Cult of the Sacred Runes

“Peak ten-star Warrior?! This youngster from South Star is not ordinary at all! No wonder Qi Xiu is taking this so seriously, he must have fought him at South Star before!” On the sides of the platform students from Galaxy Academy were surprised that they actually had to swallow their words regarding South Star Academy, but on the other hand they couldn’t help but admire the shiny Qi armor on Ye Wei’s body.

Ordinary ten-star Warriors could not be compared to their peak-level counterparts, not physically and certainly not mentally. Young cultivators of that level were a rare sight even in top schools like Galaxy Academy.

“Hey everyone! This match is heating up.” The Mo Patriarch notified the others as the clashing of two young elite cultivators was by no means a normal sight this early in the tournament. Nearly everyone on the cloud platform glanced over to platform ten, and upon seeing what was happening they were astonished. It even caught the City Lord’s interest while the cultivators from the Green Army pointed their scared faces towards Ye Wei and Qi Xiu watching how the match would unfold.

The big names were refreshed and interested. “I can’t believe South Star has a peak ten-star Warriors in their team!” The fights between less powerful cultivators were too bland to keep their attention.

“Well I still think Qi Xiu has the edge!” The Mo Patriarch replied in a playful tone while observing. He became increasingly biased without even noticing.

“Humph!” Feeling the intensity of Qi in Ye Wei’s light armor, a slightly concerned looked flashed through Qi Xiu’s face. He then grunted and held his sword even tighter.

“Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!”

They heavy sword gently rattled, as the whirlwind around it turned green causing a windblade to appear around the sword’s sharp edge. This blade left an uneven cut on the amethyst stage.

Both Ye Wei and Qi Xiu’s presence was expanding and stirring up a wind that quickly grew larger than the platform. The contestants from both schools and the audience near by all had to take a few steps back. They were surprised to see how much stronger Ye and Qi were than they expected and imagined.

“You’re dead!” Qi Xiu broke the heavy silence as he stomped the ground and turned into a shadow. He tilted his sword forward to minimize drag and under the watchful eyes of everyone present he pounced towards Ye Wei with the posture of a bloodthirsty wild beast.

The dense, sharp windblade left a green trail of light in the air, and it carved a deep groove on the amethyst ground as Qi Xiu approached his opponent at an incredible speed.

Ye Wei watched the approaching threat with an intense gaze, and with a gentle tap of his toes he shifted to the left effortlessly dodging the falling sword as he let Qi Xiu pass to his side.

The two bumped shoulders and exchanged an aggressive look. Ye Wei didn’t miss the chance to impose a counterattack as his silver fist flew towards Qi Xiu’s right side. ‘I didn’t train for three years to be beaten by someone like you!’ His eyes shone with a determined glow.

Qi Xiu’s remained calm as he swung his sword horizontally towards Ye Wei’s neck. The windblade left the sword and flew to the target before the sword itself was even close to Ye Wei.

Qi Xiu’s killing intent was clear to all present as he followed through with his aggression. He recognized Ye Wei as a real threat. Ye Wei grunted, and the light armor plates slid and rearranged themselves with a couple extra layers stacked around his neck.

Ye Wei felt comfortable enough to just put his neck to the oncoming strike, and keep up the aggression with his heavy punches.

Sensing an intense pressure approaching as Ye Wei’s fist got closer and closer, Qi Xiu’s face changed. He didn’t expect Ye Wei to react in such controversial manner as if being cut on the neck was not a big deal at all. Qi Xiu quickly moved his sword to defend himself. Just before Ye Wei’s fist was about to land on his ribcage, he managed to place the sword between the fist and his body.

“Bang!”

Qi Xiu’s windblade was the first to land, and a shower of blinding sparks burst forth from Ye Wei’s neck as Qi Xiu dragged his blade against the light armor making a shrill grinding sound.

The windblade could not penetrate the strengthened armor, and it only left behind a scratch before it dispersed from the impact. Within a second his punch landed on Qi Xiu’s sword.

The Qi sword in Qi Xiu’s hand vibrated from the force behind Ye Wei’s punch, and it was showing signs of collapsing.

Qi Xiu felt a numbing pain between his thumb and index finger immediately after he loosened his grip he felt the penetrating force of Ye Wei’s fist was not stopping. He therefore twisted and spun his body to avoid the overwhelming force. He couldn’t help but lost his footing, and he was forced to take three steps back before regaining his balance.

“You can’t get away!” Ye Wei did not leave Qi Xiu any breathing space. His fist was as determined as its owner. It struck once again at the same target, and the pressure wave created a strong wind that forced Qi Xiu’s loose black robe to his skin.

