The First Peak of the Force

by Yuri Ajin

  But Kai didn’t seem to care. His hand moved faster than the sword that was approaching his head.

  There was a loud clang, and Lei Lo’s sword fell to the ground with a thud.

  Unable to believe what just happened, Lei Lo froze. And that was his first and last mistake. He suddenly lost his balance, pain burning through his right leg, and fell on his back.

  Having no intention of giving him time to so much as breathe, Kai rushed forward.

  “Wave of Destruction!” Lei Lo yelled, realizing that Kai’s next blow could put an end to his Tournament participation.

  The remaining six spheres merged and formed a dome above him, which began to expand almost immediately. The arena was illuminated and the audience blinded by a powerful flash that lasted for a couple of seconds.

  When it went out, Lei Lo was standing in the same place. He was just barely managing to remain on his feet. His right ankle and Armor were shattered. Most of his remaining energy had gone into the last attack.

  The Wave was considered one of the most powerful techniques in the arsenal of the Serpents. However, for it to be successful, the target had to be as close as possible to you as the attack hit quickly and in all directions.

  Lei Lo was sure of success. Kai was close to him. Moreover, he had also been preparing to strike. There was no chance that he could’ve escaped.

  There was a loud bang behind him. Lei Lo immediately turned around but didn’t have time to do anything else. He just stared at Kai, who was approaching him with great speed with a melted stone slab in his hands, which he had pulled out of the ground in order to protect himself.

  Kai squeezed Lei Lo’s throat with a steel grip and forcefully threw him to the ground. Lei Lo lost consciousness and the judge announced the end of the fight.

  Victory was his once again.

  Chapter 30

  AN OLD ENEMY

  At first, there was silence and then the audience burst into shouts and applause. At least some of them did. There were also many of those who bet on Lei Lo and were now cursing Kai.

  But he didn’t care. Not paying attention to the noise, he calmly left the arena. He had won, which meant that his opponents would have to take him seriously and that he would no longer be underestimated. However, this also meant that he really couldn’t rely on just brute force anymore. He’d have to finally have to show a little more of what he was truly capable of.

  Once he was back in his changing room, he began an hour-long meditation session in order to analyze his fight with Lei Lo. He needed to fix any mistakes that he might’ve made and reflect on his opponent’s techniques. He might have to face another Serpent, so he wanted to be prepared.

  Having finished meditating, he returned to the arena to watch the others fight. He assumed his seat in the area meant for the Tournament participants, from where he had a good view. Beside him, there were only two more students there ― Lily and a stranger in hooded robes, with a huge two-handed sword on his back. Judging by the insignia, he was from the Blades.

  Kai assumed that everyone else was either busy preparing for their fights, recovering, or were already fighting.

  “Hello,” he said to Lily and sat next to her.

  “Hi,” she greeted back, not looking up from the arena.

  “When’s your turn?”

  “After this fight.” Lily finally turned to him. “By the way, congratulations.”

  “Thanks. And where’s Ivsim?”

  “His fight was the first one today. He won and left. He said that his teacher had finally arrived and that he wanted to go greet him.”

  “Ah, that’s nice to hear.”

  The fight was over in a matter of minutes. Kai wished Lily good luck and then leaned over the railing to watch her fight with one of the Fairies.

  Both fighters immediately rushed forward the moment the judge signaled the beginning of the fight. As always, Lily relied on the power of the Wind, her bloodline, and her sword-fighting skills. Her opponent used a much more unusual weapon — a glaive.

  The blades collided in a shower of sparks and the two were locked in close combat. They weren’t in a hurry to use their techniques yet. Instead, they exchanged a couple of blows, testing each other’s strength and skills.

  But this didn’t last long. Lily was the first to use ki and Forces. With them, she weaved the figure of a giant hawk. With a cry, it dove toward her opponent. Lily hadn’t been sitting idly either during the past two years. Her new technique was of low quality and of Gold rank.

  Her opponent was no less talented than her. Reacting quickly, she drove the glaive into the ground and began to activate her own technique. Lily’s attack almost reached her when a part of the arena suddenly rose in front of her.

  “She turned the ground into her shield? No, wait... What an unusual element. Lava...” Kai commented aloud. “She’s using Fire… Good for attack… Earth’s good for defense… Clever. Combining them to get lava. A strong combo, no doubt, but how well has she mastered it?”

