The First Peak of the Force

by Yuri Ajin

  “Kai...” Her once velvet voice was now weak and hoarse. “Please, help me.”

  Struggling to find words, all he could do was stare at her. Jade looked nothing like herself. But what truly shocked him was the thick collar that had been placed around her thin neck. Looking at her with his energy vision, he saw threads of alien Force wrapped around her meridians. That was why she had no ki in her body. In addition, her ability to control her strength was somehow suppressed, which was why she couldn’t breathe in even a particle of prana.

  At this moment, Jade was no different from an ordinary person. Even her hardened body was affected by the collar.

  Several men ran out from the same alley, all in the bright orange robes of the Flame Salamander Clan. One of them smiled, seeing that the girl was cornered, but his grin turned into a frown the moment he saw that there was a witness standing by her.

  Kai dashed toward them almost immediately, knocking them all out with a sharp blow to the head. Thanks to Jongo’s books, he knew where he needed to hit in order to incapacitate an enemy. These hits were tricky to pull off, however, so they were best suited for ambushes or fighting much weaker opponents.

  “Let’s go,” Kai said and helped Jade up.

  His energy-controlling ability worked on Jade’s collar as it, luckily, had no mark on it. While he observed the weird little thing in his hands, Jade, watching this with surprise, suddenly felt a surge of strength. With each breath, she felt a new wave of energy coursing through her body.

  Soon, they were running through the alleys together. Holding Jade by the hand, Kai led her in a direction known only to him. It wasn’t far from the Crystal Hotel.

  At one time, she had greatly helped him, which was why he couldn’t just leave her to her fate. However, he wanted answers.

  “What’s going on? Shouldn’t you be in the Flame Salamander Clan? Why did your clanmates attack you?” Kai asked as he ran.

  “Those bastards didn’t allow anyone from my family to join their clan!” she shouted with tears in her eyes. “They captured my family, put them in collars, and used them like cattle!”

  “Why?!”

  “Because of our blood... Our bloodline somehow influences the bloodline of the ruling family of this fucking clan. They’re using us as a resource to become stronger!”

  Kai just squeezed her hand in response. Seeing that this was a sensitive topic, he decided to save his questions for later.

  Turning into another deserted alley, he saw the exit onto one of the main streets when a wave of overwhelming power swept through the alley, immobilizing them.

  A middle-level Exorcist in dark blue robes, a junior elder of the Thunder Serpent Clan, appeared in front of them.

  “Gotcha,” he said. Noticing Kai, he smiled. It was difficult to forget the unusual young man who remained intact after a Master had broken through his aura.

  Kai recognized the elder as well; he was one of the people who met the candidates at the finish line.

  In a couple of moments, a group of orange-clad people arrived. Jade stared in horror, eyes swelling with tears.

  “Ah, there’s my little pet,” said a soft voice.

  Surrounded by guards, Kai and Jade were approached by a young man of about seventeen at the Meridian Formation level. Even Kai couldn’t deny that he was extremely handsome, but there was something almost sadistic in his eyes, hidden by his long, wavy hair that shone with a rich crimson glow. Judging by his clothes, he was one of the apprentices of the Flame Salamander Clan, and judging by his strength, he was at the same level as Lei Shen, which meant that he was one of the strongest students of his clan.

  “My puppy.” He smiled and grabbed Jade by the hair, tilting her head back so that she would look at him. “It’s not nice to run away. We’ll have to punish you... And who’s this young man?” He pointed at Kai.

  “This is one of the new inner-circle students of our clan. He was the one who attacked your people,” the blue-clad elder replied.

  “Well, well, would you look at that...” He took the collar from Kai’s hands and observed it. “Not only did you attack our clan but you also damaged our property... Such behavior needs to be punished.”

  “I’m sure that the Court of Elders will punish him severely.”

  “Is that so? Well, then… Can I talk to him a little before that?”

  The elder thought for a moment, nodded, and then removed the binds that were holding Kai.

