Arriving at home, Lu Chang quickly stored away the Wind-Chasing Steps scroll, then went to find his father. He’d promised to help Lu Chang get started on cultivation when the time came. After tearing the man from his dusty scrolls and tomes, he went outside to wait for his father. A few minutes later, his father came out with two scrolls tucked under his arm.
“Alright, son. It’s that time already. The years fly by. Anyway, you’ve awakened your martial spirit now, and probably a better one than your dear old dad. You’re ready to start cultivating, and step into the meridian opening stage officially.”
Listening intently to his father, Lu Chang decided not to mention he’d technically already done that earlier when he’d had his enlightenment.
“You already know the basics of meridian opening. By some method, you use your spiritual energy to dig out the twelve blocked meridians in your body. The first step, though, is to learn a cultivation technique. These are the foundation of us martial cultivators. A good cultivation technique will enable you to clear meridians quicker, and increase the spiritual energy available to you at higher realms. Most cultivation techniques will also add an aspect to your spiritual energy to become more in line with its guiding principles. For example, my Earth Vein Incantation made my earth spiritual energy flow a bit easier than normal earth energy would, akin to real earth veins. I’m sure there are even more benefits to high level cultivation techniques that I’m not privy to.
“A cultivation technique is, at its simplest, a method of cycling and controlling your internal spiritual energy, along with an ability to gather spiritual energy from the world faster than you would naturally. Basic level cultivation techniques are barely any different than just cycling your energy without a technique; they are easy to use, though, and have no demands of your talent. The higher level techniques have difficult cycling patterns and even require insight into different heavenly concepts in order to practice. Understand?”
Lu Chang nodded.
“Yes. Cultivation techniques enable you to gather energy from the world quicker and control your own energy more deftly. Basically they are what allow you to cultivate at all.”
His father nodded, a proud smile on his face.
“Exactly.”
At this moment he spread out the two scrolls he’d brought on the ground.
“Now, the empire, in its graciousness, gives out very basic cultivation techniques for all the most common affinities for free. Those are trash, though. Not worth the paper they’re written on. After you told me your affinity last night, though, I traded in some favors today to get my hands on these two techniques. They’re both wind affinity cultivation techniques. One is superior grade mortal rank, and the other is actually medial grade profound rank. Look through those and see which one fits you best. I trust your judgement. It’s too bad you aren’t earth aligned like I am or I could just share my cultivation technique with you.”
Lu Chang looked up at his father, touched. He may have been a new martial artist, but he knew how much these techniques were worth. Whatever favors his father had traded must have been of immense value.
“Thanks, dad.”
“Bah, it was really no big deal. What’s the use of a father if he can’t even do this much?”
He said that, but still puffed out his chest in pride. Lu Chang smiled and looked down at the two scrolls. He started with the one his father pointed out as profound ranked. The “Gentle Zephyr Sutra” was quite complex at first glance, though he could tell it had limitless potential.
The core concept of the technique was to emulate the zephyr, flowing with the gentle wind. The spiritual energy garnered with this method would calm the normally erratic wind energy, allowing it to glide gently through the cultivator’s meridians. The advantages of that would be immediately apparent when opening meridians, the gentle energy much less likely to cause internal injuries.
Lu Chang promptly memorized the cycling patterns and mnemonics and tried it out. Entering the peaceful state required to begin the technique proved challenging for him, though. His body and energy seemed to resist the idea itself.
Eventually, he did manage it after a couple hours and began practicing the technique. Before long, though, Lu Chang knew the technique was not for him. When he circulated his energy through the required patterns, it nearly went berserk, crashing through his meridians like violent winds.
Lu Chang stopped the technique immediately with a rueful look on his face. There was no way he could practice this technique. He could perhaps forcefully get used to it, but the effects of the technique would be lowered that way. Such a shame that the profound ranked technique was unsuitable for him. He set aside the Gentle Zephyr Sutra with a sigh and took a look at the other scroll.
The title of the other technique caught his eye immediately. “Piercing Gale Incantation” sounded a lot more like his martial spirit and energy than the other had. Being a lower rank technique, the Piercing Gale Incantation was not as complicated as the Gentle Zephyr Sutra, and offered less advantages.
The few advantages it did possess were useful, though. The forceful aspect it added to spiritual energy would help with opening meridians quicker, though with a higher chance of injury, and in battle would increase the penetrating power of his techniques.
