by Yuri Ajin
Good, the idiot took the bait. The moment the Tournament is over, I’ll challenge him to a duel. No one dares to talk to me like that. I just have to do that before any of the clans invite him to join them. I don’t care if they exile me, he has the scroll.
Ice began to crack and shatter as Kai lowered his arms and stepped away from Shin Sei. Seeing the patriarch’s smile, he turned to him.
“I was just kidding!” He grinned and dashed forward. His hand pierced through Shin Sei’s chest. In his hand, he held his heart. “Did you really think that I’d allow any of you to walk after what you’ve done?”
The protective dome shattered, and five furious Salamanders rushed into the arena, led by Shin Sei’s father. Deafened by the explosion, Kai failed to sense them coming. He started panicking, feeling the fear of death settle deep into his bones, nailing him to the ground.
A blade pierced his skull, followed by a thousand more entering his body. His consciousness faded for a moment, only to return in the next. It felt like he had been yanked out of an icy lake and thrown into the air.
Kai shivered. What he had felt was the manifestation of someone’s power. A mere echo of an Elementalist’s strength.
A young man appeared in front of Kai, holding back the enraged Salamanders with his energy alone. It was none other than Jiang Dao — the one who had destroyed Alkea.
“I’ll ask everyone to calm down,” he said.
The demonstrated strength beautifully depicted the difference between an ordinary peak Elementalist and Jiang Dao’s monstrous talent. How strong was his teacher if his student could rival the Heavens?
“Get out of the way,” Shin Sei’s father growled. “Or I’ll kill you too!”
Jiang Dao rolled his eyes in response and pointed his finger up.
A huge shadow covered the arena. Tossing their heads back so quickly that their necks cracked, the audience widened their eyes in shock. Above their heads hovered a giant blade, capable of destroying everything within a radius of a hundred miles.
“Are you threatening me?” Jiang Dao asked calmly, then stretched out and clenched his fist. The five Salamanders were thrown back and pinned to the ground. “Do be kind and sit down...” he continued, folding his hands behind his back. “Before I wipe your clan of the face of the Saha, along with a piece of the Plateau on which it stands. I will not allow this kind of thing to happen on the lands of my clan.”
He spoke slowly and calmly, but behind every word, there was only one thing — power.
At the same moment, Jiang Yui appeared next to Kai, shocking him even further by leaning down and whispering something into his ear. Surprising himself, he came back to his senses in time to nod.
Jiang Yui smiled.
“You were too slow, sister dear.” Jiang Dao scolded her. Just like all the other elders here… “If I stayed away even for a moment longer, he wouldn’t be alive.”
“I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your help, brother.” Jiang Yui bowed. She was the older sibling, but in this world, power always came before age. She still couldn’t believe that Jiang Dao, an infant found in the middle of nowhere by the former patriarch, had managed to become an Exorcist at the age of twenty, and reach the initial level of the Elementalist Stage by the age of sixty.
The head of the Salamanders rose from the ground, glancing warily at the giant sword still hanging in the sky. This was the first time in his life that he had met someone so overwhelmingly strong. He had always considered the Old Man to be slightly stronger than himself. By the Heavens, he had never been so wrong before in his life.
Noticing him get up, Jiang Dao turned around to face him.
“Did you not understand me?”
“We’ll leave, but before that…” Shin Sei’s father grinned, looking even more like his son. “I challenge this… young man to a duel. You cannot deny me the chance to avenge my son and defend the honor of my clan.”
Jiang Dao chuckled as Jiang Yui stepped forward.
“Honorable patriarch, you have the right to do so, yes, but as the mentor of this… young man, as you refer to him,” she smiled charmingly, “I also have the right to take his place in the duel.”
“I’m sorry… His mentor?”
“That’s right. Kai Arnhard has, just a minute ago, agreed to become my first apprentice.”
She smiled again. The moment she had laid her eyes on the Salamander’s patriarch, she figured out what his goal was and was quick to offer Kai a way out.
But the grin didn’t leave the man’s face.
“The organizers are prohibited from accepting participants before the end of the Tournament,” he said.
“Did I ever say that he’d become a member of the Blades?” Jiang Yui frowned. “I offered him to become my apprentice, not to join the clan.”
Shin Sei’s father stopped short. He cast a malicious glance at the girl, and then, picking up his dead son, silently left the arena.
Having followed them out with his gaze, Jiang Dao also disappeared.
