Book 1. Shifting Winds. Chapter 9. The Might of an Aspect.

To his surprise, Laien could tell that the mood throughout the area wasn’t all that bad. The over four thousand young spectators were exchanging their opinions and cheering for the duel to start, but the atmosphere wasn’t all the oppressive. Perhaps, the disciples of the Red Dragon School weren’t as unreasonable and ‘evil’ as he had taken them to be, or so was still to be proved.

“Well, since they are so excited, let’s start the show,” Laien thought with a smile and reached out to the hilt of his short sword, but ended up grabbing nothing but air. “Oh crap,” he cursed wordlessly, remembering that his weapon had shattered into pieces during his sparring with Cran.

Since an opportunity to get on Laien’s good side presented itself so clearly, Elder Bumne didn’t hesitate at all and called out to Laien. “Your old weapon broke today, right? Take this one, consider it a gift of mine,” he offered and threw a very fine sword with a blood red hilt, which Laien agilely caught.

As he grabbed the sword, Laien chortled and shook his head. After being helped out in this way, he couldn’t very well bear any ill will towards Elder Bumne. Not for this little bit of grumpy behavior the man had displayed towards him and his little sister.

Happy to have avoided an awkward situation, Laien unsheathed the sword and threw the scabbard back to Elder Bumne, feeling that it looked too good to be simply thrown onto the ground. His behavior confused everyone at first, but some of the instructors and the brighter youths quickly realized that he probably didn’t have a high enough grade interspatial ring to store the scabbard. As far as low-grade interspatial rings were common enough item for nobility, anything better required a hefty amount of gold to purchase.

“Looks sharp,” Laien mused, looking at the sixty centimeters long steel blade. It was twice as long as the short sword he was used to wielding, but for some reason, felt much more comfortable in his hand. “Right, Master Shire mentioned something about training my reflexes and making me rely not only on the weapon as for why he recommended a short sword,” he recalled, giving the sword a few experimental swings.

“A really good piece of art, as Dan’s father would say. It’s definitely a high-quality weapon, if not a top-quality one,” Laien thought to himself, gazing at the bald red-robed Elder who stepped forward, apparently intending to fulfill the role of an official judge for the duel. He smirked, returning his attention to his opponent and waiting for the signal to start.

“Aaah, big brother is doing something unnecessary again,” Siana complained quietly, but while saying so, she secretly anticipated a time when she would also be strong enough to show-off in a similar manner. A boy or a girl, the two of them were siblings after all. They had quite a few similar tendencies with being prone to displaying the results of their hard work as one of them.

“Isn’t that boy quite similar to you in your younger days, eh, Cran?” Elder Hauman commented with a laugh, approaching Cran through the crowd of disciples.

“Elder Hauman, you also came?” Cran bowed his head slightly, greeting his senior.

“Of course, take a better look around; I’m not the only Elder who came to spectate. After that roar startled everyone, the news has spread like a wildfire. Practically all Elders present who weren’t busy with anything of great importance came to take a look,” Elder Hauman pointed out and seeing that Cran was confused, laughed and looked at the faraway roofs.

Following Elder Hauman’s gaze, Cran finally noticed the group of two dozen red-robed Elders standing or sitting all over the highest roofs of the inner quarters. “Righ, should have thought about it sooner,” Cran reprimanded himself strictly. Although most people were prohibited from using roofs as vantage points or shortcuts, there always were exceptions. Hadn’t Elder Hauman often told to think outside the box and not get constricted by the stereotypical, ‘apparent’ views? How could he truly become an exceptional person if he failed to realize even those obvious things?

“What’s with the grim face? It’s good that you wish to improve, but being too strict with yourself isn’t good either,” Elder Hauman said gently, tactfully refraining from mentioning that Cran had gotten overly harsh towards his own person after failing to become Great Master Rudford’s disciple. “How strong is that friend of yours? Can he compete with our disciples?” he asked, changing the subject.

Cran smiled and replied in a roundabout way. “As a martial practitioner, he is at the peak of third Mortal Realm.”

