by KSY
Once the dust cloud had settled, everyone gasped, the barrier had cracks in it and there was a huge crater where the ring had been – one which was way bigger than the one formed by the Fire Martial Artist.
Every part of the arena broke into wild cheers after seeing such a powerful display.
The Elder who had earlier taken the Fire Martial Artist inside the Administrative Building to meet the higher-ups of Divine Martial Sect also took the Thunder Martial Artist to the building. The Elder had an excited look on his face. Anyone could tell that it was because of the Divine Martial Sect getting two outstanding disciples one after the other.
Ryan, who had watched both the battles, was also in awe. He knew that he lacked such firepower. Both Poison Attribute and Death Attribute lacked such destructive power though they had their own strong points.
A few Earth Attribute Martial Artists had already got down to work and started repairing Ring Number 4 and Ring Number 5 at remarkable speed.
Ryan went to the registration desk and got himself registered. The person, who registered him, gave him a token, which had the number 4 engraved on it, which meant he was supposed to fight on Ring Number 4. After getting his token, he went to Ring Number 4, and patiently waited while the ring was getting repaired. Once the repairs were done, Ryan was asked to fight the wooden puppet.
Ryan quietly stepped into the ring. He didn’t do anything to attract the attention of the spectators like the other Martial Artists. Most spectators were engrossed in watching a duel that was going on in Ring Number 1, and he was happy with that.
The wooden puppet was released by the Elder of the Divine Martial Sect. The wooden puppet that Ryan had to fight didn’t use swords, but on the contrary, used fists.
The puppet made the first move. It turned into a blur and appeared in front of Ryan and launched a flurry of punches. It had reduced the distance between it and Ryan within a few seconds. Ryan was unprepared, as he hadn’t expected the puppet to take the initiative and attack. In all the previous duels, it had always been the Martial Artist who took the initiative to attack first.
Ryan wasn’t bothered with a sudden change in the duel’s format but concentrated on the incoming punches. He immediately used his Shadow Steps Martial Skill and started dodging all the incoming punches at high speed. Lots of after-images were created as Ryan dodged the flurry of punches. Ryan’s speed was many times faster than previously, which was due to two reasons – he was a Late Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist and his Asura Physique. The increase in his bodily strength directly affected his speed. This scene continued for a few minutes. The spectators were already attracted towards his duel, as the manner in which Ryan dodged the incoming punches was quite mesmerizing. He dodged each punch by a hairsbreadth and each time they felt the puppet’s punch would connect, Ryan dodged it. A few Elders were looking at Ryan with bright eyes.
Ryan, on the other hand, was just playing around. He found the puppet particularly unchallenging and that all his previous worries were for nothing. He decided to end the duel. He pointed his right forefinger towards the puppet and his right hand was shrouded in Poison aura. A drop of liquid was conjured on the tip of his forefinger. The droplet was shot at an extraordinary speed towards the puppet. The puppet didn’t dodge the incoming droplet of liquid – on the contrary, it punched the incoming droplet. The next scene left the spectators agape. The formidable wooden puppet which had defeated many geniuses was rapidly corroding and withering at a speed visible to naked eyes. The puppet stopped moving within a few moments after getting hit by the droplet.
Ryan himself was dumbstruck by the result, but he didn’t show that on his face. On the contrary, he had a tranquil expression on his face which was akin to that of an experienced Martial Artist who’d been expecting that result. He hadn’t expected the Corpse Poison to be that effective against the wooden puppet though.
The puppet turned into pile of rotten wood, and the arena was reduced to pin-drop silence, as the audience felt that Ryan’s performance had been overpowering. The Martial Artists who’d left a deep impression on them previously, like the Fire and Thunder Martial Artists, couldn’t even compare with that. Ryan had defeated the wooden puppet without any exaggerated action, and that too with just a tiny droplet of some unknown liquid. They were having a hard time believing what had just occurred in front of them.
“What was that tiny droplet?” everyone wondered. A tiny droplet which was insignificant in size but capable of destroying a wooden puppet was amazing in the extreme in their eyes.
