(Author: Yo! Liao's friends found out one of Liao's secrets he kept hidden. Liao also remembered about the monster corpses he stored in his space ring (shorter and easier to understand. Inter-spacial also auto-corrects to inter-special and is a pain to correct). By the way, baleful means threatening or menacing. Liao also has to solve his problem with destruction qi. We also learn more about his family which will shock Liao. Enjoy!)

Chapter 9: Baleful Blade Aura

Liao did call his friends into the clearing, but hesitated to tell them another truth he kept hidden. He shook his head as he decided to trust them and tell them. It was going to get out anyway as they would suspect how he got his hands on Hunluan as it hatched. Liao waited as all the Knight Destroyers, their mythic beasts, and Marcus Locket gathered in the clearing.

He decided to tell them a partial truth as he wanted to keep the body of the Spirit Emperor stage imoogi and the mythic purple bear he worked so hard to kill for himself. He didn't care about the other bodies. He told Hunluan his intentions and it agreed, asking for the body of the mythic purple bear to eat in exchange. Liao suspected it was a small revenge on Hunluan's part and agreed.

He knew what is was like to lose a parent, but his real parents died by an accident. Hunluan's anger and pain dwarfed his. After he soul bound the baby imoogi, he accepted that mythic beasts were not mindless and thought of their existence as closer to a human's existence than a regular beast.

"I suspect you are all wondering what else I kept hidden and the truth about Hunluan and I," Liao started, seeing them nod in agreement as he talked. "The truth is that I found the imoogi egg containing Hunluan after I entered a dark cave a few hundred yards from where I met Yueying."

Cao whistled and said, "You sure are lucky brother. Too bad you were unconscious during your mouth-to-mouth first meeting with one of the ten beauties. I don't know whether to say you lucked out or missed a great opportunity."

"You might want to take back those words," Richard whispered and the duo looked at Sakura. She didn't saw anything as her eyes narrowed as their gazes met, but Cao understood the underlying threat of her gaze.

"Thanks man," Cao whispered back and Marcus chuckled as he watched the youthful scene.

"I didn't see what created Hunluan's egg," Liao continued, taking the attention away from the grateful Cao. "I thought the egg was a stone at first as it lay next to the wall, but then I saw hundreds of Spirit Knight and Spirit Sage level mythic monsters fighting over it.

"I was scared as I sensed so many hostile qi," Hunluan interrupted, helping Liao's cover story deepen. "The Spirit Sage beasts tore through the Spirit Knight beasts and than began fighting amongst themselves. I hadn't seen my mother in centuries so I long thought her dead. The problem was that my egg had not been quickened by qi so I could only wait for my death."

"Imoogi eggs takes centuries or even a millennium to hatch," Marcus nodded. "But there's more isn't there? How'd you live?"

"The Spirit Sage beasts were outnumbered and eventually fatigue and numerous injuries took their hold and they were overwhelmed," Liao said. "I have seen powerful soldiers fall after dozens of arrows pierced their bodies. Even the powerful cannot overcome exhaustion and need rest after constant fighting. Taking care of the Spirit Knight level beasts was easy and I broke to the fourth stage by eating their corpse."

"It was the Great Dragon God's qi that broke me to the second stage and sealing your soul that broke me to the fourth stage," Liao said mentally to Hunluan.

"I know master," it replied. "I have your memories. "If you had just one type of qi affinity, you would have broken to stage five Spirit Knight. Are you sure you want to share the meat with the others? You don't need to be so charitable. I know you're young, but this is too generous."

"You really make me forget you're barely over a month old," Liao sighed back as the others thought about what he said. "Did you really wait for centuries?"

"Nah," the imoogi said. "I was hatched a few days before you arrived. I was able to hatch quickly because my mother was at Spirit Emperor stage and injected me with her qi everyday, fearful for an attack. Unfortunately, she was right. Once again, thank you for avenging my mother. The qi in her meat can't be absorbed by you until you are at least third stage Spirit Lord. Don't worry though, the space ring you have is unique compared to the others and time stands still for whatever is inside. That is why you can still eat the meat. This is another reason why you shouldn't give the meat to them: they will know about the special characteristic of your space ring."

