‘’Let me give my personal advice for all my junior brothers and sisters watching as your senior brother first—the event we are about to witness is neither a spar nor a practice duel. With many thanks to our dear Master Jin and the participants for their approvals, we managed to present you the chance to witness what our upcoming heroes for the human race are capable of.’’

‘’Do act as you wish in the limits of your role as the audience, but observe closely. Study their moves, their control, their aim, and how they execute each decision amidst the crisis. You are sure to benefit greatly if you can grasp even a tiny bit of their thinking.’’

‘’The duel shall be conducted on the recreated beach of the Northeastern shores. There are only three rules: Challenger forfeits the right to decide the terrain to the Challenged.The first to be incapable of fighting or yield will lose, and usage of forbidden drugs and any kind of supplementary pills are forbidden. Grade of their equipment has no limit, nor the techniques they use. Winner will be honored with a elementary title and the loser will pay for any treatment cost incurred as a result of fighting.’’

‘’Now, to introduce our duelists...’’

Zhang Cai watched Zhao Yan and Shu Ligui walk around the arena, picking up the loose sand or tasting the water stretched across the ponds as the announcer spoke. At the eastern side of the arena, there was a sea stretching all the way to the walls blocking the audience. Many palm trees claimed the vast expanse. It seemed as if the stage inside was larger than what seemed outside.

‘’Do you understand what they are doing?’’ Old Master Jin asked.

Zhang Cai hesitated. He saw Zhao Yan move a little bit of the sea water to a pond and raise both near each. He moved them and Zhang Cai saw seawater move a little more slowly. . ‘’Checking the composition?’’

Old Master Jin nodded. ‘’Why do you think they do that?’’

Zhang Cai quickly understood that the man wanted to teach him, or just guide his thoughts to reach a conclusion by himself.

‘’Seawater is definitely always salty. I think he tested that with his tongue, and he is comparing it to pond water to find out...its capabilities? Seawater seems slower, or heavier than the ponds around it.’’

‘’Indeed. Why do you think it is heavier?’’

Zhang Cai observed some more, but had no idea why.

‘’Make a blob of water.’’

Zhang Cai obliged and condensed a fistful of water from his Qi. ‘’Have you ever tasted it?’’

He had never attempted it. After all, he had a flask of endless water that provided fresh spring water to him almost all day. Zhang Cai saw Old Master Jin take over half the sphere, and he found that the man did it without any effort, and drank it. Zhang Cai did the same.

It gushed down his throat and Zhang Cai’s first thought was that the water was cold. It was sweet, with a taste much like the spring water, but so cold he wondered why it hadn’t freezed. When washing his body he had not felt it to be this chilly.

‘’Cold, three degrees above freezing point. Composed of spring water mixed with fertile soil, mineral deposit, and a plethora of ore remnants. This reflects your intuitive understanding of water—you must have grown up near the Southpole’s mountains.’’

Zhang Cai nodded. He also couldn’t wrap his head around how the man could understand so much about water with a taste.

‘’There is more than what meets the eye when it comes to studying the world and the elements. See, even this simple water carries traces of your hometown without you willing it. The components that make it up change depending on the location, season, or perhaps a day when the Sun shines too harshly. Its temperature and composition are all important things to consider as you move down the path of a cultivator. As an example, seawater is denser, and subsequently heavier, because it contains the rich land carried by rivers and minerals like salt. You, as a cultivator, can change such aspects through usage of your Qi.’’

‘’I am skipping over plenty of details in consideration of time, but I expect that you are bright and can grasp at what I mean, brat.’’

Zhang Cai nodded without an answer and kept observing the duo moving around while the announcer finished his aforementioned explanation. Zhao Yan shrunk the water blobs, stretched them, and at a point turned them into steam without making any fire. These greatly intrigued him, but when he saw Shu Ligui stomp on the sand he frowned. Though the talk about minerals and temperatures wasn’t exactly in his line of comprehension, Zhang Cai could see the obvious disadvantage of the terraformed arena.