“He is a Poison Attribute Martial Artist. The tiny droplet was most likely a drop of Corpse Poison,” an experienced old man said. After hearing that, the arena erupted into chatter as the spectators discussed amongst themselves. Poison Attribute is exceptionally rare among humans. There are some races in which Poison Attribute is common, but in the Human race, it is ever so rare. Poison Attribute Martial Artists can practice multiple side-occupations along with being a Martial Artist, the most revered occupation being that of a doctor.
A Poison Martial Artist can create different medicines and drugs to help other people provided his insights and understanding in Poison Elemental Laws are high enough. Poison and medicine are two sides of the same coin. For example, a poison known as Cold Piercing Poison, which is famous for giving its victims a painful and cruel death, is also a medicine for someone suffering from severe burns. Cold Piercing Poison gives relief to the patient and slowly removes the Fire Energy from his or her body.
The Elders of the Divine Martial Sect were astonished by Ryan’s performance. They could tell that Ryan had a very high understanding of Poison Elemental Laws, otherwise showing such prowess with an Early Mortal Elite Realm Cultivation Level and a Mid Mortal Martial Skill was almost impossible.
An Elder of the Divine Martial Sect came to take Ryan to the Administrative Building. The Elder had a big smile on his face, and the audience burst into cheers as Ryan left the ring. Ryan gave a deep bow to the audience before he left the ring.
Ryan quietly followed the Elder, who didn’t speak any words once they’d left the ring. After a few minutes, they came to the Administrative Building and soon entered it. The Elder took Ryan to a room with a few Elders in it.
The Elders were hovering in the air as they conversed with the newly recruited disciples who were standing on the floor of the room. All the Elders looked like middle-aged men. The Fire Martial Artist and the Thunder Martial Artist were also present among the group of newly recruited disciples. One side of the room had a big screen displaying the fights going on in the rings of the Combat Arena, so all the people in the room had seen Ryan’s performance. They were in awe of his combat prowess.
The Elder hovering highest amongst the Elders was speaking about the rules and regulations of the Divine Martial Sect and the prospects of becoming a disciple of the Divine Martial Sect. It was clear that this Elder had a higher status than the other Elders who were hovering below him. He was also talking about the promotion policy of the Divine Martial Sect.
The moment Ryan stepped into the room, he attracted everyone’s attention. His performance had been overpowering, so he became the center of everyone’s attention within no time. Several Soul-senses scanned his body simultaneously as he walked towards the Elders hovering in the air. These Soul-senses belonged to the Elders of the Divine Martial Sect. Ryan didn’t try to block them, as he knew the Elders were trying to determine his Martial Spirit since he hadn’t used it during the duel.
Yama was like a ghost, perfectly undetectable. If not for his greediness, Oscar would never have been able to detect his existence in Eternal Forest.
The Elders were only able to detect Dargar. After determining his Martial Spirit, many Elders had drastic changes in their facial expressions. Emerald viper is terrifying and tyrannical. It is an Ancient Elemental Beast, with power comparable to that of Divine Elemental Beasts. The world of Grandura only has descendants of Emerald viper with low-grade and mid-grade b
loodline purity. A few species of Normal Elemental Beasts also have its bloodline in low concentrations.
Even though these Elemental Beasts are far from being a pure-blooded Emerald viper, they can easily cause havoc on Grandura due to their toxicity. As a result, any Martial Artist possessing a Green Emerald viper as his or her Martial Spirit is bound to be strong. Since Emerald viper is an Ancient Elemental Beast, it meant Ryan’s cultivation speed would be uncommonly fast just like that of the Thunder Martial Artist from Ring Number 5.
Emerald viper is known for its toxicity. It is one of the most poisonous Elemental Beasts. A person in the same sub-realm as the Emerald viper has no chance of survival, as no antidotes will work on him or her. Even people a few sub-realms above the Green Emerald viper are in mortal danger, if they don’t take the antidote in time. Its toxicity increases with its Cultivation Level. No living being deliberately messes with an Emerald viper until it’s sure of winning against it.
