by Yuri Ajin
Fang Bao staggered and froze only to howl like a wounded beast a second later. As if responding to his pain, the tattoo glowed even brighter. Fang Bao waved his hands, creating a powerful gust of wind that knocked Ivsim back. The latter used this chance to retreat.
So that’s what he was up to... Fang Bao thought, coughing blood as he sank to one knee. His lungs were on fire and every breath felt like swallowing acid. He wants to wait until I bleed out and can no longer fight?
“Do you think... that this... will stop me?” he said with difficulty, and directed ki into his skin, healing it. “Stone Body... Diamond.”
His skin glowed white for a moment, becoming even stronger. The bleeding slowed down, but didn’t stop completely, so he was still losing strength with every passing moment.
Ignoring the pain, he got to his feet and got ready to attack. Clenching his fist, he punched the air, sending a dozen Ghost Fists flying toward Ivsim, who, being much further away this time, managed to dodge.
Realizing that he might soon lose all his strength, Fang Bao decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. He knew that Ivsim wasn’t relying on his vision to see, but on vibrations. As a practitioner of Sound, he needed but to listen.
Putting his hands together as if he was about to pray, he slammed the ground with his palms.
“Tremor!”
An earthquake followed. And then another. And then another. And it only got longer and more intense with each new second. Soon, they could hear nothing but the rumbling.
By the time Ivsim managed to dodge the Ghost Fists, he felt the first shock. As the tremors grew stronger and more frequent, he realized what Fang Bao was trying to do.
He knows! Heavens, this is confusing my senses! Shit! Focus, Ivsim, focus! Ignore the rumble, focus on other sounds... He sighed deeply and focused. There! he thought, finally hearing Fang Bao approaching. He’s almost here. If I lose my focus now, I won’t be able to find him again. But there’s no other way...
Clenching his teeth, he switched the blade given to him by his teacher for one of those that he had bought months ago and imbued it with complex Forces and energies.
“Song of Total Destruction,” he whispered as soon as Fang Bao got close.
The blade shattered, releasing a wave of tremendous power. Having no time to dodge, Fang Bao made the ground rise and form a wall around him.
The arena fell silent. The stone walls crumbled as if they were made of sand. Fang Bao was lying in the rubble, covered with blood. One of his hands seemed to be broken. Both the judge and the audience were staring at the cracks that had appeared on the protective dome with a mixture of awe and horror on their faces.
Realizing that it was over, Fang Bao slowly got out of the rubble. He was in pain, but he was still in one piece.
Looking ahead, he saw Ivsim staggering toward him. He, too, was covered in blood. Even for members of the Order, this technique was extremely dangerous, which was why it could only be used by Exorcists. And although Ivsim had used the blade as a medium, his body still suffered. He survived only thanks to his bloodline, which had given him very strong bones and entrails.
Ivsim’s ear twitched as it caught the sound of approaching footsteps.
Smiling, he extended his right hand.
“You’re the most inconvenient opponent I’ve ever faced. It was an honor fighting you,” he said. “I surrender.”
Fang Bao, also smiling, shook the outstretched hand. Talking with a punctured lung was too difficult even for him.
The dome disappeared, and the healers rushed into the arena.
***
A new day brought not only good weather but also one of the most anticipated fights so far.
After the murder of Lei Wang, many wanted Shin Sei to be disqualified. However, as killing was prohibited only during the first stage, he technically hadn’t broken any Tournament rules, which stated that the fight would go on until one of the fighters surrenders or is unable to continue. And since a corpse couldn’t continue to fight, no rules were broken. Technical ones, at least.
As death played a very big role in the life of cultivators, the ancestors deemed it important that the future warriors realize that it couldn’t always be avoided, therefore, no one dared impose a rule that outruled killing in one-on-one duels. Shin Sei, amoral as he was, took advantage of this loophole in order to get revenge.
However, his decision wasn’t without consequences. Everyone hated him, well, more than usual, that is. Also, Lei Wang’s murder put a serious strain on the already shaky relationship between the Salamanders and the Serpents.
So it wasn’t surprising that when Shin Sei entered the arena, everyone except his clan began throwing curses in his direction. Wishing to piss them off even more, he just smiled in response.
Soon, the arena became quiet again.
“Seems that the other fighter is late,” the judge mumbled to himself.
“Hahaha, he got scared and ran away!” Shin Sei laughed. “What a wimp!” He spat, and then looked at the judge. “Send him packing! I’m tired of waiting!”