Unlike the Gentle Zephyr Sutra, it required no insights into the meaning of the technique, merely a circulation pattern and mnemonic. Lu Chang memorized them easily and started to practice the technique. This time the circulation of his energy was smoother, though the forceful aspect of the technique made guiding his energy much more difficult, like holding the leash of a dog determined to run.
As he finished a full cycle of the technique, he felt a resonance between his spiritual energy and the martial spirit in his dantian. Lu Chang was delighted; the technique seemed perfectly suited to him. He felt a fullness in him as his meridians were saturated with spiritual energy. He opened his eyes with a smile and sprung up in excitement. His father opened his eyes from where he sat in meditation and cocked a brow at Lu Chang with a knowing smile.
“I suppose the technique fits you, then?”
Lu Chang bowed to his father in gratitude.
“It is perfect for me, thank you!”
His father stood up and nodded.
“It does seem much better than the other one. I thought you were going to throw up when you tried that one.”
Lu Chang grimaced at the thought.
“You aren’t far off. I don’t think my martial spirit is suited to gentleness.”
“You may be right, but don’t forget that there is always a seed of yin in yang. Nothing is in isolation and everything is connected. Perhaps your martial spirit truly is more suited to a forceful nature, but there can be gentleness in violence.”
Lu Chang nodded at his father’s advice as he contemplated.
“That is a bridge that can be crossed when it comes, though. The first two realms of cultivation require little in the way of insight into concepts like that. Just a thought to ruminate on in your downtime.”
His father was right. Lu Chang could slowly discover these things for himself in the future. Right now he should focus on practicing the Piercing Gale Incantation and opening his meridians.
“You have everything you need now to start cultivating. Your Piercing Gale Incantation should include instructions on how to use it to force open your meridians. My last piece of advice is to not rush it. Some internal injuries are basically guaranteed on opening meridians, and you should wait for them to heal entirely before opening another, lest you leave hidden injuries that could hurt you in the future. I’ve got to get back to work now, but good luck, son. I’m proud of you.”
His father went back inside, leaving Lu Chang in the garden with an excited expression. He sat down to meditate, feeling out his meridians. The one he’d opened in his enlightenment earlier was perfectly opened, leaving no internal injuries, so he could try to open the second one now.
The Piercing Gale Incantation’s method for opening meridians was very simple. It described shaping the spiritual energy into a drill-like shape and penetrating the blockage in the meridian that way. Simple, but effective. Unfortunately, it was very likely to incur injuries as well.
Lu Chang practiced forming his energy into a drill a few times before feeling comfortable with it. He breathed in a deep breath in preparation to calm his nerves. He felt out the next meridian to open and stabbed the spiritual drill into it.
Immediately, the sharp pain nearly broke his concentration, but he pushed through, feeding more spiritual energy into the drill. It was a quick, brutal process, and after only a few moments he felt the last vestiges of impurities fade away, broken apart by the wind energy.
He sighed in relief, then spat up a mouthful of blood as the inevitable injuries showed themselves. To his inner eye the newly open meridian was a mess, scratched up and frail. Thankfully, with a few days rest it would recover and be just the same as the rest. Perhaps in a week’s time he would be able to open his third meridian.
The idea filled him with excitement; he thought that no one in the city could be advancing as fast as he did, not even Wei Bolin. In the meantime, though, he could study the martial technique that Old Man Zhao bestowed on him. He went to get the scroll from where he secured it, interested to see what kind of technique it was.
Lu Chang spread out the scroll, reading the title again, “Wind-Chasing Steps.” The scroll was written in an archaic dialect. Fortunately, it was one of the more commonly used dialects in ancient times. Lu Chang had long mastered this particular dialect from the years of studying with his father.
The technique supposedly had three separate levels, though this scroll only included the first level. Old Man Zhao had said it was incomplete; this must have been what he meant. He’d also said that even just the first level was a profound ranked technique.
Lu Chang excitedly put his full effort into studying it. After reading through it once, he was even more excited. This was a rare movement technique. Martial techniques were generally divided into three types. Battle skills that used spiritual energy or other methods to perform techniques to directly attack the enemy. Movement techniques used various methods to enhance one’s speed or maneuverability. Finally any other techniques were grouped under the umbrella of Auxiliary skills.
Movement skills were rarer and more valuable than equivalent rank battle skills, especially at the lower levels of cultivation. At meridian opening, an average cultivator would only have enough spiritual energy to activate a battle skill a few times at best, so regular, mundane martial arts were more useful at that level. A movement skill, though, usually cost a negligible amount of spiritual energy, and no battle skill would be useful if one couldn’t even hit their opponent. Lu Chang had struck the jackpot with the Wind-Chasing Steps.