Elder Bumne, the nearby instructors and disciples all stared at Cran, confused. If Laien’s strength was this low, then why would he dare to challenge their school like that? Was the boy out of his mind?

“And as a spiritual practitioner, he should be at the seventh Mortal Realm,” Cran added after intentionally pausing for a second or two. He enjoyed the sight of everyone’s expressions changing, as especially the two Elders, knowing much better than Cran what that sole number meant, were shocked out of their minds.

“Seventh rank as a spiritual practitioner?!” Elder Bumne couldn’t help but ask loudly, unsure whether Cran was being serious or not. This level of strength at such a young age was simply unheard of! Even in the far north, where people were living and breathing the arts of arcane, a ten-year-old spiritual practitioner of the seventh rank would be more than a prodigy and nothing short of a monster!

“Yeah,” Cran reaffirmed casually, but his voice ended up being lost in the commotion which this piece of news had caused. With a chuckle, Cran hoped that Laien won’t embarrass himself. With this much prep, he should be able to cleave quite a bit of reputation for himself in the Red Dragon School and soon enough, in the entire Neil City.

“Heavens! Seventh rank? How old is he?” some of the disciples gathered on the opposite side of the field exclaimed in shock as they started at Laien, wondering how a young kid like him could be so strong.

“Don’t be stupid, who the hell has spread this idiotic rumor?” others voiced their doubt, not convinced that a brat like that could possibly be much stronger than them. Yet, inevitably, the topic of discussions quickly shifted in a very southern-like manner.

“Even if he is a strong spiritual practitioner, so what? All those ‘magicians’ are useless. You get close to them and they die,”

“Yeah, what’s the point of trying to become a spiritual master? What a waste of effort,”

“Magic, hah. Let’s see him trying to chant a spell when fighting one of us. What a joke,”

The greater half of the four thousand disciples started mocking Laien for being a spiritual practitioner. The disdain for magic had been deeply imbued into their minds through the prevailing martial culture of the south, so even though none of them has ever seen magic being used, they couldn’t not look down upon it.

“Silence!” the bald Elder shouted, his voice filled with Qi. Instantly, everybody quieted down and after few more seconds, a complete silence fell. Nodding to himself, the man proceeded to explain the rules, making sure that everything is clear before the important duels involving the honorary guest of their school being.

“Contestants can’t leave the designated area during the fight. Being forced out or doing so willingly are both synonymous with giving up. Contestants fight until one of them loses consciousness, gives up by leaving the area or voicing his surrender, or until I order the duel to stop. Killing blows are allowed, but no finishing off an opponent who has obviously lost the ability to fight. Are the rules clear for both contestants?” the bald Elder asked and seeing the two youngsters nod, he shouted.

“Begin!”

Following the bald Elder’s shout, everyone held their breaths, but neither of the two youths charged to attack.

“I’m Laien,” as he introduced himself, he used a bit of spiritual energy to send his voice further. All the mocking of spiritual practitioners, he expected it to happen and honestly, didn’t care. Once they saw him fighting, they would change their minds.

“I am Culin. Outer quarters disciple, fifth Mortal Realm,” the fourteen-year-old responded in a formal manner, albeit with a snort. Having learned that his opponent was a spiritual practitioner, he relaxed and could already see himself dominating Laien thoroughly.

“Mm,” Laien mused with a smile, then tightened the grip on the hilt of his new sword, only to release the tension in his body the next second. His mind slipping into a battle-ready state, he closed the distance between him and Culin and attacked straightforwardly, slashing from a side, horizontally.

Although a physical contest wasn’t what Culin expected to face, he fended off Laien’s strike with ease. Without backing off, he accepted the head-on exchange of blows, letting the swords do the talking.

To his surprise, Culin soon found out that he was being pressured by Laien. It wasn’t that his strikes were exceptionally fast or strong, it was just… “I’m actually inferior in technique to him?” Culin clicked his tongue, then stopped holding back whatsoever. By relying on his raw strength, he forced Laien to keep backing off, his physical prowess proving to be enough to make up for the difference in skill.

