause for the youngsters. Although these high ranked experts and their family admired the students capable of winning frantic battles, they also enjoyed watching a good old sparring match where two friends were willing to put their all on the line. This was the way real cultivators showed respect.

  Both Gao Yan and Cheung Chan Ti were smiling widely and leaned on each other as they got ready to walk towards the infirmary. Both seemed exhausted but satisfied with the way that the fight ended.

  As Gao Yan was together with Cheung Chan Ti, Hui Yue and the others stayed behind, showing him a thumbs up before they quickly returned to watch the following match. The match between Wang Ju Long and Rong Ming.

  Where the previous fight had been one of mutual friendship and respect, the one about to unfold was one that according to theory should be a walk in the park for Rong Ming.

  Nevertheless, Rong Ming’s face did not sprout a smile as he entered the arena, nor was he showing any sort of arrogance or superiority as he looked at his opponent. This caution alone should prove to others just how much of a genius Wang Ju Long really was.

  Wang Ju Long and Rong Ming faced each other on the stage, both having no room to look at neither the audience nor the judge who was there to ensure that everything went according to the rules as their entire focus was on the other.

  A slight nod was all the two showed each other as respect, and after a second, both took a defensive stance. As soon as the announcer’s voice rung through the air urging the fighters to begin, a strong wind blew into the air, allowing it to gather around a whirlwind of Qi within Wang Ju Long’s hand. The whirlwind grew in size and within less than a second, Wang Ju Long was once again covered by his evolved Qi Lightning skill.

  Hui Yue could not help but sigh in praise as the skill had evolved into a skill which provided both defence and attack. Lan Feng had told him that it was indeed a skill worthy of being considered a treasure for a family such as the Wang family. It was a skill he himself did not yet have.

  Rong Xing and Rong Ming were from the Rong family, and although this family was currently the City Lord they had not always been such a prominent family. In fact, it was Lord Rong Liang who had managed to bring his declining Rong family from being relatively poor to suddenly becoming the City Lord, taking over the position from the Wang family who had allowed their assets to decline in recent times.

  Today the match was not only about two students who were facing off against each other, nor was it about two geniuses from the younger generation. This was a match between the previous City Lord family and the current one.

  The audience was certain that the tension which could be felt between these two youngsters was due to their eagerness to win, and prove which family had the best foundations for the position of City Lord..

  What the audience could not understand was the actual reason behind the sudden hostility. Every time Wang Ju Long looked at Rong Ming, he did not think about how his family once had been the City Lord’s family. For him, this did not matter.

  Wang Ju Long had grown up within the Wang family while it was a high ranked noble family within the city, but he had never experienced living within the City Lord’s mansion and due to this, he had no hostility towards the current City Lord.

  What he did mind was that every time he saw Rong Ming, he would be reminded of the fight against Hui Yue; reminded of how his pride had been tarnished. To Wang Ju Long, Rong Ming was nothing more than a stepping stone on the way to fight Hui Yue once again.

  Wang Ju Long had no intention of making the first move, as he was being protected by his whirling Qi Lightning, causing Rong Ming to swear slightly. Quick as an arrow Rong Ming moved towards his opponent, both silent and swift as the wind.

  Seeing Rong Ming approaching, a focused expression etched onto Wang Ju Long’s face and a bolt of Qi lightning shot out from the hurricane, aiming towards the rushing Rong Ming.

  As he sensed the danger incoming, Rong Ming relied on his instincts as he dipped down, rolled on the floor and used the speed to jump back up. In doing so, Rong Ming managed to avoid the first of the Qi lightning bolts, and the distance between the two had significantly narrowed down.

  While Rong Xing used small daggers, Rong Ming used a martial art attack skill known as Qi sword. Much like the name suggested it provided Rong Ming with a pearl white sword.

  This sword was created by white Qi, however, although this Qi had no hints of grey, it did not light up with the same kind of shine and lustre which could be seen on Wang Ju Long and Hui Yue.

  Lightning bolt after lightning bolt shot out from the defensive Qi barrier only to be met by Rong Ming’s Qi sword. Upon impact both the sword and the lightning bolt would explode with force, but this force was easily dodged by Rong Ming as he sidestepped, and dived around the stage.

  Looking at the fight from the outside, shocked expressions were evident. Although Rong Ming was known as a peerless genius who had broken into the practitioner rank at the age of fifteen, he was currently struggling against a ten-year-old child.

  A ten-year-old child which had broken through the barrier into the Disciple rank at this age was also considered an amazing achievement.

  Rong Ming gritted his teeth as he realised his current plan was making no progress and instead sidestepped all the Qi lightning bolts sent his way and rushed straight for Wang Ju Long who was currently protected by the whirlwind surrounding him.

