Cult of the Sacred Runes

The menacing structure looked large enough to poke a hole in the sky, and millions of runes flowed throughout the whole length in an organized but complex pattern, giving off the semblance of a fingerprint.

“Although Lone Finger Blast is incomplete, it is certainly powerful enough to kill you.” Zhou Kuang murmured while sneering hysterically. The tip segment fell onto Ye Wei with a downward swing like a pendulum.

Zhou Kuang could barely remember the rune sequence, whereas the correct order and the shapes were his limit. Having had very limited knowledge of the mid-level Earth stance, he had yet to become capable of powering the blast efficiently. His face turned completely pale as his Qi and will-force were completely drained.

Feeling as though he was pushed to the edge of a cliff, Zhou Kuang was betting it all on this one last stance; his instinct told him that he had no chance of winning a long fight against Ye Wei’s immaculate and efficient fighting style.

Ye Wei’s robe pressed against his body, and his entire hairdo was pulled backwards, fluttering backwards in the face of the high-pressure turbulence. But he appeared abnormally calm.

“You are finally showing your ace in the sleeve?” Ye Wei smiled indifferently, slowly taking a small step forward. A light orb shot out from between his brows, glowing and expanding into a humanoid shape.

‘Light Clone!’

Having been improved by Blood Devourer crystals, Ye Wei’s clone was also at three-star returned prime level. But unlike his real body, the clone could feel no pain and no fear; it was therefore capable of fighting with reckless abandon.

All it took was a glance, and the light clone turned into a flash as Ye Wei cast his eyes onto the large, falling finger.

“Bang!”

With great speed, the flash of light crashed into the finger’s top joints. The clone was only a thousandth of the Lone Finger Blast’s size, with the semblance of an ant holding onto a giant pillar. But despite the size disadvantage, its momentum and Qi presence was in no way weaker than Zhou Kuang’s best stance.

“Rumble!”

The sky shook and the ground trembled. Although prepared for a huge impact, all the initiates were startled. They could hear nothing as their ears buzzed, whereas the weaker cultivators were even impaired by the vertigo they incurred while the waves of recoil from the impact bounced off and knocked down the group.

Just seconds after the collision, the finger shape was snapped and shredded while the light clone disintegrated.

“That wraps it up.” Ye Wei spoke calmly, as the dispersal of his clone did nothing to affect his well-being by any means. The belt of runes he surfed on brought him immediately next to his opponent.

Zhou Kuang, immobilized by the shockwave produced by Ye Wei’s speed, was swatted down by a palm strike before he could even react.

‘No!’ The disbelieving thought entered Zhou Kuang’s mind before he hit the ground, but the impact of crashing into the ground shut his brain off at almost the same time.

“Bang!”

Another man-shaped crater was made close to where Feng Shan was knocked into the ground.

The square was silenced, the initiates had their eyes widened, jaws dropped, and most had forgotten to breathe; considering they could barely defend themselves against the shockwaves of the mid-level Earth stance even as a collective, they were therefore stunned to see that Ye Wei stood casually and completely unscathed afterwards.

“Zhou Kuang lost...” Bai Qing murmured, and his throat was dry from breathing through his mouth. His voice was therefore breaking and barely audible.

“Take him back here! And feed this to him.” He cleared his throat and gave something to one of his men, sounding panicked despite his efforts to appear calm. “None of us here will be able to handle that newbie. I am going to Black Dragon Valley now to chat with someone who can.”

“Swoosh!”

Bai Qing’s figure had disappeared mysteriously in front of his group while his voice was still ringing in the air.

“This newbie beat Zhou Kuang!?”

“In my opinion, he is one of the strongest three-star returned prime Warriors off the black dragon list. Something will happen to the rankings soon by the look of things.”

“The ones living in the valley won’t let anyone destroy the tradition, we can’t have the initiates think we are equals...”

“They are probably focused on training, but I can almost guarantee you that they will be interested in sorting this kid out.”

“We are witnessing history right now. I think we should let them know.”

More and more veterans gathered to talk after Zhou Kuang’s defeat, as they could not bear to just stand and watch. The ones that had contact with the listers sped towards Black Dragon Valley individually but simultaneously.

The Million Star Palace stretched over a hundred miles, and one thousand of the facility’s most lavish villas were located in the Black Dragon Valley, each of them assigned to a powerful elite cultivator.

