by Yuri Ajin
The Old Man of the Gray Mountain, who was also in the arena that day and had been meditating until now, suddenly opened his eyes. He hadn’t really been paying attention to the battle up to this point.
The other Elementalists also noticed this. The commotion lasted less than a moment, ceasing suddenly when Shin Sei’s attack was instantly cut into tiny pieces.
Gasps of surprise and shock could be heard from the stands. However, this time, the Elementalists weren’t indifferent either. Even before the beginning of the battle, almost the entire ruling elite of the seven clans knew that the Salamanders used the Fire Butterfly Pills to give their powers a boost, which is why they weren’t particularly surprised by Shin Sei. The high elders were aware of the fact that due to the increased purity of the Flame Salamander’s blood flowing through his veins, he was simply destined to reach the Seer Stage on the Path of Fire so early.
The real surprise was Kai.
“Force of Form on the Path of Sword,” whispered Jiang Guo, the Old Man’s son and the current patriarch of the Blades.
“You’re correct.” The Old Man grinned crookedly. He had felt the Forces way before anyone else.
“The Seer Stage at the first level of the Soul Stage,” someone from behind them muttered.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that!” the oldest of the high elders gasped.
“Neither have I,” the Old Man added and looked at his son.
Jiang Guo nodded.
“Jiang Liu,” he said to the Elementalist sitting near him.
“Yes, sir?” asked the dark-haired, green-eyed young man.
“As far as I remember, you don’t have an apprentice, yes?”
“Unfortunately, sir, a month ago, I chose a successor. The news probably didn’t reach you due to the Tournament.”
“Ah, I see...” Jiang Liu took a second to think, going through the names in his head. “Ah, right,” he chuckled and turned to Jiang Yui who immediately blushed. “Young Yui, how do you feel about taking on your first apprentice?”
Having recovered from the shock, she bowed her head slightly.
“Such a talented student will bring nothing but pride to the Jiang name. I’ll be honored if you allow me to become his mentor,” she replied.
“Then so be it,” Jiang Liu said and nodded firmly. “See to it after the fight.”
“Well, since I’ve seen the most interesting part of this Tournament, I’m afraid that I’ll have to bid you farewell, gentlemen and ladies,” the Old Man said as he got up from his chair, rustling with his silver beard and black robes.
Everyone bowed their heads in parting, after which the space around the Old Man twisted and he disappeared. In light of the new events, he couldn’t allow himself to sit still for too long. He had found out about a certain person that knew the secret of combining the key fragments.
Everyone returned to watching the fight. Everyone except one young man, sitting in the far dark corner, who was looking at the place where the Old Man had just been.
“Soon,” he whispered barely audibly.
***
Having cut through Shin Sei’s attack, Kai continued to move.
He had been able to master the Force of Form by reaching the Opening of the Acupuncture Points level. His energy vision combined with two Particles and deep contemplation of the Forces allowed him to finally reach the Seer Stage.
The Forces of Space had also improved, allowing him to seamlessly weave them into the Blade Release. Together with the Force of Form, this raised the level of its quality to a high one, and also made it possible to use the special property of the Force of Intent, which allowed his attack to cross such a short distance almost instantly.
Kai had long been able to give Blade Release almost any desired shape, which had only been made easier with the Force of Form. One swing of the sword instantly turned into many small but powerful crescents that effectively countered Shin Sei’s whips. Recovering from the shock, he returned his blade to its original shape in order to fend off Kai’s blow.
Their blades crossed, and both began to press against each other, realizing with surprise that they were equal in physical strength. Kai’s power came from his unique bloodline, which made his body much stronger than that of an ordinary cultivator, as well as from energy oversaturation, which gave him a short-term but serious boost.
As for Shin Sei, his bloodline also increased his strength, although not as much as Kai’s did. In addition, he, unlike his opponent, had consumed an immeasurable amount of rare pills and Fruits during his life, and was two levels above Kai. Fire Cover, too, did its best to enhance his performance.
After a couple of exchanged blows, Shin Sei bared his teeth and activated Flaming Claw, making the blade burn with a powerful flame.
“Kiss your sorry weapon goodbye!” he hissed and turned around, unleashing his power. Kai only grinned.
When the two swords were about to collide, Kai’s blade turned into water. The moment the attack passed through it, it reassumed its usual shape. Swinging it downward, Kai almost surprised Shin Sei and stabbed him in the chest. The Salamander still managed to jump back, catching a part of the attack with Fire Cover.
