(Author: Hello! Sunday come and gone. Reminder: my college life restarts next week so the releases will be slower. It is now time for the sixth stage division elimination tournament. Two people will have to fight an extra round before the top eight decided as there are a total of nine who have passed the second game. The nine are Shu, Ivy, 3 students from Blue Phoenix Palace, two students from Red Dragon Temple, the boy of Green Hare Tower Shu saved in the illusory formation, and a Gold Crow Palace student. Each of the nine will have some effects as a result of the illusory formation. How will it affect their results? Enjoy.)

---------------Chapter 13- The Elimination Tournament----------------

As Shu's body slept, his mind was withdrawn into his Mystic Crystal. First, he took a broad view of his realm of consciousness. Most of it was empty space, with stars alight in the distance. Two strange moons circulated a planet of pure oceans. Due to the influence of the two spirit reactors, symbolizing two moons, large tidal waves scourged the planet. A ring of ice developed around the planet, at a slight thirty degree angle.

In the core of the soul planet was the Dragon Fox. If one looked closely, they could see the Snow Emperor Pearl, a pearl containing the soul of demon nobility, at the feet of the Great Spirit. No matter what Shu did, the pearl never reacted. He left his realm of consciousness as he went to sleep in both mind and body. The next morning, Shu and Ivy headed back to the stadium. It was finally time for the elimination tournament.

Unfortunately, one of the three Blue Phoenix Palace members was eliminated and the Green Hare Tower student moved on to finalize the top eight. Shu had to fight that same boy he saved and would fight in the last fight of the official first round. The first three of four had been decided. Ivy was in the first fight against a member of Red Dragon Temple, defeating her opponent by overwhelming him with her quick strikes with her dual-swords. Her swords were two halves of a winged-cross guarded sword. Even the blades, which looked single-edged, could be combined into a single sword at will. That was the threat of dual-swords. The Practitioner is able to separate and join them at will, very different than twin swords which consists of the same dual-sword style but cannot be combined into one.

The other people who to the second and third spot of the finals was a girl of Gold Crow Palace who quickly defeated a member of Blue Phoenix Palace. The boy had little sprit energy and would be disadvantaged in long battles. It seemed he was a Practitioner who focused on speed. The third who made it to the finals was a member of Red Dragon Temple who defeated the final disciple of Blue Phoenix Palace, effectively eliminating the school from the games. It was now time for the last fight of the first round to decide the final four before the championship round.

"Ladies and gentlemen! It is now time for the fourth and last fight of the semi-finals. One is a student of Black Lotus Academy. His name is Shu of the Lu Clan!" the announcer began, the crowd cheering as they saw a familiar blonde boy wearing a black jacket with a hood over his head, a mask materialized to cover the bottom half of his face. His moon blades were in his storage bag as he could only be allowed to fight with his Practitioner weapon and a magical beast not of a draconic lineage. Magical items were allowed, but not magical weapons and armor. Enchanted weapons and armor did not reveal a Practitioner's true potential while magical items had to be practiced to a certain mastery in order to be effective when used. Anyone could become stronger when grabbing a random, magical weapon or armor, but magical items were not without its restraints and degrees of difficulty in how they were used.

Bahamut was in its full size behind the stadium, many people admiring the dragon. Save for rare, one-of-a-kind magical beasts, draconic magical beasts were usually the most powerful magical beast. They also looked at Supaiku, standing on all fours beside Shu. It had orange fur and spikes with lightning crackling from its tail. Most of all, its eyes were gold in color and a black fur design with shapes of a drop of water, swirled all over its body instead of stripes. Bahamut was an Emerald Steel Dragon and Supaiku was later identified as a Gold-Eyed Lightning Tiger. Many people in the stands were shocked to see two Saint level magical beasts bound to a Practitioner of the sixth stage.

The announcer looked pitifully at Shu's opponent as he continued, "And his opponent, hailing from Green Hare Tower, is Roen Kurt. I can honestly say that Green Hare Tower has shocked the nine schools and stole the limelight by knocking down Steel Horn Temple from the third rank. In fact, Steel Horn Temple performed lower than Red Dragon Temple in the mages division. I can tell you all now: Red Dragon Temple is ranked fourth and Steel Horn Temple is ranked fifth. The new generation truly rids of the former generations' shackles and make their own marks in history! Not only that, Red Dragon Temple also has a dark horse in this division as Green Hare Tower did in the seventh: a true Archon Practitioner without a spirit reactor! Truly, both schools did spectacular this year."

