Akata sat in the arena meditating. By now everyone had left, even Fang Zuwa who had packed his stuff and moved into one of the dorms in the sect. Akata was reviewing the battle he just went through in order to gain insights and improve himself better. He studied every single movement he and Fang Zuwa made, calculated how much energy each movement drained, and then thought of a way to make it more efficient. The whole process would be extremely draining to anyone else, but to Akata it was nothing. His mental strength was far superior to his physical strength.

Not only was he analyzing every minute detail of his battle, but he was simultaneously connecting with nature. If anybody else tried this they would put themselves into a coma. Akata sat analyzing the battle and connecting with nature at the same time.

After sitting for a while he suddenly came to a realization. “Connecting with nature keeps my energy calm and therefore allows me to use less energy. If I’m able to connect with nature while I fight then I could save much more energy and fight for longer also.” After this train of thought Akata opened his eyes and stood up.

“Well, the only way I would be able to do that is with repeated battles and trying it out in combat. So I guess it’s finally time I fight.” His eyes radiated with an intense will to fight. He looked off into the distance in the direction of the ninth cabin and then dashed off.

As he was running towards the ninth cabin some of the surrounding disciples caught a glimpse of him. News then began to spread that Akata was on the move.

“Akata is finally challenging the ninth cabin!”

“Quickly, let’s head over there so we can see the whole thing.”

Word spread fast and soon many disciples headed for the ninth cabin.

“Wow, there’s already a crowd here?” Akata thought to himself as he was approaching the arena of the ninth cabin. Before he had even arrived a crowd of tens of people had already gathered to watch the battle. “Might as well give them a show.” Akata stepped on the arena and rung the bell in order to signal that he was challenging the ninth cabin.

Of course he didn’t have to as the ninth ranked disciple was already waiting for him. When Akata stepped on the arena the door to the ninth cabin had already begun to open. Out stepped a boy about 17 years old in a brown robe. When you looked at him the first thing you would notice is how perfectly round he is. The next thing you would notice is the piece of chicken in his hand.

“Yo yo yo *munch munch* how yer doin’ Akata? I ain’t think yer was gon’ be her’ for a while *munch munch*.”

When Akata looked at the ninth ranked disciple he couldn’t help but lose his appetite. “Yeah yeah I’m fine. Just got done meditating that’s all.” Akata smiled and laughed wryly as he spoke attempting to sound as comfortable as possible. “I have come to challenge you Huihe Ji.”

“Yeppums! I hear’ you had gon’ and made a place in the ol’ cabins. Even beat that darn Fang Zuwa. I almost couldn’t believe it. I rememba’ when...” As he spoke Huihe Ji’s eyes got wider and wider. He spoke on and on for a good while eventually remembering why Akata had come. “... and by then yer had gotten yer first win. Now hol’ on just a moment, ain’t yer ‘posed to be fightin’ me?”

Helplessness could be seen on the faces of everyone present. Huihe Ji was known to be a talker within the sect and he could go on for hours at a time. When Akata and the rest of the disciples finally heard these words they perked up and looks of thankfulness could be seen on their faces. Akata immediately nodded his head and spoke out almost yelling. “Yes! Yes! I came over to challenge you.”

“Alrighty then, why ye’ ain’t just say so?” Huihe Ji nodded his head and then readied himself. Akata didn’t answer as he knew that responding would give rise to another conversation. He too nodded his head and readied himself into position.

The crowd started getting enlivened at the sight of the match finally about to start. It was now sunset and the winds were crisp. The blades of grass waved in the air and the leaves on the trees followed suit. The clouds looked like wisps against the orange tinted sky.

Akata let out a deep breath as he readied himself. He knew his opponent wasn’t simple when it came to fighting. He started to rotate his red rune in his soul region. He was going to take this battle seriously from the beginning.

Huihe Ji looked on at Akata readying himself and he let out a sigh. “I ain’t never think I was gon’ battle ye’ in me life.” He mused to himself, closed his eyes, and then shook his head. Then his eyes snapped open and they showed with bloodlust. His eyes were darker and his aura changed dramatically. Almost as soon as he opened his eyes his body started getting thinner until he was skinny. His black hair started to grow longer until it reached his lower back. He now looked completely different from before.

“The match is finally beginning!”

“That’s Huihe Ji’s Gluttonous Sword Spirit skill. By eating and absorbing the spiritual energy from food he is able to use it to get stronger.”

“If he could just break through into Grade 3 he could make it into top five no problem.”

Huihe Ji clapped his hands together and slowly pulled them apart. As he did a scraping noise could be heard like metal rubbing against each other. As his hands pulled apart a black beam of light was forming, until it reached the length of a meter. The beam of light was pitch black and when it reached a meter he grabbed the end of it and it took on a more physical form, though it still looked more illusory.

Huihe Ji stood there with an illusory black sword in one hand and a bloodlust aura radiating off of him. He looked ever much so like a sword immortal. He stared intently at Akata.

Akata could feel the pressure coming from Huihe Ji. The glare coming from him felt like swords stabbing into his body. “What a strong sword intent. I never faced Huihe Ji before so I never felt his sword intent before, but now, especially since it is directed at me, it is astonishing.” Akata couldn’t help but be amazed. “If he is just ranked ninth how powerful are the other disciples?”