There was a long gash from his right side to the left shoulder.
First blood had been spilled.
Luckily for him, the wound wasn’t deep, but its very existence pissed him off. The dome was filled with flames in the blink of an eye as he activated one of the main techniques of the Flame Salamander bloodline — Fire Zone.
The flames soon died down, having covered the area of about fifteen feet. Among them, as before, was Kai encrusted in ice. However, this time there were cracks one some parts of the armor. Steam and blood seeped from them, filling the air with the stench of burnt flesh.
But Kai didn’t care. The ice melted, washing away the soot and blood, leaving behind healed and unharmed skin. Only the burnt clothes reminded everyone of what had happened.
Shin Sei was shaking with rage.
The bastard hurt me! Me! Impossible... Who the fuck does he think he is?!
He waved his hand, summoning the flames that immediately formed hundreds of small fireballs. Clutching his fist, he hurled them in Kai’s direction.
The melted ice quickly took the form of a blade. Kai surrounded himself with as many Cold Void particles as possible. Taking a deep breath, he directed ki into his legs.
A long time ago, back when he was stuck in the underground city, he spent almost a year mastering a certain Earth-rank technique. At that time, the Five Weightless Steps seemed like the most powerful movement technique in his arsenal. However, over time, he began to realize that it just wasn’t enough anymore. He was facing more and more powerful opponents, with skills far stronger and of bigger quality than his. Unfortunately, Kai had never managed to get enough free time to learn any other such technique.
What he did manage, however, was to remember that Rune’Tan knew a lot about the following volumes of this technique. The two years that he had spent in the Far Wasteland turned out to be just what he needed to focus on his development.
The time had come to use the third volume, that is, raising the technique’s level up to the medium quality and Gold rank. Now the main element of the technique was Space.
“Speed Step...”
The air around Kai became distorted. The space in front of him began to shrink and stretch behind him, which made it take much less time to cover the same distance. He rushed forward, disappearing from sight just as the fireballs finally reached their target.
Shin Sei again covered himself with the Fire Zone, but he didn’t make it as grandiose as before. His plan to attack again was thwarted when something heavy hit him in the stomach with great force, throwing him aside. Another blow followed, this time in his head.
Staggering to his feet, he tried to orient himself. Appearing and disappearing, Kai beat him with his fists, throwing him from side to side like a rag doll. It took Shin Sei a couple of good pun
ches to the face before he finally managed to notice one attack in time and block it. He countered with a couple dozen fireballs.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help him much. Kai simply moved out of the way and returned to beating him up. No matter how many techniques he used, now many curses he threw in Kai’s direction, there wasn’t anything he could do to fight him back. Even when he managed to hit Kai, he’d just heal as he continued to beat him. His punches were methodical and precise, hitting for maximum damage. He had replaced the blade for fists and gashes and cuts for cracked bones and internal bleeding.
If he was being honest, he preferred this to sword fighting.
Shin Sei was getting his ass beat like this was his first day training martial arts. The audience was dazed and confused. How was someone like Shin Sei losing to someone like Kai in such a manner? How was a stranger, a commoner at that, able to surpass the heir of one of the most powerful families of the Plateau? The Force of Space was the most energy-consuming of all the Forces, so how come he had been able to use it for so long?
Covering his head with his hands, Shin Sei no longer bothered to even look at where he was directing his attacks. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
How am I losing against this piece of shit?! How?! This can’t be happening! I refuse to believe this! I refuse! I can’t lose! I simply can’t be losing! I’m stronger! I’m better! I’m Shin Sei of the Salamander Clan! I’m not going to lose to some peasant! I haven’t lost yet and I’m not about to lose! This makes absolutely no sense! The Heavens must be fucking with me! I’m stronger! I must win! Yes! Where’s my victory?! Why haven’t they announced my victory yet?! I’VE WON!!!
Kai frowned and jumped back. Something had changed with Shin Sei, but he wasn’t sure what.
A wild roar shook the arena.
“Shin Sei!” his father cried, jumping to his feet. “Oh, no…”
Clutching his head and foaming at the mouth, Shin Sei began to transform. The inhuman amount of rage he felt ignited his blood, awakening a slumbering technique called Partial Transformation.
His skin was covered with patches of magma. His nails turned into razor-sharp claws and his pupils began to spin wildly. A pair of horns emerged from his forehead, and a tail grew from his lower back.