“Here.” Jiang Yui handed Kai a small paper amulet. As soon as he took it, she disappeared too.
Holding the amulet in his hand, he stood still for a whole minute, until the judge announced his victory.
“You’re a fool,” Rune’Tan muttered. “You’re playing with death again...”
Chapter 35
THE FINAL BATTLE
Everything was calm in the Flame Salamander Clan’s lands, especially in the capital, the City of the Three Fires, to which only the elite was given access. Since most of the inner-circle students and apprentices had gone to Neiven, its streets were rather empty today.
A tall man was walking down one of its well-kept streets, rustling softly with his orange robes. With a slight smile on his handsome face, he walked slowly toward the central palace, where the Elementalists and their servants lived.
“Lord Shin Zhang,” one of the guards greeted and bowed. “May I see your invitation?”
Even the most talented of apprentices couldn’t visit the patriarch whenever they pleased; they had to make a request in advance for an audience with the highest elder before they could even think about meeting with him. There were a lot of branches, as well as members of the Shin family. Therefore, only those like Shin Sei, who were born into the ruling family, could enter the palace at any time.
Ignoring the guard, Shin Zhang continued walking.
“My lord?”
The guard suddenly fell silent and grabbed his throat. Struggling to breathe, he and his colleagues stared wide-eyed as Shin Zhang continued on his way into the palace. They couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him or free themselves from his technique since his incredibly strong aura had blocked not only the flow of ki but their bodies as well.
Walking over their corpses, Shin Zhang calmly entered the palace grounds. Passing by both the protective and the signal array without activating them, he picked up his pace.
The door of the study opened abruptly, surprising the seven Elementalists that had gathered at the table around the artifact found in the temple of the Sea Dragon Clan. Not only was there a very strong defensive technique placed at the entrance, but even the servants were forbidden from entering this room.
“What are you doing here, boy?” one of them shouted, angry that they had been interrupted.
Leaving the corpse-littered hallway, the still-smiling Shin Zhang snapped his fingers, making everyone present tremble as their bodies became filled with alien energy. Faces twisted in horror, they could only stare as they were turned into statues made of ice.
Stopping to tap one of them as to make sure that the ice was thick enough, Shin Zhang picked up the artifact and admired it.
“So your time has come.” He smiled even wider. More precisely, the one who captured his body did.
The Spirit had been looking forward to this day. With everyone either dead or gone, no one could stop him from achieving his goal.
Placing the artifact on his pal
m, he whispered a couple of words. The item rose into the air and began to spin. Having compressed it, he poured ki into it.
Who would have guessed that this young man had such a powerful soul? Incredible! Lord U’Shor would envy his strength. I never would’ve believed that the day would come when I’d get my revenge. I’ve waited for this for so long...
Capturing Shin Zhang’s body wasn’t difficult, especially for someone like him. Of course, the process wasn’t without some consequences. Due to the power he possessed, it was difficult, if not downright impossible, for the Spirit to take control of anyone. One’s body was directly connected with the soul. If one suffered, so would the other, and putting too much pressure on either would kill the owner.
For the plan to work, Rune’Tan made sure to lower the Spirit’s power so that Shin Zhang survived the possession process. However, that couldn’t go on forever, so time was of the essence.
The artifact lit up and stopped spinning. With a hum, a stream of energy gushed out of it. Grabbing it, the Spirit pointed the artifact toward the ceiling. The beam tore through the roof and several floors above, opening a portal right above the building.
Feeling a disturbance in the air, people came out of their homes and stared at the stormy sky as a huge mouth opened above the city. Out of it emerged a giant structure akin to a temple.
The Spirit smiled as he watched silently. The approaching Elementalists were of no threat to him, so he just ignored them.
And waited.
Few people knew that the underwater temple didn’t exist at any particular place in the world or point in time, and that it wasn’t only a place for testing candidates. The teleport, hidden at the edge of the Far Wasteland, didn’t lead to the bottom of an ocean, but to a separate reality created by U’Shor himself. This was why the Salamanders had never managed to find it.
The temple’s real purpose was to serve as a prison for the Underwater King — the third son of the Sea Dragon. Unlike his brothers, he had failed to go beyond the Tyrant Stage and survived only thanks to his father’s strength. Driven mad by his failure, he lost his mind, forever remaining a crazed beast.