  But before Kai could do anything, the young man punched him in the stomach, sending him flying backward, and crashing into the wall behind him. The houses in the Upper Nest were built from the best materials and secured with arrays, which made them difficult to damage. However, the force of the blow was enough to make the stone crack. Blood gushed from Kai’s mouth.

  With a slight smile, the young man appeared next to Kai. Grabbing him by the hair and lifting him up, he hit him with his knee. Blood poured from Kai’s broken nose.

  Everything happened so fast that Kai didn’t even have time to react. It was only after the second blow that he came to his senses. Taking advantage of the pause between hits, he sent a dense strip of scarlet energy at his attacker.

  By the arrogant look on the young man’s face, one could tell that he had no intention of dodging, deeming his opponent inferior to him. Kai gritted his teeth when he saw his attack simply halt a couple of inches away from his opponent’s head. He knew that there was no way that even a genius at the Soul Stage could do this. Someone else must’ve saved the guy’s ass.

  Trying to get up, Kai felt a wave of power push him back to the ground. It was so strong that it crushed him against the cobblestone. He could feel his bones cracking. He felt the warmth of the blood spreading underneath him.

  “Bastard! How dare you?!” shouted a hunched old man with a cane. “Young Master Shin Sei, are you all right? Did this trash hit you?” he asked, and approached the young man to take a look at him. “Ah, thank the Heavens, you seem to be uninjured…”

  “Master Gin, there’s no reason to worry,” Shin Sei replied calmly. “If I wanted, I could destroy him in a second... But he needs to compensate us for the damage. He attacked my people, helped my puppy escape, somehow managed to damage her collar, and now he dared to yell at me. What an ill-mannered cretin. What can you offer us as an apology, you scum?”

  Kai was silent. He couldn’t even speak under the pressure of the Exorcist’s aura. His bloodline was the only thing keeping him alive.

  “You have nothing to say?” Shin Sei chuckled and then stepped on Kai’s elbow with all his might.

  There was a loud crunch, but nothing more.

  “A stubborn one... Well, let’s see what you have in your Ring,” Shin Sei said and took Kai’s Ring from his finger.

  Kai shuddered. At first glance, there was nothing valuable in the Ring. He had given almost all of his coin to Julie. His resources, including the Particle, were unlikely to be of interest to someone like Shin Sei. And even if they were, Kai could go and buy them again. He was worried about something else ― the Cold Void Meditation Technique that Jongo had asked him never to tell anyone about, under any circumstances; otherwise, it could cost Kai his life. And given that the old man was from these lands, Kai knew that he had had a good reason to ask him to do this.

  Having taken the Ring, Shin Sei realized that he wouldn’t be able to open it right away as it had Kai’s mark on it. However, arrogant and egoistic as he was, he believed that he could easily erase it.

  But he was wrong.

  No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t even damage the mark. With each failed attempt, he got angrier. Seeing Kai grinning, he kicked him in the face.

  “Bastard!” He kicked him again. “Gin, why is he still conscious? It prevents the mark from being erased! Can’t you knock him out with your aura already?”

  “Young master, I beg your pardon.” Gin seemed upset. “To be honest, I’m already using all the pressure I can! I don’t know how he’s still c
onscious!”

  Shin Sei frowned. “All right, then erase the mark. I suppose you can do that much.”

  “Yes, young master!” Gin nodded and took the Ring.

  The moment his wrinkled fingers touched the smooth surface of the Ring, he felt a surge of inexplicable power. It was as if the little item was answering someone’s call. Kai also felt the wave of mystical Forces. It then dawned on him ― its source was the meditation scroll.

  “This is…” Gin whispered in shock.

  “What’s going on?” Shin Sei asked impatiently.

  “Oh… Nothing… I’m working on it, young master.”

  To break someone else’s mark, which, in its essence, was a technique of its own, required energy. However, one couldn’t simply remove it by force. There was a high probability of damaging the structure of the Ring. The space compressed in it could simply collapse, destroying the items stored within it.

