As the sect master of the Altar sect, Li Xuanyuan was strong enough to contend with his Custodian. In fact, Chuyu was the only sparring partner he could have in the entire sect without injuring others. Now that the gloves were off, he walked calmly towards the stage, with an evil grin plastered on his face.
Soon enough, Herman frowned.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Sect Master Li is this Spiritual Qi discharge supposed to intimidate me, or is it just your greeting before the fight."
[Hehe! As expected, you are quite arrogant. Do you actually think that you could defeat my sect with your puny strength if we didn't hold back? Are you that stupid to actually believe that a mere bug like you could defeat my executives? Wake up, young man! In fact, there's no need for you to wake up. You can just sleep here forever.](Li Xuanyuan)
While Herman was assaulted by a pressure similar to tens of tons of rocks weighing on his back, the spectators were in awe of the sect master's strength.
[As expected of someone that built a sect from scratch! They're no simple person!](?)
[This youngster is in quite a pinch! It doesn't look like sect master Li is planning to be merciful.](?)
[Merciful? If someone came into the garden you spent months to tend and not only stomped everything to the ground, they also took a big shit in the middle of it, would you be merciful? That's pretty much what this young lad did by defeating fourteen out of fifteen opponents this time around. It's an amazing feat, but that only if he wins or doesn't get crippled by the sect master.](?)
[*Sigh* Sure enough, having high attributes is not enough to gap the strength between cultivation realms that easy.](?)
While the spectating cultivators were mourning Herman's loss even before it happened, the VIP section was eerily silent. Even sect master Pu of the Illusion sect was frowning while carefully watching the movement of the two people on stage.
[Something is off...](Chun Pu)
[Hmm? What do you mean uncle Pu?](Feng Qian)
[Ziyu, Xuan, Yinje! Get ready to fight at a moment's notice. Yu Yan, you stick with little Qian. She'll protect you.](Chun Pu)
The five of them were dumbfounded when they heard sect master Pu's instructions, but were quick to comply when they saw the high tension of the other sects. Ziyu, Xuan, and Yinje moved closer to the girls and placed their hands on the weapons hanging by their waists. Feng Qian was frowning but didn't ask for an explanation and instead instructed Yi Xuan to prepare the others in case of a possible fight as well.
[Tsk! Of course, this is going to happen... Amazing 'show' what can I say...](Yi Xuan)
[*Sigh* I have no idea either what's going to happen, but be prepared for the worst. Miss Celeste and Tianxia Xue should be somewhere nearby as well, so we shouldn't be in any real danger.](Feng Qian)
[It's still annoying that everything was orchestrated by that brat on the stage...](Yi Xuan)
[While that might be true, I'm curious about the secret behind this farce. Herman wouldn't have acted unless he had support from those two. And if those two granted their support, it means that it's a situation that angered them. Sect master Pu won't say what Herman disclosed to him, but I'm guessing that the Altar of Heaven and Earth sect might be an evil sect.](Feng Qian)
[Sis Qian, we already know that they are...](Yi Xuan)
[What I mean is an heretic evil sect.](Feng Qian)
[...](Yi Xuan)
While the VIP section was similar to a room full of gunpowder ready to explode with the first spark, the spectators were having the time of their life. Even if Herman would lose this match, his score of 14 wins and 1 loss would bring him great fame in the surrounding parts of the world. After all, this was nothing but a young cultivator at the Foundation realm, which had already defeated ten opponents above his level. It was simply unheard of!
On the stage, however, Herman wasn't feeling that amazing at all. On the contrary, it looked as if he bit more than he could chew, with the opponent's strength increasing evermore. It felt as if sect master Li Xuanyuan activated a berserk skill of sorts, forcing his power to keep climbing to new heights.
"Well, f*ck me! He should be already at the Ensoulemnt realm, but his prowess is knocking on the Nihility realm's doors. If he goes all out, this will be much different than the sparring sessions with Tianxia Xue. He might actually flatten me into a tasty pancake if I don't take this seriously. Unfortunately, I don't have any more trump cards to play and I can only keep him guessing that I do, waiting for a moment of weakness on his part."
