by Yuri Ajin
The territory of the unnamed town was divided into seven equal sectors, which resembled petals of a giant blossoming flower. There were seven thousand students from each clan so the living space was equally divided. The organizers had personally made sure that everything was in order.
The Tournament had been held for more than two millennia. The right to organize it, as well as to come up with the rules for the first round, was given to one of the seven clans. For this fiftieth anniversary, it was the Seven Blades Clan’s turn.
***
Walking through the Thunder Serpent Clan’s sector, lost in her thoughts, Lily was stopped by an unfamiliar voice.
“Halt!” A disciple in the golden robes of the Sun Blessed Clan blocked her path.
Around his neck was a round token with the number “2405” engraved on it. This was his clan member number, as well as an indicator of his strength. Lily had the same token, but with the number “1112,” which meant that she was considered more powerful than him. Of course, these were just guidelines; one couldn’t really measure someone’s strength, as too many variables were involved. Each clan selected seven thousand of their best students, so the average strength of the clan members wasn’t really common knowledge. And given that the Sun Blessed Clan had ranked third in the last few Tournaments, it could be even said that Lily’s strength was actually inferior to that of the stranger.
“Oh, I beg your pardon,” she said and retreated with a smile. Looking thoughtfully at the stars, she didn’t notice that she had reached the border between the sectors. The young man must’ve been assigned to guard this area. There were many of those who wanted to find out everything they could about their rivals, so each of the clans had put guards on the borders of their sectors to prevent such curious individuals from snooping around.
Lily turned around and walked back. In twenty-one months, she had significantly developed, which allowed her to climb the ladder of the Thunder Serpent Clan. She had also recently turned eighteen, but by that time she had already reached the second level of the Soul Stage — the Meridian Formation level.
She had reached the first level, Opening of the Acupuncture Points, a year and a half ago, thus becoming an inner-circle student. Thanks to the resources she had both personally bought and received from the clan, she managed to reach the second level two months ago.
Having passed a tough test, she became the 1,112th member of the clan. This wasn’t a bad place to be, but it was still far from being amongst the first hundred, who most likely would compete among themselves in the final round.
Most people didn’t mind this, but not Lily. She didn’t like it that the competition between apprentices happened separately and that the winners automatically took the first three hundred places, while the inner-circle students, who had to fight for places from three hundred and eighth to seven thousand, weren’t even given a chance to fight against apprentices. This system seemed unfair to many and made them think that the strength of those geniuses wasn’t as formidable as they claimed it to be.
And although she shared this viewpoint, Lily understood that the clan wouldn’t waste their resources on just anyone. However, as always, there was an exception to that rule. Most personal students were from the Lei family, which already made everything seemed rigged. In addition, among them were very young cultivators who had just turned fifteen or sixteen. They maybe were geniuses, but could they really compete against those three to four years older than them? Most of the inner-circle students feared only those who were in the first hundred. They perceived the rest of the apprentices as a challenge.
Continuing to ponder, she wandered around for a while. It had already gotten dark by the time she decided that it was time to return to her house. Just like Kai, she had been able to earn a lot by selling Plants, which allowed her to buy some rather expensive items.
On her way back, she greeted a couple of familiar faces and even stopped to talk to a few of them. Most people were busy with last-minute preparations for the Tournament. Some of them were training, some were revising their techniques, but most people were simply meditating.
Wishing them all good night and good luck, she retreated to her home and went to bed.
At dawn, she was awakened by a loud noise. The unnamed town that had appeared here seven days ago was no more. Buildings created by artifacts disappeared, tents folded and returned to Rings, and hand-built houses were simply destroyed. There was only one reason for this — they were no longer needed.
The first stage of the Grand Tournament had begun!
An hour later, a crowd of forty-nine thousand warriors, divided into pre-made groups, had formed at the clearing. The group to which Lily and Ivsim — who had been given the number “1094” — belonged to consisted of six people.
Like Lily, Ivsim was driven by the desire to see how strong he was, but most of all, he was interested in the awards. There were three stages in total, and the winners were determined based on the results of the last one. Places one hundred to eleven received an impressive amount of hardened gold, as well as a set of rare resources. And the higher the student’s position was, the more gold and better resources they were given.
Students who took places five to ten would get the opportunity to choose and learn one of several extremely rare and powerful techniques, under the condition that they took an oath to not spread their knowledge around. These techniques consisted of three volumes, the last of which surpassed even the Gold rank.
The fourth-place winner also had the opportunity to learn one of these techniques, and get a Red Star Pill. By absorbing it, they increased their chances of successfully reaching the Exorcist Stage up to one hundred percent, as well as increasing their ki capacity by as much as half. Many apprentices dreamed about this pill, so it wasn’t strange that some were even prepared to kill for it.
The third place was also worth fighting for. The prize was armor and weapons of Gold rank or higher. However, due to special restrictions, students had to reach at least the Exorcist Stage in order to use them. So far, on the Plateau, only Elementalists possessed such armor and weapons.