“He’s smiling…?” Culin frowned, noticing Laien’s peculiar expression. The next second, when he once again slashed downwards under an angle, he staggered as his sword got blocked instead of being repelled to the side. Only thanks to his fast reaction time did he manage to take a step back quick enough, avoiding a very dangerous follow-up slash from Laien which swept the air centimeters away from his armpit and sliced through his clothing.

“Bastard broke through,” Culin cursed angrily, getting nervous over the possibility of losing to a spiritual practitioner without even forcing him to use his forte. Getting beaten by Laien would be embarrassing enough, but to fail to prove a challenge to him would be much, much worse…!

“Fourth Mortal Realm? His martial talent isn’t bad at all,” Elder Hauman mused aloud, observing the duel with a great interest. “This training speed is maybe not as good, but comparable to the best disciples of our Red Dragon School,” he praised, apparently fond of sharing his thoughts with everyone around.

“My turn now,” Laien said confidently, happy to have finally advanced after being stuck at the peak of the third realm for nearly a month. He went on an offensive and making use of the shrunk difference in strength, slowly pushed Culin into a corner both literally and metaphorically.

At that point, Culin tried to retaliate, but as he got the nerves get the better of him, he had not only allowed Laien to easily overwhelm him with a series of simple, but well-aimed fast slashed, but also made another big mistake and created a gaping hole in his own defense.

Recognizing the chance, Laien slashed horizontally before Culin’s desperate attack could even be put in motion. The extremely sharp blade of his sword cut through the fourteen-year-old's stomach, wounding him heavily and rendering him incapable of continuing.

“Stop! The fight ends in Laien’s victory!” the bald Elder declared and sent one of the instructors who specialized the field of healing to take care of their disciple.

“There’s no need,” Culin raised his hand and said loudly. He looked Laien in the eye, then bowed his head and left the fighting area while holding his stomach with the other hand. The wound was bleeding a lot, but it wasn’t that deep. Since he was at the peak of the fifth Mortal Realm, his body was quite tough, but more importantly, he could tell that at the last moment Laien had loosened his grip and withdrew the strength behind the slash, thus not cutting him too deeply.

“He knows how to hold back, remarkable,” Elder Hauman praised once more, with his experience understanding very quickly what must have happened.

“If he didn’t, he would bring shame to the Great Master Rudford for inviting him as an honorary guest,” Elder Bumne commented and unintentionally, released another wave of commotion through the crows of spectating disciples. They were baffled enough to see Culin be defeated by Laien in a pure sword fight, thus they had all been rather quiet, feeling ashamed of making fun of the youth for being a spiritual practitioner… however, the moment this piece of information started spreading, they all went into an uproar.

Ever since he founded the Red Dragon School one hundred years ago, Rudford had been known to prefer training in seclusion; he would very rarely get involved with anyone, even with his own family! For someone like him to suddenly invite an honorary guest… just what kind of person was this ten-year-old, this ‘Laien’?!

“Allow me to be your next opponent! Xuizu is my name. Inner quarters disciple, sixth Mortal Realm.” Excited by the possibility of fighting with a guest of their Great Master, another person stepped into the fighting area amidst the commotion. Readying himself to fight, the long-haired thirteen, fourteen-year-old produced a sword identical to Laien’s from within his interspatial ring.

Being slightly younger than Culin, Xuizu was ‘only’ one realm higher than him. That one realm, however, was making a very big difference, especially when one was so early on the path of their cultivation! Compared to Culin’s, Xuizu’s standing within the school was much higher! Amongst the younger generation, he was definitely one of the top ten! His talent was very high and his aptitude for the Red Dragon Arts proved to be equally as good, if not better!

Putting the two young disciples in perspective, were Xuizu to fight against Culin, it wouldn’t be a ‘fight’; it would be a slaughter! The difference in strength between the two of them was simply that great and the Red Dragon Arts were simply that formidable.

“Are both contestants ready?” The bald Elder asked, shouting over the rumor created by all the disciples.