  Thick threads of Qi were gushing out of Rong Ming, merging with the sword in his hand, transforming it into a bigger and heavier sword which he in turn swung with all the power in his arm.

  As the sword landed on the whirlwind sparks of Qi lightning were sent everywhere, causing a fluctuation to appear within and eventually both whirlwind and sword collapsed. The whirlwind became unsteady before the wind slowly laid down and only seven Qi Lightning bolts appeared next to Wang Ju Long.

  Watching this caused Hui Yue’s eyes to narrow yet right as he expected Wang Ju Long had lost, he noticed that the sword within Rong Ming’s hand had cracked into small pieces.

  As a student practicing with Qi weapons, Hui Yue knew exactly what that meant. Having a Qi weapon broken meant that it could not be recalled before he had reabsorbed the Qi which had been spent.

  Wang Ju Long, on the other hand had also lost his whirlwind. Unlike what Hui Yue had expected, a smile rose on Wang Ju Long’s face and his arms spread out beside him revealing twenty sparkling Qi Lightning balls, all of them bustling with energy and ready to be unleashed at any time.

  Looking at this, a wry smile appeared on Rong Ming’s lips and he knew that he had lost. Even though Rong Ming was much stronger when it came to raw strength he had given Wang Ju Long far too much time to create one Qi Lightning bolt after another, and no matter how strong he was, as long as he relied on his lower dantian, an attack from twenty Qi lightning bolts would be enough to severely damage him.

  “I forfeit”, Rong Ming sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. In a
way, he was not sad that he had lost as he looked at Hui Yue. Currently the little boy was looking at Wang Ju Long with sparkling eyes and a bloodthirsty smile sprawled across his mouth which made it obvious that Hui Yue wanted to fight Wang Ju Long more than anything else.

  Hearing that the son of the City Lord was the one to forfeit made everyone present shocked, and they discussed what kind of influence this would have on the future. Some nobles considered changing factions to join the Wang family, while others said that Rong Ming had not used his full potential as he did not wish to injure a weaker opponent.

  After this fight, only one remained, however, what Hui Yue cared about was the fact that he was now within the top eight, and so was Wang Ju Long.

  Blue eyes locked onto black eyes, as the two children faced each other tacitly. Neither willing to give in and look away, but at the same time ordering the other to do so.

  “You better not lose the next matches”, Wang Ju Long mouthed before turning around and walking the opposite way towards his brother and family.

  Chapter 40 - Shadowbird

  * * *

  Chapter 40: Shadowbird

  The arenas marred by all the preliminary battles were left empty as the final eight participating students had been found. These top eight students all had engaged in closed door training during the few days of rest which followed, each and every one of them wishing to refine the final bit of essence in the hope that this might be the drop that could tilt the tide of victory to their side.

  The fact that Rong Ming lost his battle shocked the entire audience as he had been the top seed for the entire competition. This, in turn, brought a lot of theories as to who would rise up and become the champion of the competition.

  Currently there were two nine-star Disciple ranked participants. One was Gao Yan and the other was Li Shing. Li Shing was the oldest student currently standing within the tournament and his age and high rank gave him a certain advantage.Therefore, most people expected Li Shing to win.

  Some of the audience assumed that the winner would be Wang Ju Long considering his ability to deal with Rong Ming. The majority of the supporters of Wang Ju Long were nobles who attempted to build up a relationship with the Wang family.

  Other nobles were betting on Gao Yan, and had the theory that since he always moved around with the Rong twins he was likely to have learned some middle ranked martial art skills. If his skills were superior, then he was likely to win the match.

  And then there were still others who were expecting Hui Yue to win. These were mainly the people who had remembered, from the leaflet, that Hui Yue still had an attack he had yet to use, along with the fact that he had never before been seen going all out.

  It was obvious to everyone within the audience that Hui Yue had a past which had provided him with great advantages, nevertheless, he was still a Student ranked cultivator.

  During these discussions Hui Yue had ignored everyone who had come to greet him. Instead, he had focused solely on the sword-form of his Transforming Weapon skill and a smile was appearing on his face, quickly to be replaced with a frown.

  ‘Controlling a sword is much harder than two knives’, he sighed while looking at the sword which had manifested itself from his solidified Qi. Unfortunately, it only stayed in shape for around three minutes before it turned into mist which evaporated into the air. Each sword took up roughly a fifth of his internal Qi, and with the short time it lasted it was obvious that Hui Yue was still unable to rely on the sword in a real battle.

  Still happiness was spreading within the smaller boy as he saw how the sword now manifested itself, if even for only three minutes, it was still a great improvement from the previous mist which had swirled around in a long pipe-looking shape.

