Cult of the Sacred Runes

“Bang!”

With a loud but muffled rumble, Jin Kui steadily landed in the ring. The whole square shook and the fissures in the green stone foundation cracked wider and longer. A gust of glittering green dust filled the whole square instantly.

The initiates were all in awe, stunned by the display of incredible strength and balance. Their fear grew as their fervor subsided, once again backing themselves up to a corner.

Even though the initiates could not recognize the face they saw, they instinctively knew they were looking at someone out of their reach, someone who won himself a place on the black dragon list.

“Jin Kui!” Unlike the newcomers, Baili Hengtian knew the face. He was in complete shock, calling the name out when the dust settled.

‘How can they allow this?! This is too much!’ The caretaker exclaimed in his mind, shook his head reluctantly, and then murmured. “One thousand year of tradition boils down to a display of ego. This is getting disgusting if anything. If they can just send one of the lower ranked listers, Ye Wei might even have a chance to move to the valley. This is unnecessary and unfair...”

Out of all thirty thousand talented cultivators in the palace, there was no denying that Jin Kui was the strongest cultivator at his level; his talent could easily win him fights against four-star returned prime Warriors outside the palace.

However strong Ye Wei was, he was just a sixteen-year-old initiate. None of the veterans actually thought the arrangement was in any way fair but nonetheless looked forward to the fight.

“Black dragon lister. Finally.” Ye Wei narrowed his eyes, and his sharp sight pierced through the greenish screen of dust to procure a view of Jin Kui’s dense and visible aura. His every sense told him that the person inside the screen of dust was extremely dangerous.

“For a thousand years, the palace had seen more talents than you can imagine, and all of them were roughed up when they were new. I, Jin Kui, am here to make sure that you will not be an exception.” Jin Kui walked out of the settling dust and stared at Ye Wei. “You have beaten three veterans, and you should learn that there is always someone stronger than you out there.”

Jin Kui analyzed his opponent with a cold gaze, and his short blond hair stood up like the mane of a prowling lion; he was eager to expose Ye Wei’s weaknesses.

“I’ve been looking forward to this!” Ye Wei’s eyes lit up, and he gently clenched his fist, warming up his muscles. Whether or not he could get into the black dragon list was insignificant an issue as he just wished to to push himself to the limit and expand his body’s capability.

“Bang!”

A whirling gust began to build up around Ye Wei’s body as his Qi heated up, dragging the dust up and out of the square.

“You have the strength of a three-star returned prime Warrior, correct? I just so happen to be a three-star returned prime Warrior.” Jin Kui teased with a smile, speaking in a rather disrespectful tone. “You don’t think I am a bully, right?

“Not at all. I am grateful that you are willing to fight me. Please don’t hesitate to show me the strength that got you to where you are now.” Ye Wei fearlessly smiled at Jin Kui.

“Very well. I admire your attitude.” Jin Kui’s gaze turned cold and harsh. His body shook and a surge of golden energy oozed out vigorously. His Qi surged continuously, eventually filling the whole square and reaching the initiates in the corner.

The crowd, comprising both initiates and veterans, screamed and shouted as they could feel the difference in Qi density between Zhou Kuang and Jin Kui despite the fact that both of them had three purple cracks in their dantian energy ball.

“I wonder how he consolidates his cultivation. The quality of his Qi makes the volume he holds in his meridians pretty much irrelevant!”

“No wonder why he is considered to be in his own league...”

“He will rank higher on the list soon, Jin Kui will eventually achieve greatness.”

Many of the veterans of the palace were discussing emotionally, simultaneously fearing but admiring.

“This Ye Wei’s Qi presence is much weaker, but I think he is going to win! He is fun!” Xue Er had no idea her bias came from an unexpected attraction.

“Jin Kui uses a unique cultivation technique, so it takes time for him to advance and breakthrough. He will never rank high like us, but he serves his purpose.” Qing Mu calmly replied.

The fighters remained silent for a while, and with occasional gulping sounds, the atmosphere at the square thickened.

‘Earth stance, Grave Purging Strike!’ Jin Kui felt Ye Wei’s slight relaxation and seized the moment. He grunted and a wave of his Qi swept across the ring. ‘Sorry, kid, but I wouldn’t have been told to be rough if you knew your place and kept your mouth shut!’

“Bang!”

Sequences of runes rushed out as Jin Kui flipped his hands over, combined together to form a large, flat tablet shape.

The Grave Purging Strike was a direct amplifying strike, so its power scaled well to the user’s Qi, and Jin Kui’s Qi was denser than most cultivators; he always enjoyed taking advantage of this one speciality of his, which he took great pride in.

“Swoosh!”

The rune sequences on the tablet continuously packed tighter above his palms, and the suction force became strong enough to restrict the initiates’ movements all the way at the back of the square.

Jin Kui made an effort to straighten his back as the tablet glowed brighter and became denser. After a quick aim, he swung his arm, sending the cluster of runes quickly flying towards Ye Wei. Its size was no more than seven feet, but it had the weight of a mountain.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The tablet pierced through the air with a shrill screech, turning the green stone foundation under its path into fine powder.

Ye Wei groaned and stomped the floor, whereas his clone appeared and rushed towards the oncoming strike fast as a flash of light.

“Why bother fighting at all, if that’s all you’ve got!?” Jin Kui grunted disdainfully and utilized different hand seals, firing another similar runic tablet at Jin Kui.

“Bang! Bang!”

The two tablets flew at Ye Wei and his clone, and Jin Kui did not seem to be bothered by spending a hefty amount of Qi.

‘You have nothing on me if I keep this distance at all time. You will be nothing more than a practising target.’ In Jin Kui’s eyes, the only threat Ye Wei posed was in close combat range since he had not seen anything else than a body-enhancing stance from the young Runemaster.

“Bang!”

Before the eyes of the shocked audience, Ye Wei’s clone extended its fist and harpooned into the tablet. The rumble resonated throughout the trembling square, startling the initiates.

The raging Qi from the tablet spiked out and struck the clone continuously. Within only a few seconds, the clone was beginning to fade.

“Now blow up.” Ye Wei stared at his clone. His calm face turned pale, mumbling as he saw his clone’s state.

“Bang!”

The clone exploded as per Ye Wei’s will, turning into a spray of starlight. The brightness of the scattered runes outshone the sunlight. The exploding energy blasted the runes onto the tablet, splitting it into smaller chunks.

“Rumble!”

The dense pieces of Qi fell down like rain, denting the square’s foundation. Even Baili Hengtian was not confident in defending himself against the falling runes, so he backed up to the corner with initiates and deployed a barrier in unison with them.

“Nice little trick! But no matter what your tactic is, you need raw power to make it effective!”

Jin Kui stared from above and laughed contemptuously. “Are you going to keep trying?”

The three-star returned prime Warrior was extremely confident, could not see his opponent’s chances, smiling as he watched the dense fragments fall down.

“Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Before the other tablet even came close to Ye Wei, the spikes of Qi on its surface grew violet and raked across the ring, pressuring the young Runemaster.

“My Eternal Star Stance does not affect the light clone, so I agree it is not the strongest trick.” Ye Wei groaned and clenched his fist. His eyes were focused on the tiny weak spot of the tablet.

Ye Wei launched himself forward and up, his muscles warmed up and shining. The raging Qi spikes were absorbed into his meridians, broken down into a warm stream of energy that nourished and quickly toughened his body.

Ye Wei had already mastered the Eternal Star stance to a point where he could manipulate Jin Kui’s strike to his advantage, squelching his skin and bones in combat.

“Your trick is nice.” Ye Wei smiled, swung his arm and punched the tablet with ferocity.