“Yes!” Laien and Xuizu answered simultaneously. Laien immediately reached out to his spiritual energy, preparing to use his Guardian magic. At the same time, Xuizu roused his internal energy, covering his whole body in a layer of blood-red Qi.

“Whoa, look at that! Xuizu improved his Dragon’s Body Art again! Isn’t that the fourth level?” a couple of older disciples spoke in surprise, seeing the blood-red armor-like membrane over Xuizu’s body which was beginning to resemble draconic scales.

“Begin!” the bald Elder shouted, paying careful attention to Xuizu’s movements. Was something too dangerous to happen, he planned on stopping the fight prematurely. Given Xuizu’s problematic character, he couldn’t be sure if the youth will be able to contain his berserk-like qualities and won’t accidentally end up killing his opponent. For the guest of their Great Master to die in a duel… it would be a major disaster.

Xuizu kicked off the ground, shattering it with the sheer force of his legs. He closed the distance of ten meters in the blink of an eye, then astonishingly for Laien, swung his fist instead of attacking with his sword. Yet, considering how powerful Xuizu’s body became after he employed the Dragon’s Body Art, one first was more than enough to threaten a fatal blow against someone at the fourth Mortal Realm!

*Thud!* A dull sound exploded outwards when Xuizu’s fist landed on Laien’s chest, who for some reason didn’t even attempt to dodge or perhaps, was unable to dodge. All spectators held their breaths, expecting Laien to fly away like a rag doll with his chest caved in or punched through, but instead, they could only stare dumbfounded when nothing happened!

“Holy…” Laien murmured, feeling a shiver run down his spine. He blocked the attack with a barrier of water which he created just a few centimeters from his body to boost its effectiveness, but still, the power behind Xuizu’s fist astonished him. The long-haired youth was in the same realm as Masi’s guards, but his blow had been at the very least three times as powerful…! To think that top-level martial arts could make such a difference…! Were it not for the defense-enhancing properties of the Aspect of Tranquility, this one first would have surely broken through and wounded him really heavily, ending the fight at the spot!

Laien smiled, his heart beating like crazy. Yes, he would have had no chance against Xuizu was it not for the Aspect of Tranquility, but since he possessed this precious insight, he could fight!

Xuizu recovered from the shock of being blocked in a way he was seeing for the first time very fast and giving Laien little time to prepare, he smiled and punched one more time, aiming directly at Laien’s face.

Laien also smiled, creating another mirror-like barrier and blocking the blow in the exact same way as the first time. Using this opportunity, he slashed with his sword at Xuizu’s revealed side and indeed, connected the blade, but what followed was only a screeching sound similar to steel hitting a hard stone. The slash barely left a bruise on Xuizu’s armor of blood-red Qi, which disappeared the next instant anyway…! Even with a top-quality blade, he was simply too weak to damage the protection of the fourth level of Dragon’s Body Art.

“Too weak!” Xuizu shouted with a laugh, this time taking a swing with the sword in his right hand. He specialized in the Dragon’s Body Art, so his skill in the purely offensive Dragon’s Force Art was lacking. However, he still could rely on his superior defense to fight and attack like a madman! Whenever he would let his battle rage take over, he would become an unstoppable force pushing onward until everything in its path was crushed!

Having no other way, Laien was forced to spread his barrier and increase its size to defend against the barrage of quick, yet at the same time incredibly heavy slashes coming from all sides. One way or another, facing the berserk-like Xuizu reminded him of dealing with the wooden dummies that would move and ‘attack’ you in response to every hit you landed on them. The key to beating this game had been to see through the attack pattern of each and every dummy and then, steadily increase your tempo all the while dodging and parrying accordingly!

All of the sudden, instead of defending in place, Laien decided to jump back. Of course, his speed was nothing like Xuizu’s, so the fourteen-year-old caught up to him immediately. Yet at the same time, that was exactly what Laien aimed for. A slightly wider swing while rushing ahead! As a dual practitioner, he wasn’t restricted to defending and attacking from one direction. He thus created a barrier over his shoulder and head to block Xuizu’s sword while thrusting his own blade straight at the youth’s stomach, hoping to piece through his blood-red armor.