"Cao and the others are the first friends I made who are close to my age," Liao sighed. "All this time I was in the military, I fought alongside adults. I kind of like not having to grow up so fast, mentally, as I stay here. Don't worry. I'll keep the imoogi meat until I can eat it and absorb the qi."

"You ate the meat raw," Cao cried, as there was no way Liao had time to cook so much meat before he met up with them the next day.

"Not really," Liao said. "Think about it. I have lightning qi. My only problem was if I burnt the meat to a crisp. Anyway, I have bodies of the spirit beasts I killed and found. The reason I did not tell you before is because the bodies are still fresh."

Marcus cried in alarm and couldn't believe what he just heard. After a moment, realization dawned on the companions and they too were shocked. Having a space ring that stopped time inside its own dimension was extremely rare and valuable.

"Your dad really is amazing," Cao sighed in awe as he stared at the black space ring with the jade tiger engraving on Liao's right hand and than stared at the black Twin Star ring with the amber engraving of a two stars in a flame on Liao's left hand.

"You are truly blessed," Richard agreed. "Cao said your father is a general in the Wei imperial army. What is his name exactly?"

"His father is General Hui Lu, patriarch of the Lu family and great general of the Wei dynasty," Ling answered. "His father is a Spirit Emperor while his twin elder brothers, Lei and Liang Lu, are at Spirit King stage. They are older than him by five years and are generals who fight in the frontlines of their father's forces."

"WHAT!" everyone shouted.

"Did you know this?" Cao asked and Liao shook his head.

"General Hui Lu," Marcus brooded aloud. "If it is him, no wonder he and the Lu family was conscripted into the army by the Wei emperor. Having someone so powerful in the empire, conscription is the only way to control such a powerful family. Refusal of the royal edict meant treason and the emperor could justify ordering a bounty on the Lu family."

"I knew your dad was great, but I didn't know he was a beast," Cao said, his awe transforming to hero-worship. "You gotta let me visit the Lu Manor one day."

"I haven't seen my mother and two brothers since I joined the army," Liao said. This was a partial truth as only the real Liao Lu had met them and he only met them through the corpses memories. Even the real son did not know how great his father and brothers were. He didn't even know that Lei and Liang were twins as they looked different. His memories of the elder brother, Lei Lu, were that of a slightly muscular teenager with sharp eyes and incredible intellect. Liang Lu was similar to Cao, but was more reserved and preferred twin axes to a halberd.

"Anyway, with Cao and master, we don't need to eat them raw," Liao laughed.

"I suggest eating the meat of the Spirit Knight beasts first," Marcus suggested. "Martial experts can only absorb qi from monster meat at their tier of qi cultivation and one tier higher to a certain extent."

"Which is why you need to be at third stage Spirit Lord to eat my mother," Hunluan reminded.

"Feed the Spirit Sage meat to your mythic monsters as they can absorb qi up to two tiers above and below their qi cultivation," Marcus continued. "I'll cook Cao. You need to eat more first. You said there were hundreds of bodies right Liao? You will all spend the rest of the week eating monster meat three meals a day as well as anytime you are hungry or after the qi from the meat is absorbed. We will show those pompous Spirit Sage parties how much of a monster you five are! How dare they mock you. Mocking you is the same as mocking me! I won't allow you to get anything but first place in the tournament.!"

The five nodded, touched by the pride and faith their master had for them. The Knight Destroyers were shocked as they saw all kinds of mythic beast bodies fill the clearing and knew there were more. Liao smirked a little as Bartholomew saw the corpse of a Spirit Sage lion turtle and almost laughed from its surprise. The fates really were impartial. He got a scar and the lion turtle saw one of its own dead.

Liao got his portion of the cooked meat and left the clearing to meditate and absorb the qi. He took out Meteor Fang and the body of the mythic purple bear. Hunluan slithered restlessly as it watched Liao cut the bear to pieces. Liao didn't feel sick as Hunluan ate the bear raw, having seen blood on the battlefield countless times.

As the others slowly broke their way to first stage Spirit Sage, Liao was still at the fourth stage. His realm of qi seemed to have a boundless ocean as the qi he absorbed would enter the arctic ocean and undergo no change. Only the two-headed dragon seemed to change, growing larger and larger.