Studying the manual, the judge paid him no mind.
“Hey! Don’t ignore me!” Shin Sei shouted at the man.
“According to the rules,” the judge replied, closing the manual, “semi-finalists are given half an hour to show up before they’re disqualified.” He looked at Shin Sei and gave him a malicious sneer. “I fear that you’ll have to wait.”
Shin Sei shot him a glare.
Oh, I’ll find you when I become an Exorcist. We’ll see if you’ll ignore me again!
Rumors and conspiracy theories spread through the crowd while they waited for the organizers to find Kai. They couldn’t believe that someone like him had gotten cold feet and ran away. Some even suggested foul play. Unsurprisingly, all fingers were pointed at Shin Sei.
When twenty minutes passed and the members of the Blades no longer knew where to look for Kai, since even Julie didn’t know where her brother had gone, people began to lose interest. Some even left the arena. More and more spectators came to the conclusion that the fight wouldn’t happen after all.
With a heavy sigh, Shin Sei rose from the ground.
“He’s obviously too scared to fight me. I see no reason to wait any longer.”
The judge wanted to object that there were still three minutes left when he was suddenly interrupted.
“Sorry, sorry, I was busy looking for a pole long enough to touch a pile of shit with. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one.”
Almost no one noticed when Kai arrived. His aura was hidden and not so much as a single drop of strength could be sensed coming from him.
Turning around quickly, Shin Sei’s frown turned into a grim.
“I’m ready,” Kai said to the judge.
“To die?” Shin Sei asked.
Kai snorted.
“How original.”
Flames surrounded Shin Sei, glowing as bright as the anger he felt toward Kai. He was pissed off by his behavior.
“In that case, the fight can be―”
Kai dashed toward Shin Sei. Taken aback by this suddenness, the Salamander paid for his carelessness with a long cut on his cheek, as well as several locks of his fiery red hair.
He managed to dodge the next one and even fight back. Anger gave him strength. Activating Flaming Claw, he counterattacked. Kai simply dodged the flames, summoning the Sword of the Water Surface. With each new attack, he forced Shin Sei to focus more and more on defense.
Growing tired of being toyed with, the Salamander activated two more techniques. Fire Cover enveloped his body. Several blazing spheres appeared above his palms, ready to explode at any moment.
He tried to keep Kai at bay by attacking him with the spheres but seeing Kai avoid blow after blow as if he could predict where his next attack would land, he became annoyed and careless.
“Die already!” he shouted and threw ten fireballs in Kai’s direction.
A powerful exp
losion thundered, shaking the entire arena. When the dust finally settled, Kai stepped out of the flames and smoke unharmed, save for a little dust and char on his robes. Crimson frost melted off his body, washing the dirt off.
It was only then that they could finally feel his aura.
The aura of a Soul Stage warrior.
Rune’Tan found out what conditions had to be met for the evolution of Kai’s bloodline just hours after Lei Wang’s death. Kai decided that he’d reach the new stage by the day of his fight and that he’d do it in the cave in which the cluster of Forces of Space was still located as they’d benefit the transition process. He even bought an additional Particle, just to be on the safe side.
With Shacks’ help, he was moved to the Far Wasteland.
The process itself took about four days. He was late because the journey back took a bit longer than he had expected. However, he could now be rightfully be considered the cultivator that had made the most efficient transition to the Soul Stage on Saha since the days of the Belteise Empire.
Thanks to the opened acupuncture points and the untied energy channels, he was now able to store a lot more energy in his body. Both the supply and density of his ki increased, which allowed for better control over his techniques. In addition, the fact that he had opened all the points, expanding them to the limit, made his foundation as strong as it could get, which would allow for smoother development in the future.
Like any other cultivator of this level, Kai acquired an invisible energy shield. It was common knowledge that after the Mind Stage, the human body couldn’t become stronger. However, at the same time, its abilities continued to grow. That happened because, at the Opening of the Acupuncture Points level, the supply and quality of one’s ki greatly increased and began to influence the body. The cause of it was this energy shield, which, acting like an amplifier, increased one’s physical characteristics. The bigger a person’s ki supply was, the more the shield strengthened it.