  Unlike other clans, which usually focused on one element or technique, the Fairies preferred to be Jacks of all trades. They didn’t have any specific heritage, the traditions of which the majority of the disciples would follow, so they were much more versatile. They probably had more techniques than the others and great knowledge of cultivation gathered from all over the Saha, which allowed their students to learn all sorts of combinations.

  However, all this had one serious drawback. Preferring quantity, they were losing on quality. Without a specific path of development that would be explored further with each new generation, they couldn’t master any of the vast number of techniques they owned. Because of this, their students had to begin from scratch, instead of walking a path that had been pawed by their ancestors.

  Lily’s technique hit the wall of lava with a loud crash and cry. Her opponent jerked the glaive out of the ground. Spinning around, she hit the wall with it, releasing more energy and Forces. The wall exploded in a shower of molten stone and fire. Lily instantly activated a movement technique and, to her opponent’s surprise, rushed forward instead of dodging.

  “Air Corridor!” she shouted, swinging her blade high above her head.

  A gust of wind shot forth from her hands and partially dispersed the oncoming attack, forming a tunnel in it. As soon as she stepped into it, the air current dragged her forward at great speed.

  Her opponent gasped in surprise when the cold metal of Lily’s blade touched her throat.

  “I-I give up…” she gasped.

  And so Lily’s fight ended after only a couple of minutes.

  Followed by cheers, she returned to her seat.

  “That was a fun fight,” Kai said and smiled.

  “Thank you.” Lily returned the smile.

  The next battle was between two students of the Tree of Life Clan, who were unlucky enough to meet each other in the arena.

  To the surprise of the audience, the battle lasted for quite a while. It was probably the longest of all. The two were well acquainted, which meant they knew what to expect from each other. On top of that, the Trees were famous for their huge ki reserves and stamina. However, by the tenth minute, almost all of the spectators were bored of their sluggish style of combat as neither of the two were in a hurry to get serious. For a long time, they exchanged quick blows, hoping to catch their opponent unprepared.

  In the end, that was exactly what happened. Taking advantage of a moment of distraction, one of them finally struck and won. However, all he got for his efforts was a slow and lifeless applause from the members of his clan.

  But the audience quickly perked up as soon as the start of the next fight was announced.

  Shin Sei walked into the arena, smiling haughtily and waving. Leaning his cheek on his hand, Kai observed the young Salamander step into the ring. He hoped he’d get a chance to cross swords with him in the Tournament.

  Opposite of Shin Sei stood one of the few representatives of the Blades, Fang Li. Con
sidering that he was almost nineteen and only at the Meridian Formation level, he stood little to no chance against the Salamander.

  “It’s about time to take you bastards down. First place will be mine,” Shin Sei said with a grin.

  His opponent didn’t answer, only assumed a fighting stance and focused. He was aware that he was unlikely to win, but he had to do his best.

  They stared at each other in silence for a while. Shin Sei seemed relaxed, almost amused even, while Fang Li was focused and deathly serious.

  “What’s wrong, kiddo? Too afraid to attack? Do you want me to start?” Shin Sei smiled. “Let’s do it like this. I’ll let you attack me three times. I won’t even defend myself! But before that...” Shin Sei grinned, releasing a powerful burst of Force.

  The audience gasped. The burst of ki that he had released was so dense that it was hard to believe that it belonged to someone at the Source Creation level.

  His ki formed a barely noticeable whirlwind that enveloped his body. For a moment, it looked like a miniature sun appeared in the center of the arena. Hot wind blew across the front rows.

  An armor of pure fire was shining brightly around Shin Sei. It didn’t harm him in any way, but it didn’t spare anything around. The ground beneath his feet instantly melted.

  “Hey, isn’t this one of the four main ancestral techniques of the Salamanders?” one of the spectators asked.

  “It is. It’s the Fire Cover Technique.”

  “Fucking hell, it’s not only Gold rank but also mid quality.”

  “He must’ve mastered it to be able to form it not only quickly, but without having to say its name either!”

  Fang Li cursed under his breath. The only Gold-rank technique he had was of low quality and he had mastered it on the very eve of the Tournament. The rest of his arsenal consisted of peak-quality, Silver-rank techniques.

  “All right, you can attack me now!” Shin Sei said and laughed.

  Fang Li winced at the heat that emanated from his opponent and swung his blade.

  “The First Sword!”

  Three crimson swords shot toward Shin Sei. They moved with such speed that it seemed to many that they had teleported next to the Salamander, the tips of their narrow blades pointing at his head, throat, and heart.

  Shin Sei smiled in response. Flames of his shield engulfed the blades the moment they were a couple of inches away from him.

