"Very good" Xiao Yue exhaled while she circulated her energy, "just like we expected they have put Chen Long in first."

The six fighters of the Star-Sword Pavilion were sitting on one side of the Underground Arena, in a special made Shinsoo bubble that stopped the sound from the crowd to reach them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" This time it was Bai Fulong who had spoken. Despite the best acting possible, worries could be seen on his face.

Xiao Yue snapped angrily. "Fulong, who do you think I am?!" A wave of Black Devil Shinsoo washed over Bai Fulong who, for the first time, understood what a mistake it was to cross Xiao Yue.

Of course Xiao Yue wasn't mad at Shin Sumi, but in the eyes of others, how could she be so sympathetic to Bai Fulong as to receive his worries? Naturally Shin Sumi understood too.

Bai Fulong lowered his head, instantly remembering his place.

"The other branches will not be expecting me to come out so early. Either they change their entire strategy or they wait it out hoping that the other branch will do the heavy lifting."

By leaving the Light Breaker branch the starting defence, Xiao Yue had guessed that the other branches would never figure out that she was coming out to attack. Or else why wouldn't she claim the first position?

Chen Long was standing in the very middle of the arena. On all the sides the excited disciples were watching him, waiting to see who would come out to fight him.

Unlike some others, Chen Long didn't feel pressured in the slightest when it came to public exposure. He was grinning like a child, his large biceps crossed over his broad chest.

"Come at me" he shouted!

Po Xuan from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion was the first to step forward. And yet he barely had the time to hear a few of his fellow disciples chant his name in encouragement before the crowd exploded.

He was only about halfway to Chen Long when Xiao Yue stepped out of the Star-Sword corner. In a burst of dark Yin energy, Xiao Yue had crossed the distance that separated her from the middle. They were both at the same cultivation level but the difference in speed was already evident.

Chen Long gritted his teeth. Suddenly he didn't feel so good about taunting his adversaries in the limelight. Despite the stereotype that permeated the Light-Breaker Pavilion, Chen Long of course was not all brawn and no brains.

"She hasn't taken it out yet. If I meet her head-on, she won't have time to use her devilish techniques. In hand-to-hand combat, I, Chen Long, will not lose to her!"

The Black Devil Spear that had earned Xiao Yue her nickname was yet to be seen.

Powering up his legs, Chen Long leapt towards Xiao Yue. Physical body cultivation held the absolute advantage in close-range combat. Because it didn't require the Shinsoo to go through a medium, the speed at which the flow of energy was able to change was also greatly increased.

In an instant, Chen Long was in front of Xiao Yue, his fist about to be unleashed. A grey runic inscription that started under his sleeve was glowing all the way to his fist.

Even if Chen Long was not a master of extravagant techniques like his fellows from the Light-Breaker Pavilion, he excelled in the basics. His control over the flow of energy in the different parts of his body was top-notch, high level enough to have earned him his place in the top six of his branch.

"Chen Long you moron..." Daoju Kai sighed. He was already in the middle of turning away from the fight before Chen Long and Xiao Yue had landed the first blow. "Li Wei, get ready. I want you to test out the Black Devil Maiden's strength."

Xiao Yue's grey eyes looked absentminded as Chen Long's fist grew closer and closer to her face. With the combined speed of the two coming at each other, there was no way to evade the blow.

Chen Long, who had always taken pride in his speed, was already seeing himself landing a hit on the top disciple when Xiao Yue's palm rose towards him.

Compared to the large body cultivation practitioner's fist, Xiao Yue's hand seemed as small as a pebble in front of a mountain. And yet that small pebble imbued with a dense Yin Shinsoo was enough to shove Chen Long's fist slightly to the side.

With his momentum, he shouldn't have been able to stop himself.

"Don't underestimate me!" grunted Chen Long who was about to hit the ground with his glowing fist. In a feat only someone with his control could do, Chen Long redirected all of his energy into his left heel, instantly changing his attack from a frontal punch to a backwards spinning kick.

But Chen Long spun without encountering any resistance. His divine sense had barely picked up her presence when Xiao Yue landed on his back after a somersault.

"Down you go" she spoke calmly. Chen Long's bulging eyes were reflecting a long black object that seemed to emit a nauseating black smoke.

"When d-did she..." but it was too late. The Black Devil Spear's pole slammed into Chen Long's neck, sending him tumbling to the side, unable to breath and on the verge of passing out.

For a slight second, Chen Long had seen the hesitation in Xiao Yue's eyes. Had she used the other side of her spear, his head would have been separated from his body.

Even if his body had the capacity to still move, Chen Long's mind was too blank to react further. He barely registered the sounds of fighting coming from Po Xuan's direction.

It was only Daoju Kai's voice that woke him up from the nightmare he was experiencing, "You've done enough Chen Long. Switch out for Li Wei."

***

"Heeh... Heeh..." Xiao Yue was breathing heavily. After Chen Long had fallen, she had gone right into fighting Po Xuan.

The boy from the Cloud-Formation Pavilion didn't look like much but he still gave him more of a fight than the big burly Chen Long.