The tip of Laien’s sword pierced the scales-like defense, although not with a hard struggle. The blade slid into Xuizu’s flesh, but after getting to a certain depth, it failed to pierce any deeper and got stuck. Luckily for Xuizu, Laien’s strength was too low after all. Were it just a bit higher, he would have been pierced through…!

Xuizu regained clarity of his mind for a second and leaped backward. The moment he did, a fresh stream of blood began flowing down his shirt and clothes, dyeing them crimson at an alarming rate. At first, it seemed like the battle would end right there, but instead, Xuizu smirked and charged at Laien, completely ignoring his wound.

“Enough!” the bald elder shouted furiously, releasing a powerful surge of Qi which by itself didn’t carry much force, but was still enough to cause Xuizu to snap out of his berserk-like state and halt in his tracks.

“Do you intend to cripple yourself for life, you idiot? You may not feel much pain because of the Dragon’s Body Strengthening Art, but your organs are damaged! If you continue to move around, you will undoubtedly cripple yourself! You were careless, you got wounded. It’s not a fight to the death!” the bald Elder growled angrily, somewhat worried that Xuizu will disobey him and keep attacking. It wouldn’t be the first time he has done something like that, but it would be the first time he was facing such an incompatible opponent. Xuizu’s berserk-like way of fighting was just too ill-suited against Laien’s defensive, omnidirectional magic. He might have been able to ultimately tire Laien out, but at what cost? It wasn’t worth to have one of their top disciples permanently damage his body over a relatively unimportant duel like this one.

Frowning, Xuizu grit his teeth .“You win!” he declared loudly and unwillingly headed to the medical quarters, refusing to receive the treatment from one of the instructors on the spot.

As the fight ended abruptly, a rather quiet clamor rose throughout the audience of the four thousand disciples. After Culin lost and Xuizu failed to win, there was no one left who would be eager to challenge Laien. Those below the sixth Mortal Realm were pretty sure they stood no chance, while those who were at Xuizu’s level felt wrong about going there only to tire their much younger opponent out in an outdrawn duel. As they saw it, there would be no glory for their school if they obtained such a pyrrhic victory.

“Since no one wants to defend our school’s pride, then I must step in, isn’t that right?” one loud, somewhat leisure voice resounded above many others. Those who knew its owner gasped in surprise, those who didn’t, were shocked only when the eighteen-year-old stepped forward and began walking towards Laien with a calm smile on his face.

“Heavens! It’s Tin’Long! Tin’Long is going to fight!” many disciples shouted, thrilled by the mere prospect of Tin’Long displaying his skill. Tin’Long was an undisputed number one amongst the inner quarter’s disciples. Although his cultivation speed wasn’t up to the very top, his ability in using the Red Dragon Arts was inferior only to Cran’s. He specialized in using a longsword to execute his Dragon’s Force Art, wielding at the fifth level, just one below Cran. His mastery over the Dragon’s Body Art was at a fairly high level, too. Paired up with his great martial skill and sense for battle, he had proved to be without a match in his generation of martial practitioners.

“Are you sure you want to fight with this youngster, Tin’Long?” the bald Elder asked, a silent plea visible in his eyes. Tin’Long was comparable to normal martial masters of the first rank; having him fight against a ten-year-old… ugh, the idea alone was making the bald Elder cringe. He could as well step in and duel against Laien himself, it would prove as much of a point as Tin’Long trashing a much younger junior around.

“I am. The challenger this time is obviously very exceptional, I see no reason for me not to fight. Unless my opponent is too tired to continue fighting after the two previous duels?” Tin’Long asked, making some people think he was giving Laien a chance to avoid the confrontation. However, those who knew him better could tell how much he wanted the duel to take place. It wasn’t that he wished to hurt Laien and embarrass him in front of everyone, he simply wanted to uphold the pride of the school he had joined and considered to be the greatest in the Sarkcente Kingdom and in the whole south!

