by Yuri Ajin
After reaching the Opening of the Acupuncture Points level, Kai doubled his ki reserve, which was truly enormous even for those at the Source Creation level. In addition, he could restore his energy by simply absorbing it from his surroundings. But even with all this, he had problems opening all the Gates at once.
The ice cracked, melting away.
“You recovered?” Fang Bao asked. “Too late, I wo―”
Kai suddenly showed up very close. Blows rained down on Fang Bo again, inflicting small but significant damage. Piercing the stone skin wasn’t easy even with several Blade Release Techniques active at once. So even the smallest cuts were enough for the Cold Void to seep into Fang Bao’s body. In addition, the bits of the Sword Forces that managed to get in, attacked the body from the inside.
The balance of power in the arena changed dramatically. People watched in awe as Kai pushed Fang Bao back, forcing him to retreat and defend himself. And although his defenses still caused Kai problems, the latter was forcing him to spend his ki on fighting the invading forces inside his body. Still, the process turned to be more difficult than he initially thought.
And when Fang Bao used the Avatar again, which this time consisted entirely of stone, making him look like a walking mountain, Kai’s attacks stopped inflicting any damage at all.
It was a stalemate.
Fang Bao couldn’t hit Kai, and the latter, in turn, couldn’t break through his defenses. It was only a question of who would run out of ki first.
Kai could keep recovering till cows come home, but using three Gates at once threatened to deplete his supply of ki in half an hour, while Fang Bo and his Spirit could probably continue like this for hours. So, if he wished to win, he had to risk it.
Focusing, he activated Unbreakable Ice, but this time he imprisoned Fang Bao in it. The latter immediately tried to break free, but it’d take him at least a few minutes.
Having won himself some time, Kai stepped back and assumed a fighting stance. Concentrating, he closed his eyes, and entered the soul world. Then he closed the opened Gates, redirecting almost all available energy into the Mind Gate. After that, he plunged into meditation, warning Rune’Tan to wake him up when Fang Bao broke free.
Sinking deeper into meditation, Kai simultaneously directed the Cold Void into his mind and soul world. This not only made it possible to clear his mind but also created the effect of time flowing slower inside the spirit world. And, finally, he activated Ultimate Focus.
He could use this ability for no more than ten minutes a day. If he used it for longer, he’d block it for at least a week. However, that didn’t worry him. He had no more important matters to attend to.
As prepared as possible, Kai recalled Jiang Dao and his strength. Thanks to his energy vision, he saw how he used ki as well as the Sword and Forces of Space. Unfortunately, the days when he needed only one glance to copy someone else’s technique were over. Firstly, techniques of Gold and higher ranks were too complicated and required detailed analysis and mediation. Secondly, he didn’t know Fusion Force.
The only thing he wanted was to discover and understand certain principles of techniques. For that reason, he kept repeating the moment when Jiang Dao had used his powers.
Minutes began to feel like hours.
Both the audience and the elders were perplexed. No one understood what Kai was trying to do. Fang Bao didn’t get it either, but he didn’t particularly care about it. All he cared about was getting out of the ice prison. Which he finally managed after a full minute of bashing against its walls.
Still protected by the stone version of the Avatar, he rushed at Kai. And although Cold Void was still slowing him down, he was determined to not let it hinder him. With each step, the distance between them decreased, but Kai still didn’t move. People began to shout to wake him up, no one wanted Fang Bo to win by attacking a defenseless opponent.
Fang Bao was sure that this was another one of Kai’s tricks so he didn’t care if his opponent seemed to be asleep.
“There you are,” he said, noticing Kai’s hand twitch. His eyes shot wide open, the intense glow of which even made Fang Bao stagger.
Looking through his opponent, Kai began to calmly raise the blade.
“Space Cut,” he whispered.
In the next instant, there was the sound of broken glass. No one was sure if that was some effect of the technique, or the sound of the protective dome crumbling.
Chapter 36
OPENING THE INDESTRUCTIBLE TOWER
Starting at the tip of Kai’s blade, a hungry void stretched toward the collapsing dome, devouring the space between. Glittering shards disappeared in its maw. It quivered and was gone in the next second. The universe had always strived for integrity, so it began to restore immediately.
However, the world was in no hurry to deal with the consequences. From the huge crater in the ground that stretched across almost the entire arena, to Fang Bao, who couldn’t avoid this attack.