People from Green Hare Tower and Red Dragon Temple cheered, obviously happy as they made the most improvement over the last year. The defeated one of the Big Three, one of the top three schools! They all stared at a nervous, black-haired kid who was obviously intimidated by the presence of Bahamut and Supaiku. Shu did not draw Freezing Tail as the other boy took out his Practitioner weapon, a spear, from his storage bag. The announcer hit the mini gong he had with him and the final fight of the first round had begun.

"I owe you for letting me pass the second game, but I can't lose here!" the boy yelled, drawing his spear for a thrust at Shu's chest. Shu did a low kick, his feet brushing the ground. A small wave of water burst toward Roen, forcing the boy to stop as he tried to block the wave of water. As the boy was doused, Shu stomped onto the wet trail created by the wave, lightning crackling at his feet. Lightning touched water and Roen was severely hurt by the lightning as it traversed the water, its power magnified by the water. While lightning may be useless underwater, lightning is invincible on the water's surface. It was a quick, overwhelming victory.

In the finals, it was Ivy versus the Red Dragon Temple's true Archon and Shu versus the student of Gold Crow Palace. Ivy was a true Archon as well, but the Red Dragon Temple student actually had two golems fight alongside him. While powerful, Ivy could not destroy the two golems that represented walking fortresses that protected the Red Dragon Temple student. Shu easily beat his opponent by using his Phantasmal Sky technique to appear behind this opponent, appearing from the girl's shadow as if he had teleported. It was quite obvious that Shu could now move faster than his normal speed and use short distance teleportation, all while using his Phantasmal Sky technique. Most Practitioners practiced spirit techniques, but it was clear Shu's techniques were above the Spirit Shaman tier.

Ivy did manage to win against the Gold Crow Palace student and earned third place. It was because her opponent was desperate and did not maintain a calm mind. Her near instantaneous defeat rattled him and rushed toward Ivy without thinking. Ivy easily defeated her rattled opponent but was still upset about her loss. She sat with Hinako and the others. Once the final fight ended, the games would end and all the Practitioners and mages, who have earned the right, will go to the Vault of Kings at last.

Shu decided to have Supaiku fight alongside him. Supaiku would deal with the meddlesome golems while he went for their master. His opponent's name was Duren Gallect and owned two golems made of clay. However, the golems were considered indestructible as they always repaired themselves, rock and clay pieces rising and returning to the main body. Every golem had a core, but this kind of golem was always moving that core, making it difficult to destroy them permanently. Water slowed them down, but the body would return to normal due to the core.

Everyone watched as the two boys circled each other. Supaiku and the golems made the first move, clashing in a storm of lightning and earth. Two conflicting elements that neutralized the advantage of the other. The other boy was shocked as the tiger was capable of keeping the golems back. Everyone watched as Supaiku withdrew while Shu gathered his spirit energy into his throat. Shu roared with rage, like a beast venting its rage at the heavens. Members of the VIP box stood as they saw the image of his spirit: the Armored Ocean Tiger God. People recognized the white tiger, but not the dragon-scaled serpent tail or the armor that covered the face and limbs.

Shu had used his Great Spirit Integration technique, stunning the golems and causing Duren to cough blood as he staggered back. Shu narrowed his eyes and three snow-white serpents rose, striking one of the golems. Everyone watched, wide-eyed, as the golem froze in its tracks and shattered as its core was destroyed by the chilling effects of the strike. Duren drew a large mace with the black wood beneath the metal ending in a spike. Supaiku had a easier time holding off the lone golem as the two boys clashed. Mace clashed against sword as Duren rushed at Shu.

Shu's eyes widened as another mace appeared in the boy's hand, this one with a gold metal head and white wood grip. The boy's spirit was actually a weapon! Shu grunted as the boy's spirit mace blasted him back. Shu grit his teeth and yelled out, spirit armor manifesting on his arms and legs. His pupils and irises changed into a shape similar to a tiger's as celestial aura radiated small wisps of white from Freezing Tail. Shu growled as Duren's mace seemed to enlarge as he fused his mace spirit with his Practitioner weapon. Fire seemed to radiate from Duren's body as pieces of rock and clay levitated around him.

The crowd cheered as the two boys slashed and hacked at each other. The ground cracked whenever Duren missed and smashed the ground. Shu kept appearing out of nowhere, constantly appearing out of nowhere as his speed was too fast. As he slashed and pierced with Freezing Tail, the air chilled with every movement of the sword. However, an armor of rock seemed to cover and protect Duren, repairing almost instantaneously with every strike. Fire rained down as Duren threw dagger after dagger of fire at Shu. Duren cried out when Shu cut through his rock armor and cut off his left arm with his Radiant Howl technique.