Once Ryan stood beside the other newly recruited disciples, the Elder hovering higher than the other Elders asked him, “You possess Green Emerald Viper Martial Spirit, right?”
Ryan could sense excitement in his voice.
“Yes,” Ryan said as he nodded his head.
“Do you know how rare that is? Last time, it appeared about a million years ago. The Martial Artist that possessed it has now ascended to a Divine World. He made even big Sects and Family Clans shudder in fear during his time on Grandura,” the Elder said with a smile. Other people in the room gasped in shock. They would’ve never guessed that this ordinary looking boy had a Martial Spirit that resembled an Ancient Elemental Beast.
“By the way, I am called Aaric and I hold the position of Outer-Sect Grand Elder in the Divine Martial Sect,” the Elder said with a smile as he introduced himself.
“My name is Ryan. I live on the outskirts of Hope City with my family,” Ryan said as he introduced himself. Many people cursed the heavens for having given Ryan such a powerful Martial Spirit. They felt wronged, as many amongst them belonged to powerful families, but had Martial Spirits resembling Normal beasts or weak creatures, while a commoner like Ryan had an Emerald Viper Martial Spirit. They felt the heavens were too unfair.
“This is your certificate for passing the test of the Divine Martial Sect. You will join the Sect after a month from now. You need to bring this certificate along with you, as it will give you easy entry into Divine Martial City.
“Remember one thing. Strength is what decides your status in the society. So, work hard,” Aaric said. His words had a clear meaning. Don’t think you are invincible just because you possess Emerald Viper Martial Spirit.
The reason Aaric said that was because it would be next to impossible to unseal all the Innate Abilities of Emerald viper. Most Martial Artists are only able to unseal a few Innate Abilities of their Martial Spirit in tens of thousands of years, so Grand Elder Aaric’s warning was not without cause.
Individual strength and powers depend on multiple things like Martial Skills, understanding in Elemental Laws and so on. There are many Martial Skills that allow a Martial Artist to conjure poisons which are as toxic as the poison of an Emerald viper, so the only advantage Ryan had with Emerald Viper Martial Skill was fast cultivation speed.
Ryan’s main aim was to unseal the Innate poison of Emerald viper. It was the most powerful poison possessed by an Emerald viper and was present in its fangs. Its toxicity is about ten times greater than that of Emerald fog. Even opponents two to three sub-realms above Green Emerald viper avoid getting bitten as only death awaits them, while opponents four to five sub-realms higher than Green Emerald viper will also be in mortal danger if they don’t take the antidote in time. The toxicity of the Innate poison of Emerald viper keeps on increasing with the increase in its Cultivation Level.
“Thank you, Grand Elder Aaric. I will always remember your words,” Ryan said. These words came directly from his heart, as he knew that Grand Elder Aaric said them in good faith.
Aaric was happy with Ryan’s response. He had seen many talented young Martial Artists getting destroyed because of their arrogance.
“If you have any queries feel free to ask me,” Aaric said as he handed over a book to Ryan.
The book was titled as All You Want to Know about the Divine Martial Sect.
“Thank you, Grand Elder Aaric,” Ryan said. Ryan started reading the book at high speed. All Martial Artists have an eidetic memory, so it took Ryan only a few minutes before he’d finished reading it and had memorized all of it.
“No doubt. Everything is simple and easy to understand. Even an idiot would have no problem after reading it once,” Ryan said as he handed the book back to Aaric, following which a powerful Killing intent was directed towards Ryan. Ryan was startled for a second, and then ignored the Killing intent directed at him. This made the owner of the Killing intent even angrier, and his Killing intent increased by a notch.
The Fire Martial Artist seeing the situation deteriorating sent Ryan a Mental-message transmission, asking Ryan not to ignore the owner of the Killing intent, as the latter had a powerful background. The Fire Martial Artist informed Ryan that this guy had been asking a lot of questions before Ryan’s arrival, and he had unknowingly likened the owner of the Killing intent to someone who was lower than an idiot. On hearing this, Ryan frowned, as he had unexpectedly fingered an egotistic idiot.