Without space, neither matter nor energy could exist, so when it was destroyed, they followed. The aftermath depended on the strength of the wielder and the objects caught in the blast, which was why the damage wasn’t as devastating as it could’ve been and why Fang Bao was still alive and moving.
This technique was a natural result of Kai’s development. The only thing he gained from analyzing Jiang Dao’s power was an understanding of how to combine the Sword and Forces of Space. Everything else he gained from the knowledge he had already had. He had already mastered the Blade Release and he also knew how to apply Force of Space for movement thanks to the Rune’Tan’s technique. The only thing he lacked was an understanding of how to connect them.
The Path of Space at the Hearing Stage consisted of only four Forces: Attraction, Repulsion, Creation, and Destruction. He was well acquainted with the first two as they were needed for the Five Weightless Steps Technique, allowing him to distort space and accelerate. The third was usually used to create Rings of Gold-rank and above. The fourth, well, it was obvious for what it was used.
Unlike an ordinary technique, this one didn’t have a trajectory or the slight delay that happened between the moment it was called upon and the moment it manifested itself, it just sort of appeared the moment it was summoned, devouring all in its path. The only way to really dodge it was to know that it was going to appear and get far, far away.
Fang Bao was lying on the ground, blood gushing from his chest. The healers were already rushing to the arena.
The Avatar, even though it was imbued with the Spirit’s energy, shattered under the pressure but Fang Bao was once again able to prove that in this generation there was no one with stronger defense than him. He was terribly wounded, but at least he was alive.
And so, the Grand Tournament had come to an end.
Fang Bao had come second, Ivsim was third, and Shacks fourth. Lei Shen and Jiang Yong had won fifth and sixth place respectively.
In addition, due to the fact that two participants were killed, the list shifted, so that Lily wasn’t tenth, but ninth.
That was how the long and eventful Tournament ended.
***
A year and a half had passed.
Kai, Lily, and Ivsim had become apprentices of the Blades. Unsurprisingly, the Serpents had tried to convince and stop such promising cultivators from leaving, but nothing came of it. As much as they wanted, they couldn’t threaten or prevent the two from leaving due to their friendship with Kai. They had unknowingly played themselves when they had helped the Salamanders run after him.
As for the Salamanders, the clan no longer existed. The Spirit and the Underwater King had managed to not only destroy several cities before the arrival of the patriarch but also kill the vast majority of the high elders.
When the Salamanders finally returned home, they fell into the Spirit’s trap. Along with Shin Zhang, he killed four of them, and left Shin Sei’s father seriously injured. Left without a vessel to bind him to this world, U’Shor’s loyal
servant died with a smile on his face.
There was no one left to stop the Underwater King, who continued to rage on the lands of the Flame Salamander Clan, destroying everything in its path. Realizing that there was nothing they could do except run and pray to the Heavens that the beast wouldn’t come after them, the remaining members of the Shin family, including the wounded patriarch, collected whatever they could and hastily fled the Plateau. They went far away, aware that if not the monster, then other clans would definitely finish them off.
As for their disciples and other clan members, they fled to the border, joining the Serpents in the south and the Sun Blessed in the north.
The Underwater King, seriously wounded by the Serpent Elementalists, fled deep into the Far Wasteland, and then into the ocean, after which no one saw the monster again.
***
Kai smiled. After two weeks, he had finally reached the Source Creation level. It was the most difficult test for him, since, having an incredibly solid foundation for cultivation, he had to support it in further development, which wasn’t easy to achieve.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the stats window.
Stats
Age: 20
Race: human
Status: Mortal
Stage: Soul Stage
Level: Source Creation
Characteristics
• [Power]: 103.12
• [Speed]: 99.23
• [Endurance]: 104.34
• [Stamina]: 115.66
• [Mind]: 80.46
• [Energy]: 332.62
Available points: 0
Abilities
• [Low-rank Techniques: View]
• [Earth-rank Techniques: View]
• [Blade Release Technique] Rank: Gold. Quality: Peak
• [Five Weightless Steps Technique]. Rank: Gold. Quality: Peak
• [Unbreakable Ice Technique]. Rank: Gold. Quality: Peak
• [Frosty Touch Technique]. Rank: Gold. Quality: Peak
• [Space Destroying Sweep]. Rank: Gold. Quality: Peak
• [Seven Blades Technique]. Rank: Gold. Quality: Peak
Forces
Sword Force (Hearing Stage): Reflection Force, Speed Force, Endurance Force, Strength Force, Slashing Force, Piercing Force, Intent Force
Path of Sword (Seer Stage): Force of Form
Path of Space (Hearing Stage): Force of Repulsion, Force of Attraction, Force of Creation, Force of Destruction.