The sand was loose, hot, and when weathered by water turned dense. If two of them were to clash with their elements to move the terrain, it would be up to who had the better control to move the wet sand. Being half-land half-water, Zhang Cai could see Zhao Yan win by just dragging Shu Ligui into the sea...or bring the sea with him.

He came to a realization that it was not just the strands of Qi could qualify someone as a genius in these elders’ eyes. They acted in a careful, step by step manner, and demonstrated a degree of control over their Qi Zhang Cai had no way to match. For a moment he felt an excitement, accompanied by dread, as he was still unaware where he stood among his generation. After all, Zhang Cai was still a teen growing up. Thirst for understanding their standing among their peers, then in the world itself was a desire almost all teens shared.

‘’Thank you, master Jin.’’ He gave another bow. ‘’Was the arena specified by Zhao Yan?’’

‘’Not exactly. It is just a cruel coincidence.’’ Old Master Jin shook his head. ‘’This particular beach is near his hometown—the boy was a diver fisherman when I found him. Being far from there for so long, he uses this place to conduct duels.’’

‘’I see.’’ Zhang Cai thought it too lucky but didn’t voice his opinion. ‘’Miss Li has almost all the odds stacked against him, then.’’

‘’That is yet to be decided. The boy has a fatal weakness.’’ said Old Master Jin with a smile, but seeing he did not intend to deliver the following for now Zhang Cai returned to listening.

‘’Third child of the Shu Noble Clan of South, 18 years old, Middle Rocksmote, Shu Ligui. She is well-known for her wisdom on land, ability to discern elements, and sword skill, and hence dubbed Lesser Saintess by the Flying Armaments Confederation’s Master Executor. Those of you practicing the blade should pay more attention to her skillset and usage of the environment.’’

‘’Eldest Disciple of Master Jin of Blue Lotus Sect, 23 years old, Peak Rocksmote, Zhao Yan. He is one of the most well-known of his generation, already able to step into Threshold. He is peerless when it comes to spear, ingenuity, and talent in Pill Concoction, and hence dubbed Lesser Five Saints by Lord Yuan of Slingerwhale. Do look out for how your senior combines the elements.’’

The announcer let the crowd settle for a few breaths until there was neither chatter nor movement among the disciples. A beat later he let out a deep breath and spoke. ‘’Please begin at your leisure.’’

Zhang Cai joined the silence of the crowd. Now there remained only two figures in the center of all attention.

Shu Ligui stood upright like the sword in her hands, a simple longsword with neither decoration nor carvings. It seemed to have an inherent sharpness forged on its edges. From her back rose the artificial wind of the sea, swinging her hair and flapping her clothes. Opposite to her, almost a hundred meters away stood Zhao Yan. His black spear grasped with both hands, legs stretched, ready to leap at the first movement in his field of vision. His feet seemed to sink into the sand with unusual weight.

Their gazes met, then the duo walked towards each other. One step became ten, their pace hastened, and the duo flew right at each other at the thirty meter mark.

Sand blew in circles under their feet and their bodies blurred. Shu Ligui appeared slightly above Zhao Yan, her sword withdrawn near her chest to thrust. Zhao Yan himself seemed unaffected as his spear drew an upwards arc at her.

With a mutual shout the weapons met, a loud metallic sound rang. The sound sent visible shockwaves, raising sand and shaking the trees. Three palm trees around them shattered under air pressure and flew away in pieces. Then twenty meters in the air, still falling, they somehow twisted their bodies and clashed their weapons.

Thrice the area around them exploded, spear brushing off the sword. Then both their feet landed and Shu Ligui shot forward. Her steps left no marks as she drifted on the loose sand like skating on ice. Left and right she moved, appearing as several shadows, and her sword slashed at the retreating Zhao Yan.

The boy swung his spear, each move sending swathes of sand flying around him as his spear clashed with the blade. Shu Ligui’s pursuit seemed relentless as she pushed him further and further, overpowering his attempts to use the backward momentum. There was a visible dip in Zhao Yan’s aura as he was forced to back away from the sea.