"What the fuck?" Shu frowned as Duren's arm regenerated within seconds. "You really are a true Archon. I don't think any regular Archon can regenerate so quickly."

"You'll pay for cutting off my arm!" Duren roared as dragon wings sprouted from his back. Duren screamed as he flew into the air. The crowd gasped. Mages flying were not uncommon, but Practitioners could only fly at the Spirit Master tier unless they developed wings through learning some technique or through the process of gaining a true Archon body. There was no dispute now. Duren was a true Archon.

"DIE!" Duren roared as he created over a hundred images of his spirit mace all around him, like flying swords in a formation. Fire burned from the metal heads of the maces. This was why weapon type Practitioners were feared. Only they had the ability to manifest multiple copies of their spirit like flying swords.

"I will not lose!" Shu roared as vermillion wings sprout from his own back. The crowd gasped Shu was a true Archon! Only the members in the VIP box and a few rich nobles and powerful people were not surprised as they had the power and connection to learn of what transpired on Shu's birthday several months ago.

Water seemed to swirl from the air and ground, condensing into his sword. The crowd felt hotter as the humidity of the air dropped constantly as the stadium below seemed to freeze, mists of ice covering the ground near Shu. The living spirit technique seemed affected by Shu's bestial rage. Shu smiled as he knew he had made a breakthrough and improved his technique as his subconscious mind began filling his head with images on how to perform the technique. Shu stared at Supaiku's eyes and it quickly left the stadium as it used all its might to cover itself in lightning and destroy the golem as it rammed through it, using the element of lightning to increase the speed and power of its sprint.

"Judgment of the Burning War God!" Duren roared, his arms flinging at Shu as the fiery maces spinning as they flew toward Shu.

"Radiant Howl of the Freezing Devil!" Shu roared, realizing the true form of the insect-like spirit technique that replaced his skeleton and fused with his subconscious. That weird exoskeleton that appeared when he had first made contact withit and Meng Ce seeing it over Shu's body when he went to check on him. It wasn't really an insect, but it was not of the Mortal Realm, just like the other four living spirit techniques the Great Ancestor once had kept away in the empire's treasury. It could not be identified and insects certainly did not howl like beasts.

The crowd shrieked as waves of cold and heat blasted as an explosion of fire and ice was created upon the collision of a field of spinning, burning spirit maces and an unidentifiable sword blast of ice. The invisible barrier formation that protected the spectators saved them from any harm caused by the explosion, even blocking the chill and heat soon after. When the dust, ash, and frost cleared; the crowd saw two people on the ground.

Duren was sprawled on the floor, unconscious with both wings destroyed and frozen solid. His limbs were slowly regenerating and color was retuning to his cold, pale body. As for Shu, he was one his knees, the armor on his arms in pieces. his entire shirt was burned away as his skin slowly regenerated charred skin. His eyes slowly returned to normal as the armor spirit faded away. He coughed blood but held his sword up high.

"Winner of the sixth stage division is Shu of the Lu Clan from Black Lotus Academy!" the announcer cried, after spending a few minutes to get over the shock.

Bahamut and Supaiku quickly rushed over to Shu, sharing their spirit energy with their master. Shu trembled as he immediately entered a meditative state as he sat, cross-legged, on the stadium. It was no wonder Practitioners who were true Archons through one of the four true Archon body techniques, the ones without spirit reactors, were deemed the most powerful among their cultivation stage. Shu only won due to his immense spirit energy, resilient body through fusion with the Dragon Fox, and Eclipse Indestructible Body technique.

Shu panted as his body returned to normal and slowly got atop of Supaiku, Bahmut shrinking and settling on Supaiku's head. Shu laughed as he had gotten first place. Shu lost consciousness and slept on Supaiku's back as Lu Feng appeared. Lu Feng pat Shu's head as he led Supaiku to the area the Black Academy students were watching in the stands. The ending ceremony was held that night and a grand feast was geld for the top four schools. Everyone celebrated that night, ecstatic and jubilant for having many students gain access to the Vault of Kings.

Although only one student of Red Dragon Temple gained access to the Vault of Kings, they celebrated as they could finally hold their heads high against the arrogant Steel Horn Temple. Of the Big Three, only Steel Horn Temple were arrogant and used their ranking as an excuse to bully and mock the other six rival schools. Red Dragon Temple and Green Hare Tower even made a truce. It wasn't hard as they were on opposite sides of the empire and hardly interacted.

Shu's eyes narrowed as he sensed spirit energy gathering at the tents where he slept. He snuck out the feast, took off his jacket, and wore a simple black cloak all over his body. He pulled out skull dagger and used his Phantasmal Sky technique to quickly travel to his tent. His eyes widened as he saw students of Steel Horn Temple apparently looting the tents of any valuables that were not in their owners' storage bags. He wrinkled his nose, with disgust, at their petty actions. Well, no one was watching as they were all supposed to be at the feast. Stealth works both ways.