Martial Artists can communicate with each other with the help of Mental-message transmissions without anyone around them knowing about their conversation. They send each other their thoughts directly and their thoughts appear in the mind of the receiver.
Since the day Ryan had come to this world he’d always avoided people with powerful backgrounds. He knew from his previous life’s experiences that nothing good came out of having any relationship with such people. If by chance you offended them, they would create unnecessary trouble for you and your family. Today, he had unexpectedly offended an idiot with some background.
Ryan turned around to take a look at the owner of the Killing intent. He was a young boy around the same age as him, or perhaps a year or two older. He had black hair and a handsome face, but his current twisted expression made him look like the devil.
“Even if you possess Emerald Viper Martial Spirit that doesn’t mean that you are some big shot. The last person who possessed Emerald Viper Martial Spirit was unable to unseal all its Innate abilities, and none of the ones he did unseal were core Innate power Abilities of an Emerald viper.
“You sure have guts to bad-mouth young Master Barton. He belongs to the First branch of the Rook Family Clan and has direct access to thousands of Martial Skills. In future, he will be many times more powerful than you,” a young boy who looked like a scholar said with an angry expression. It was clear that he was trying to flatter Barton and his words worked, as Barton puffed his chest a little with pride.
“I don’t have time to be bothered by the sidekick of a sidekick,” Ryan said as he sneered at Barton. Ryan hurt Barton where it hurt the most, as Ryan guessed that since Barton had such a powerful background, his being sent to another faction meant that Barton’s status was not that high in his faction. Young Martial Artists with high talent are never be sent to other factions, as they are carefully nurtured by their own faction.
“Son of a bitch! I am going to kill you,” Barton roared as he charged at Ryan, but even before he could come close to Ryan, a heavy pressure enveloped him which sealed his movements.
“Don’t forget! We Elders are still here,” Aaric said as he shot an angry glare at Barton. Barton frowned. He knew that Aaric had taken a liking to Ryan, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger temporarily.
“Since none of you have any doubts about becoming a disciple of the Divine Martial Sect, I wish that you all reach Divine Martial City on time. Everyone can now leave,” Aaric said with a smile. All the young Martial Artists nodded their heads in unison.
Ryan was the first one to leave. Barton and
the scholarly boy followed him. Everyone could guess the end – Barton would most likely kill Ryan.
“Grand Elder are you not going to interfere? That brat is deliberately picking a fight with Ryan because he is jealous of his talent,” one of them said.
“He will doubtless try to kill Ryan. Since Ryan is an Early Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist, while he is a Late Mortal Elite Martial Artist, Ryan will be at a disadvantage,” an Elder queried. The tension in his voice was quite evident. He too came from a commoner background, so he knew how difficult it was for someone without a background to survive in this harsh world.
“As seniors, we can’t interfere in the kids’ matters, but I can’t see that boy die. Send someone to make sure that kid is not killed if a fight breaks out,” Aaric said in a calm voice though his emotions were in upheaval. A talented Poison Martial Artist like Ryan was not that easy to find. The five powerful Poison Martial Artists of Divine Martial Sect might even have to fight among themselves to take Ryan as a personal disciple.
Seniors not interfering in fights between juniors was an iron-clad rule among all the factions of Grandura. Barton was not joining the Divine Martial Sect. He was only coming to the Divine Martial Sect for a short duration to represent his Family Clan and forge a relationship with the younger generation of the Divine Martial Sect. Consequently, Aaric could not use his authority as an Outer-Sect Grand Elder to order Barton around.
Ryan was already an Outer-sect disciple of the Divine Martial Sect as he had passed its test. If a fight were to break out then he would by default represent the Divine Martial Sect. Ryan knew this fact from the Rule book given to him by Aaric, so he had to think of the Divine Martial Sect’s reputation before making any decision.
He walked for a short distance after existing the room before coming to a halt. Barton was just ten steps behind him with a big smile on his face.
“Let’s have a duel. If you win, I won’t bother you, and if you refuse to have a duel with me I will ask a few people from my Family Clan to get rid of your family – all of it!” Barton proposed.