Path of Space (Seer Stage): Force of Form
Concept of the Cold Void: average understanding of the third layer
Features and Equipment
[True Descendant of the Nine-Headed Heavenly Hydra]
[Six Gates of the Body]
[No Limits]
[Life Rampage]
[Phantom Yin-Yang Tattoo] - Progress: locked
[Oath] given by Rune’Tan Shakwir. Possibility of refusing.
[Favorite of the Forces]: You are able to see what is invisible to others.
[Small Energy Shield]: Physical characteristics increased by 10% of the total energy reserve.
[Manifestation of Soul: Ultimate Focus]
[Full Aura Disguise]
[Silver-rank Items. View]
[Gold-rank Items. View]
[Twin Blades of the Grizzly Mountain]. Rank: Royal. Quality: Low
[Medium Sword Spirit]. Development progress: 46%
Achievements
[Great growth! (7)]
For the simultaneous achievement of 7 levels of Body Endurance, you get 7 free points of characteristics that you can distribute as you wish.
Minimum division: 0.01 points
[Quality Leap!]. Based on your previous successes in the study of Forces, as well as the sharp increase in the amount of soul energy, you receive the trait [The Favorite of the Forces].
Tasks
[Search for the Ancient Truth]
Find out the reason for the disappearance of the Divine Empire of Belteise.
Reward: ???
Should you fail, you will receive a fine of 1,000 units of each of your characteristics or death.
Remaining time: 9,995 years
Rising slowly, Kai headed for the exit of the cultivation room. There was nothing more he wanted right now than to take a bath and put on some clean, freshly-washed clothes.
The Source Creation level was the third and final step of the Soul Stage. Kai had spent about half a month on it as a lot of preparation was required before attempting to reach the next level, but the wait was always worth it.
When he had reached the Opening of the Acupuncture Points level, his body and soul developed greatly. In Kai’s case, the new level not only increased his ki reserve by fifty percent but also gave him the Energy Shield, which significantly increased the rest of his stats. Also, with the discovery of the hidden points, he acquired abilities usually inherent only to Exorcists and Elementalists — the Soul Manifestation and the Full Aura Disguise. If Kai were an ordinary cultivator, that’d be the moment when he’d drop Power Breath and use the acupuncture points to absorb prana with his entire body. But he needn’t worry about that.
Then, a little less than a year later, he was already prepared for the second level of the Soul Stage — the Meridian Formation level. For this, he had to prepare the soul nodes, feeding them with ki until they were practically bursting with it. The wider the nodes were, the more ki was required. It was only thanks to the huge amount of resources that the best students of the strongest clan received, as well as his ability to control energy that he managed to do this.
The process of creating a special network of channels that connected the acupuncture points and soul, passing through the nodes and hidden points, wasn’t easy. But Kai managed. Using the Cold Void, he created the widest and longest meridians one possibly could.
As soon as he was done, he immediately started preparing for the next stage. By this point, he had absorbed more than three hundred Energy Stones in the course of eight months.
The soul, or rather, its shell, had a spherical shape and kept two things — a special kind of energy and the Soul Spark. In the process of cultivation, the cultivator had to invade their own soul in order to saturate it with ki and form a Source around it by using a part of its own energy in the process. Once a Source was formed, all the harvested energy had to be directed into it, only after that could the transition process be considered complete and the energy system fully developed. Further, under the influence of the Forces generated by the successful transition, the Soul Spark evolved for the third time, due to which the spent soul energy was restored.
After soaking in the bath for a couple of hours, Kai decided to go to the Palace of Knowledge, where many of the techniques of the Seven Blades Clan were kept. However, he didn’t go there just for them, but to find out if his mentor had returned to the Plateau. Jiang Yui had been sent north to the Lowlands a little less than a month ago to help the vassal countries protect themselves from the invasion of monsters from the Unknown Lands. Normally, an initial-level Elementalist would’ve been sent, but the messenger spoke of a beast at the peak Tyrant Stage. Kai was offered to go to at least see how people outside the Plateau and Alkea lived, but due to preparing himself for reaching a new stage, he decided to stay.