“I’m not too tired, I want to see what you are capable of,” Laien answered eagerly and perhaps surprisingly, wasn’t putting up a strong front at all. As long as it was defending, he could rely on the properties of the Aspect of Tranquility and use his spiritual energy more sparingly. With how easy the control over his magic came to Laien, a day and a half had been more than enough for him to get used to his new level strength. Just like he was saying, he hadn’t used up even a third of his spiritual energy so far! it wouldn’t be the same as when he had wasted so much of it when fighting Masi’s guards.

“Very well. Show me what you can do,” Tin’Long raised his hand and withdrew a longsword from his interspatial ring. He swung the blade, then in the same motion assumed a stance, holding the longsword at the level of his head and with the tip of the blade pointing forward and downwards.

“Looks scary,” Laien said with a smile, already using to dealing with a longsword from all the sparring sessions he has had with Cran.

“You two…” the bald Elder groaned, not knowing what to do. The spectating disciples were obviously excited, he would have also liked to see how their Red Dragon Arts triumph over the boy’s magic, but… “Both of you, step down. I won’t allow for this duel to happen,” he declared loudly and rather sternly, yet feeling convinced that he was making the right choice. He couldn’t allow Tin’Long to fight with an opponent so much younger than him! Winning the duel in this manner would be nothing short of humiliation, not to mention how much risk it would carry for their honorary guest!

“What…?” Tin’Long frowned, not having expected the old Elder Yan to go as far as deny them the right to duel. Age difference? Danger? They were both aware of it! In the end, what mattered was one’s strength, not his position in society or something as irrelevant as age!

“It’s better this way…” Cran murmured to himself at the same time. He really had been worried when Tin’Long decided to confront Laien. Even if Laien was really strong as a spiritual practitioner… he saw no possibility of him being strong enough to face Tin’Long, one of their elite disciples who wielded the top-level Red Dragon Arts! Were the two of them to fight, Laien’s neck would be snapped as easily as chicken’s, so avoiding this dangerous fight would truly be for the best as far as Cran was considered.

“Elder Yan, are you are denying us the right to duel?” Tin’Long asked calmly, albeit with a clear threat present in his voice. As the strongest disciple of his generation, his status was already comparable to those weaker Elders. Elder Yan might have been a member of the Red Dragon School even since its foundation, but it didn’t give him the right to be unreasonable! Not with his cultivation base of the second Realm of Heroes. Given ten more years, he himself would become much stronger than him and his progress wouldn’t stop there!

As Tin’Long and the bald Elder Yan stared at each other, everyone could feel the atmosphere becoming dangerously heavy. Very quickly a complete silence fell throughout the field, leaving the crowd of four thousand disciples in a state of tense anticipation.

A muffled wave of surprised voices followed when Tin’Long once again assumed the battle stance, with the difference that this time he directed his longsword at Elder Yan.

“Kid, stand down. You don’t know whom you are raising your sword against,” Elder Yan warned, stirring the Qi in his body and releasing a terrifying aura of a martial master. The pressure alone caused faces’ of thousands of the weaker disciples to turn white. Elder Yan’s skill in using the Red Dragon Arts might not have been much higher than Tin’Long’s, but the difference between the peak of seventh Mortal Realm and the second Realm of Heroes truly was enormous. Having strength comparable to an ordinary martial master of the first rank was one thing, but the red-robed Elders of the Red Dragon School were anything but ordinary!

“You are in the wrong, Elder Yan. If you want me to step down, you are going to need to use force,” Tin’Long said stubbornly, a layer of blood-red Qi of the Dragon’s Body Art already forming around his body.

“Very well,” Elder Yan snorted and roused his Qi even further, intent on launching a quick and decisive attack, yet;

“Stop this, Elder Yan. If the lads want to compete, let them.” a tranquil voice that carried a mighty force behind it rang out, causing both Tin’Long and Elder Yan to halt immediately. Everyone’s eyes turned towards the direction of the Red Dragon School, from where the voice has come.

“Great Master Rudford!” many disciples further in the back began exclaiming in shock, quickly making a way for the fiery-red haired man while bowing respectfully.