The essence of the technique involved chasing after the wind, emulating the wind in one’s movement with erratic, but smooth, movements. It lightened the body, enabling acrobatic feats that were impossible otherwise and excelled in slipping past guards and blocks, along with evading attacks. Unfortunately, it was not so easy to practice. It required elementary comprehension of some concepts of wind. It did include a meditation exercise developed to acquire those insights, thankfully.
Lu Chang spent the rest of the day wandering the hills outside the city to find the best location to practice the meditation exercise. The scroll detailed that a high location where constant winds could be felt would be the ideal location. Late in the afternoon,Lu Chang eventually decided on a spot to the north, a cliff that overlooked the city in the distance. He felt a constant breeze sitting there, with frequent gusts of stronger wind.
Over the next week Lu Chang spent his mornings and early afternoons sparring with Li Feng to keep honing his mundane martial arts. Then, until late evening, he sat on the cliff practicing the Wind-Chasing Steps’ meditation exercise. Initial mastery of the exercise came when he could anticipate the movement of the wind. At that point, he would be able to practice the actual contents of the technique. Lu Chang was not at that level yet, but he was hopeful to achieve it soon.
One week after he’d opened his first and second meridian, Lu Chang was ready to open the third. His internal injuries had healed with no complications a day ago. With his experience opening the prior meridian, he had high hopes that he could open the next with less difficulty.
As he positioned his energy to drill open the next meridian, Lu Chang was stopped by a thought. Though he wasn’t suited for the Gentle Zephyr Sutra, its methods for opening meridians were exquisite. Perhaps he could convert some of its principles to work with his own method?
Intrigued, Lu Chang recalled that part of the Gentle Zephyr Sutra’s method involved separating the spiritual energy into many different strands, like the frayed edges of a rope, or countless small gusts of wind. Using those separated strands the cultivator would batter the blockages in the meridian over a period, like the winds carved away a cliff over the years.
Obviously he couldn’t use that exact method, but what if he separated his energy into many smaller drilling strands rather than one large one? The idea was compelling and he immediately put it to the test as he tried shaping his internal energy into many strands. It was difficult, but after a few hours Lu Chang proudly smiled as he effortlessly separated his energy into many rotating strands.
Satisfied with his preparation, he put the new method to work, thrusting the rotating strands at the blocked meridian. While still painful, the method was a marked improvement over the original, both in speed and thoroughness. Though he still coughed up blood in the end, Lu Chang marked the experiment as a success. His first three meridians were unblocked.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The twelve meridians were grouped into four sets of three usually. In the average cultivator, the first three meridians were easy to open, with few blockages. The next three were more difficult, usually requiring a period of time to build up the body’s capacity for spiritual energy before opening. The pattern continued on to the next set of three, being even more difficult, and the last being even more so.
Observing the state of his fourth blocked meridian Lu Chang was convinced of the veracity of that information. He didn’t think he could break apart that blockage before running out spiritual energy as he was right now. Perhaps in a few weeks, a month at the latest.
Lu Chang stood up, infusing all three of his unblocked meridians with energy, and started to run through his stances. Each step on the road of meridian opening would strengthen the body slightly, and he could feel it. He had the sudden urge to go find Li Feng for a spar, but he remembered that his friend had told him that he’d be unavailable for the next week. Shrugging off the impulse, Lu Chang got back to work.
Over two months passed in a blur as the day before the new cultivator’s tournament dawned. In the chill of the morning, Lu Chang sat atop his cliffside training spot meditating. He’d felt close to a breakthrough in the Wind-Chasing Steps last night, so he sat there through the night meditating.
Suddenly he rose, following with the erratic wind as he flowed through his stances. He opened his eyes at the end with a faint smile of accomplishment. He’d achieved medial mastery of the meditation technique and initial mastery of the Wind-Chasing Steps as a whole. Along with six opened meridians, Lu Chang thought he was as ready as he could be.
He luxuriated in the feeling of the wind once more before he tied his hair up into his customary top-knot and made the descent back to the city. With light steps, he leisurely made his way home. Upon entering the courtyard, he narrowed his eyes as he felt a burst of wind come towards him from behind.
Whirling around, Lu Chang was able to nudge the end of the thick bo-staff that was thrust towards him to the side, leaving a dent in the ground as it barely missed him. He leapt backwards, putting distance between him and his unknown adversary.