Due to the enchantment of his skull dagger, his arm holding the dagger made no sound as he grabbed them by the necks and slit their throats. He had already buried them halfway through the floor once. Killing them was much easier. He would also rip out their Mystic Stones, using his innate demon ability before they died, devouring the spirit energy and storing the empty marble in his storage bag. There would be plenty of people who would buy a Mystic Stone as it is far more difficult for most people to even attain one without some connection.

He made sure to loot their storage bags before leaving their bodies to rot. People would believe someone took their Mystic Stones from their corpse. After all, a Mystic Stone could be retrieved from the corpse of its owner, but it would be completely empty with no trace of spirit energy inside. His innate demon ability enabled him to rip out the Mystic Stone and devour spirit energy, whether the body was dead or alive. However, he could only absorb spirit energy from Mystic Stones if the owner was still alive as he ripped it out.

He stored his loot in his storage bag while he stored the Mystic Stones in Spook. He did not want to be found out as the guy who killed them all. He kept hunting all the students of Steel Horn Temple who dared to sneak back to steal. Such petty people deserved no mercy. Wraith, always in his shadow, kept watch and always alerted him if there were others nearby. Before an hour passed, Shu successfully assassinated and looted all the Practitioners of Steel Horn Temple.

"Just too weak," Shu sighed as he wiped the blood on his dagger on the last corpse he found, or made. He quickly used his Phantasmal Sky technique, changed back into his jacket, and returned to the feast. The students were busy chatting away and celebrating to notice him gone. They had seen him in the corner of the area, resting as he was fatigued and respectfully avoided disturbing him. Of course, some had noticed him missing.

"Where were you?" Ivy and the others asked as they sat around his table. Ivy was with Joey and the others. They had spent quite some time looking for Shu.

"I wanted to take a tour of the castle. However, I was intrigued by the smell of magical beast meat in their kitchens," Shu said, a pretty good alibi based on his constant hunger for it. "You didn't happen to find some here, did you?"

"Typical," Hinako sighed and showed him the plate she carried. Shu grinned and thanked Hinako before digging in.

"I'm surprised that Red Dragon Temple and Green Hare Tower are here. They seem to be the merriest of the people here," Shu observed as most of the laughter came from those students.

"Try living in a world in a poorer state than the elite. Then, you'll understand how they feel," Bella answered. "They were constantly bullied and looked down on by Steel Horn Temple. Steel Horn Temple getting third place only made them more insufferable as they took their frustrations out on them.

"Still, we get to go to the Vault of Kings!" Joey laughed. "Er, most of us. Sorry you lost, Kei and Geo."

"Still, I wonder what happens now?" Shu asked, wanting to change the subject from Steel Horn Temple as a gold knight walked toward Shu.

"Shu of the Lu Clan, Spirit Sage Light requests your audience," the gold knight said.

"Did I get caught?" Shu thought as the gold knight looked at him warily. "Yeah. Of course I would not go unnoticed by the Spirit Knights. I'm sure they don't mind students looting each other, but I killed and did both."

"I'll go first," Shu grinned, trying to keep calm. "Enjoy the feast guys. I'll see some of you in the Vault of Kings."

Ten minutes later, Shu was in the throne room of the palace with members of the royal family wearing crowns, and Lu Feng, all in the room. All the guards left and secured the doors from the outside. Shu could only grin helplessly as they all stared at him.

"We know what you did," Crown Prince Trent began. "The question is, why did you kill them instead of knocking them out?"

"True victory is one where there won't be any future battles. Complete and utter annihilation," Shu said coldly. "You have to think about the consequences. If I knocked them out, they would obviously be punished and search for who stopped their nefarious, petty plans to loot those who beat them. You know, I didn't go after the mages too. I could have," Shu shrugged.

"I am Empress Rua Kindu," a woman who looked in her late twenties began, a gold crown and lavish cerulean dress complementing her figure. "Prince Shu, what did you do to their bodies? They are completely drained of spirit energy. I can guess that you carved their Mystic Stones out, but how did you absorb their spirit energy? In fact, how were you able to kill so many of them so silently? My guards could not hear your arm when you took their lives."

"I'm afraid I just killed them, looted some stuff that seemed interesting, and ripped out their Mystic Stones from their corpses," Shu lied. "I'm afraid I don't know who would waste time draining spirit energy as it leaks out from the dead body. As I'm sure you know, I killed all of them rather quickly. I did not have the time to drain them of all the spirit energy in their corpse. I would have risked discovery. Well, I would have noticed I was discovered. You don't happen to want the Mystic Stones and loot I got?"