  It was necessary to take a more delicate approach. Gin surrounded the mark with his ki, and then applied his will in an attempt to absorb Kai’s energy into his own. Will was the reflection of the strength of one’s spirit and one of the key parameters that determined the power of one’s aura (as well as the stage of development). Usually, even an initial-level Exorcist could easily erase a mark of a cultivator at the Source Creation level. So Kai’s Ring, in theory, shouldn’t be a problem.

  Gin failed, and froze in confusion.

  How is this possible?! he thought.

  “How long are you going to mess around?” Shin Sei asked.

  “I beg your pardon, young master. I’ll be done soon, there’s a slight hitch...”

  Without another word, Gin stopped pushing Kai into the ground. He’d need to use all of his strength to destroy the mark.

  Although he was in tremendous pain, Kai didn’t let out so much as a peep. Compared to the pain that he endured when Rune’Tan took some of his soul energy to save Julie, this was nothing. He would hold on. He would survive. Someone else would’ve given up, but not him. After the Fallen Star Sect’s initiation test, his endurance had significantly increased. It wasn’t so easy to break him anymore.

  Unfortunately for Gin, the mark remained intact.

  Two minutes later, sweaty and flushed, Gin exhaled sharply and stopped trying. He had run out of strength and options.

  “What are you doing?!” Shin Sei yelled.

  “Master...” the old man muttered wearily. “I don’t know… This is some kind of anomaly. This mark is indestructible!”

  “What?! You can’t break the mark of a cretin at the Sensory Organs Endurance level?!”

  “So far, I can’t…” Gin was annoyed. However, he wasn’t about to give up; and not only because of his master, but also because of the recent mysterious surge of power. “But I have an idea.”

  Gin went up to Kai. A collar appeared in his hand, which he immediately placed around the young man’s neck. He needed him to be unconscious in order to suppress his will and thereby simplify the process. The collar, when first put on, penetrated deep into the energy structure of its wearer, intertwining around their meridians and draining them of strength.

  As soon as the cold iron closed around Kai’s neck, he felt his energy leave him ― it was like a dam had broken, and all the water gushed out of its basin. This should have knocked him out at once; however, shocking Gin and Shin Sei again, he remained standing. To do this, he had to concentrate on regaining control over his ki. As he needed to remain focused on this task, he couldn’t focus on destroying the collar.

  Gin frowned.

  “You, help me!” He turned to one of the Exorcists that were accompanying them.

  Now there were two Exorcists trying to destroy the mark. Kai was already at the limit of his strength. If they destroyed it, it wouldn’t only give them access to the scroll, but it’d definitely damage his soul as well.

  “Shin Sei, you bastard!” Jade growled. Due to everything that was going on, they had stopped paying attention to her. “You’ve made a mistake!”

  “Who allowed you to speak, you dog?” Shin Sei asked, looking condescendingly at her. “Once we make a pill out of you, then maybe I’ll let you talk. Until then, you better keep your mouth shut and listen to what I say.” He smiled disgustingly.

  Instead of cursing him, Jade smiled, surprising him.

  “As always, you’re not listening.” Her grin widened. “You’ve made a mistake by allowing me to restore some of my energy...”

  Kai noticed the Fire Force coil itself around him, protecting him.

  “Thank you, Kai. And you...” She turned to Shin Sei, eyes gleaming with malice. “You’ll pay for everything you’ve done!”

  Her skin became covered with numerous cracks. Steam and heat rose into the air. Before anyone could react, she focused all of her power into one tiny point... and then released it.

  A gigantic explosion of fire spread through several nearby blocks. The power of her bloodline surpassed even the power of peak-level Exorcists. A whole chunk of the outskirts of the Upper Nest vanished in the blink of an eye.

  Protected by the cocoon, Kai ran. It had already gotten dark. As he had to remain focused on the collar, he couldn’t activate the movement technique. He had to hope that his legs would be fast enough.

  He was barely able to come to his senses. It wasn’t until he was quite far from the epicenter of the explosion that he realized that Jade had used a suicidal ability.

  Damn it, Jade! He slammed his fist into the wall, angry at himself and his own weakness. If only I was stronger!