If Po Xuan had been alone, he would not have posed much of a problem to her but due to the format of the fight, Li Wei had arrived rapidly.

From a three-way fight, the situation had quickly changed to a two versus one. As of now Po Xuan and Li Wei knew they had no chance of beating Xiao Yue by themselves so they had to collaborate.

Because of the unexpected move from the Star-Sword Pavilion, the Light-Breaker Pavilion was already down two fighters and the Cloud-Formation Pavilion one. Even if the improvised association between Po Xuan and Li Wei managed to take down Xiao Yue, they had to give it their all, ruining their own stamina for whoever would replace Xiao Yue.

But it was a dangerous bet to make. From the distance, Daoju Kai and Jun Qian were observing the dance of the dark smoke erupting from the Black Devil Spear.

"Li Wei is going to hold out longer than Po Xuan. His stamina is on another level and his body can handle more hits even if he's slower."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Jun Qian, as the leader of the spirit formations practitioners, was already making plans for the next round. Once Po Xuan tapped out, who should he send to fight?

Ssshhhhh...

The Black Devil Spear whistled in the air. Li Wei once more slapped his own body with his palms.

The Light-Breaker cultivator was tall and strong, but not as massive as the others from his Pavilion. His body-refining techniques were slightly different, not relying as much on muscle strength.

He had a shaved head and wore a long cloth wrapped around his body, making him look like a monk. But no monk would ever harbor the fighting spirit of a ferocious beast like him.

"Palm Reinforcement: Purifying Wall!"

Imbuing the Shinsoo from his palms onto his own body, Li Wei received the Black Devil Spear attack like a mosquito bite. With his protective strength technique, the Black Devil smoke couldn't invade his body.

Li Wei grunted. He had the advantage over Po Xuan because he had the opportunity to watch Xiao Yue fight him for a few moments before he himself joined the fray. He had seen the black smoke corrode and hurt Po Xuan like a poisonous gas more than the hit actually damaged him.

That was the danger of Xiao Yue's weapon. Besides her speed and strength, one had to look out for the nauseating smoke which would take any opportunity to attack an opponent.

"Did Big Bro Daoju know that? Is that why he sent me to fight her, because of my Palm Reinforcement? He knew I had the means to forcefully stop the smoke" Li Wei thought.

Next to him, Po Xuan was spitting out blood. His robes were torn in different places and each and every hole in his clothing revealed a blackish skin, very telling of the Black Devil Spear's power.

Li Wei blocked Xiao Yue's attack once again. She was breathing heavily and seemed to have used a lot of power but Li Wei knew otherwise.

"She is dragging this out... What a terrifying girl, that Black Devil Maiden. She hasn't used any heavy attacks yet, nothing from the Star-Sword Canon either, and yet I can't find any opening to land a blow on her."

Forced into a defensive position, Li Wei had no means to attack. What's more he was forced to repeatedly use his Palm Reinforcement, further draining out his resources.

His only hope of taking down Xiao Yue was whoever would replace Po Xuan.

"Po Xuan, retreat. I'll take your place."

A proud and lofty voice rose up above the clash between Li Wei and Xiao Yue.

"You're finally coming out, eh, Jun Qian?" Xiao Yue smiled devilishly.

The Cloud Master's direct disciple was standing right next to them. According to the rules he was waiting for Po Xuan to step back in order to enter the fight himself.

Li Wei thought "When did he arrive? I haven't felt his presence at all until he spoke." Was Xiao Yue waiting for him to step forward?

"If it's you, I can't concentrate on another opponent at the same time. Star-Sword Canon second form..."

In an instant, Xiao Yue's posture changed dramatically.

"Piercing Heavens!!"

The Black Devil Spear suddenly accelerated, taking Li Wei almost by surprise. His glowing palms on one another in front of him, he attempted one last Palm Reinforcement.

The tip of the spear spun right into his flesh, piercing both his palms at the same time and landing into his shoulder. Li Wei's second to last thoughts before passing out were that of despair. He now finally understood that all along she had been toying with him, draining his Shinsoo for this one attack.

All under the eyes of Jun Qian, who seemed completely disinterested in Li Wei's fate.

"M-monsters..." said Li Wei as he was falling to the ground. Xiao Yue, Jun Qian, his Big Bro Daoju, they were all simply on another level.

"Jun Qian, it is our turn now" said Xiao Yue as she called the Black Devil Spear back to her hand.

Jun Qian slowly took out his hands from the sleeves of his white daoist robe, "Are you sure you don't need Bai Fulong to save you, this time?"

Internally, Jun Qian was torn between excitement and disappointment. He had been wanting to fight Xiao Yue for a long time, especially because the two of them were their respective Pavilion Master's direct disciples.

But more than that, what Jun Qian wanted was to get revenge on Shin Sumi for the Rising Star Tournament. He was smart, though, and knew that Shin Sumi went under the name Bai Fulong in the Star-Sword Pavilion. He wasn't aware of the reason for hiding her identity but with all the Elders watching he didn't dare reveal that fact. Some matters were simply above him, even if it pained him to admit it.

Instead of answering his taunt, Xiao Yue spun her spear in front of her, conjuring the last drops of Shinsoo she had available in her dantian.