Zhang Cai noticed the sea bubble behind Shu Ligui. Foam appeared, steam rose, a whirlpool formed on the surface, and right as he turned to look back a horrendous roar echoed. The sea shot up into the sky, revolving like a tornado. Shu Ligui halted for a moment, listening to the sound while not allowing Zhao Yan to step closer to the sea. Zhang Cai felt nervous as he watched—how great was this fellow’s control to affect the sea almost two hundred meters away?

Shu Ligui sensed the Qi move, then when she heard the sound did not dare to hold back. Her figure disappeared from sight, a wave of rising sand replacing her place. Zhao Yan stomped on the ground right after and created waves of water around him. The water surged and covered a hundred meters distance.

A sharp whistle echoed in the air and Zhang Cai noticed three flying swords shoot down at Zhao Yan. Zhao Yan himself noticed those before him and swung his spear. To Zhang Cai’s surprise, the wet sand rose in front of Zhao Yan as a bulwark to shield his body.

Right as this earthen shield rose, the sand exploded behind him. Shu Ligui flashed amidst the revolving grains of sand, eyes cold, her sword gleaming gold under the harsh Sunlight, and thrust at the boy’s heart.

Zhao Yan’s figure shuddered, then made such an abrupt and forced turn that his knee seemed to twist back. Zhao Yan’s entire body crashed towards Shu Ligui, his spear a black blur in motion. The terrifying weight of his cultivation base crushed on top of where Shu Ligui stood.

As if the earth collapsed, a loud explosion rang across the arena and made the protective screen shake. From the flying sand and smoke Zhang Cai couldn’t see anything. Then he heard a metallic clang, followed by another, then a few dozen more. A strong gale rose from the center of the smoke to clear away the battlefield. Two shadows seemed to almost fly as they collided again and again, leaving deep craters and broken trees behind each clash.

Shu Ligui’s figure shot high up in the sky from the momentum and seven flying swords appeared in front of her. Her aura dipped. Some kind of Earth art enveloped the seven flying swords in deep brown color.

‘’Are they all sixth-grade?’’ a core disciple observed.

‘’Fifth-grade.’’ Yu Yin answered. ‘’Zhao Yan’s Onyx Python can break them with ease, but her intent doesn’t seem to be inflicting damage.’’

Zhang Cai watched as he listened. Zhao Yan had barely leaped back on sand when the seven swords shot down at him. Shu Ligui descended in their wake and eight swords whistled in the sky. The harmonious union brought chills down Zhang Cai’s spine—one of those alone could cut through his body in two.

As if sharing his fears, Zhao Yan thrust his spear at the sky. Yet, right as his feet landed on sand, Shu Ligui’s left hand clawed at his position.

In a moment the swords arrived and Zhao Yan found his feet neither touching nor sinking into sand. He glanced down and paled—the sand had flowed away, leaving a two meters deep crater without any safe landing place. He slipped further back.

‘’This is bad!’’ Zhang Cai said.

‘’He is fine.’’ Old Master Jin replied.

Zhao Yan let out a wild shout right after—this primal scream of fear seemed like it would tear apart his throat. Zhang Cai’s eyes widened at the sight.

*********

Shu Ligui followed the traces of her flying swords. She observed their weight and pushed more Qi into them through her connection.

In a few seconds, their weight multiplied by fourteen and it was still going up. Each sword weighed thirty kilograms by themselves, and now multiplied proved a great force. The falling momentum of such a strike could even slightly injure an Early-Threshold beast, given it did not have its protective Qi.

She did not let down her guard, however. Her hand gripping the blade was pale with blood, still numb from the constant clashes.

In a second she dove and her Qi gushed out like a flood upon her blade. Her body’s weight multiplied by ten, and the sword itself weighed twenty times more. Her fingers turned into claws and tugged at the air—the abundant Qi of earth seemed like a blanket as it was pulled over to her.

Zhao Yan slipped, and she slashed down.

For a single moment, she saw an intense gleam in Zhao Yan’s eyes. His pupils shook with intensity. Then his trembling lips pried open.

‘’AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!’’

The scream cut through her control over the Qi. Another force gathered all around her, dominating both wind and Qi into submission. Then a gale whipped behind Shu Ligui and forced her to dive quicker onto the man.