[How is it, young man? Are you done planning? Have you run your calculations of all possible tactics? I hope you are aware that your petty tricks won't work in face of absolute power.](Li Xuanyuan)
"You are overestimating yourself, old man. Today is the day where your face will meet the ground, just like the other fourteen that preceded you."
[Hahah! Truly arrogant. I don't know about overestimating myself, but I'm certain that you are overestimating yourself.](Li Xuanyuan)
Without any more words, sect master Li equipped a pair of brass knuckles and threw a light punch. The result was a sonic boom, stupefying the watching crowd. They all felt that they had lived under a rock for this long and are seeing the world for the first time ever. On the other hand, Herman extended his senses through the use of Spiritual Qi over the entire square stage, making sure there are no blind spots.
Suddenly, he was startled while still looking at the old man in front of him and swung his Thundering Sword with all his strength to his right. The sound of metal clashing could be heard and Herman was forced three steps back.
Alert!
You have received damage from your enemy!
No multiplier applied due to a timely parry!
The total damage received: 175 points!
He was shocked at the damage he received even after he successfully parried the incoming strike. It seems that their Ultimate Skill is no joke after it's properly mastered by an experienced fighter.
[Hoho! Nice reflexes! Also, nice Strength! Even a casual attack of mine superimposed with the Cosmic Firmness skill is nothing to scoff at.](Li Xuanyuan)
"You talk too much, old man!"
Realizing that having the enemy take the initiative was a quick path down to hell, Herman used the same Blooming Lotus sword dance he learned from watching Mio and somehow managed to score some hits. The System acknowledged all of them as being in the 100 to 300 range, even if he was going for fatal hits. The old man's Strenght wasn't very high, but his Life Essence powered through the Cosmic Firmness ultimate skill was troublesome to deal with. Fortunately, he still held the advantage in Dexterity, so he was still able to cope for now.
Suddenly, Li Xuanyuan retreated a safe distance and took a look at his bloody hands. Herman wanted to disable his hands if he could, but the bastard had enough fighting experience to ward off his attacks with minimal damage. Even so, the difference in tiers between his own Thundering Sword and whatever knuckles the sect master wore was clearly shown for everyone to see.
[Interesting. That should be the Thundering Sword from the Clouding set, right?](Li Xuanyuan)
"Yeah, so?"
[So it was like that after all... It's no wonder that my tier two knuckles were scrapped this fast. Well then, we had our warm-up, so let's get this show started, shall we?](Li Xuanyuan)
"..."
Herman watched speechlessly as the old fart took out a sword similar to the one he was using and swung it gently a couple of times. The sharpness was so obvious that it made the sword look as if it was swimming through the air like a fish in a pond. There was little to no air resistance when the weapon descended.
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Judging by the pattern on it, it wasn't a tier four sword, but higher. With a grim look on his face, he mumbled quietly.
"Tier 5?"
[Oh? You know your stuff twerp. It's actually from the tier five Path Seeking set and it has been with me for a while now. I gained this sword after killing an elite from a Junior Rank sect back in my youth. You should be honored to die under it.](Li Xuanyuan)
"As I said old man, you talk too much."
[And as I said, twerp, you are too arrogant for your own good!](Li Xuanyuan)
As attack after attack landed on him, Herman couldn't help but use his own sword and have each one of those powerful blows slide down his own Thundering Sword and away from his body. Unfortunately, if this sort of attacking pattern continued, his own weapon would likely be scrap metal in a couple more minutes.
Focusing on defense and jumping from spot to spot like an agile monkey, Herman even found time to sneer at the old man from time to time, peeving him off. After about five minutes of back and forth where Herman managed to sneak in a couple of more damaging blows, Li Xuanyuan finally exposed a moment of temporary weakness. Obviously, he didn't let go of such an opportunity.
Using the same technique as before where he extended the reach of the weapon using Air Qi, he stabbed the old man in his left shoulder. He initially aimed for his heart, but the crafty fox managed to use his weapon and avoid a fatal blow.
Alert!
You have dealt critical damage to your enemy!
A multiplier applied of 3!
The total damage dealt: 12.220 points!
The participant's Li Xuanyuan's HP is under 25%!
Winner of the final round: Herman Roy!
The System interface closed and the public was pretty much raving at this point. The final attack was the perfect example of the fight between a David and a Goliath, where cunning took the win. On the other hand, the VIP section was getting ready to act with grave looks on their faces.