Kai was the only one on Saha to have opened all of the one hundred and twenty hidden acupuncture points so early in the development process, so that gave him a huge advantage. Usually, these points would open on their own when a person reached the Exorcist and Elementalist Stages. That is, the sixty green ones were responsible for giving an Exorcist the Soul Manifestation ability, which was unique to everyone, while the second sixty blue ones gave an Elementalist the ability to hide their aura. That was why the high elders were very surprised to discover this ability in Kai.
As for Kai’s Soul Manifestation, it was an ability called Ultimate Focus. That was what he had experienced back in Alkea, in his fight with Kiyan, as well as during the meditation in front of the Gates of the Fallen Star Sect.
This ability temporarily allowed him to predict his opponent’s moves as well as analyze the battlefield to the tiniest of details, and to, based on that, plan his next move as efficiently as possible.
While using it, Kai felt like he couldn’t make a mistake. In addition, this skill was also useful for learning techniques and Forces. However, like all abilities, it had one drawback — a time limit. He could only use it for ten minutes a day. That was why he immediately attacked Shin Sei, wanting to end the fight before the effect ended.
The audience was back to whispering. If Kai had been that strong on Brain Endurance level how strong was he now?
“Do you think that you’re now a worthy opponent?!” Shin Sei laughed. “Don’t be full of yourself, you bastard! Salamander’s Breath!”
A storm of fire and smoke raged under the dome, trying to destroy everything in its path. Shin Sei had no intention of holding back or sparing his opponent.
When the flames died down and the dust settled, a statue encrusted in ice stood in Kai’s place. Slowly, the ice cracked and melted, turning into water.
Kai stood completely unharmed.
“I think you misunderstood something,” he said. “Say, do you remember what this is?”
He pushed aside the high collar of the Sea Dragon Clan apprentice robes. Shin Sei stared at him, bewildered. Around Kai’s neck was the suppressive collar that Gin had put on him. Kai had been training with it for over a year and a half now.
Kai grinned.
“It seems the time has finally come to take it off.”
Chapter 34
SWORD VERSUS FIRE
The removal of the collar drastically changed the balance of power in the arena. Kai, who had been dealing well with its effects all this time, suddenly felt light as a feather. The heaviness that had been weighing on his soul disappeared without a trace and his aura increased in both size and strength. One could hardly believe that someone like him wielded such power.
Every last drop of his ki was under his control, free to flow undisturbed through the meridians. Thanks to this, the energy shield worked even better. He could now bend energy even more efficiently to his will and activate techniques with even more ease and speed. Moreover, he was now able to use several techniques at once, something which only a handful of Exorcists could do.
Shin Sei stared at him with his mouth slightly ajar. Anger was slowly boiling inside him.
Was he playing with me earlier?! I don’t give a damn about the rules! I’m going to kill him! he thought, teeth tightly clenched, as he summoned a long and slightly curved sword.
The spectators observed with both surprise and interest. As Shin Sei had been using only his family techniques so far, none of them had seen his weapon yet. What was even more surprising was the fact that the blade was of low quality and Royal rank.
“Am I dreaming? I can’t believe this…”
“But how… Why that sword?”
“Can things of this rank be used by someone below the Exorcist Stage?”
“Holy Heavens!”
“It can’t be… Can it? Has he mastered the Force of Form?”
Flames instantly began to swirl around Shin Sei, confirming their guess. This new fire, unlike the one that he had used before, contained not only all the Forces of the Path of Fire but also the Force of Form of the same element. Having managed to reach the Seer Stage, which was usually only available to Exorcists, Shin Sei was able to wield a Royal-rank sword.
“Fire Cover,” he hissed. The blade burst into flames and formed a whip. “Die!”
Shouting, he swung the sword at great speed but Kai dodged the blow using Ultimate Focus. He didn’t so much as wince when the blade whizzed past his face. The frosty veil of the Cold Void cooled down the air.
Shin Sei grinned. Kai felt the temperature rising behind him. His opponent couldn’t only control his technique, but also adjust the length of the whip itself, sending it slithering behind Kai like some sort of a crimson snake.
Kai managed to avoid the blow. He’d need something stronger than the Cold Void to deal with Shin Sei since his Force of Form was too strong. The whip shot toward him at great speed. He planned to dodge at the very last moment so that Shin Sei wouldn’t have time to change the direction of the blow, when the whip split into several snakes, all of which continued toward Kai.
The spectators held their breaths. The Salamanders screamed even louder, supporting their friend.
All right. It’s showtime. Closing his eyes, Kai sheathed the blade as he walked toward Shin Sei, and closed the distance between them. Blade Release was instantly activated.