‘’No!’’

It happened right as she understood the purpose.

The seven swords, bolstered by the wind, lost their trajectory quicker. They split, whistled along the wind, and two buried themselves into Zhao Yan’s stomach. The weight hardly caused the boy to take a step back.

‘’Get over here!’’ His right hand let go of the spear and thrust at her neck like a claw.

Shu Ligui, unable to change her motion, only attempted to make her slash twist so that it would cut through his shoulder.

A breath passed between them, then Shu Ligui drew a fountain of blood. Her blade cut through three of Zhao Yan’s fingers, slashed a third of his shoulder clean. Right when the tip of her blade pricked a drop of blood from his neck, Zhao Yan’s left fist crushed her face.

She blinked, her vision went white. She blinked, and saw the Zhao Yan getting smaller in her sight. A loud ringing penetrated her psyche.

‘’What...what?’’

She tumbled and rolled on the ground. Her right eye saw scarlet and her jaw sent a constant pulse of pain coursing through her body. It took her a few seconds to stand up and look around. ‘’Where am I?’’

Her head turned around but all she saw was a blur. There seemed to be figures moving up and down around her that she couldn’t recognize. Then she saw a black shadow before her eyes.

Her consciousness woke up from the blow. The spear cut through her robes and left from her back. Zhao Yan was quick to fly away, leaving a fist-sized hole in her stomach. She reeled, fell to her knees, then looked up.

Zhao Yan flew above his spear towards the sea, completely ignoring her. Since he couldn’t overpower her on land and could not match her blade skills, he seemed to decide on a turtle approach. His hands clawed towards the sea and the water roared again. Two pillars shot up to the heavens with hot steam. The sky seemed to turn dark as clouds gathered.

‘’This guy!’’ Shu Ligui forced herself onto her feet. She took out another cloth from her spatial ring and stuffed it into the hole. It burnt. She grit her teeth, then took out several flying swords. Her already low Qi tugged at the runes, flowed into them, and the swords shot out with visible wind trailing them.

It took the swords three seconds to arrive at Zhao Yan, but alas he had already moved near the pillars of water. By now the sky was covered in deep and dark clouds, and within them traces of thunder could be seen.

Shu Ligui chased after his figure and controlled the swords. They circled Zhao Yan’s back and cut at his head.

Zhao Yan’s terrified pupils seemed to bounce in his eyes, identifying the route of each sword. His head bobbed down with a swing and his spear dove up and down, avoiding the swords by a thin hair each strike. He dove around the pillars of water, circled them, yet could not get rid of the swords aiming to cut him to death.

His figure shot into a water pillar and propelled alongside its force to the sky. He burst out, a fair distance from the swords climbing up, and shot towards the other pillar. The screaming blades pursued him but, right as they came upon him again, one of the pillars collapsed.

Zhao Yan grasped his spear under his feet and dove with a gale behind his back. The swords came down like scythes of the reaper. His hands did not stop moving even with the missing flesh—sparks flew in the sky with constant clangs of the metal, his figure swerving left and right at each parry of his spear. The buried swords in his stomach caused him to lose a large margin of his agility. Whenever he threw the swords away, another would cut his thigh or back or cheeks.

A few dozen bleeding cuts covered him as he fell into the sea. The swords followed but Shu Ligui instantly lost control of them. Then she felt them break, and her connection was gone.

‘’You coward!’’ She stood at the edge of the bloodied sea, watching the last pillar feed the clouds with a much needed source of rain. Constant movement of the hot air left the ground cold and made her wounds shiver. Soon, she would have no choice but to lose.

But what could she do?

She took out her heirloom and a splendid golden-brown bow from her spatial ring. She let the heirloom fly near her chest, blocking her vitals, and pulled the string of the bow. A neat whistle echoed in the sky, making the barrier tremble.

This bow was a titled first-grade weapon like Zhao Yan’s Onyx Python—titled weapons of the first grade had greater capabilities than others of the same tier. Her heirloom was a step above them: it was an Ancestral Treasure that could only be forged by the passing of time and nourished with the remnant aura of her ancestors.

