Chapter 6

As Yuha stepped through the portal her vision turned white for a moment before returning to normal. She was now standing in a heavily wooded forest with great towering trees blocking out the sky. As she looked around getting her bearings, she heard a shout. Quietly she made her way over to where the commotion was coming from. She saw in a clearing two groups of people facing off against each other.

“Damn you Dreamblade that seven gate fruit was ours!” a young man wearing a green robe cursed angrily.

“You can only blame yourself for being too slow Leafdance,” Dreamblade replied with a sneer. Leafdance trembled with rage as if prepared to attack. Before Leafdance attacked he stopped and looked around before locking his gaze on the tree that Yuha was hiding behind.

“Show yourself whoever you are!” Leafdance yelled as he stared at the tree. Yuha let out a sigh as she stepped out from behind the tree. Seeing a young beautiful woman appear surprised both Leafdance and Dreamblade. “What are you doing spying on us?” Leafdance asked with hostility clear in his voice.

“I didn't mean to disturb your meeting. My master died so I am planning to leave the forest to experience the world and I just happen to hear the sounds of your conversation,” Yuha explained making up a story on the spot. Both Dreamblade and Leafdance nodded their heads as such an incident was not unheard of.

“If that’s the case why don't you come with me and join the Blossoming Tree sect. You won't have to take any silly test as I can have you directly admitted as an outer court disciple,” Leafdance offered as he racked his gaze over Yuha. Seeing Leafdance’s lustful gaze Yuha became icy.

“What if I decline?” Yuha responded lightly.

“Bitch! You think I'm giving you a choice! Come over here and be obediently follow me and maybe I'll be merciful!” Leafdance arrogantly yelled. Hearing this both Yuha and Dreamblade became serious.

“Leafdance are you trying to act tyrannical due to the fact that you can’t take the seven gate fruit from me?” Dreamblade sneered.

Leafdance returned Dreamblade’s sneer “You have the fruit so go ahead and leave! I will take her as my consolation prize!” Leafdance said as he began walking towards Yuha. Seeing Leafdance approach Yuha began channeling curse energy into the ground forming runes as she walked backward.

Dreamblade frowned as he saw Leafdance's actions. "Leafdance stop!" Dreamblade commanded as he drew his sword. Leafdance laughed as he accelerated towards Yuha. Seeing the wicked grin on Leafdance's face Yuha smiled. When Leafdance was only a few steps away black vines erupted out of the ground snaring Leafdance's feet causing him to fall. As he was falling a knee came to meet his face. As the knee struck a crunching sound could be heard.

The force knocked Leafdance back but as he was flying backwards a hand grabbed his hair and yanked him downwards back towards a knee. The impacted sent Leafdance back as he felt a blinding pain in his face as well at the top of his head.

"Senior brother!" The people from the Blossoming Tree sect cried out as they saw Leafdance laying still on the ground with blood pouring out of his nose. They looked at Yuha as she tossed out a handful of hair that she had ripped off of Leafdance's head.

"Hmm if everyone in your sect is as dumb as you are I have no intrest in joining," Yuha said snidely. This caused the members of the Blooming Tree sect to glare daggers at Yuha but they were intimidated by how easily she had dispatched Leafdance.

Dreamblade walked up beside Yuha with a mocking grin. "This trash couldn't beat me so they turned to what they thought was a vulnerable target but ended up kicking a steel board!" Dreamblade mocked as he laughed. This caused the remaining members of the Flowering Tree sect to scowl.

Yuha turned to Dreamblade with a smile. "I'm Yuha," She said with a slight nod of the head.

"I am Dreamblade from the Nine Peaks sect. I will make a single offer as the Blossoming Tree sect but you will still require you to take the entrance exams," Dreamblade offered.

"Can you explain to me exactly what a sect is and what yours is like?" Yuha questioned. Dreamblade looked shocked as he remembered that Yuha must have been sheltered by her master. Before he could explain he was interrupted by Leafdance who had finally managed to get back up.

"Dreamblade, I'm taking this bitch back to teach her a lesson!" Leafdance yelled while being backed up by his me.

"Why would I allow you to take a potential disciple away?" Dreamblade replied with a sneer.

"She is not yet apart of Nine Peaks so you have no right to stand in my way," Leafdance tried to argue.

