Markov vs Li Clan

The day of the tournament had finally arrived. The sun was still rising on the horizon. People from all over the city crowded the stadium, taking their seats, conversing among themselves, and waiting for the aperture of the tournament.

The Elders of the council of the Violet Sky Clan along with promising members of the clan waited for the tournament to begin on a balcony reserved for their clan. Several other important clans had balconies reserved for their families, while other minor families had to seat on the benches along the stadium steps.

Soon a beautiful and voluptuous woman wearing a vermilion dress, skin with an olive tone that shined with the sun, her black hair falling to her waist, and her eyes of a deep green like the lush of a forest, appeared at the only stage on the arena, the platform encompassed almost all the arena.

The woman in the vermilion dress spoke: "Welcome everyone to the first tournament of Violet Sky City! Prepare yourselves for a breathtaking spectacle, as we become witness to the sheer power and grandeur of our city. Throughout the upcoming hours, you shall be captivated by the incredible talents of our rising stars who are destined to ascend above the heavens. However, before you witness the first page of their legend, it is our honor to present the awe-inspiring might of the city's most formidable cultivators. Rest assured, dear guests, that your safety is paramount, guaranteed by the protection of high-level formations. So please, remain seated and lose yourselves in this extraordinary display of might and skill." with her piece spoken, the woman made room on the stage. As soon as she did so Li Ma and Tania Markov appeared on the stage.

Each of them wore their clan robes, this was of course a friendly match to showcase their progress. Both of them had gone several times to the Flame Tower, and they had managed to increase one layer in their cultivation, making Tania a third layer, and Li Ma a second layer Golden Core Cultivator. Because of that the quality and quantity of their Qi were on another level compared to a cultivator of the same level who had not cultivated using the Qi from the white flame.

The woman in the vermilion dress continued to speak: "Let the opening match begin", as soon as the woman said those words she disappeared from the arena, after all, she was only a peak Foundation Establishment, she had no power to defend herself against the aura and the havoc left behind by a battle among two Golden Core Cultivators. They both allowed the woman a few breaths of time for her to reach inside the protective formation.

Both cultivators made a martial bow, showing their sincerity. each of them stood straight once more. Li Ma was the first one to make a move, as he put his open palm in front of him, his hand began to glow, and after a single breath, a bright beam of light shot from his hand.

Tania unsheathed her spear and with a swift vertical slash, the beam of light was parted in half. Li Ma retracted his hand and took out his saber. Tania took this as an invitation and pierced her spear forward, as she did so intense heat surrounded her, and a bird made of pure scarlet fire and white eyes advanced toward Li Ma.

Li Ma moved his saber in a circular motion and eight rings of green light formed in the path of the saber movement, the circles gained size and collided against the fiery bird. Gales of wind and fire danced in the arena causing a chaotic spectacle. The firebird and the green light rings continued to collide until they consumed each other.

The spectators mainly in Qi condensation and the Foundation Establishment with a few early Golden Core were quite awed by the strength of the clan leaders. Even if they were only putting on a show with their skills in a flashy way without any intention to make any harm to one another.

Li Ma blended his saber and lounged forward, in a single breath he had appeared before Tania bending forward, he slashed diagonally. Tania simply moved her spear and parried the incoming attack with the shaft, a shock wave was liberated as the saber and spear clashed. Both of them then activated their movement techniques, clashing their weapons in a violent and melodic rhythm, every time they clashed, shock waves were created and collided against the ground and the formation barrier. If the barrier were not in place, all the Qi condensation cultivators would have died from the impact of the shock wave, while Foundation Establishment cultivators would have had internal injuries.

In the span of a few breaths, they had clashed several dozens of times, each clash, accompanied by a strong shock wave. Both of them exhibited their movement and martial arts. They moved with incredible finesse. after the few dozen exchanges they had had, they distanced themselves landing on the platform.

Tania spoke, with a slight smile on her face:" How about we wrap things up Patriarch Li?"

Li Ma grabbed his chin with his free hand, then he spoke: "Very well Matriarch Markov, let's show them our might"

Both of them circled their Qi ready to unleash one last technique, Li Ma created dozens of green rings. In the middle of each ring, a star seemed to come alive, lightly pulsing. Each of the rings circled itself creating gales of wind that left cuts on the platform.

Tania put her spear in front of her. A fiery aura surrounded her, the heat from the aura of her first attack was mild in comparison to the heat she was unleashing. The humidity in the air burned away. Li Ma had to put a protective barrier of Qi on his body, otherwise, his skin would be burned from the heat exuded by Tania aura. The aura condensed in a fiery phoenix, the shape was so refined that the mythical beast almost seemed to come alive. The fiery phoenix encompassed almost half the arena.

Each of them attacked, Li Ma sent all his rings to attack the incoming fiery phoenix made by Tania. Both attacks collided in the middle of the platform. As soon as the attacks collided an explosion occurred, blinding light along a great shock wave formed from the explosion, the ground, and the formation barrier shock, constantly vibrating. The shock wave continued for several breaths of time until it finally stopped.

In the aftermath, a cloud of dust and debris had formed. The platform could not be seen because of the cloud. It took nearly one minute for the dust to finally settle, on the platform Tania Markov and Li Ma could be seen each standing on one side of the platform. The platform showed several levels of damage, cracks, and debris found all around the platform. The public was utterly shocked especially the cultivators who had yet to reach the Golden Core realm.

Both cultivators were perfectly fine to the regular onlooker, however, stronger cultivators could clearly see who was the victor in that exchange, Li Ma's right hand had a thin trail of blood and light burns. Both cultivators gave each other another bow and left the stage.