Seeing the empress's eyes, Shu sighed and covered his right hand over his storage bag. Over a hundred Mystic Stones appeared in a flash of white light. As for the loot he did not take it out as they were less valuable. The empress did not seem to care either as she told Trent to store the empty marbles, averting her eyes from Lu Feng's direction as he slowly emitted spiritual force from his body. Spirit Sage Light entered the room and sat down on the opposite side of the throne room across Lu Feng.

"This matter is settled then. Good. Thank you for your cooperation," Empress Rua said.

"Don't push your luck, empress," Lu Feng snarled, stopping her from speaking further. "If it wasn't for Spirit Sage Light and the crown prince, I would have ripped your head off."

"Well," the empress started, but declined as Light warned her with a stern look. "I apologize. I do not want to make an enemy of the Yan Dynasty over some dead kids of a disgraced school."

"Prince Shu, I will tell you something about the Vault of Kings. You have a total of twelve hours to fid three objects of your choosing. The Vault of Kings is large and there are many magical items many would kill for. However, why do you think we allow the twelve hours?" Trent asked.

"It would be because there is something more there. Could it be dense areas of spirit energy?" Shu asked.

"Indeed. It is a paradise for people to cultivate in. Most gather their items and meditate for as long as they are allowed. Third place only gets one hour to find an item and meditate. Second place gets four hours to find two items and meditate. This shows just how great it is to get the first rank. Think about two Practitioners who fought in last years games as first years: Hinako and Rian. They were fourth year students but a year later, they are at the seventh stage. Hard work played a part, but it is very difficult to reach the seventh stage onwards," Trent explained. "Even now, I'm guessing you're at the peak of the sixth stage. Meditating there will certainly help you. Especially if you have that talisman of yours."

"How do you...?" Shu began.

"We have embassies in the capital of all countries of note who are not hostile to us. Naturally, we have some who attend the auctions. Of course, it was our mistake to not attend your birthday. We were quite shocked to learn of so many Spirit Sages, five being verified with Ancestor Lu Feng as the first who was seen," Trent smiled. "Information is key to the survival of a nation. Strength is for the army, but words can do what armies cannot. Needless to say, there are countless other magical items that can convert energy essence into liquid pearl elixirs, but they are rarely sold due to their usefulness."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shu nodded.

"You don't need to pick a skill to learn as you have already gained a new one. Find magical armor and items. I will be returning to the Yan Dynasty. I have visited kid Seto and overseen your progress in the competition," Lu Feng said hugging Shu with a grin. "Out of all my descendants, you're the most interesting one. Train well. Farewell Shu. If you need me, just message your father with the transmission bead you have. I will be cultivating with the four others at the palace."

"Goodbye Lu Feng," Shu cupped his hands and bowed, the other people in the room doing the same as Lu Feng left the throne room.

"You may leave now. Hopefully we meet again, at the Pantheon of Devils. I can't be there at the Vault of Kings. Goodbye, Prince Shu," Trent smiled as they bowed and Shu left.

"He is dangerous. They both are," the empress said. "It is no small wonder that the Yan Dynasty has survived for so long. Who knew they were hiding such powerful experts and claim there are even more. Even the second prince is beyond expectations. I expected that Isabella of the ancient clans would win against a true Archon without a spirit reactor, but not that Lu Clan boy."

"We cannot make enemies of the Yan Dynasty, Little Empress," Light warned. "Little girl, I could not even hope to guess how powerful that Lu Feng is. He could kill Fiend Immortals, Practitioners more powerful than most peak Spirit Sages. The other four must also be powerful. Perhaps, even more so."

"I know," the empress said, not disturbed by the Spirit Sages words as he was an ancient being. "I did not have any inclinations. I was relieved Ancestor Lu Feng did not threaten me and allowed me to take the Mystic Stones."

"You can only have one. They are just used for bartering now," Light shrugged. "I will be heading to Steel Horn Temple. I will destroy the head of the snake and replace it with someone more suitable. Burn the bodies. Such trash are unworthy to be returned to their families. It would only stain and ruin the futures of the next generations of their families."

"Yes, Elder," Empress Rua said and left to carry the task.

"Trent. Kid, you must also train for the Pantheon of Devils. Remember, humanity might have some relations with magical beasts, but the demons and Hyperion will certainly try to kill anyone in their way. Also remember, humans are not without their greed and lust. Do not be tempted by the words of a beauty or let down your guard," Light said, the room silent as Trent bowed and left the throne room.