As for the second and first places, unfortunately, no one, except for the organizers and heads of clans knew anything about these awards. However, considering how valuable the prizes for the third and fourth places turned out to be, it had to be something truly amazing.
As the participants waited for the organizers to appear and announce the beginning of the first round, they discussed who would be the best one among them.
Would it be the Seven Blades Clan, which had been at the top for centuries now? Or would it finally be someone else’s turn? Could it maybe be the matriarchal Forest Fairies? Would this generation of its students perform better than their predecessors? Or maybe it would be the warriors of the Sun Blessed Clan, whose disciples were always right behind those of the Forest Fairies?
Of course, there was also talk about the Bright Moon Clan and the Flame Salamander Clan.
The Bright Moon Clan had been an average player in the recent Tournaments, but rumor had it that their current generation had several geniuses capable of surprising even the top three.
When it came to the Salamanders, the main question was if they had regained their former strength. More than a hundred years ago, they weren’t far behind the Sun Blessed Clan, but after a bloody war, their strength significantly decreased.
The Thunder Serpent and the Tree of Life Clans were almost completely disregarded, and if someone did mention them, it was with ridicule. For a very long time, these two clans had been outsiders. Even their best students could rarely compare with the ones from the top three.
Finally, after almost forty minutes, the organizers arrived. Apart from the numerous Exorcists who were present only to maintain order, the glade was now home to four initial-level Elementalists: three men and one woman — each of them clad in the robes of the senior elders of the Seven Blades Clan — who levitated several tens of feet above the special platfor
ms they had been placed on. They did that with the help of rare artifacts based on the Forces of Space.
Sitting at the head of the party, a young woman clapped her hands, instantly drawing the attention of nearly fifty thousand people to herself.
“Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the first round of the one hundred and fourth Grand Tournament!” she greeted, her voice amplified with energy. “I’ll explain the rules, after which you can immediately begin. The first round will take place throughout the Far Wasteland over the course of the next two weeks. Killing other students is strictly prohibited and will be severely punished! We can record whether you killed someone through your tokens. Do not think that you’ll be able to fool us if you remove your or your victim’s token! All of the tokens combined form an array that covers the entire area of the Far Wasteland. DO NOT try to fool us.
“Among other things, these tokens also serve as a special storage device. The main goal of the first round is to score more points than anyone else. There are two ways to earn these points. The first is to gather Energy Crystals dropped by monsters on the Soul Stage or higher. I’m sure you all know that such Crystals keep the imprint of the beast’s will for several hours. Only these Crystals can be placed in the tokens. If you have any Crystals prepared, throw them away, as they won’t work.
“The second is to take tokens from students of other clans. In this manner, you can receive points already earned by someone else.”
Although she knew that basically all of the participants were familiar with the rules, tradition implored her to still give this speech. Having received their tokens, the students also received special brochures with rules.
“Now that everyone’s ready, try to calm down and not use energy. A large transfer array has been set up around you. In a few minutes, all the participants will be teleported to a random location in the Far Wasteland. If you touch another participant, you’ll be carried as a group. However, bear in mind that a group can’t have more than ten members. That’s all. Good luck.”
Turning around, she nodded to the levitating Elementalists, and went with them over to the group of Exorcists. The four took their assigned places and concentrated on activating the array.
“Do you think he’s still alive?” Ivsim asked, turning to Lily. He, like the other members of their team of six, had already joined hands.
“You think he isn’t?” she asked, surprised.
“The Far Wasteland is a very dangerous place. I’m sure they send us there only because fifty thousand students, even when scattered and hostile to each other, are still strong enough to survive together. So yes, I have my doubts.”
“Well, I don’t!” Lily smiled. “I’ve known him a little longer than you have. More than once he has managed to surprise me with his vitality. I believe that we’ll see him again very soon.”
“Hmm... That would be interesting... I have no idea how he’s going to deal with the Salamanders, though. Even we were interrogated. At least our clan didn’t let them feel too much at home after that incident in the Upper Nest.”
“Yeah...” Lily sighed.
In the next moment, the glade was illuminated with a bright light, and the forty-nine thousand students disappeared.
The first stage of the Grand Tournament had begun.
***
While the most talented students of the Celestial Plateau were settling in the Far Wasteland, other events were taking place in the capital of the Flame Salamander Clan. In the main palace, two people were having a rather interesting conversation.
“Do you think it’s true?” asked the man in orange robes, sipping a cup of an expensive tea made of rare herbs. He looked as if he was thirty, but in fact, he was a thousand years old. Two hundred years ago, he had reached the peak of the Elementalist Stage. He was the current patriarch and the father of Shin Sei.
“If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be working this hard, son,” the old man sitting across him answered. He was also a peak-level Elementalist and was in his third millennium. He had handed over the role of the head of the clan to his only son almost a century ago and was now the clan’s supreme elder.
