As the duel between Zhi Yin and Long Huafang was about to happen, a meeting was taking place in a dark room. Mo Zi was kneeling in front of the screen behind which his master was. Once again, he couldn't see him, but was hearing his voice.
"Mo Zi, are you ready for your entrance into the Ancient Ruins?"
"Yes, Master. I prepared everything. Just in case, I'll go over everything once more in the next few days. When my third year finally begins, I'll be absolutely certain of my success. I won't disappoint you, I swear."
Mo Zi felt an ominous feeling all over his body.
"This is in your best interest. The main reason why I helped you and didn't kill you for your failure was this next task. You're the best suited to perform it. Everything must be ready for our plan in two years."
"Speaking of which, Master, what about Chen Guo? He's clearly a threat. When the Palace Spirit wakes up, he'll also be in the Ancient Ruins. He may hinder our plans. And I highly doubt there is any chance of convincing him to join us."
"Do not worry too much about this boy. Just focus on your mission. You should know we have some plans for next year as well. There may be a way to get rid of this nuisance. Besides, losing this boy and her own disciple would also crush Xiao Xuefeng's spirit, that would be good. This woman is the real threat, everything else is insignificant in comparison. Although we needed to get her away from the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, attracting her here was a dangerous move. Even if I can monitor her, it would be best to distract her with the death of these children."
"Master. I fear that this boy is really dangerous. We should use everything against him, just to be sure."
All of a sudden, a terrifying pressure crushed Mo Zi to the ground.
"You dare tell me how I should act?! Do you take me for a fool?! If I could kill him in person, I would. But we have to bid our time... If Xiao Xuefeng discovers us, all our preparations will have been for naught. In the best case, we'll have to wait seven more years. But in reality, we probably won't have this opportunity anymore. We have to make sure that our main operatives are not discovered, no matter what! Instead of telling me how I should conduct our business, worry about your own mission. If you fail, you will beg for the sweet release of death. Even though I'm your master and reluctant to end you, our leader would annihilate your very soul in an heartbeat if you were to fail."
The pressure finally lifted but Mo Zi stayed lying on the ground. When he thought about their leader, an indescribable fear took hold of his heart. It was only after several breaths that he finally got up and assumed his kneeling position once more.
"Master, I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn. My mission will be successful. If it's not, I will end my own life as atonement."
"What is your life worth compared to the centuries our leader had to wait? If we find what we're looking for, the demonic cultivators will be the absolute rulers of this entire Piaolu planet. Demons and orthodox cultivators alike will bow before us. Millenniums of subjugations will come to an end! If you make us fail, do you think your miserable life can atone for it?! Go prepare yourself some more!"
"Yes, Master. This disciple will not fail you, I swear!"
When Mo Zi left the room, a black smoke faded away from behind the screen. His master's body had never been there in the first place. As a late Spirit warrior, this kind of distant conversations was easy for Mo Zi's master.
-
Back in the square where the duels were held, Zhi Yin was faced with Long Huafang.
"Fairy Zhi will obliterate this brat!" Ling Hui was fired up and yelled out many cheers even though the fight had not officially begun. She had hatred in her eyes while looking at Long Huafang. She had been rivals with Zhi Yin for a long time, but recently Long Huafang had beaten her. This completely enraged Ling Hui who was the number one fan of Zhi Yin.
This time, neither Long Jian nor Chan Weifeng were present. But the crowd was as big as during Cao Yun's fight. Even for fourth-years and fifth-years, this was an exciting duel.
"Sister Zhi, you seem to have broken through, right?"
"Indeed, Sister Long. I'm an 8th-grade Mortal now. But you don't seem to have slacked off either..."
"Hmph! I knew you would get stronger. Of course I didn't rest on my success. No matter how stronger you've become, I'll convince you of my superiority."
"Then, let me demonstrate my meager talents before you."
Both girls assumed their stances. Chief Elder Baishen was once again monitoring the fights. In fact, she delegated some of the fights to other elders, but the main duels were all monitored by her in person. If one of the top students was injured because of the carelessness of an elder, it would be tragic. But Chief Elder Baishen didn't want a fearful elder to stop the fight too soon either.