As the dust cleared, however, Lu Chang had to laugh as he saw the sheepish form of Li Feng smiling at him. His friend had changed drastically since last they’d seen each other. Li Feng was quite a bit more muscular and now wielded a bo-staff that looked as thick as a tree trunk. The shirtless boy waved his hand in greeting.
“Yo, Lu Chang! Long time no see!”
Lu Chang chuckled at his friend and gave him a once-over.
“It’s been too long. You disappeared a month and a half ago without saying anything. If your mother hadn’t told me you were just in the mountains training, I’d have been worried. It seems to have suited you though. That strike nearly got me.”
Li Feng gave him a glum look in response.
“Nearly hit him, he says. I came at you from surprise and you still had time to evade. What, do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?”
Lu Chang smiled at him mysteriously.
“Or something. Come on in, we’ll have some breakfast.”
Li Feng followed close behind him, picking up the giant staff like it were no more than a small twig. He bore an aggrieved look on his face.
“C’mon bro! You can’t just leave me hanging like that.”
“I certainly can. Can’t expose my secrets to my biggest opponent, can I?”
He shot back. Li Feng merely grumbled as they walked into the kitchen. His parents weren’t there, though he could hear his mother playing out in the garden. His father must be in the study, knee deep in scrolls.
Lu Chang readied them a quick breakfast. They made light talk as they ate, and, at the end, turned to the more serious matter.
“Are you ready for the tournament, Li Feng?”
The other boy just smiled brightly at him, holding out a thumbs up.
“Of course! I’ve advanced so far you won’t even recognize me. First place might as well be mine already. What about you?”
Lu Chang smiled at him fiercely.
“Ready as I can be.”
They both laughed. After a moment Li Feng regarded him with a serious look, though.
“Don’t lose before we get to fight. You’re the one I want to beat, Lu Chang. You’ve always been the stronger of us two, and you may have the better martial spirit, but out there in the arena…”
Li Feng stood up and pointed at him.
“I’m going to beat you!”
Feeling the seriousness of his friend, Lu Chang nodded.
“I won’t make it easy. I want to win, too.”
They clasped hands in agreement, the serious atmosphere lingering for a moment before Lu Chang broke it with a snort.
“Now sit down and stop being so melodramatic.”
Li Feng mock-glared at him.
“Stupid fool, that was properly serious, not melodrama.”
They both burst into laughter again. The rest of the day was spent relaxing before the event the next day.
In the morning, Lu Chang woke to a bustling city. His mother had already left to perform for one of the rich merchant’s private viewing areas. She’d made sure to tell him good luck and that she’d be watching. He readied himself slowly, donning a new light green robe that his mother had purchased for the occasion.
He stopped to tell his father goodbye before he left. To the man’s simultaneous delight and dismay, a fascinating new tomb had been discovered nearby, and the first expedition departed this afternoon, of which he was an integral part. Lu Chang didn’t mind his absence; he’d never wanted to take his father from his passion. His father did wish him luck with a proud smile as he left, though.
He leisurely made his way to the arena, taking in the sights of the busy Hundred Fragrance City for the last time, as he’d planned to leave not long after the end of the tournament. The whole city seemed to have turned out for the event, banners and festival stands dotting the streets.
The atmosphere of the populace was joyful, but Lu Chang felt something amiss; a fell wind seemed to blow through the city. After a moment of thought, he decided to put it out of mind. He’d not advanced far enough in his insight of the wind to truly tell that. More likely he was just nervous.
The martial arena saw constant use in Hundred Fragrance City throughout the year as martial artists young and old sparred together, but the yearly new cultivator’s tournament was the true purpose of the edifice.
It was a humble arena, befitting martial artists, consisting of a raised stone square a dozen meters to a side. A great many stands and chairs had been constructed, as they were every year, to seat the audience. The noble families and richer merchants employed men to construct small enclosed booths for them to view the tournament out of the sweltering heat, and away from the common folk.
He found Li Feng soon after he entered the competitors’ waiting area. The muscular boy stood a head taller than the rest of their peers and, combined with his giant staff, was easy to spot. The boy gave him a friendly wave, but his eyes were moving everywhere, sizing up their competition.
“Hey Lu Chang. Ready for this thing? I wish they’d hurry up and start.”