  However, it was thanks to her self-sacrifice that he managed to snatch his Ring from the confused Gin.

  He noticed himself picking up the pace, as if something was chasing after him. Sharply jumping to the side, he managed to dodge an attack at the last moment. Seriously burned, Shin Sei walked out of the smoke like a demon from hell.

  “You think that someone like me wouldn’t have powerful protective artifacts?!” he shouted furiously, quickly closing the distance between them. “This is all your fault! I’ll feed you to the dogs!”

  Kai didn’t dare slow down even for a moment. However, in his current state, he was no match for Shin Sei. In a matter of seconds, the damn psychopath was literally breathing down his neck. Kai turned sharply. He barely managed to summon both of his blades from the Ring. It seemed that everything was over, but he wasn’t going to surrender. If he was to die, he’d die fighting.

  Shin Sei lunged forward. Kai braced himself but the attack never came. Halting abruptly, Shin Sei enveloped himself with a translucent veil.

  “Thousand Thunderstorms Barrier!” someone shouted.

  Turning his head, Kai saw an inner-circle student of his clan standing on the roof of a two-story house. The guy’s face was hidden by a scarf and a hood — only his eyes were visible.

  “Faster, run to the west!” he shouted. “There’s a teleport over there, it leads straight to the border gates!”

  Kai glanced up at the student. Their gazes met. He smiled.

  Maybe Lei Wang was as crazy as people thought.

  With a grateful nod, Kai lunged in the indicated direction.

  “Oh, you bastard!” Shin Sei yelled furiously. “I’ll destroy you, too! Remove the Barrier immediately!”

  He began bashing against the invisible wall, which had weakened after the explosion, but couldn’t so much as leave a dent in it. Lei Wang was also having a hard time. With each blow, he turned paler and paler. The Barrier was his weapon’s ability, but in order to hold back such a powerful opponent, it needed to be constantly powered.

  Three minutes later, Lei Wang realized that he couldn’t take it anymore. Hoping that Kai had made it to the teleport, he deactivated the technique and left the scene. The Barrier should stay active for about another minute.

  By the time the enraged Shin Sei reached the teleport, Kai had already left the city. Fortunately, only people with the Thunder Serpent Clan’s mark could use the array.
/>   ***

  Having bought himself a spot at the beginning of the line with a couple of gold coins, Kai hastily left the clan’s territory. He reached the Middle Wasteland, but he didn’t stop there. He was furious.

  Furious with himself for his own weakness, with Shin Sei, with the Flame Salamander Clan, with the bastard Exorcist of his clan, who had allowed all those things to happen...

  Without stopping for a moment, going further and further west to the Far Wasteland, Kai finally remembered the goal he had forgotten. The goal he had set at the very beginning of his journey in this world.

  He wanted to get stronger! To give his all and prove himself so that no one would ever dare to determine his fate! So that no one could ever threaten people dear to him! His path was covered with blood, but he’d reach the finish line! He’d become so strong that even the Heavens themselves would fear him!

  He went further and further.

  He vowed to return and get his revenge.

  Chapter 16

  THE BEGINNING OF THE GRAND TOURNAMENT

  In the center of the Wasteland, on the border next to the river, was a man-made glade. On this sunny day, almost fifty thousand people had gathered there. All of them were talented young students of the seven clans of the Celestial Plateau. Today, almost two years after the monster invasion, the most important event of the past fifty years was about to begin — the Grand Tournament.

  This event was organized by all clans once every five hundred years in order to confirm the hierarchy of power among them. Gone were the days of endless wars and needless bloodshed. In order to preserve the frail balance of power, they came up with this Tournament, in which the younger generation (up to twenty years old) of each clan would show their worth, for it was they who would become the supporting pillars of their clans.

  The students have been arriving at this place for a week already, and it was only today that everyone had finally gathered. During these seven days, a town had been built in the glade, created by the forces of several Elementalists. No one wanted to wait for others in the middle of nowhere, so countless tents, and even simple houses, were built with the help of young cultivators and rare artifacts.