The green hills were joined by an almost circular ridge, containing a large, layered and flowing current of white mist inside the area, within which strands of runes were swimming and wiggling. The valley was deep and bottomless to even the sharpest eyesight. It was shrouded in mysterious surges of energy, making the landmark a functional and modifiable array.

Exactly one thousand villas were orderly floating in the mist, decorating the depth of Black Dragon Valley. They were homes to the most talented talents and the smartest of the smarts.

***

Bai Qing’s figure appeared in the mist, before a luxurious villa. This particular structure belonged to a renowned figure - Qing Mu the Spiritualist.

Qing Mu was mentally extremely mature for his young age. His old-fashioned approach to life extended to his physical image; he was always in a taoist robe, dressed and accessorized like a person more than thrice his age. His given name was Qing Mu, but he always prefered others addressing him as ‘the spiritualist’.

Although the title Spiritualist was more commonly used to address god’s prime Warrior, the residents of Million Star Palace did not deny Qing Mu his title. They all approved of Qing Mu’s strength, obliging in silent acquiescence.

The cultivator behind Bai Qing and Zhou Kuang was none other than the Spiritualist. They were in fact sent by Qing Mu to soften this year’s initiates.

“Spiritualist. It’s me, Bai Qing. I come here bearing important news.” He flew above the villa and shouted with respect.

“I didn’t expect you to take this long. Where is your partner? Why is Zhou Kuang not with you?” Qing Mu slowly walked out to the terrace as he tied his hair up in a bun and secured it with a moss-green wooden hairpin, while his cyan robe was almost long enough to sweep the tiles.

“I am here to talk about why it took so long.” Bai Qing’s voice became quieter as his face turned red. “There was a radical within the initiates. He managed to defeat Feng Shan with just one blow, and then he handled Luo Han with ease. And... he defeated Zhou Kuang too!”

“Eh?” Qing Mu knitted his brows, frustrated and surprised as he was aware of Zhou Kuang’s capabilities. ‘Even I had to go through some tough times from the veterans when I first came here. It taught me many great lessons and I am not going to let the tradition fade, especially when I am responsible for giving them a hard time in the beginning.’

“Exactly how strong is the kid? Enough to challenge the black dragon list do you think? I mean, Zhou Kuang is probably the strongest three-star returned prime Warrior outside of this valley.” The easiest way for Qing Mu to teach Ye Wei a lesson would be sending himself to the ring, but he knew nobody would be humbled by facing an overwhelming difference in cultivation bases.

“Cultivation-wise, he is just a ten-star condensed prime Warrior, but he is armed with a very powerful body strengthening stance that made him as strong as a three-star returned prime Warrior. Apart from that, he used a clone technique that also had three-star returned prime level power.” Bai Qing slightly lowered his head and said.

“As strong as a three-star returned prime Warrior?” Qing Mu the Spiritualist narrowed his eyes, paused and continued, “Let Jin Kui know we will be needing him.”

“Are you sure!?” Bai Qing’s eyes lit up; although Jin Kui ranked low on the black dragon list, he was known to be the best three-star returned prime Warrior in the Million Star Palace, especially in terms of strength, speed and mastery in fighting.

“Okay, I will notify him!” Bai Qing left for another villa once he got the nod from Qing Mu the spiritualist.

***

“Qing Yao? Qing Yao!” In the thick mist of the valley, a girl who witnessed Ye Wei’s victory arrived at a villa, eagerly shouting.

“Xue Er? You can come in!” A clear voice came out of the villa, a refreshing sound that resembled the quality of jade bell’s chime.

All the villas in the valley were protected by a runic barrier, which meant nobody could enter the villas without the owners’ permission.

The gate opened, and Xue Er, almost hopping, entered the main hall with bouncy steps. She was immediately greeted by the sight of a girl, who sat behind a table and a rack full of brushes, whose face was covered by a veil.

The owner of the villa was in the middle of transferring a scenic view from her memory onto canvas with black ink and a brush, but her white robe was spotless. Although her face was covered, the glow of her bright eyes shone through; her black pupils seemed to suck in all that she beheld.

Qing Yao was of a cold-tempered, fairy-like character. Although unsociable, being the third strongest cultivator on the black dragon list made her receive much attention.

“Qing Yao! Something interesting just happened! Would you like to know what it is?” Xue Er was lively and cheerful in contrast. She waved her arms and legs around as she spoke, smiling playfully like a child.