Lu Chang hummed his agreement, analyzing the crowd just like Li Feng. Their peers had undergone a drastic transformation just as he and Li Feng had. Weapons bristled in confident hands and everyone gave off a feeling of the calm before a storm. Even the weather seemed to agree with Lu Chang as the wind seemed to be holding itself back in anticipation of the clash.
He and Li Feng had to deal with another troublesome encounter with Wei Bolin, of course. The boy’s venomous mouth had improved, leaving Lu Chang to wonder if Sage Liu had been wrong and Wei Bolin’s martial spirit was truly poison-aligned. He was thankful to see that Li Feng was able to serenely ignore the boy’s provocations this time, his faith in himself at an all-time high.
After a while of waiting, the appointed time arrived, the officiating elder from the mayor’s household climbing atop the arena to announce the commencement. The man cleared his throat and clapped once with a great force, causing the dull roar of the crowd to die down. After all were silent, he began his speech.
“Thank you. We’re all gathered here today to witness the splendor of our Hundred Fragrance City’s youth. These newly awakened cultivators are ready to show the worth of their hard work and the spirit of our city.”
Applause rang out at his words. He waited a moment for the crowd to calm again.
“The first match will begin forthwith. Competitors, when your name is called, proceed directly here to the arena or you will be disqualified.”
The first two names were called, and the tournament officially began. His peers fought with the fresh viciousness of people with something to prove, and the battles were interesting as a result. Normally, quite a few terrible injuries would have occurred in such combat, but the expertise of the elder was such that he could intervene just before any crippling injuries were delivered.
They didn’t have to wait long before Li Feng’s name was called. Lu Chang wished him luck as he leapt atop the arena. His friend’s opponent was Xiao Wenlong, a stout boy who wielded a spear. He was familiar, but not friendly with the boy. His father was captain of the city guard, and a fearsome martial expert. Presumably he’d passed down some of what he knew to the boy.
The fight began with a few blows that tested their strength. Xiao Wenlong might have been stout, but Li Feng’s ridiculous strength held the advantage in their clash. Before long, Li Feng had the overwhelming advantage, his crushing strikes taking their toll on the other boy.
As their weapons crossed again, though, Xiao Wenlong activated a battle skill and belched out a burst of fire right at Li Feng. His friend wasn’t taken aback though, and activated his own technique, using his staff as a conduit to grow a wide shield of wood in front of him.
Xiao Wenlong panted across from Li Feng; clearly the fire technique exhausted him significantly. Li Feng looked hale, though, and cancelled his technique, the shield of wood breaking off and falling to the ground. He swung the staff out again, catching the other boy in the temple and knocking him out.
Lu Chang was impressed. Li Feng’s style leveraged his strengths quite well, a far cry from his old style. The elder announced his victory and his friend leapt back to the ground with a victorious smile. Lu Chang congratulated his friend and turned his attention back to the tournament.
In the meantime, Wei Bolin had his first fight. The rotund boy wielded a whip crackling with a shell of lightning and handily won the match. Lu Chang hated to admit it, but the boy could be a challenge now.
After a few more matches, Lu Chang heard his name called by the elder. He easily sprung up to the arena and eyed his opponent: one of Wei Bolin’s lackeys, Wang Min. Like most lackeys, he was all brawns no brain and wielded a large hammer.
On the start of the match the large boy rushed him, hammer raised above his head for a crushing blow. Lu Chang had to stop himself from snorting in derision and closed his eyes to utilize the sensing portion of the Wind-Chasing Steps. Feeling for the wind and the trajectory of the swing, he reached out a hand to nudge the hammer slightly to the side, much the same as he had to Li Feng the day before.
The hammer blow fell with great force, cracking the sturdy stone of the martial arena, but only hitting Lu Chang with the wind from the swing. To his credit, Wang Min only wavered for a moment before swinging the hammer diagonally upward with deceptive speed.
Lu Chang now displayed his movement technique and stepped on the head of the hammer, utilizing the force of the swing to gracefully flip over the other boy’s head. Landing behind Wang Min, he struck the back of the boy’s knees, causing him to collapse to the ground. Lu Chang then pulled out a small dagger and held it to the boy’s throat.
“Surrender.”
He felt the boy swallow against the metal of the blade before he surrendered. The crowd cheered for the battle, though Lu Chang felt it to be a little dull. Concentrating on a technique he’d only barely learned a day or two before, he jumped off the side of the arena and used the wind currents to slow his fall and land gracefully on the ground. Li Feng snorted at him.
“Showoff.”