"It must be the destruction qi," Liao muttered in disappointment. "I have more than enough qi to dwarf a Spirit Sage and contain enough qi to rival a first stage Spirit Lord. I just don't know how to use it. It's too bad I didn't see Hunluan's mother use destruction qi in its fight."

Liao was only able to cultivate fire qi as he saw the giant imoogi breathe rivers of fire at the mythic monsters and the mythic purple bear. Using his experience, he created a fire qi technique he called Serpent's Breath. The technique required Liao to build up fire qi in his throat and let it flow at a steady rate in front of him, creating a smaller version of the imoogi's own river of fire. Hunluan naturally breathed fire and he also learned the qi by studying Hunluan as well. He did see Hunluan use destruction qi on its fangs to destroy the tough meat and absorb the qi into its body, but he was not an imoogi.

Lately, he had been practicing the Sundered Heavens Force with Meteor Fang before meditating. He had reached yet to reach the first stage of the ancient blade style. He had tried practicing the technique with lightning and ice qi and nothing happened. He even tried fire qi, but had the same result.

"Could it be that much of a coincidence?" Liao said, shocked. "Could it be possible that the blade style uses destruction type qi? After all, to sunder means to disassemble and destroy."

Liao laughed incredulously as he felt that it really must be true. He really had to thank Hunluan's mother. Not only did it inspire him to create a fire qi technique, it also gave him Hunluan in a way. Sealing Hunluan's soul gave him the necessary qi to practice the profound blade style.

He closed his eyes and meditated with Meteor Fang on his lap. Slowly, dark violet qi spread from his dantion to the meridian channels and into the blade. Liao's eyes flashed opened as he gripped the blade tightly and stood up.

Liao closed his eyes and he recited the words on the hexagon rock while copying the images that were below the words, "The Sundered Heaven Force does not use fluid, complex motions like sword styles. The blade is a weapon of death, not a weapon of beauty. The blade is heavy and only has one curved edge to slash the enemies. Simple, but powerful. Fast, yet slow. This is the Sundered Heaven Force."

"The first stage is the simplest, yet is one of the hardest," Liao continued. "The Sundered Heaven Force requires a powerful qi that is both rare and chaotic. The blade is not a weapon of speed but a weapon of power. The first stage collects and refines the qi into the blade, creating a baleful aura. This is the first stage of the Sundered Heaven Force. Against your blows, your enemy cannot block and must flee. Baleful blade aura exists to strike fear into the enemy as your slow swing becomes fast."

Liao laughed as he opened his eyes and saw Meteor Fang emit the baleful blade aura. Hunluan felt fear as it stared at the aura and was glad it was not Liao's enemy. It watched for a moment before consuming more monster meat, using both fire and destruction qi with its jaws to make the meat smaller.

As the week of training came to a close, each of Liao's friends had reached first stage Spirit Sage. Cao and Richard even broke the bottleneck and became second stage Spirit Sage. Considering that most first years reach around the third or fourth stage at the end of the year, the progress of his friends could be considered monstrous. Liao had broken the bottleneck at last and had reached fifth stage Spirit Knight. He was not worried as he had more qi at his disposal than any Spirit Sage martial expert. He had also finally reached the first stage of the Sundered Heaven Force.

His realm of qi really changed as his proficiency of destruction qi rose due to the Sundered Heaven Force. His two-headed jade dragon inside his realm of qi started to breathe white fire and white lightning as his arctic ocean grew once more. The biggest difference was that the two-headed dragon also had baleful aura which covered the dragon, trembling Liao as he watched it continue flying in a circle above the ocean.

"It's no longer a gecko," a powerful and ancient voice said mentally, disturbing Liao and Hunluan. They were connected by their souls so Hunluan also heard the Great Dragon God's voice. "You are becoming more worthy of being my entertainment boy. First you seal an imoogi and now you learn how to create blade aura. Not that I feel fear, but your blade style is quite profound. I would have liked to eat the immortals who created the hexagon that contained the style. Their qi would have been delicious."

