107. Tournament
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'How strong is this Disciple Jiang?!' Everyone wondered, as Huo Xingchen picked himself up, dusted his robes, and slinked quietly to an empty table.
Meanwhile, Disciple Jiang faced the Yueyan party again.
"Tell me... Which of you Yueyan juniors beat up Zhang Cheng?" He asked, and silence descended.
He raised a brow. "It can't be you..." He scorned at Li San, who was perfectly fine with staring at the empty table. "Who was it?" He eyed Weiyan.
"A face to indeed start wars." His eyes flew to her ponytail. "And the Xu Clan hair accessory... You must be Xu Weiyan, the fiancee who abandoned Xiaocheng (Zhang Cheng). The so-called 'White Swallow' who slayed the Black Dragon."
Whispers and mutters rose into the air as everyone realized Weiyan's identity, and their gazes were now filled with skepticism, admiration, respect, or envy.
"Was it you, then?" Disciple Jiang narrowed his eyes at her.
Weiyan was already in no mood, and her irises barely shifted in his direction. "The one who defeated Zhang Cheng is not here. But do tell us what foods you were fed to make you like this... We must avoid such dishes in the future."
Silent snickers filled the space and Disciple Jiang scowled.
"You-!" He snarled. "It doesn't matter if it wasn't you who defeated him! Weren't you ultimately his downfall?! A young prominent heir took you, a nameless, traceless entity, under his wing, but you abandoned him for some side trash!"
Outraged gasps burst forth from the Yueyan party and Weiyan scowled, but Disciple Jiang merely scoffed.
"Hmph! Indicate one thing I've said that is false! *White-eyed wolf! An orphaned dog biting the hand which fed --!"
(*Ungrateful person).
A thunderous aura swept through the room suddenly, and the restaurant trembled violently.
Everyone was startled into action, pulling out weapons or talismans, and those upstairs began leaping down just in case the building decided it was done with the business of remaining upright.
Weiyan frowned but didn't move at all, and she met Disciple Jiang's eyes.
"Heh! I advise you to discontinue your pointless rant. It hurts the ears, and most of all, it might cause you harm."
Disciple Jiang glared at her for a brief moment, and it was evident he might have harmed her if they were alone.
But he thought better of it.
There was indeed a 'No fight rule' in Yu Shui City, and for the duration of the tournament, any defaulter would be disqualified.
He growled lowly. "I'll destroy you in the Arena!" He promised with an ugly glare at Weiyan.
Then he rose up and left, the remaining Huofeng members following him.
"What does he mean by that?" Xu Min wondered aloud. "Seniors won't be competing with Juniors, will they...?"
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The next day dawned with a light rain, but the showers began right on the hour, and ended in exactly twenty minutes.
Weiyan stared out the inn room window.
'Even the weather is precise!' She thought, noting the odd timing of the rain.
But she pushed it from her mind...
Unlike the previous day, she was in high spirits and actually looked forward to the tournament which was set to begin in a few hours.
The rest of the morning was filled with regular preparations, a light breakfast, and more instructions from Sect Leader Xu.
"Remember, your lives are important, and no title or victory is worth harming your foundation... Rather than win honour for Yueyan, I want you all to return in one piece!
"So try your hardest, but don't harm yourselves to win!"
"Understood!" All fifteen bowed, barely able to suppress the current of excitement shooting through them, and they briefly forgot any imminent dangers initially attached to this trip.
This was the Baishan Tournament after all...
A rare opportunity to see some of the most powerful figures in Baishan and possibly get recognised by them!
A little later, all had gathered at a massive Arena, larger than the Yueyan Central Arena, and the contestants stared around in awe.
Weiyan couldn't help but notice a bit of confusion on a few faces. These were random citizens of Yu Shui city who seemed genuinely surprised to see the Arena, but before she got another look, they would suddenly beam and nod, as if convinced that the Arena was a normal sight.
Even weirder was their arrival time. Not one arrived late, and they filed into the arena in neat lines.
'Hmph...' Weiyan tore her eyes away from the spectators and admired the Arena itself.
Unlike the Yueyan Arena, Yu Shui's arena was a vast and enormous semi-circle with the flat side raised high into the air and sloping into the curved side which was filled with stepped seats. Flags flew on incredibly high poles, waving in the wind.
There was a wide and gilded platform right in the middle, with all contestants already present atop it.
A massive crowd filled the stepped seats, but most eyes were on the flat side, where several viewing boxes floated along the high wall, with ornate seats for members of the Wulin, Sect Leaders, and other dignitaries.
Sect Leader Xu and other high ranking Sect Leaders were automatic members of the Wulin, so they sat in the largest box which floated at the heart of the raised seats, and Sect Leader Xu beamed down at the Yueyan contestants who stood together on the platform.
Surrounding them were the other dignitaries in smaller sets of seats, and in one of them, Lord Li's eyes also rested on the Yueyan contestants, a smug smile on his lips.
Meanwhile, on the highest point of the wall, two lone figures appeared on throne-like seats, watching the whole arena. One was dressed in pure white robes from head to feet, a white veiled hat on his head.
Everyone recognized him as the odd gatekeeper, and even now, a table sat before him with a brush hovering above it, as if he intended to paint the entire scene.
Beside him on a larger throne was a handsome middle-aged man in resplendent black and gold robes, neat beards, and a charming and welcoming smile.