She still hadn’t fully connected with the heirloom and did not have the required cultivation to fully control it. She would suffer a huge backlash if she were to use it—with her current wounds, it might even cause her cultivation to break and drop down a realm.

But this was not a place she wanted to lose.

She aimed the bow, Earthly Desire, to the bottom of the sea. The depth of the sea was around thirty and fifty meters, its width a kilometer across south and north, and its length around six hundred meters stretching towards the east. Considering Zhao Yan’s terrified mental state he would hide at the farthest place if he could. But he still had to feed the pillar, so at most the distance was two hundred meters diameter.

She stretched the bow’s string and the entire terrain flashed before her Qi sense. She tried to wrestle the control of the sand under the sea...and found nothing.

Her eyes flashed with visible shock. The sea had nothing under it. The entire sea stood on the formation—there was no sand nor earth, let alone an established seabed.

‘’Such lowly tactics—’’ Being the challenger, she had made no qualms about the obviously favored terrain. Yet, Blue Lotus Sect was this determined to not suffer any blow to their face?

She glared towards the third layer seats.

*********

Zhang Cai found his heart beating with worry as he watched. By now doubt formed within him regarding the outcome—he didn’t expect Zhao Yan to be that tenacious and cautious. He could sense the boy still moving under the Sea with his affinity, zig-zagging in case something shot into the body of water.

Then he looked at the trembling Shu Ligui and found her glaring towards them. Her head turned away right after but Zhang Cai read the rage quite clear. He didn’t think Zhao Yan’s tactic could infuriate her so much. She seemed more than patient enough before and her battle style showed that she could endure pain.

What would cause someone of her temperament to be incensed?

Zhang Cai heard a soft voice echo in his head. ‘’Come over to my side.’’

He recognized it and looked to his left. Elder Li did not bat an eye and looked at him without considering her position. Any other time, Zhang Cai would not mind her, who did not regard him as anything. But he could read the mood, and more so the body language of Elder Li.

Without a word, he walked over to her and stood behind her back. She spoke in his mind again.

‘’You have no need to answer. There is something wrong with Miss Shu.’’ She spoke into his mind.’’Or with the sea. Can you sense anything amiss with your affinity? Do not speak—blink your right eye if there is something wrong.’’

Zhang Cai obliged and concentrated on his Qi sense. His consciousness seemed to go between the sea and his body, and he sensed Zhao Yan notice his inspection. The boy paid no mind to him, but Zhang Cai felt shocked. This fellow had too good of a control over Qi.

A moment passed as he recollected himself, then forced his senses to go left and right, then down. When he saw the formation blinking with elemental, five-colored light Zhang Cai observed it for a few seconds. It seemed like some power kept bolstering the sea with more water.

Then he realized the most obvious problem—the water had no seabed. Though he found it natural for a moment, considering the affinities of the duelists this seemed to be an obvious choice. Zhang Cai could sense the formation’s capabilities to be able to support a seabed.

His consciousness warped back to his body and Zhang Cai winked with his right eye. He had an inkling now as to why Shu Ligui glared at the seats.

‘’Good. Did you give any blood to Jia? If you did, I will take it back for you. Blink again if you did.’’ Her voice sounded strained, but the offer caused Zhang Cai’s heart to miss a beat.

The offer implied too many things to consider but, knowing Elder Li, the most surprising implication was that she had the intention to help him. He subconsciously let out a ‘’Huh?’’ but the noise was drowned by a thunderclap.

A wind swept over the entire arena and Zhang Cai found himself taking a step back from the force. Whistling wind ravaged his ears and flapped his robes, and he saw some of the disciples flung into the sky. Sandclouds blotted the heavens, and another thunderclap sent many reeling in their seats.

Zhang Cai cast a look to the sea.

*********

Zhao Yan emerged from the storming sea and rose towards the clouds. His right arm seemed to limp as his spear remained on the left hand. The swords buried in his stomach were nowhere to be seen, replaced by bleeding gashes two fingers in length.