Lu Chang smiled, but did not deny the accusation.
The tournament continued in similar fashion the rest of the morning and long into the afternoon. Both Lu Chang and Li Feng continued their winning streak, though both had to expose more of their tactics as the day went on. Wei Bolin continued to win as well, to their chagrin.
The battles continued until the once vast pool of competitors had dwindled to only four: Lu Chang, Li Feng, Wei Bolin, and a girl named Xiao Yan. It was early evening at this point and the area was now lit by hundreds of bright torches, lending the arena a ceremonial feeling.
The four of them were lined up on the arena now, and the wind was blowing ceaselessly. Something about the wind put Lu Chang on edge, but he couldn’t pinpoint the reason. They drew lots to determine the matchup of the semifinals, and Lu Chang couldn’t help but smile as he drew the matching lot with Wei Bolin.
He and Wei Bolin, and Li Feng and Xiao Yan stood opposite each other. Traditionally, the semifinals took place simultaneously. In any case, the martial arena was large to accommodate separate fights.
The elder called a start to the matches. Wei Bolin sneered at him and opened his mouth to speak, no doubt to taunt him, but Lu Chang took the initiative for once and darted towards the rotund boy. The other boy’s eyes widened and he cracked his whip out in front horizontally, the crackling lightning emanating from it above and below, forming a wall of lightning bars.
The wind was in front of him and Lu Chang followed its path as it blew past the whip and lightning. At consummate mastery it would look like Lu Chang had teleported past the whip. Unfortunately, his current mastery was only enough to allow the wind to carry him through the gaps in the lightning, slipping through the bars like the breeze through cracks in a doorway.
As he easily slipped into range of him, Wei Bolin panicked, dropping his whip and drawing a short sword that also crackled with lightning. The boy may have panicked momentarily but his slash was expertly done.
Lu Chang used the Wind-Chasing Steps to his utmost ability, dancing around the sword strikes by the thinnest margin. Whatever martial technique Wei Bolin was using to coat his weapons in lightning must have enhanced his striking speed as well, as the sword struck with great swiftness.
Sweat dripped from Lu Chang’s brow as he concentrated unlike ever before; the slightest mistake would see him heavily wounded. The most depressing thing was that he could find no opportunities to counter-attack.
All of a sudden, Lu Chang’s eyes gleamed. He’d found a chance. The wind had changed, blowing to the side. He chased the wind, maneuvering around Wei Bolin faster than the blink of an eye. His foe tried to turn and face him but was too slow as Lu Chang fiercely kicked out, catching his opponent clean in the chest.
He heard the cracking of several broken ribs as Wei Bolin fell to the stone of the arena and didn’t get up. Lu Chang smiled, happy to put that petty rivalry to rest. The crowd cheered momentarily, but quieted quickly as the other match was still going on.
He looked over to Li Feng’s match and his smile grew wider. The girl was a strong opponent, wielding two short swords and a movement technique that was faintly reminiscent of flowing rivers. It all came to naught before the heavy blows of Li Feng’s staff, though. Coupled with his penchant for altering his staff mid-swing to be longer, shorter, or to grow extensions, Li Feng was dominating the battle and it was only a matter of time before he won.
Lu Chang was proven correct a few short minutes later when Xiao Yan surrendered with an unhappy look on her face. He shook his head in empathy. Being in such a helpless situation certainly would leave a foul taste in anyone’s mouth.
The moment he and Li Feng’s eyes locked after the match, they never wavered. The elder’s speech extolling their virtues and the roar of the crowd dulled to nothingness as they stared each other down.
Lu Chang had been looking forward to this fight all day, and so had Li Feng. He would put his all into the fight and he knew so would Li Feng. He barely registered the end of the elder’s speech as he tensed his muscles and readied his spiritual energy for the battle.
This match would be his final deed in his hometown. After this, he and Li Feng would leave to roam the empire and make names for themselves as wandering experts. This would be Li Feng’s proof that he had the determination to rise as an expert, even with a trash martial spirit.
The atmosphere could be cut with a knife. The elder raised his hand to signal the beginning of the battle. Before the hand could fall though, a lance of ice flew from the darkness faster than the eye could follow, skewering the elder through the chest in an explosion of gore.
There was a moment of surprise and dead-silent confusion, then a chorus of screams rang out as hundreds of invading experts wearing blood-red and gold uniforms appeared from the darkness, flinging innumerable martial techniques into the crowd.
The festival-like tournament quickly turned into a true killing-ground.