Finally, after about 30 seconds, someone in the watching crowd noticed a dark-red cloud surround sect master Li Xuanyuan, making him barely visible.
[Heretic Qi!? What the hell?](?)
[Crap! That old toad has performed human sacrifices!](?)
[No shit, dumbass! Do you see how dark the color of the Qi is? He must've sacrificed thousands...](?)
[F*ck! Does he think that we're just puppets!? How dare he show himself in front of us like that!?](?)
Just when the spectators in the arena were growing restless and anger was clouding their judgment, the space on the right side of the arena blurred for a moment, showing a flight of stairs descending somewhere in the ground. What darkened the people's faces, was the existence of a second array hidden behind this one: an imprisonment array.
Before anyone got a chance to swear or curse the Altar sect, sect master Pu made a move first. His speed was terrifying and he appeared in front of the Illusion array in a split second.
[To think that the Altar sect possessed a late level intermediate array of the illusion sort. I am deeply ashamed that I haven't noticed it at all, embarrassing the name of my own sect. However, this farce ends now.](Chun Pu)
With a rapid punch, the sound of glass shattering could be heard everywhere. Surely, soon enough everyone was able to see that they were indeed confined in this arena by an imprisonment array. Some even tried launching attacks at it, but they just vanished as if the array devoured them. The previous anger turned into fear in a matter of seconds.
At this moment, a burst of creepy laughter was heard from the center of the stage.
[Kekeke! Why bother? Did you think that we didn't have a contingency plan after revealing myself to you? Kekeke! Fools! You'll all become blood nutrients that will make us stronger. What are you waiting for you retards!? Attack them already! Leave this bug to me.](Li Xuanyuan)
Herman calmly watched as over a hundred disciples of the Altar sect sported the same blood-red Heretic Qi around them and pounced towards the crowd. Obviously, those sitting in the VIP section moved to intercept them. What surprised Herman were the twenty or so cultivators walking towards Wu Xintian.
In a matter of seconds, he led them towards the flight of stairs, after flashing a smile towards him and nodding as if saying goodbye.
"Sure enough, those ten didn't belong to your sect. Old fart, aren't you ashamed of using some else's hands to do your dirty work?"
[You still like to talk big in front of certain death, don't you? Kekeke! Let's see how I flay you alive! Don't worry! I perfected my craft over the years by practicing it many times again and again. You remain alive for hours even after the last bit of skin was removed from your body, able to enjoy the pain brought by every gust of wind!](Li Xuanyuan)
[Hoh? Is that so?](?)
Almost like in a movie, a melodious yet heroic voice resounded in the entire arena, silencing even those already fighting. As everyone turned around, they saw a woman calmly descending towards the arena from the stands of the general spectators. Her every step created an echo reverberating through the air as if there was nobody else except for her and her alone in this god-forsaken place.
With a gentle movement of her body, once she reached the fence separating the arena and the spectator stands, she actually walked on air and descended near Herman like a goddess. While everyone was dumbstruck by this sudden development, Herman couldn't help but click his tongue and complain that all she was missing was boss music in the background with an entry like that. He should really take notes.
"I'll chase after that Wu Xintian guy. Are you all good here miss Xue?"
[Sure.](Tianxia Xue)
"Have fun then!"
Seeing the angered Wanderer, he realized that she must've been annoyed by the gruesome declaration of this old fool. Either that, or she had a real problem with Heretic cultivators in general. It's not that uncommon for one's loved ones to be killed by such evil practitioners in this world, as they were more common than everyone would like to admit.
Moving the bit of Primordial Qi that he had left in his eyes, he glanced at the VIP section where the five girls of the Fallen Blossoms sect were fighting off against more than eight opponents. Yu Yan was there as well and so were the other three executives of the Illusion sect assisting them. What reassured him, however, was the cheeky Xu Wen'an that nodded before he could even make a gesture, telling him that she had everything under control.
As much of a cultivation maniac that she was, she was still at the Ascension level. Heretic or not, these garbage of the Altar sect couldn't even reach Nihility realm standards in a fight, much less the Ascension realm. Furthermore, she wasn't a regular cultivator, but a Wanderer that earned her living through fighting in the wild against hordes of monsters.