Many suggested getting rid of him for the sake of safety, and to spare him from living in pain and fear, but U’Shor cherished the hope that his son would regain his sanity, so he left him alive. To relieve his suffering, he put his son in deep slumber, after which he left Saha.
However, no matter how much time passed, the Spirit didn’t notice any changes in the Underwater King’s state. He was still mad, if not more than before. At some point, it became clear that he’d never recover. It was then that the Spirit decided to wait for time to claim his master’s son.
But then Kai appeared, turning his world and plans upside down. Thanks to him, he was finally able to take revenge on the Salamanders. And he’d spare no expense taking them down.
The Underwater King’s powerful aura seeped through the cracks of the ancient walls of the temple, polluting the air, and spread over the city. The slumbering beast stirred, woken by its thirst for blood.
The Spirit was revealing its true power as well.
“Today you’ll finally pay for everything you’ve done, Salamanders,” he whispered, removing the chains from the wild monster and himself.
***
The patriarch, the high elder, and the Elementalists of the Flame Salamander Clan were on their way home, unaware of the horror that awaited them there. No one outside the clan’s lands knew about it. Except, perhaps, a young man with violet eyes.
But he and his peers were busy with other matters ― the final match of the third stage was about to begin.
Fang Bao, the first finalist, was currently in the infirmary. He was pale as chalk but all of the wounds he had received during the battle with Ivsim had already healed, leaving the healers puzzled about what ailed the young warrior.
This, unfortunately, meant that he wouldn’t be able to continue fighting unless he got better soon.
“Oh, don’t look so down,” came a cheerful voice from the corner of the room.
Fang Bao shuddered. He’d recognize that aura anywhere.
“Shacks, what are you doing here?”
“Visiting a sick friend, of course!” the archer replied with an innocent smile.
“Visitors usually don’t sneak into the rooms like this.”
“I like to make an entrance. Here, I brought you a gift.” He winked and tossed him a vial.
“What is it?” Fang Bao asked as he caught it.
“Aw, come on, don’t you wanna guess?” Receiving in response only a tired look and silence, he sighed. “Okay, okay… That’s the antidote.”
Fang Bao’s eyes widened instantly.
“You poisoned me?!” he exclaimed after a moment of silence.
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” Shacks shrugged. “But I advise you to drink it as soon as possible. Shin Sei died in your place. I don’t need a second corpse.”
After a couple of silent seconds and another long stare, Fang Bao uncorked the vial and drank the dirty yellow liquid. To his surprise, he really felt better.
“There you go! Good as new!” Shacks smiled. “Come on, get up. You don’t want to be late, do you? Just, please, don’t die there... I don’t wanna have to surrender again...” Having said that, he disappeared.
“Another one of his clones.” Fang Bao sighed. But why did he want to kill me? No, he didn’t want to kill me... Any of the semi-finalists would’ve done the trick. As for surrendering... He needs a certain place in the rating? But why? I bet it’s all about the prize! But if he wanted to be top four why didn’t he just beat me? Maybe he didn’t want to reveal his powers? Or was there something else?
***
The day of the final battle had arrived. And although both finalists were connected to the Blades, that didn’t decrease the interest. For, unlike in the many previous Tournaments, this time, the finalists weren’t famous cultivators with a cult following, members of the elite that only other members of the elite could identify as, but people’s people, two underdogs who had fought against the odds and secured themselves a place in the finals. It was their presence that attracted the views of young students, who could easily identify themselves in Kai and Fang Bao.
The stands instantly burst into shouts of support when the two entered the arena. It was hard to pick a favorite, so the audience supported both fighters equally.
Once the hubbub died down, the judge repeated the rules and announced the beginning of the fight. The fighters assumed their stances, but neither was in a hurry to move.
“I never thought that I’d end up fighting against someone who isn’t an apprentice,” Fang Bao said. “But what an irony... You presented yourself as an unarmed warrior, but turned out to be a master swordsman. I began by wielding a sword, and here I am, with my fists as my only weapons. Well, that’s a lie. I also have legs,” he added with a chuckle.
“And why do you think that I have only one weapon?” Kai replied with a grin.
Instead of the Blade of the Water Surface, two different swords appeared in Kai’s hands.
[Left Eye of the Storm]
Rank: Gold
Quality: Peak
Feature: Passive [Wind Shredder]
Feature: Active Ability [Sea Dragon’s Storm]
Left Eye of the Storm is spiritually linked to the Right Eye of the Storm. Using both blades doubles the wielder’s attack power.