Shu Ligui instantly shot an energy arrow at him. Sand grains gathered behind the arrow as it shot out, revolving like a whirlwind. Waves churned, roared and blasted, and amidst all the chaotic sound rose to whip at the arrow. Zhao Yan himself hurried up under the cover of the huge waves.

Shu Ligui kept her volley up. Arrows rounded and pierced through the waves, failing to meet the constantly moving target. Their sharp whistles brought evident fear to Zhao Yan as he moved faster, abandoning the other pillar of water.

Instead of flowing down, it transformed into a tsunami and came crashing down on Shu Ligui. Its length at least a hundred meters, the wave swallowed everything she shot at it.

Left with no choice, she pulled out her heirloom.

The beautiful blade left its scabbard. A red gleam came over it, then turned milk-white like the moon. It devoured Shu Ligui’s remaining four hundred strands of Qi and exploded like a celestial body into a show of lights.

Blood poured out of her stomach. She took a step forward, raised the blade, and cut down.

The world froze for a breath, then came back to life.

The silver light expanded into a thin line reaching the heavens and cut through the tsunami. The wave split, then exploded into steam from the heat of the star. Shu Ligui collapsed on her knees again, letting out a blood curdling scream.

Blood oozed out of her mouth and stomach. Her legs could hardly move, and her arms had no strength in them. Yet, even while screaming from the pain with no other outlet to resist, she looked up to see Zhao Yan shrouded in thunder. He had a maniacal, terrified expression, and seemed no longer in control of his actions.

Bolts of lightning materialized around him, traveling down his spear in terrifying arcs of purple, then clashed with the remnant slash of her heirloom. Two forces collided— the white line trembled, but kept going. Three more bolts of thunder shot out, evaporating dozens of meters of water to thin air. Storming sea caved where the strikes met, then both were gone.

It took two seconds for it all to be decided. Sea filled up the empty space, rising into the air again, and Shu Ligui saw Zhao Yan still reserving two thousand strands of Qi, if not more.

She had none left.

Remaining on her knees, holding her heirloom to her bosom, she could only grit her teeth. This was the unsurmountable difference between cultivation bases. Even if she had more skill with her blade and her Qi, the opponent could brute force with their reserve. They could just rain down ten of her best strikes and wrestle the control of her Qi with pure strength.

She felt listless, then heard the thunderclaps arrive. Each boom seemed to deal another blow to her mind. When the last one echoed away, so did her fighting spirit. She wiped the blood and tears on her face, raised her head, then spoke with a loud voice.

‘’I lost.’’

She saw a terrified Zhao Yan, then a streak of purple coming down before her voice left her lips.

*********

‘’I lost.’’

Right as the words echoed across the arena, Zhao Yan struck again.

‘’You!’’

Zhang Cai saw Elder Li disappear. He saw her blur and shoot out her silver fan to block the falling thunder.

His heart clenched, Zhang Cai watched the silver fan travel a few hundred meters in a second. Yet, before it reached in front of Shu Ligui, the purple bolt crashed on the ground. A sphere of silver expanded within the growing explosion, clashing against the booming Thunder Qi, yet failed to stand strong for even a second.

Fifty meters around the landing evaporated, melting sand into glass and lighting trees into flames. The silver fan of Elder Li cut through the shockwave and stood in front of a mound of ash. Elder Jia, Xiu, and Li appeared at Shu Ligui’s position at the same time. Zhang Cai watched them with his eyes wide open. Within his stomach an impending vomit brewed, but he held it in and cast his glare to the sky.

The audience woke up with him, screaming and shouting at Zhao Yan. The man himself seemed to be in a trance, holding himself up with the wind upon air. Zhang Cai’s anger did not persist after a few seconds—he saw the extremely terrified Zhao Yan cry floods of tears. The boy’s pupils debilitated as he floated down.

‘’I didn’t want to do that, I didn’t mean it—’’

Old Master Jin materialized before Zhao Yan, then slapped him.

The slap rang in the audience’s ears. ‘’You fool!’’

Zhao Yan turned into a mute at the strike.