"Try and make me move!" Dreamblade snarled as he unsheathed his sword. A massive amount of killing intent came crashing down on Leafblade causing him to pale. Leafblade looked behind Dreamblade and saw the other disciples of Nine Peaks also glaring at him.

"Fine take the dumb bi-," before Leafdance could finished be dodge to the side narrowly avoiding a black beam. He looked at Yuha who was pointing a finger at him with a smirk causing Leafdance's blood to boil. Without another word Leafdance turned and left taking the Blossoming Tree disciples with him. m.

“With the annoyances out of the way can you explain what the sects are?’ Yuha once again asked.

Dreamblade nodded as he began to explain. “The sects are groups of cultivators that rule over a territory and fight other sects for cultivation resources. Our Nine Peak sect is one of the two silver grade sects in this region. The other being the Blossoming Tree sect that we have major conflicts with. The region we are in is called the Windswept desolate due to the fact that we are visited by the storm sun frequently,”

“What's a Storm sun?” Yuha asked, causing Dreamblade to stare.

“You don't even know about the arcanic beings?” Dreamblade asked dumbfounded. Yuha simply shook her head. “Did this master of yours keep you in another dimension or something,” Dreamblade said slightly exasperated

“You could say that,” Yuha replied, making Dreamblade pause.

“Alright i'll explain as we walk back the sect,” Dreamblade said as he began walking. Yuha followed besides Dreamblade as he began to explain further.

“The arcanic beings are the beings who have reached the apex of the world and have been bestowed a portion of the world's power. They usually take the form of a sun and have dramatic effects on the environment. The exact amount of these beings is unknown but it is every cultivator's goal to reach the peak and become an arcanic being,” Dreamblde explained with fire in his eyes.

Yuha nodded as she digested the information. She looked up but could not see past the dense foliage. "How far away is your sect?" Yuha asked as she took in her surrounding.

"It’s about an hour away at the edge of the forest," Dreamblade answered. They traveled in silence until they reached the edge of the forest. Once out of the forest the view of nine peaks reaching up into the sky appeared. What surprised Yuha was that the sky was vastly different from where she was from. The sky was silver and looked as if it was made of metal. The other thing that stood out was the sun was a pale green color and was placed between the earth and sky rather than past the sky.

Seeing Yuha's stunned expression Dreamblade smirked. "The nine peaks are impressive are they not?"

"Why does the sky look like it's made of steel?" Yuha asked causing Dreamblade to look at her oddly.

"What else would it look like?" Dreamblade responded. Yuha shut her mouth as he faced burned as she realized she sounded like someone who has lived under a rock. They reached the base of the peaks where two young disciples were guarding the entrance.

"Senior brother Dreamblade," They both welcomed Dreamblade back with a salute.

Dreamblade simply nodded his head as he continued past the gate. As Yuha followed behind she was stopped by one of the guarding disciples.

"Sorry but only disciples are allowed to enter," the disciple said blocking her path.

Dreamblade stopped and turned around. "She's with me," Dreamblade snapped annoyed.

"Senior brother Dreamblade don't make things difficult for me. Senior brother Tyrant said that we have recruited all potential disciples for now and that we are not to accept more until the testing of the recruits is complete," the guarding disciple explained.

"I don't give a damn what Tyrant wants! I am personally recruiting her so stop me if you dare," Dreamblade snarled as a murderous aura erupted out of him. The guarding disciple trembled as he backed away. With one last glance at the guarding disciple Dreamblade motioned for Yuha to follow him.

"Seems like this group is not exactly united," Yuha thought as she followed Dreamblade. They quickly made their way up a long set of steps that had been carved out of the mountain. They reached a flattened cliff that had also been carved out of the mountain.

Yuha looked around and saw a majestic sight. Buildings were built all along the mountain each one was imposing. While it looked nice Yuha had seen many extravagant constructs so she was unimpressed. Dreamblade led her over to a group of young people.

Dreamblade walked up to a middle-aged woman that was in front of the group of teens. "Elder Icewind I have another recruit," Dreamblade respectfully said to elder Icewind as he pointed to Yuha.

Icewind nodded her head with a smile. "Girl what's your

name?"

"I'm Yuha."

"Hmm, so you have yet to select a title. Well that can come later, go stand with the others and we will start with the first test," Icewind said with a smile as Yuha walked over and stood with the group wondering what the first test would be.