Even though right now she was sponging off Herman in a very shameless manner...
[You're not going anywhere, twerp!](Li Xuanyuan)
[Nor are you, old man!](Tianxia Xue)
Just as the old man lunged towards Herman and was about to strike him down, Tianxia Xue appeared in front of him and smacked him down as if he was nothing but a fly. Li Xuanyuan got up and looked at her in a flustered manner, unable to process what just happened.
You got to understand that his strength after releasing the Heretic Qi was above what an early Nihility realm cultivator was capable of showing. Even with that, he was still almost buried in the tough ground of the arena after one casual strike from this young woman.
[Who are you!? Are you sure you want to interfere in the matters of my sect just because of that insignificant brat!? I'm warning you! The people backing me up aren't some riff-raffs you can casually mess with.](Li Xuanyuan)
[Oh? Is that so? Why don't you tell me more? After I am done with eradicating your sect, maybe I can visit them as well.](Tianxia Xue)
[Hahaha! Heroes do come from the young! You think just because you have a little bit of strength you are capable of facing off against a Yellow-rank sect?](Li Xuanyuan)
[Maybe not now. But since I know the enemy is a Yellow-rank sect I can plan for the future. Why don't you give me their name if you're at it? I'm not as good at torturing people as you are, but I am willing to make an exception for your and learn.](Tianxia Xue)
Realizing that he might've spoken a bit too much, Li Xuanyuan gritted his teeth and attacked fiercely. In the meantime, Herman was already rushing down the stairs searching for the trail of those twenty-odd people from a different sect. He felt that they were the brain behind the machinations taking place in the Altar sect.
As soon as the stairs ended, he entered a narrow hallway with his sword in hand. Running at a fast speed while still taking note of his surroundings in case that traps were hidden hastily while they made their retreat. Fortunately, it wasn't the case and soon he entered a well-illuminated room.
It was spacious but... had an eery feeling to it. To Herman that fought on hundreds of battlefields in his previous life, it was similar to staying in a river of blood or a mountain of corpses. He quickly found the reason behind the odd feeling as well, once he saw the sacrificial altar and the strange dagger placed on it.
"This must be the place where they conducted their sacrifices... Hmm!?"
Even if he reacted in time and moved his sword to defend himself, he was still thrown across the room and smashed into a nearby wall. The wall crumbled and if the combat system was still in play, it would've shown a damage of over 15.000 points just from that single kick he parried. Gathering his scattered thoughts and glancing at his attacker, he found Wu Xintian, the judge/commentator loved by the crowd.
Before he could do anything, he found out that behind the crumbled wall there tens of people chained and unconscious. Looking back at the smiling man with a perplexed expression, he saw the guy leaving through a teleportation array. As soon as he stepped through it, the array cracked and became unusable.
"That bastard! He could've just told me about it instead of sending me flying through the wall. But what does this mean? Had he decided to throw the Altar sect under the bus and have them take the fall? Aren't they afraid that they would confess under torture the identity of their 'backer'?"
With many questions in his mind and things spinning out of his control, Herman realized that his plans went awry. Now that the stronger party avoided the public eye, Tianxia Xue appeared to deal with the stronger heretic cultivator and the kidnapped people had been found, it all will soon be swept under the rug and forgotten in a couple of weeks, maybe a month.
The fame he would get by defeating the Altar sect in a Contest of Tao would be outshined by Tianxia Xue's performance.
He glanced around the unconscious cultivators and his eyes gleamed with a cold light. To grab the public's eye there were two things needed: a martyr and a hero!
"Forgive me, but this is for the best. One small evil, to fight off a greater one..."
Taking a young frail lady in his arms, he removed her shackles and walked out of the room with a busted wall. The lady was pale as a piece of white paper, her breathing was erratic and there was a black spot right above her left collarbone. She looked to be around fifteen years old, with a headful of raven-black hair and a pair of red lips.
Herman placed her down from his arms and onto the sacrificial altar, took the dagger, and glanced at her apologetically. Without hesitation or remorse, he plunged the blade in the young lady's heart, giving her the pleasant relief of death. A stream of dark-red Qi had flown towards Herman's dantian, while the room now only had the sound of one person breathing and the trickling of blood...