On the ground, Elder Li and others unburied Shu Ligui from the ash and glass mound. Her figure was almost unrecognizable; her head and chest had been protected by the heirloom, remaining clean of the thunder’s effects, but both her arms and legs were charred black. The pouring blood from her stomach evaporated into a scarlet mist and her eyeballs seemed like they would pop out any second. Arcs of thunder moved across her body. The smell of ash and flame drifted over to Zhang Cai.

‘’Are you blind!? Are you deaf!?’’ Elder Li shouted. Elder Jia and Xiu stood a few steps away from her, faces down, features unreadable. Zhang Cai felt indignant at their posture, almost joining the crowd with his insults as well. ‘’You had one job! One job only!’’

As she spoke so, Elder Li poured her Qi into Shu Ligui’s body. Her face turned sullen right after and took out a few gleaming pills with incredible fragrance. Zhang Cai identified them as at least third or second-grade pills. She pushed them down Shu Ligui’s lips and fed her Qi, dissolving the medicine.

Old Master Jin appeared before the three elders without sound nor shadow, Zhao Yan trailing behind. His hand moved upon the girl and touched the emptiness inside her belly.

‘’Master Jin.’’ Her ferocious attitude calming down, Elder Li let the man do his inspection. It took five seconds for Old Master Jin to shake his head.

‘’Call out the Goliath!’’ He shouted. ‘’Take her to the Glassrock Temple, Elder Li.’’

Here Old Master Jin cast a look to where he stood and a guest stood up. The man’s aura expanded, causing half the arena to tremble at the sudden outburst.

Middle-Threshold realm cultivator shot into the sky with a sonic boom, leaving disciples to suffer the harsh ringing in their ears. Zhang Cai was tempted to leap down the arena to take a look but his capability to do nothing kept him back where he stood. He only grasped the railings and kept his gaze, listening to their unhidden diagnosis.

‘’Half of her organs are gone. The nerves suffered too much damage and most of the skin is dead. Her dantian is intact, thank the heavens above, so she can cling onto life for a few days. But rejuvenation pills will do nothing to improve her situation.’’

‘’What?’’ Blood shrank from Elder Li’s face. ‘’It will take two weeks even with a Goliath to reach there!’’

‘’She can survive.’’ Old Master Jin said. His hands showed a slight tremble as he spoke.

Zhang Cai saw Elder Li’s face drop, blacken, then rise again. She seemed to go through a myriad changes in emotions, then nodded.

‘’What do we need to do?’’

‘’Burn her cultivation.’’

Zhang Cai felt his heart being squeezed. What did burning cultivation mean? It meant destroying your realm to obtain vitality and strength for a limited time. Anyone could do it—it required neither technique nor proficiency. From the moment someone began cultivating, how to destroy it would be engraved into their instincts. Yet there was not one creature in the world who would attempt it.

Once you began burning your cultivation, there was no stopping it. Your dantian and meridians would be there, but there would be no foundation left. It was starting all over again. Perhaps one could climb faster than before, but who would do so? What if their affinity changed with it? After all, it depended both on the cultivation method and the personality.

And now that he became aware of it after experiencing it himself, Zhang Cai knew the blow of such an event could cause Shu Ligui to succumb to the inner demons. How could she survive, then?

‘’There is no other choice.’’ Old Master Jin repeated after the bout of silence. Elder Li seemed to think, neither replying nor moving, but Zhang Cai recognized it as unwillingness on her part. Indeed, who would face the girl’s despair and rage if she survived?

Zhang Cai had the thought to move down, run and tell them that he would do it. That he could carry the burden and guilt. But whenever he attempted to move, he thought of his argument with her, and how he met with Shu Ligui. Who were they? She had been an unwanted companion, and for most things he thought they didn’t share the same views. They were no siblings, nor friends.

‘’But she helped me.’’

Perhaps kindness was such an intrusive, unreasonable thing. Once he thought of it, Zhang Cai had no other reason to hold himself back. It was the same with Li Bo—even though their views differed, even though he committed sins that Zhang Cai would never forgive, once he received that bit of kindness he could never turn his back to them.

