Lighting crackled through a dark, cloudy sky. 

The massive rumbles of thunder shook the ground below.

Under the chaotic scene was an even more chaotic battle!

Within a large canyon, thousands of warriors battled. Armed with swords, axes, spears, and staves, the warriors fought with little regard to their well-being. There was only one thought that raced through their minds... "Kill!"

There was no friend or ally in this mess. Only predator and prey. Their movements, although complicated in battle, were simple from the bigger picture. Attack those who are weak and run from the strong.

One man suited in full plate armor raised his sword above his head. He was about to end the life of a simple looking farm boy. Before he could land the finishing blow, however, the farmer looking youth pulled a dirty brown book from his pocket.

"To thee death comes!"

Suddenly, a black mist escaped from the book and devoured the armored man.

"Heh heh! Good thing I brought the Tome of Darkness with me! With this, I'll be able to get th-"

Before the youth could finish gloating, an arrow flew from seemingly nowhere and pierced his skull.

Similar scenes could be seen throughout the canyon.

What could be spurring all of these people into madness? The answer was in the center of the canyon. 

Within a larger crater was a young man in a lotus sitting position. His eyes were closed. It was as if the violence around him didn't exist. wounds could be seen all over his muscular body. Cuts as deep as a thumb dug into his arms and sides. A hole gaped from his stomach. Despite these injuries, the young man calmly sat.

A fiery sphere surrounded this man, preventing anyone from getting close. Those who managed to escape the violent fighting and reach the barrier would burn the moment they got within a few feet of it.

"Stop fighting each other! Let's just team up and get rid of Sky Master Solomon, that annoying man! The moment he dies, the spot for number one under the Cloud Realm will be one of ours! If we let him recover, we'll all surely die!"

Among the brutish battles, a handsome, middle aged man commanded. The people around him seemed to have snapped out of their violent dazes, and they readied their sights on the injured, young man.

"Get in position!" The middle aged man commanded.

Soon a team of uniformly armed men surrounded the flaming sphere. Each man held a staff which glowed a dazzling yellow as they chanted.

"Lord of the Flames, hear our call! Let Fire bend to our will and may your flames guide us to victory!"

As soon as they finished, the flaming barrier began to dim. The barrier continued to burn, but it was obviously weaker than before.

"Go now! End his life!" the middle aged man yelled.

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A flood of warriors crashed through the flames. Some were still too weak to survive the flames and perished halfway through.

The first to reach Sky Master Solomon was a skinny teen dressed in ninja attire. He sneered as he swung his knife towards the neck of the Sky Master.

"You dare?!"

The moment the steel touched the neck's skin, it shattered!

"You are ten thousand years to early! I was going to let you all leave in peace, but you leave me no choice!"

Sky Master Solomon opened his eyes and fiercely gazed at his opponents. It was like a tiger in the hen house!

He suddenly jumped at them. Lunging from one foe to another. As soon as he left, the men would explode into a mist of blood. They didn't even know how they died!

The massacre moved like a tidal wave. Instead of fighting to get to Sky Master Solomon, the men began to fight their way away from him!

"It was a huge mistake coming here!" they thought.

Barehanded, Sky Master Solomon tore flesh and bone on his way toward the middle aged man.

"Hmmph! Let's see if you're as great as they say, Solomon! Come taste the blade of Saber King Matthew!"

"Fine! Come at me! You'll die with your arrogance!"

The middle aged man-Saber King Matthew- unsheathed his saber and charged toward the beast of a man Solomon.

A yellow glow covered the Saber King's blade. The Saber King swung his saber horizontally, hoping to cleave Solomon in two. The force of the swing created a  gust of wind which blew the warriors around him away. All that was left in the blade's path was Sky Master Solomon.

The saber came quickly. It would only take five seconds for it to reach its target.

One Second passed and Sky Master Solomon stood firmly where he was.

Two Seconds. 

Three Seconds

Four Seconds had passed and Solomon still stood in the path of the saber!

The saber was going to land in the next second! It was about to cleave into the flesh of his waist!

Just as the saber touched the hairs on Solomon's skin, a bolt of lightning flowed through Solomon's body, through his hair, and into the saber. The deadly energy then made its way past the blade and up Saber King Matthew's arm, where it would begin to course through his meridians.

The moment the lightning left the blade, the saber shattered, and no harm was brought to the Sky Master.

Saber King Matthew, on the other hand, was left in a sorry state. He squirmed on the ground in excruciating pain. He was paralyzed by the intense stinging in his body.

"GAH! You coward! You should have faced me with your actual skills! GAH!"

Sky Master Solomon sneered as he said, "You don't deserve a serious exchange with me!"

And with that, Sky Master Solomon chased out the rest of the warriors who had come to scavenge off of his misfortune.

"Powers of the sky, heed my call! Bring forth thy energy to heal my scars!"

Sky Master Solomon raised his hand as he chanted. As soon as he finished, the hundreds of lightning bolts struck at his hand like dragons and entered his meridians. It was very similar to his attack on Saber King Matthew earlier. Unlike before, however, the lightning nourished Solomon's wounds. The hole in his stomach instantly sealed. The Cuts on his arms and legs stitched themselves together. In the time it takes one to blink, all of Solomon's injuries were healed.

"Ha! They never learn, do they? Acting like an injured master really draws in all of the powers in the local area! This is such an easy way of robbing them all of their treasures without having to chase them all down!"

All had gone to Sky Master Solomon's plan. This wasn't the first time he had done this. Throughout the continent, he had performed similar feats. He would ride the clouds during their peak of power and injure himself. He was not worried when this happened, however, because he cultivated the ways of the skies. Nothing that was born above would truly make him tremble in fear.

When his injuries made it appear that he truly had been injured in a battle, he would crash himself into an open space that would make it hard for crowds to escape. The steep canyon he was in now was a perfect example.

He would then await for the message to pass around and slaughter the groups that would arrive.

The areas he would tarnish like this would then come to hate him, and after performing this a dozen times, Sky Master Solomon had become the number one hated man under the Cloud Realm.

But unfortunately for everyone else . . . Sky Master Solomon was also the number one fighter under the Cloud Realm!

All who would come after him would definitely regret it!

Solomon whistled an upbeat tune as he gathered all of the treasures that caught his eye.

"Today was a good haul... Where should I go next?"