"Black Devil Domain: Despair Mist!"

"Wax Domain: Congealed Puppet!"

The time for jokes was over. Faced with each other, both cultivators had to go all out.

At the same time Xiao Yue unleashed a large black curtain over them, Jun Qian let out a pale grey wax domain.

"Creating a pseudo-domain while only being in the Liquid Realm... This generation isn't bad at all" Patriarch Sen murmured.

Next to him, the Grand Elder Chu Xuanba nodded, "These two are in the third step- no, they are almost reaching the fourth step of the Liquid Realm. Master Sword and Master Cloud truly have fostered great disciples."

It was said that creating a domain was one of the hardest cultivation techniques to be produced. Other types of techniques were basically rendered useless in front of a domain. A full domain could only appear from some cultivators of the Core Development Realm but it wasn't the complete set of requirements.

Besides the cultivation level, one had to achieve a great compatibility with their cultivation techniques. The simple fact that Xiao Yue and Jun Qian were capable of such a feat proved that their respective affinity with the Black Devil Spear and the mysterious magical wax. Moreover, a large amount of Shinsoo was needed to simply sustain a domain.

The two domains clashed with each other constantly, trying to push their borders towards their opponents.

The black curtain seemed to corrode anything it touched aggressively and yet it was starting to show difficulty to impede the wax curtain's progression.

Insidious and tentacular, the world of wax was slowly but surely expanding, taking over Xiao Yue's side.

Jun Qian was gnashing his teeth, beads of sweat pearling on his forehead, "Xiao Yue... How deep are your resources?!"

It was obvious for both fighters that Jun Qian was the victor of this confrontation. Xiao Yue was reaching her limits, especially since she had taken down three fighters before Jun Qian's arrival.

"I will drain your energy until I can't get up anymore!" Xiao Yue's eyes seemed to scream at Jun Qian.

The crowd watching the clash between the two head-disciples of their own Pavilions had grown almost silent. It wasn't that they didn't want to speak, it was more of a matter of being so awe-struck and pressured by the intense Shinsoo flow of their pseudo-domains that they simply couldn't utter a word.

Jun Qian and Xiao Yue simply were on another level compared to them.

Even Meng Wa was stuck in place and had difficulty moving. He, too, was a fighter in the arena and yet he couldn't approach the two domains.

His entire body was telling him that if he tried to get closer he would get engulfed in their techniques and be eaten alive.

The stalemate between the Cloud-Formation Pavilion and the Star-Sword Pavilion's number one ranked didn't last long. Xiao Yue had depleted all of her energy.

Avoiding the backlash from having her pseudo-domain forcibly cut open, she decided to retract it herself. It was her loss this time, but after all this was a team battle.

Signaling the rest of the Star-Sword Pavilion line-up, Xiao Yue exited the arena, leaving her place to another fighter.

"Tai Bu, it's your turn. Make him burn, okay?" said the exhausted Xiao Yue right before sitting down. Tai Bu didn't reply and simply nodded. He was about to turn and go fight Jun Qian who was now in the process of beating Meng Wa, when a voice that directly attacked his nervous system called to him.

"Hey Tai Bu... Erm listen, I don't really care about your weapon but since you're fighting Jun Qian I want to maximize our chances so... Here you go."

Quite nonchalantly, Bai Fulong slapped his bag of holding and tossed the Flaming Whip to Tai Bu, speechless as he was.

The intense struggle that pervaded Tai Bu's mind could not be seen by others. It only lasted the time it takes to blink but Tai Bu went from refusing to accepting his weapon back a hundred times or more.

"This doesn't mean our issues are resolved" he finally told himself. Without another word, Tai Bu entered the arena, cracking his knuckles and unfurling the leather black whip.

The Flaming Whip was exactly the same as when Bai Fulong had stolen it from him, two years prior. Tai Bu was even impressed that its conditions had not deteriorated, completely unaware that it was Elder Peng's spells and formations that had prevented Shin Sumi from tampering with it.

Squeezing his fingers imbued with Shinsoo on the leather handle, a magical fire spread rapidly along the whip's entire length.

"Flaming Whip, Fire Ring!" Tai Bu joined the fray, launching fiery blade through the air, each attack accompanied by an earth shattering cracking sound.

In this moment, Tai Bu was glad he had continued to teach himself techniques compatible with his whip, even when he had not seen the weapon for a long time. In his hand, the Flaming Whip had become part of his body, it was like a second nature to him.

One of the fire blades launched with his first attack landed on Meng Wa's arm. Instantly, the scorching smell of charred flesh rose as a painful wail tore open the fighter's lips. The fire technique was so powerful that, had Meng Wa not been a body cultivator, his arm would have been simply cut off here and then.

Unable to do anything in the face of Jun Qian and Tai Bu, Meng Wa retreated to the Light-Breaker Pavilion.

Turning toward Tai Bu, Jun Qian smiled and spoke.

"We have about a few seconds before the Light-Breaker guys send out a very powerful dude. Brother Tai Bu, let's enjoy ourselves in the meantime, okay?"