  Sighing, Hui Yue sat down below a tree in his courtyard as he prepared to once again enter meditation when a thought hit him.

  Wang Ju Long was currently training within the courtyard next to him, and although he had defeated Rong Ming, Wang Ju Long had won due to Rong Ming messing up. It was obvious that had Rong Ming attacked at the start, then Wang Ju Long would not have had enough time to produce these twenty Qi lightning bolts that were waiting to land on his opponent.

  Although Qi Lightning was a high ranked skill, which worked for both defence and offence, it obviously had one downside to even out its strength. That downside was that it required time to channel essence into Qi lightning bolts.

  The current Hui Yue was certain that he could defeat the Qi Lightning with his Transforming Weapons and a certain disappointment hit him like a cesspit in his stomach.

  Winning due to having a more high ranked martial art skills would not feel like the win Hui Yue deserves. It was a win which could be expected, and as a result Hui Yue climbed his tree and looked at the nextdoor courtyard.

  Entering into the courtyard was impossible. Around each courtyard was an inscription guard ensuring only the teachers and the owners of the courtyard could enter. Not even sound would escape the inscription guard, however, inside the courtyard sounds from the outside were easily heard, such as knocking on the door.

  Hui Yue sitting at the top of his tree was able to look into the courtyard next to him, and as he did he picked up a branch which he threw into the middle of Wang Ju Long’s home.

  As Hui Yue had expected, the branch didn’t land softly on the ground, instead it hit an invisible force field midair and ended up breaking into small pieces like sawdust.

  Nevertheless, the branch had served its purpose as a loud bang had sounded out within the courtyard, causing a frantic Wang Ju Long to rush out into the courtyard.

  At first, Hui Yue was confused as to why the frantic look had appeared on the other’s face, but as he looked at the boy in the middle of the courtyard, he suddenly noticed that something was not adding up.

  With a yelp, Hui Yue felt himself losing balance and fell from the branch on which he had been seated. For one, he was immensely grateful that no one outside of the courtyard could hear him, as right now he did not want anyone to get close to him.

  His face was scarlet red and his mind reeling in confusion.

  ‘He had breasts’, Hui Yue gaped while looking at the stone wall which separated the two geniuses of year one. ‘real ones’, he continued, ‘small soft peaks.’

  ‘It was a shame they were wrapped up’, Lan Feng commented with a hint of perversion causing Hui Yue to cough at the damned bird in embarrassment.

  Wang Ju Long who had entered the courtyard was wearing the usual black silk training pants, however, ‘his’ top was only covered by a set of silk ribbons which had been tied hard to reduce the size of her chest.

  ‘What are you going to do now?’, Lan Feng asked curiously. For him this was entertainment. He had never felt any threat from the small humans within this minor city. Hui Yue, on the other hand, had gotten stuck on Wang Ju Long for more than half a year now, but Lan Feng had felt how that enmity had completely changed within moments.

  ‘I will fight her, as I promised, and then I will pretend to know nothing’, Hui Yue finally sighed. ‘She relies on an ability which I can easily defeat. Lets leave it at that.’

  A sigh escaped Hui Yue as he had finally calmed himself down. It was definitely important that no one knew about what he had seen. This ought to be one big secret which the Wang family did not wish for others to know about.

  Everyone within Riluo City seemed to have plenty of secrets which others were not supposed to know about. Hui Yue had Lan Feng, Deng Wu had little dragon, and now Wang Ju Long hid the fact that he was a girl.

  ‘Well nothing for me to do about it’, Hui Yue finally decided after which he sat down under the tree from which he had fallen and once more started to cultivate.

  Outside of Riluo City seven black cloaked men finally made their way to the city gates. As soon as they were spotted guards from the City Lord’s mansion arrived to escort them back to the City Lord’s mansion where Lord Rong Liang was waiting for them.

  Within
the Office Hall of the City Lord’s mansion Rong Liang sat inside of his office. Although every important person within Riluo City had gone to the Academy Rong Liang did not have the luxury of leaving behind the City Lord’s mansion, and instead he had sent some of his officials to observe and record the battles in memory stones.

  After hearing that both Rong Ming and Rong Xing had finished before the top eight he felt neither rage nor disappointment as others might have expected. Instead, he felt great happiness, as he saw Rong Xing had begun to understand her own inferiority when it came to determination. He was also satisfied with Rong Ming’s forfeit, because he understood his son’s passive reaction at the start had caused him his defeat by Wang Ju Long.

  Lord Rong Liang was a righteous man who did not care about something such as a tournament for the younger generation. Considering that he was a peak nine-star King rank he was likely to break into the Emperor rank at any moment.