"It is an honor to talk to talk to Your Eminence," Hunluan hissed respectively as it slithered on Liao's neck. Constant feeding had made its maximum length at four feet, but it liked being a foot long and resting around Liao's neck. Hunluan admired the jade glow from Liao's medallion as the Great Dragon God continued speaking mentally.

"During the tournament, there will be too many eyes watching. Do not use your three hidden daggers," the dragon god warned. "In the tournament there is someone with the surname Xu. I don't mean your mortal friend, Cao Xu. This Xu person seems to be related to the dragon slayers I have been searching for. During the tournament, coax the Xu's party into declaring a fight to the death. Kill the son of Xu with your blade."

"With Meteor Fang?" Liao asked, curious.

"No, I am changing the name of that blade to Violet Bone Claw," the Great Dragon God declared. "You cover the blade with baleful blade aura and the blade also has nine spirit bone rings across the back of the blade. I know not how your father crafted the bone rings or where they came from but spirit beast bones are special. As you draw blood with Violet Bone Claw, the spirit bone rings will absorb the blood through the baleful aura. Once it absorbs enough blood, your blade should grant you a new ability. I only know the first ability as you practiced using the baleful blade aura and sliced monster meat into pieces for the imoogi hatchling. Once I activate it, you should be able to use the ability as you fight with the blade wrapped in baleful blade aura. It is short range teleportation with a range of twenty feet. Not much but it might save your life. Only use this ability if your life is in danger. You are forbidden to use it in the tournament. There are many eyes watching and sons of daughters of Xu might learn of your ability and will seek revenge after you kill one of their own."

Liao's eyes glistened in joy as he felt Violet Bone Claw tremble violently as the light of the jade medallion focused on the weapon. Some of the baleful blade aura on the weapon went into the spirit bone ring furthest from the point of the blade. Liao's vision blurred as a dark violet light flashed from the spirit bone ring.

"It is done," the dragon god said. "Your dragon tattoo has transformed into a skeleton of an imoogi and I have lengthened the tattoo from across your left shoulder all the way to your wrist. You now have the ability to teleport and your three daggers has become five. This is my reward for what you have done so far. Kill the son of Xu. Kill him by beheading. You have done it before so I know you can do it. I will be watching mortal. Do not fail me."

The light from the jade medallion disappeared and Liao collapsed to his knees. Liao's efforts did not go unnoticed by the dragon god. He could not fight at his best as the dragon god forbid the use of his daggers and teleportation ability. He had hoped that he would break to the fifth stage, but he knew couldn't be that lucky.

"Looks like Cao is not a member of the Xu family the dragon god wanted to kill," Hunluan said, breaking the silence.

"I had forgotten his last name was Xu," Liao laughed. "I don't know if I can kill that son of the Xu family though. He isn't a soldier rebelling against the empire and a traitor. He did not break imperial law so there is no justification to killing him."

"Emperors might rule vast lands, but the Great Dragon God could probably destroy the whole planet," Hunluan reasoned. "If a dragon god ordered his execution by beheading, it would be wise to play the role of the Xu's executioner."

Liao nodded silently and waited for Hunluan to slither and rest around his neck. The tournament was tomorrow and his friends would be waiting for him at the clearing to provide the monster meat for dinner. He wasn't an ordinary ten year old child. He was a martial expert aiming to be an immortal and a seasoned veteran on the battlefield.

He had a party to lead to victory. He had to win the first match first and wait for the fated battle when it came. Marcus had registered their qi affinities and qi cultivation stage early in the morning. He remembered seeing the last name Xu in that Bull's party. Guan Xu was a third stage Spirit Sage and he was shocked that Bull had also reached the third stage over the past week. His party was not the only one using an unorthodox method to cultivate qi faster.

If both their teams made it to the finals, he didn't have to do anything to persuade Bull into declaring a death match. Bull had already offended all the females in the academy for his indecent remark at Sakura and Ling. The crowd would be demanding a death match and the staff of the academy wouldn't be able to refuse. He just hoped he was strong enough defeat Guan Xu.

"Let's just take it one step at a time," Liao muttered and joined his friends.

Chapter 8: Jealousy and Envy MAIN PAGE Chapter 10: Unexpected Contestants