The crowd of Yu Shui residents stood as one and bowed in their direction, chorusing in a mighty echo, "We pay our respects, City Master!"
'So that's the City Master?!' Weiyan thought, along with the other contestants, as no one had seen the City Master before the tournament.
The Wulin and other dignitaries could barely get a look, as they were already seated and he was floating high above.
No one had thought about it before now, but their sitting positions were likely a deliberate insult, placing them right beneath the City Master and Gatekeeper, and several members of the wulin and dignitaries now wore sour looks.
The City Master simply smirked, as two black crystal butterflies circled around him and the Gatekeeper.
~"Mistress, I don't understand... Now that they're here, why don't we simply kill them all?"~ The City Master asked through telepathy as he flicked invisible lint off his shoulder.
~"Oh? Since when am I required to explain my actions to you?"~ The voice echoed in his head, accompained by a gripping pain throughout his body, and he fisted a hand over his knee, sweat breaking out on his brow.
~"My apologies, Mistress! I Misspoke!"~ The pain instantly vanished, and he drew in a breath, struggling to keep his composure.
The Gatekeeper's irises darted in his direction.
~"Calm yourself..."~ He simply warned.
The City Master scowled as a large gong rang out suddenly, and the moderator, a member of the Wulin, floated upwards to begin the tournament.
The Junior tournament was first, so all contestants cleared the stage for the first duel, while two junior disciples stepped up.
A large yellow shield instantly surrounded them, and the moderator yelled, "Begin...!"
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The Junior tournament went on without a hitch, and the Yueyan junior disciples mostly found things rather easy. It was not hard to win every duel, and they were soon in the quarter-finals, with only Li San losing to a stronger Yunchi disciple.
"Yueyan Sect indeed has hidden geniuses!" A spectator commented after a spectacular victory from Xu Wen, who had successfully locked a stronger opponent with his vines, enhanced with one of Luoyin's talismans
"This year, there are four new geniuses!" Another exclaimed. "Who is their master?! Surely some hidden powerful elder!"
Sect Leader Xu resisted a severe urge to smirk. These 'junior' disciples were even stronger than they had been during the Yueyan finals, and recently, he had discovered they indeed had a hidden 'Master'...
Who would guess that their 'Master' was Zhang Luoyin, a young fellow who was once looked down on?
The next day, the Quarter finals and Semi finals were held.
In the Quarter finals, Tao Yun lost to a Yunchi Sect disciple and Xu Wen lost to a Huofeng disciple, leaving only Xu Weiyan and Xu Min in the semi finals.
The next duel was between Xu Min and the Yunchi Sect disciple, and there was silence in the Central Arena as the first semi-final match began.
Xu Min stepped onto the platform, his light blue robes fluttering in the breeze, and his light purple aura swirling softly around him as he faced his opponent...
Yao Shanfeng of Yunchi Sect.
From the raised boxes, Lord Li lifted an eyebrow. 'Interesting...'
Yao Shanfeng wore the brown robes and leather trappings of Yunchi Sect, and two curved hunting blades were strapped to his back. His leather arm-guards bore bands that glowed faintly, and several talismans fluttered at his waist like flags.
His expression was cold, and his eagle-sharp eyes were fixed on Xu Min with annoyance.
"Three of my juniors fell to you." Shanfeng said darkly. "I won't let Yueyan rise by stepping on Yunchi."
Xu Min gave the common polite bow between cultivators. "I'm only here to fight fairly. Please educate me."
"Hmph."
Around the arena, murmurs stirred.
"Isn't Yao Shanfeng the son of Yunchi Sect's top hunter..?"
"The one nicknamed the 'Talisman deity'!"
"This Yueyan upstart can't win this one!"
Yao Shanfeng reached for a talisman between his fingers. It flared green and dissolved in a flash of light, making the wind surge.
"Begin!" The signal rang out, and Shanfeng instantly moved like an arrow, vanishing and reappearing behind Xu Min in the same breath.
His hunting blades slashed in a criss-cross pattern, backed by speed-enhancing talismans.
But Xu Min was already airborne, and his sword rotated behind him like a wheel of light.
"Twin Petals."
Two radiant arcs of purple wind burst forth, spinning and deflecting Shanfeng's blades as Xu Min retreated lightly in midair.
Shanfeng didn't stop. He dropped to a knee and flung three bone-carved throwing knives into the sky - each wrapped in talisman paper.
They exploded into razor-sharp chains of water, writhing toward Xu Min from three sides.
Xu Min narrowed his eyes, and with a flick of his fingers, a talisman shot from his sleeve and flashed before him.
*Poof!*
A whirl of light appeared and a figure swapped places with Xu Min at the last moment.
The light cleared, and a ripple of surprise passed through the crowd who could now see Yao Shanfeng's chain attack bound to a clone instead of Xu Min.
"Ei?!" A spectator gasped. "Level ten clone talisman?! So expensive!"
Clone talismans were decently cheap, but the higher the level, the more expensive, as their speed was meant to match an elder, at least!
Back on the platform, Yao Shanfeng frowned, his blades circling around him.
"Hmph. So you play with talismans too."
"I have a good teacher!" Xu Min replied, and Yao Shanfeng let out a short laugh.
"Hao! Then let's see if he taught you this!"
He flung five talismans into the air, and they shimmered into an array of red flame like beasts, comprising a tiger, a hawk, a serpent, a boar, and a wolf.
And these beasts all roared, charging forward toward Xu Min...
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