“Whoa, talk about pressure,” Laien chuckled soundlessly, watching how Rudford strolled towards them unhurriedly. Even without trying, Rudford carried this mysterious, nearly suffocating feeling about himself. Compared to that bald Elder, he was many times scarier. “At least he isn’t wearing a robe, but a normal set of white clothes with some red ornaments,” Laien noted along the way, comparing Rudford’s clothing with what the two dozen Elders who had hurriedly joined him were wearing.

“I don’t understand those traditions of wearing robes. They are so inconvenient when you need to fight,” Laien thought with a little sigh, then lowered his head as Rudford approached him and the other two.

“Elder Yan, there is no need for you to get so fired up. I know you mean well, but the duel may take place. To ensure safety, I will personally act as a judge,” Rudford declared calmly, stirring up the disciples and Elders alike. He had spent the last one hundred years on meditating in seclusion, not even attending major events involving the Red Dragon School, but he stopped training and came out for the sake of… for the sake of one duel between mere martial practitioners?! Without exception, everyone turned their gazes at the black-haired ten-year-old, asking themselves what kind of relationship did he have with the Great Master Rudford. Were it not for the pure black hair and eyes of the youth, so different from the fiery-red hair and the light brown-red eyes of Rudford, they might have believed Laien to be Rudford’s son as little to no other explanation would make sense.

Elder Yan clasped his hands and bowed, not objecting Rudford’s decision in the slightest. Since their Great Master was willing to go as far as to be the judge, the danger involved would be significantly reduced. Also, to begin with, Elder Yan had been worried most about Laien, about his master’s guest. However, Rudford had nothing against letting the fight take place, so that problem was gone.

After paying his respects, Elder Yan backed off and joined the nearly thirty red-robed figures. The duel should have by all means started soon, however, an appearance of yet another person revitalized the ruckus amongst the group disciples, whose numbers by now grew to over six thousand. The man walked unhurriedly, in a manner very similar to that of Rudford’s. His white robe fluttered in the wind, making it seem as if the image of a great red dragon sewn onto its back was alive. Closely behind the white-robed man followed two teenage disciples, one youth and one young woman, while yet further behind walked four red-robed Elders.

“Grand Elder!”

“It’s Grand Elder Roderick!”

“He came from Thurand City? What is he doing here?”

The white-robed Grand Elder smiled, amused by the reaction to his arrival. He usually kept things small and private, so being in the center of attention was a nice change of pace for him. “I trust there will be no harm if we join in watching?” he asked, looking Rudford in the eye.

“Of course not,” Rudford assured, wondering if Roderick came here for a specific reason, or if his visit was a casual coincidence. “Laien, Tin’Long, are you two ready?” he asked, seeing no reason to delay the duel any further.

“Yes,” both of them responded, not taking eyes off their respective opponents. The two of them instinctually knew one thing; that the person in front of them was a dangerous opponent!

“Then, fight,” Rudford said so indifferently that for a good second, Laien and Tin’Long failed to understand that the signal to begin had been given.

Tin’Long came to his senses first and without giving Laien any time to act, launched an attack. His whole body seemed to have grown blood-red scales and even a powerful tail formed below his back as he activated the fifth level of the Dragon’s Body Art. The sight caused his fellow disciples to gasp; not that long ago he had only broken through to the fourth level! His talent for the Red Dragon Arts truly was out of this world…!

Carried by the mighty physical strength, the longsword in Tin’Long’s hand slashed down. The Qi in the blade split apart, creating three illusory images of the dragon’s claws that carried a very real force behind them.

From the get-go, Tin’Long went all out and used not only the fifth level of Dragon’s Body Art but also the strength of the very peak of the fifth level of the Dragon’s Force Art! This one attack was powerful enough to make an average martial master of the first rank dread taking it head-on!

“Big brother!” Siana cried out, seeing that Laien had no chance to dodge. Not used to scenes like those, she involuntarily shut her eyes, too scared for her big brother to look at what was going to happen.