Akata then gave it no more thought as he cleared his mind. His eyes started to beam with a fighting will. He was eager to find out how strong the other disciples of his sect were. The red rune in his soul region started rotating faster as he thought about the upcoming fights he was going to be in.

Huihe Ji saw the fighting intent in Akata and nodded his head. “Good. Akata see if ye’ can take my attack.” Huihe Ji lifted his sword into the air to point straight upwards. Then he slashed downwards in the direction of Akata. A beam of black sword light was produced and it went straight to Akata.

“I need to get myself a weapon if I am to fight others. I can’t always rely on my body alone.” Akata looked on at the approaching sword light and pulled his fist back and then punched out towards it. The punch caused the air to vibrate and create a wind blast that aimed at the sword light. The two projectiles met in midair and collided.

Boom!

The collision caused the air to explode from the pressure. Dust flew up into the air blocking the vision of the surrounding disciples. Nobody could see the two figures standing on the arena. Soon the dust started clearing and what could be seen was that Akata and Huihe Ji were still standing in the same place they had been. Neither of them moved an inch.

Their faces were calm but their eyes showed different feelings. One showed a feeling of utter astonishment and surprise while the other had a radiance willing to fight.They looked calmly at each other and didn’t speak. After a moment both took a step at the same time and were right in front of each other.

Huihe Ji slashed out with his black sword towards Akata’s throat. Akata quickly leaned back barely avoiding the sword. He then kicked out with his foot towards Huihe Ji’s chest attempting to counterattack. Huihe Ji wielded his sword to have the handle block the kick. He then switched the hand the sword was in and stabbed out with the blade. Akata fell back on his hands and twirled his body to kick the sword to the side, as soon as he kicked it he jumped to his feet and sent a punch out. Huihe Ji seeing the sword was kicked, twirled his own body in the direction it was kicked giving the sword momentum as he wielded it to strike a sweeping blow from down to up.

Huihe Ji spun around once to give his sword momentum. He now held the sword with two hands. The blade part was down and it was rising in the air, as if he was going to Akata in half with a slanted strike.

Akata had just come off the ground and was sending out a punch towards Huihe Ji. He was rotating his red rune and his fighting intent was rising. He saw the black blade coming but he was not going to retreat from it.

Likewise Huihe Ji saw the fist approaching him but he wasn’t going to edge away or try to dodge it either. This was a battle of pure strength and pride. If you retreated then it meant that you'd lose. If you were the first to fall then it meant that you'd lose. If you showed any kind of weakness then it meant that you’d lose.

The sword was gaining speed as it went along and a black sword beam was trailing behind it. He was using his full power to fight against Akata. On the other hand Akata’s fist was pushing the air away, forming a cone around his hand as it went straight towards Huihe Ji. The two were moving extremely fast and were holding nothing back.

Boom!

The two attacks landed on each other. Both Akata and Huihe Ji were pushed back by the blows they received. They both coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. Huihe Ji had a dent in his chest and he was holding it with great difficulty. Akata had a deep gash in his chest that was spilling blood.

They looked deeply at each other not saying anything. Huihe Ji smiled and his sword faded away. Then he dropped to the ground and passed out. Akata smiled too and then did the same. They were both unconscious from the battle.

The disciples were completely stunned with disbelief. Not only was so much power from these two shown, but the speed of the battle was inconceivable too. From the moment Huihe Ji sent out his first sword blow to the time they both dropped down only about 10 breaths had passed.

Everyone was silent and looking at the stage with blank faces and various thoughts. Not a single word could be heard from the crowd. After a few breaths a sigh could be heard and Third Elder appeared on the stage. He waved his sleeve and Akata and Huihe Ji disappeared. Then he took a step and vanished.

Only when Third Elder went away did noise come from the disciples.

“This battle… was too… inconceivable.”

“It went by too fast. How are we supposed to watch something like this?”

“All the ranked disciples are monsters.”

Various emotions could be seen coming from the disciples. Feelings such as helplessness, admiration, fear, and eagerness. But if it was one thing they could all agree on. It was the fact that this battle was simply amazing!

Some disciples sent word out to various places to spread the news. Some others however went back to training while others mediated on what they had just seen. The whole sect was lively and it seemed it wouldn't calm down until the next big event.

Red Cloud Sect Medicine Pavilion

Third Elder appeared and swiped his sleeve sending out Akata and Huihe Ji. Huihe Ji was still unconscious but Akata managed to open his eyes to see Third Elder. He couldn’t speak or move his body so he just looked.

“Don’t do anything. Now is the time to heal your wounds. Although your wounds are more serious, you are in a better position than Huihe Ji. Given enough time you will make a full recovery on your own. Huihe Ji on the other hand needs some outside help. Knowing your mental capabilities and how much time you spent in meditation you could have ended that fight without even getting hit, I won’t ask why you didn’t but in the future be more careful.”

When Third Elder finished speaking Akata closed his eyes and went back to being unconscious. His red rune started rotating when he did and a faint red glow could be seen coming from his body. His wound started visibly healing at a slow rate.