Ming Lu was walking along a path directly to the Seventh Cabin. She was dressed in a beautiful cyan robe that glittered in the rising sunlight. Her pace wasn’t slow yet neither was it fast; it was smooth and flowed as she walked. She looked like a fairy, her robe swaying in the light breeze, as she strode forth.

The air around her was cool to the point that it was almost freezing. The ground froze with each step that was taken by Ming Lu, creating footsteps of frost that quickly warmed and disappeared as she moved away.

Ming Lu was actually in a rather good mood at the moment. ‘Today is going to be a good day. First I’ll get to see Akata’s combat abilities. It will be very interesting to see how he fights.’ Even though Ming Lu had taken on Akata as an apprentice, she had never once seen him fight before. She never saw him train in Misty Forest or challenge the disciples of the cabins. In fact the only reason she was going to watch him fight today is because his opponent this time was her sister Ming Xu.

‘I’ll also be able to see how much my sister has grown. Given our lineage, she should have made some progress even if she was on her own. However if it is not enough then I will take her training into my own hands. I won’t care what she says about following Xiun Wu. If her strength is too poor I will request to have her taken back to the sect.’ Ming Lu let out a breath and slowly shook her head.

‘Calm down calm down. For now I will just watch the match and go from there.’ She took another breath and made her way towards the cabin, no longer thinking of the duel between Akata and her sister Ming Xu. After a moment though she stopped and looked out into the distance.

“Jiandan Fuza.” After being silent for a while Ming Lu spoke out in a calm manner. Her voice carrying a hidden power that naturally froze the area around her.

Some distance away a light laugh could be heard. It was a laugh filled with confidence and was soothing to the ears. As the laugh grew closer a young man about 18-19 years old could be seen approaching. He was wearing a white daoist robe that came down to his feet, yet never touched the ground. His black hair was tied into a bun.

He gave off a natural feeling of transcendence that derived from years of him being above others. His face was smug as the aura of a superior being emanated from him. His walk was smooth to the point that he looked as if he was floating. In fact, he actually was floating in midair. With his cultivation base he was able to float a few feet off of the ground for a short amount of time.

Ming Lu gave a look of disgust upon sensing Jiandan Fuza approaching. She didn’t particularly like Jiandan Fuza. From his clan, to his personality, she almost didn’t like anything about him. The only thing she she couldn’t help but acknowledge about him was his talent for cultivation and his strength.

“Ming Lu.” He spoke out calmly, his voice only being heard by her. “What a surprise that you would contact me. I was planning on going back to meditation today but I just had to make an exception for you. Truly a surprise, truly a surprise.” He gave a light laugh as he came closer to Ming Lu.

Ming Lu only looked at him and rolled her eyes. “I didn’t contact you to get close to you, only to show you something that will be interesting.” She spoke calmly, her voice becoming colder as she spoke.

“Ohh. You must be talking about Akata. While he has made a name for himself and grown at a fast rate, that shouldn’t be anything special or interesting. Especially on our standards.” Jiandan Fuza had a disappointed look on his face.

“Of course just his growth rate wouldn’t make me want to contact you. Otherwise I wouldn’t make the effort to take him on as my apprentice.” Ming Lu retorted. “Akata is special. Not only is his growth rate spectacular, it may even be better than ours, at the very least it is equal to ours. But not just his growth rate makes him special but his talent as well.”

Jiandan Fuza looked disinterested as he listened to Ming Lu. He just didn’t think it was worth paying attention to someone who was so below him in strength that there was no comparison between them. He just couldn’t put Akata in his eyes.

Ming Lu saw the look on Jiandan Fuza’s face and felt disinterested in explaining things to him any further. “Well it’s up to you if you feel like watching or not. However, be wary of Akata because he will definitely surpass you sooner or later. And at his rate of progress I’m betting that it will come sooner.” Ming Lu stopped talking and continued on her way to the Seventh Cabin.

“Don’t worry about me. That little runt can’t even dream of the level that I am going to reach in the future. He could be ten times more talented and it still wouldn’t help him to even reach my current level.” Jiandan Fuza managed to laugh out.

“I thought that you were a serious cultivator with great potential but I guess I was wrong about that. Tsk tsk. Truly a waste of a great mind. I’m done with this conversation now.” Jiandan Fuza turned to leave.