It was unreasonable, unrealistic, and almost in line with what his master always advocated.

Zhang Cai leaped down the railings and ran across the arena, drawing many stares as the silent audience watched. He brought a cloud of sand with him as he took a deep breath, then stopped before the few elders. He came before Elder Li and Old Master Jin, giving a quick bow to both.

Before he even opened his mouth, Old Master Jin shook his head.

‘’You can’t do it.’’

Zhang Cai froze in his place. He glimpsed at Old Master Jin, then to Elder Li, and his disappointment and doubt made itself evident. ‘’Why?’’

‘’This is not the same as destroying your own cultivation. Her injuries are grave. Your control of Qi isn’t up to the task, nor is your cultivation base.’’ He replied. The man patted his shoulder and sighed.

Zhang Cai felt nothing from the consolation. His heart turned bitter, and once he saw Shu Ligui from closer sweat formed on his forehead. There was another moment of silence, where Zhao Yan let out a whimper.

‘’I’ll do it.’’

‘’You...’’ Elder Li glared at him, but couldn’t point at him with Shu Ligui in her arms.

Old Master Jin cast a look at his disciple, face sour, and slapped him again. ‘’Do not open your mouth.’’

‘’Master—’’

‘’I advised you for years! I told you to forget! I told you your fear would bring a disaster sooner or later!’’

Old Master Jin shouted at the top of his lungs and his voice raised both sand and waves up to the sky. Zhang Cai felt his footing shake, but a wave of Qi held him in his place.

He saw Elder Li pull him closer to herself, then speak.

‘’Old Master Jin, Shu and Li families will demand an explanation.’’

He turned around and let out a deep sigh.

‘’They are welcome anytime...’’ Then his hand caught Zhao Yan from the nape and slammed his palm onto his stomach. A burst of light exploded, sending the boy screaming. A rune flashed out and landed on the air near Elder Li.

‘’Take him with you to Glassrock Temple. Do order whatever you seem fit—I have sealed his cultivation base, and the rune will be the only thing that can unseal it.’’ Except some circumstances unsaid, of course. Still, Zhang Cai gulped at the ruthlessness of Old Master Jin against his disciple.

Then he thought of his own master and found the latter more merciful in that regard.

‘’Once Young Miss Shu wakes up, she is free to decide his fate.’’

Zhao Yan turned mute again, no longer able to make any noise. He stood kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach.

After speaking, Old master Jin slapped in the air and Elder Xiu and Elder Jia flew back, vomiting blood. The duo did not rise, instead got onto their knees and remained there.

‘’I hope this will appease your anger.’’

Elder Li simply nodded and put her palm over Shu Ligui’s stomach. Zhang Cai sensed a whirlpool of Qi gather, then sink into her charred flesh. A small pop came and Qi started leaking out of Shu Ligui’s pores.

This Qi was not the same as the circulated or stored Qi, but what one would call Life Essence or Primary Qi that made up the cultivation base. Former held up the lifespan of the cultivator, while the latter held up the strength. At old age, both would slowly degrade until the end of the lifespan and at that point the cultivator could sacrifice either one to support the other.

Average lifespan of a Rocksmote already surpassed a hundred years old, and Threshold was beyond three centuries. It was a good thing Shu Ligui was young, if not the depleted Primal Qi would cause her to age and turn into dust.

As he watched the process, a huge shadow washed over the silent arena. The flapping flags of Blue Lotus started shaking. A tremor went through the mountain, then a storm picked up all around. Zhang Cai raised his head and saw a gigantic construct, shaped like a long boat and composed of silver-ish metal under its bottom. There were four square openings under it where a large cylinder peeked out, pumped Qi in and out.

Most of the guests shot out of their seats to fly over the ship, some of them carrying family members from the audience. Elder Li motioned someone as well and two Pinnacle-Rocksmote Li family elders gathered the non participant children.

Elder Li floated Zhang Cai and Zhao Yan with her and looked up. Zhang Cai couldn’t see her expression, but the woman seemed to age a few more years.

‘’Let us go.’’