Ye Wei figured out that when facing opponents like Qi Xiu it was important to keep applying pressure, or else, he would never find any openings or weaknesses he could take advantage of.

Qi Xiu’s pupils dilated. He could not believe Ye Wei remained unharmed after taking the heavy sword blow on the neck, and even more so that Ye Wei could deliver such a powerful counter strike. He channeled his Qi and quickly pulled the sword back leaving a green trail in the air.

Ye Wei’s fist cut through the heavy atmosphere again with a shrill noise. The second punch also landed on Qi Xiu’s sword. As it did it bent the sturdy-looking sword to an unnatural curve threatening its integrity.

“Bang!”

‘His strength is incredible!’ Qi Xiu’s face turned pale as he took one step after another backwards, and finally he managed to stabilize ten meters away from where he was hit. He started panting and glaring at Ye Wei with unprecedented concern in his eyes.

The Polaris team remembered seeing this extremely stressful expression on Qi Xiu’s face when he faced the third strongest of the God’s Seven Xuan Yu. ‘Ye Wei gave him a pressure that was no less intense than Xuan Yu’s. Maybe Ye Wei’s strength was similar to Xuan Yu? Qi Xiu is not looking like his normal self at all...’

“It is not looking good for Qi Xiu!”

The Polaris Academy cultivators stood at the back with dropped jaws. Although they knew Qi Xiu has yet to show his full strength, seeing him in a disadvantaged position brewed storms in their hearts.

“Astonishing!” Further away from the platform, the speculating Galaxy Academy students were shocked. They could feel with their faces the brisky wind generated by Ye Wei’s fist. The pain on their skin told them the dark horse of this year’s tournament came from Green Moon City, and there shouldn’t be a problem for South Star to get into top ten.

The angle Qi Xiu’s sword was bent told a similar story. The audience on the cloud platform were stunned to see how the fight unraveled. The men in golden armor nodded satisfyingly, and although judging from the level of cultivation neither Ye Wei or Qi Xiu was strong enough to be recruited by the Green Army, they were aware neither of the fighters were not giving it their all.

“The battle has only just begun!” Qi Xiu’s face turned ashen, “Your confidence will cost you!”

‘Myst stance – Thousand Shadow Windblade!’ Qi Xiu grunted and a surge of will-force and Qi burst out of his body. Using his sword instead of fingers, he drew a sequence of few hundred runes in a second.

The light on Qi Xiu’s sword intensified as breezes with a green colored glow appeared in the air as Qi Xiu’s body began to float. Concentrating greatly, he quickly flicked his arm and the sword vibrated activating the rune sequence which started circulating in the air.

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!”

With each flick, the sword left a blurry after image in the air. These after images then attracted and merged with the runes in the air forming multiple runic swords.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Qi Xiu flicked the sword nine times, and the Qi within each runic sword was not weaker than the sword in his hand.

“It’s Thousand Shadow Windblade! Brother Qi Xiu must be feeling pretty angry!” The Polaris students realised Qi Xiu just used the seventh strongest stance out of the academy’s collection of one hundred and seventy-two high-level Spirit stances, and for many of these students it was the first time seeing this stance used.

“But... Nine windblades? I thought it was suppose to be three?”

“Yea! Brother Qi refined it into a Myst stance. It’s still so early in the fight to use something this powerful... He must be really eager to end the fight! I guess it’s about time to stop them dreaming!”

The Polaris students were excited to see one of the Myst stances that made Qi Xiu famous.

“This will be the end! Three peak ten-star Warriors fell to this peak low-level Myst stance and that’s only counting the fights that I heard about!” The Mo Patriarch said and the audience up on the cloud platform nodded.

“The fight has just started.” City Lord Chen Yuan said while taking a sip from his wine glass and smiled. He remembered Ye Wei’s face when he was testing the mental strength of this year’s contestants.

“Eh?” The City Lord’s comment intrigued many as more and more of the giants seated on the cloud platform were drawn to watch the South Star – Polaris matchup.

“Another Myst stance? You have seven of those right? Let’s see how strong each of them are. If you have enough will-force and Qi to use them that is!” Ye Wei channeled his energy, cautiously assessing every since stroke of the runes Qi Xiu drew.

“I will play with you!” Ye Wei mumbled to himself and drew a small half circle on the ground with his foot; he then stomped, launching himself towards Qi Xiu. While he was in the air, his fingertips twinkled and injected an intense surge of Qi into the rune sequence next to him.

The sequence intertwined and transformed into a three headed scaled beast that resembled the statue in Bloodmist Valley, and the green fire on its body distorted the air around.

‘Selenic Descend’ Ye Wei grunted and the green globe of fire accelerated towards Qi Xiu.