Ming Lu didn’t try to stop him either. She wasn’t the least bit apprehensive about trying to persuade him. She just smiled in his direction as he made his way back to his tower. ‘We’ll see when he grows more in the future.’ She turned and continued on her way to the Seventh Cabin.

‘Akata will make great use to me in the future. It will be great to have him owe me a favor now so that he will repay it in the future. Hmm. But what should I do to have him owe me one?’ Ming Lu pondered this as she strode toward the cabin. Her graceful steps were as soft as snow.

Seventh Cabin

Sitting cross legged in the middle of the arena, Akata had his eyes closed. He wasn’t cultivating or connecting with nature but was calming his mind. He breathed in long deep breaths and let out slow ones.

His red robes were torn but instead of making him look haggard or rough, but it instead made him look imposing. His black hair rested on the back of his neck, it was rough and wavy yet even so it still seemed to fit him. His face was blank and calm but the air around his body was cold.

Everybody around the arena could detect the killing will growing inside and outside of Akata as he sat there. Akata was trying his best to hide it but even so it still spread out. Nobody understood why Akata had such a strong killing will, and nobody wanted to find out either. Over the past few months Akata had grown at an astonishing speed. So much so that nobody dared to provoke him.

The air around the arena was stifling but even so that didn’t mean that it wasn’t lively. Disciples could be seen everywhere getting ready for the challenge that was about to take place. It wasn’t often that the cabins would challenge each other, most likely it wouldn’t happen unless one made a breakthrough in cultivation.

Fang Zuwa stood in the crowd as he looked at Akata. His face was complicated as he had many thoughts running through his head. No one could tell what he was thinking but someone could most certainly guess that it had to do with Akata.

After a while Fang Zuwa let out a long sigh and shook his head. He then silently murmured to himself, “It’s only been a short while yet he is already challenging Ming Xu for her place in the Seventh Cabin. He has utterly surpassed me and yet… he is still continuing to grow and progress. Just how far can he go? Will he be able to fight for the position of the first ranked disciple?” At this moment Fang Zuwa’s eyes glowed with a bright light. He just couldn’t imagine someone taking the spot of the first rank from Jiandan Fuza.

Soon everything began to go quiet. The crowd went silent along with nature. Birds, wind, insects, all of that couldn’t be heard. It wasn’t until someone yelled out that an uproar resounded.

“Ming Xu is here!” Someone yelled out, breaking the silence.

“She’s here! She’s finally here! Now this match can get started.”

“It feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this to start. Now let’s see how much stronger Akata has become!”

Tens of hundreds of cries could be heard as Ming Xu came into the view of everyone. She strode forward with a calm face. The excitement of the crowd didn’t impede her at all as walked to the arena. Her aura wasn’t flustered and was as calm as a snowfall.

“Is that Xi Fe and Xiun Wu too?! Look! Look!” Another cry could be heard almost right after Ming Xu was seen.

“It is Xi Fe and Xiun Wu! They’re ranked fifth and third respectively in the cabins!”

“The leaders of the Cloud Rift Crew are here! Xiun Wu as the leader with Xi Fe and Ming Xu as back up.” Even as this person spoke several figures in the crowd knelt down on one knee as they saw these people. If you looked closely you would be able to notice that all of these figures had cloud emblem on their sleeves.

“Greetings leader Xiun Wu! Greetings co-leader Xi Fe and co-leader Ming Xu.” The disciples who had knelt down called out in unison. Their voices travelling throughout the area as one. These were some members of the Cloud Rift Crew.

Xiun Wu simply nodded his head in response to the call. Xi Fe commanded, “You may rise!” His voice booming and echoing in the ears of everyone around. Only then did the kneeling members rise to their feet. They clasped hands and nodded.

Ming Xu never paid any attention to the people as she strode toward the arena where Akata was sitting. As soon as she laid eyes on him she felt a cold sensation run through her body, she slightly shivered but soon recovered.

However when she stopped shivering, Akata slowly opened his eyes to look at her. When Ming Xu looked into his eyes she felt a sudden feeling of fear rise within her. It was so intense that she unconsciously froze in place.

When she stopped moving Akata finally stood up.