“You’re right.” The patriarch sighed. “I just can’t believe that we really let someone escape.”
“I also had a hard time believing it when I was informed of that incident in the Thunder Serpent Clan’s capital.” The old man nodded. “But even so, it’s a gift from the Heavens. I stopped hoping that the scroll would be found while I’m still alive...”
There was a moment of silence. Elementalists, especially those at the peak level, lived for a very long time, sometimes even up to forty, forty-five centuries from the moment of reaching the Exorcist Stage. However, even they were doomed to die at some point. Time didn’t spare anyone.
The current patriarch understood that his father was very old. There were two ways to cheat death — to reach the next level or to find a Fruit with soul energy, and neither of those was available to the Salamanders. Nor to anyone else, for that matter. On the Plateau, after the great cataclysm that had occurred almost fifteen thousand years ago, when the level of prana sharply decreased, no one could go beyond the Elementalist Stage. Fruits with soul energy became so rare that nobody even thought about them anymore.
After a while, the patriarch sighed again.
“Well, it’s a good thing that old Gin had that bottle on him at the moment. It helped him feel the scroll.”
“I agree.” The elder smiled slightly. “However, the poor fellow suffered some serious injuries. His left hand was torn off and completely burned, just like half of his face.”
“Yes. It’s good that you gave Shin Sei that artifact. Even the Serpent’s Exorcist couldn’t protect himself from the explosion... It was insanely powerful... I didn’t even suspect that the Alkis had such a skill.”
“Luckily, only one percent of the family possesses it. After that incident, we quickly tracked down those who could potentially have it so that there’d be no more surprises. The Alkis family basically no longer exists, so there’s nothing to fear... But who would have thought that we’d be lucky to stumble upon the descendants of the Fire Butterfly Clan! The Heavens must be looking after us, even that girl has outserved her purpose.”
“I hope so. The pills we got from them should allow our younglings to win this Tournament.”
The old man took another sip of the scented drink, paused for a moment, and then replied.
“Don’t worry about the Bright Moon. Or the Forest Fairies and the Sun Blessed, for that matter. I think our students will be able to deal with them. I don’t know what to think about the Blades, however. Their strength is frightening...”
The patriarch’s face darkened as he remembered his relationship with this clan.
“They have been too cocky lately. The fugitive’s sister was never interrogated! The bastards didn’t let our people into Neiven! The fugitive’s acquaintances were absolutely useless. They know nothing. Not to mention that our relationship with the Serpents worsened after the explosion.”
“I don’t give a damn about the Serpents. But we’re on thin ice with the Blades. They openly hate us because of that war. You know, it’s so strange... Back then, the clanheads and I did believe that the war was necessary. Who knew that we’d never get the scroll? It’s a gift from the Heavens that it appeared now. We must find it!”
“Yes, father.” The patriarch nodded obediently. “All of our participants have been given information about this Kai fellow. We didn’t find him in the Middle Wasteland. Judging by his mark, he didn’t stay there for a long time. He has probably moved to the Far Wasteland, as the central array has lost contact with him.”
“I doubt that he’s still alive. It’s unlikely that he has managed to live there for almost two years. Even our apprentices can’t make it that long in the Far Wasteland.”
“That’s true. We should look for his corpse or Ring. It’s of Gold rank, so it’s unlikely that it has been destroyed. It’s too bad that we
haven’t found it so far. The Far Wasteland is too large. So thank the Heavens for the Tournament. It would’ve been too difficult to organize a search for him on our own.”
The old man thought for a moment. He recalled the reason for the war, the victory that had cost them too much, and the prize that had managed to elude them.
“Did you give out search artifacts to all of the students?” he asked.
“Yes. Our masters have already tuned them to Kai’s aura. Even if he’s dead, his imprint should be on his Ring,” the patriarch answered firmly. “Don’t worry, father. Soon, the Cold Void will be ours!”
Chapter 17
THE FLOWER HUNT
The first round of the Tournament was in progress. Seated on a spacious, outdoor terrace adorned with hundreds of flowers was the Seven Blades Clan’s Council of Elders. Standing around a huge platform levitating three feet above the ground, the Elementalists observed the very complex array, following the moves of each of the participants.
“Excellent, everything works,” a gray-bearded old man said with relief. Few people believed that everything would go right the first time with so many participants. But the artifact — or rather, the masters who had created it — had lived up to its reputation.
“I agree,” the other elder added. “How many Crystals do you think they’ll be able to find?”
“There have been a lot of monsters in the Wasteland over the past centuries, as the recent invasion had shown. I think they’ll be able to collect a nice amount.”
“Hopefully, after that, we’ll finally have enough energy to perform the ritual and connect the fragments.”
“The only problem is that the supreme elder is in a hurry,” a relatively young Elementalist noted, making the older elders glare at him. Noticing their angry looks, the man shuddered, hastening to justify himself. “What if something goes wrong? What if we try to connect the keys, but do it wrong and damage them? I think we shouldn’t rush this.”