"The fight can begin!"
Both girls' martial arts were revolving around speed and they showed it immediately.
'Ninety Thousand Li'. Zhi Yin disappeared from most onlookers' eyes and appeared right to the side of Long Huafang. 'Wolf Walks on the Moon'. Just as fast, Long Huafang appeared behind Zhi Yin. During their last fight, Long Huafang's speed had exceeded Zhi Yin's, but now they were almost identical. In fact, after several moves, Long Huafang realized that she was a little bit inferior in that aspect, enraging her.
Speed couldn't help her, so she stopped moving around to save her energy. 'Peng Opens his Wings'. Using her speed, a gust of wind formed behind Zhi Yin. She slashed with her sword and all this accumulated wind went crashing down on Long Huafang.
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'Shining Dragon's Fur'. The range was too wide to evade so 'Shining Fang', Long Huafang's sword, parried Zhi Yin's attack. The young girl still felt a powerful force pushing against her, but she stood her ground. Most of the impact was deflected in the distance thanks to her defense.
Knowing that speed wouldn't be that useful to her, Long Huafang adapted her strategy. 'Wolf and Dragon's Howl'. A powerful roar echoed throughout the platform. It wasn't as powerful as her brother's and it couldn't have dispersed the wind attack earlier, but it still was impressive. Zhi Yin knew her opponent's martial art very well, so did Long Huafang in return.
'Black Wings Cover the Sky'. Her sword was used as though it was a shield to protect herself from the vibrations. She also focused her mind to keep her focus. The sound was meant to affect her stability and allow for a surprise attack. And just as she thought, it came.
'Wolf's Pounce'. Long Huafang dashed toward Zhi Yin. However, she wasn't stunned at all. 'Journey to the Southern Darkness'. Zhi Yin's figure disappeared. Apart from the Mortal Warriors, no one in the crowd was able to follow her movements.
When she reappeared, her sword was descending on Long Huafang's head. It almost looked like a giant shadow crashing through the clouds as a powerful gust of wind went along with the sword's blade. 'Mount Tai Fills the Sky'.
"Yes! Fairy Zhi! Fairy Zhi is going to win!" In the crowd, Ling Hui was overexcited. On the other hand, Cao Yun who was watching from somewhere else saw through Long Huafang's stratagem. He had sparred with her several times and she wasn't that easy to deal with.
Long Huafang was waiting for this opportunity. She knew her opponent's martial arts and capabilities. While using this attack, she couldn't move around or she risked a backlash from her own Qi. In fact, Long Huafang had used only a portion of her energy in her last strike. 'Silver River Overflows'. All of a sudden, she sent her Qi in another pathway. This reversal shouldn't be that quick and it surprised Zhi Yin. But as Long Huafang had sent the minimal amount of Qi in her meridians for her last attack, she was able to change its course way faster.
Her sword went straight for Zhi Yin's belly that was fully exposed. This stab brought with it a powerful vibration.
Seeing this scene, Ling Hui gasped. "Monster!"
The sword collided with Zhi Yin. It pierced through her Wei Qi and when it touched her skin, Long Huafang felt as though she was striking a wall of steel. 'Peng Turns to Kun'. Zhi Yin sent all of her Qi to strengthen her skin and muscles. Surprised, Long Huafang was unable to pierce through. Of course, Chief Elder Baishen was using her spiritual senses to observe the fight. If the sword had been able to really stab Zhi Yin, she would have stopped the fight and declared the winner.
'Peng Goes Back to Sea'. Zhi Yin jumped backward to take some distance. Having just brutally changed the course of Qi, she coughed up a bit of blood.
"Fairy Zhi!" Ling Hui was full of worries for her idol. She then sent deadly stares at Long Huafang. "You animal! Beast! Fiend!" The people around her were a bit worried by her attitude and took some distance.
"Sister Long, you've indeed become stronger, I have to admit. But I still have some moves left."