“I’LL KILL YOU!” he growled, baring his fangs and releasing a thin beam of plasma from his mouth.
Kai managed to dodge at the last moment, but the protective dome behind him was seriously damaged.
“Stop the fight!” Shin Sei’s father shouted, appearing behind the dome. “Stop it right now!”
“Sorry, but that’s not possible,” the judge replied courteously and with an apologetic look in his eyes.
“I said ― stop the fight!” the man insisted, glaring at the judge. The latter only shook his head sorrowfully.
“I can’t. But I’ll contact the head of the Blades,” he said calmly. “It’s the best I can do.”
Shin Sei’s father frowned, but said nothing, just turned back toward the arena.
Hang in there, son…
In a matter of moments, the supreme elder appeared, followed by three more powerful members of the Shin Family.
Kai was about to close the distance between them, but Shin Sei managed to surprise him by launching a fire technique that even he barely dodged. Fortunately, due to the rage, Shin Sei couldn’t focus and make targeted strikes.
As he got closer, Kai got ready to hit Shin Sei twice on the head when the latter grabbed both of his fists. Kai winced and hissed in pain as Shin Sei’s skin began to melt through his ice armor. His fists were seriously burned but he began to heal almost immediately. He tried to free himself, but to no avail. Shin Sei had him in a death grip.
Exposing two rows of fangs, the Salamander was about to release another beam when Kai kicked him in the jaw. Shin Sei’s head flew backward and the beam passed dangerously close to Kai’s head. His risk was rewarded, though, when Shin Sei’s grip weakened and he managed to finally back away.
The next moment, earth and sky switched places. Kai was sent flying away by a kick in the chest. He fell with a thud and staggered back to his feet just in time to see Shin Sei running toward him on all fours at great speed.
Once every five days, he said… I won’t be able to win without it. I have no choice, I’ll have to show what I have... Biting his lip, he assumed a fighting stance, covering only his arms and legs with very dense ice. His sword was useless against Shin Sei’s scales. They were far too strong and hot for the blade to handle.
Seeing that his son still had some control over himself and his transformation, the patriarch of the Salamander clan finally calmed down and returned to watching the fight. He had no doubt that his son would win.
This ability is our main weapon! I doubt that this Kai is strong enough to handle it. Very soon―
A wave of power swept over the arena, but it wasn’t Shin Sei’s. Kai’s skin became covered with swollen veins. He looked like he had swallowed the deadly Red Demon Pill, but what he had done was activate a previously hidden ability of his bloodline — Life Rampage. Granted, it had an effect similar to the mentioned pill in the sense that it pushed the user’s body to its absolute limits, however, its effect wasn’t lethal.
Shin Sei was once again being tossed around like a sack of potatoes. People stared in horror.
Eight minutes later, it was over. Having flown a good hundred feet away, Shin Sei suddenly began to transform back. He hobbled slowly toward Kai with an empty gaze and mouth moving in delirium.
“Kill… kill… I won’t… lose…”
“Stop! He’s done for! Leave him be!” Shin Sei’s father shouted, having noticed something unsettling in Kai’s gaze. “You’ve won. That’s enough.”
Kai looked at him in surprise and arched an eyebrow.
“And what if I don’t stop?”
“The Salamanders don’t care about you or your past,” he replied, just barely holding back his anger. He wanted nothing more than have someone execute this bastard, but he couldn’t intervene. “If you so much as touch my son, I’ll make sure that you regret the day you were born.”
Kai stopped. Ten feet away from him, Shin Sei was still shambling forward. Mind and eyes foggy, he reflexively activated Fire Cover.
“That sounds more like a threat than a favor. I thought you were supposed to be a powerful patriarch of an ancient family?”
The little bastard…! Who does he think he is?! Oh, you’re lucky that the rules are the way they are... He seems interested still... Perhaps there’s a chance.
“Then,” he said, grimacing for the sake of the show. “I’ll give you any resource you want. Provided that you don’t touch my son ever again.”
Shin Sei’s father knew that this obvious attempt at bribery would greatly damage his reputation as well as that it also violated the unspoken rule of non-interference. But he didn’t care. He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.
Kai brought his finger to his chin and pondered.
“Don’t tell me that he’ll accept! Shin Sei murdered another cultivator!”
“He’s no better than him. Fucking sell out,” people began to whisper.
“All right.” Kai smiled. “In that case, I want a Royal-rank Spirit Fruit with Sword Forces!”
Shin Sei’s father gritted his teeth and nodded.