  “Weak,” he said with a sneer. “You have two more attempts. Come on, amaze me!”

  Fang Li frowned. He didn’t even manage to scratch his opponent although he had invested almost a tenth of his entire ki reserve into the attack. Not wishing to let down his clan, he decided to go all-in for his second attempt.

  “Dance of the Seven Blades. The Third Sword.”

  Having activated two techniques at once, he disappeared. Enveloped in a scarlet haze, he appeared near Shin Sei who just grabbed Fang Li’s sword with his bare hand, squeezing it as the fire slowly spread across it.

  “You have one more chance...”

  “Sword Storm!” Fang Li shouted, grinning.

  Hundreds of miniature scarlet blades emerged from his blade, forming a cone. It was that one Gold-rank technique he had mastered so far.

  When the storm died down, Shin Sei only snorted. His chest and the hand with which he held the blade were covered with many cuts, but they weren’t deep. He had suffered no serious injuries

  The only thing that Fang Li had managed to achieve with his attack were several holes in the Fire Cover, which, however, quickly disappeared.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Shin Sei smiled. “Did you know that the flames can not only destroy, but also heal? Fire can be both hurtful and nurturing.”

  Fang Li stared in disbelief at the pitiful result of his most powerful attack.

  “I surrender...” he said, looking at the melted edges of his cracked blade.”

  “The winner is Shin Sei from the Flame Salamander Clan!” the judge announced.

  “Hmm… Not bad...” the hooded spectator commented, attracting Kai and Lily’s attention. “Ah, I’m next…” he quietly added and got up.

  ***

  The second day of the third stage was over. Out of the five hundred and eleven participants, only thirty-two people remained, including not only Kai but also Lily, Ivsim, Shin Sei, Lei Shen, Jiang Yung, Yan Liang, Lei Ming, Shacks, Knox, and many others.

  This time, Kai decided to take a nap instead of meditating so the night passed by rather quickly. And although he slept for only three hours, he felt well-rested when he woke up.

  Going out into the courtyard, he did a set of exercises followed by some sword fighting. He started with the basic, but the most important moves — the swings. Hoping to clear his mind, he let his body move on its own.

  Seeing the first golden rays peek from behind the horizon, he stopped, sent the wooden sword back in his Ring, and began to warm up for today’s battles. Due to years of hard training, he was more muscular than most teenagers, however, due to his height, he didn’t look like a jacked jock on steroids, but rather like a renaissance statue of some Greek hero.

  Returning to the house, he made breakfast for Julie and then went to wake her up. Unlike him, she couldn’t do without food. Living in a place like the Plateau and eating local products, she felt that she was gradually becoming stronger. The positive effect of a large amount of prana on the body of ordinary people had long been proven.

  After breakfast, they went to the arena. His fight was the first one on today’s schedule, so he didn’t want to be late. His opponent was Yan Liang.

  Kai didn’t want to reveal all of the aces up his sleeve before the finals, but since he was finally put against a worthy opponent, today, he’d finally have to reveal some of his true power.

  When both fighters entered the ring, the protective dome was activated, and the judge reminded them of the rules once again.

  The Exorcist waited a few seconds and then signaled the start of the battle.

  “Haha, so we met again,” Yan Liang said as arrogantly as always. “I said that I’d kill you, but it’s against the rules. But no one said anything about losing a couple of limbs. You don’t need both of your legs, do you?” He sneered. “Please, make this fun for me and don’t surrender too quickly.”

  Kai watched him with a raised eyebrow as he inched closer toward him. Yan Liang’s sword was painfully familiar. And then it dawned on him that it was very similar to the Shattered Sun Blade!

  Will you look at that? So that Shadow was an Elementalist from the Sun Blessed Clan! I should’ve known… Their robes are similar to his.

  Yan Liang halved the distance between them. Kai was getting ready to activate a technique when his opponent suddenly froze and turned pale. The sword fell out of his hand with a clatter. Yan Liang bent over and screamed in horror.

  Kai was taken aback. Should he attack him? Would that be fair? Or would that be considered a violation of the rules? The audience seemed to be as confused as he was.

  “Is he sick?” they whispered.

  Yan Liang slowly straightened up. Kai felt his gut stir. There was something wrong with his opponent’s aura, it oozed… malice. By the mad grin on the young man’s face, it seemed that something was wrong with his head, too. The whites of his eyes turned red and then slowly began to turn black. Clutching his face, he began to tremble, as some kind of evil energy spread from his body.