Long Huafang smiled back at Zhi Yin. Both women were rivals but they were very respectful to each other. In fact, Long Huafang had looked up at Zhi Yin for a long time. The girl had even founded her own faction and was able to contend with the seven others. Of course, she couldn't admit her admiration publicly.
They both got ready to use their trump cards.
Long Huafang's eyes became just like two moons. Zhi Yin knew not to look her in the eyes. As a matter of fact, she had always avoided her gaze during the entire fight, only looking at her body to predict her movements. However, Long Huafang didn't need for her opponent to look at her eyes for this technique. As long as she could see them, she could activate it.
'The Moon in the Eye'. As she was about to attack, Zhi Yin got frozen. Not a single one of her muscles seemed to be able to move. Everyone in the audience got perfectly silent. Most of the onlookers knew about this technique as they had seen either Long Jian or Long Huafang fight before. Unless you protected your mind beforehand or you had a powerful enough mind, this technique was impossible to break. The best strategy was to guard your mind to avoid being subjected to this. Once you were under the illusion, it was over.
Even Ling Hui was convinced that her idol was going to lose. She didn't know how she could escape from this illusion.
However, something happened. Long Huafang was ready to attack when she saw Zhi Yin move, while still under the effects of her illusion. She was raising her sword, preparing her next move.
Zhi Yin had a trump card no one knew about. Similarly to Cao Yun, she had found out how she could enter her sea of consciousness. And in this sea, there were five giant moons shining in the sky and the water was pure silver. But there was also something else. A shadow as gigantic as the moons themselves was lurking beneath this silver water.
Giant wings erupted from the water, breaking its calm surface. These four enormous wings flapped down and tsunamis were generated. The water splashed as high as the moons in the sky. They kept on flapping over and over again. The distinction between sky and sea had completely disappeared as the moons were now both in the ocean and in the sky. Slowly, the black form at the bottom of the ocean rose. It was a kind of fish by its texture but it was so large that seeing its complete form was impossible. Its body was covered in light gray scales.
As it came out of the water, a roar so powerful that the moons shook engulfed the entire sea of consciousness. This beast was a Kun Peng. It was the manifestation of Zhi Yin's attainment in her 'Peng's Journey to Heaven'. Kun Peng was linked to both wind and water, the Wood element and the Water element. The Water element was also the element of the Long family's 'The Dragon Howling at the Moons'. But it was also the element associated with Zhi the Water Will.
Even though Zhi Yin had never heard about the 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' manual from Cao Yun, she had found another mind cultivation. This cultivation was in fact hidden in the 'Peng's Journey to Heaven' manual. But she had been able to discover it, 'Drowning in the Lake of Heaven'. The idea was simple, you would literally drown in your own sea of consciousness to develop your own will. This will would then strengthen the materialization of the Kun Peng. Of course, even if she was a Mortal Warrior, she couldn't manifest the beast with as much power as in her own mind. But it was still extremely impressive.
Chief Elder Baishen was shaken. She knew precisely what was going on. The 'Peng's Journey to Heaven' was known to be a 3-star Human art. But just like Cao Yun's art, she knew that if someone was to really master it, it could enter the realm of Spirit martial art. The legends said that if you could see the secrets lurking beneath the surface and flying higher than the clouds, you could forge a real Kun Peng in yourself.
Everything in Zhi Yin's mind was happening in an instant. The Kun Peng rose at the level of the moons and hid them. The sea turned blue again. But it didn't stop there. After an earth-shattering roar, it flapped again its four wings with some wet feathers on them. The moons got literally cracked into thousands of pieces. Long Huafang was not at the level where she could see what was going on in Zhi Yin's mind. She only activated the technique but, apart from her opponent being paralyzed, she couldn't see its results.
However, she clearly saw that Zhi Yin was now moving without any problem. And her eyes were shining with a tint of blue. This color almost seemed like the deep ocean and the high sky had melded together. The will behind those eyes even shook Long Huafang's determination.
"Sister Long. It's time for you to witness my attack."
Putting her sword vertically, she violently struck the air in front of her. 'Splashing the Lake of Heaven'.