Four High-ranked Attacks

As soon as the blood oath was finished, Gao Yan moved to a corner of the courtyard where he could start cultivating once again.

Hui Yue was aware that the cultivating methods taught to him by Lan Feng were very different from the ones that were currently used on this continent.

At first Hui Yue learned that to cultivate his hands must form the bird’s seal. In the beginning, Hui Yue thought that this was purely for the sake of Lan Feng since he was a bird, but the last few years Hui Yue had learned that these hand signs would connect the cultivator to the twelve zodiacs and allow for speedier cultivation.

Hui Yue had found it rather funny when he realized that the hand seal of the bird had connected him to the Rooster. This connection caused Hui Yue to think that Lan Feng truly was a chicken.

Although the cultivation method which relied on the Rooster was not the strongest of all methods, it was by far the best for Hui Yue as his soul was connected to Lan Feng.

The different cultivation techniques that Lan Feng owned relied on the twelve zodiacs. One could connect to the zodiacs in a variety of ways. The stronger the cultivator’s connection with the zodiac the more efficient that cultivation technique would be.

Currently, Hui Yue’s soul was connected to Lan Feng, who in turn was the descendant of the Vermillion Bird, the sovereign of all birds. This relationship caused the compatibility between Hui Yue and the Rooster cultivation technique to be strengthened by unbelievable heights.

The cultivation method which Hui Yue had passed along to Gao Yan was connected to the zodiac of the Dog. Although it was not able to give the results Hui Yue had achieved, it was far above the cultivation methods which relied on the heavens and the earth alone while ignoring the zodiacs.

Hui Yue also sat down to meditation for a while. During meditation, he communicated with Lan Feng to find the most beneficial attacks for each of his friends present.

‘To think you actually told them,’ Lan Feng said as he was considering which skills to give. At first Lan Feng had shown significant disagreement with Hui Yue’s decision about just giving away these skills. Nevertheless, he agreed after realizing how worried Hui Yue had been when Gao Yan was bleeding to death, while he could do nothing to help.

Hui Yue was not a person who considered himself to be fair, nor did he particularly concern himself with this world. In this new world, however, there were a few individuals who had treated him with great care and attention.

Hui Yue was an individual who returned the kindnesses he received. He stood by that belief now. Hearing the truth, caused the others to feel slightly hesitant. They realized that Hui Yue had shared his biggest secret with them. He laid everything out in the open, without requiring anything in return. It was only natural for them to swear a blood oath.

‘I’ve got it!’ Lan Feng said with excitement as he slowly merged with their shared body. Hui Yue settled down, within the dantian cave as a mental projection.

“You there,” Lan Feng said through Hui Yue’s mouth causing all those present to jolt in surprise. Lan Feng was currently pointing at Rong Ming. The young twin slowly stepped towards the boy-turned-Saint beast.

Once again a flash of light appeared as Lan Feng withdrew a strand of light containing a high-ranked martial arts skill, which he then placed on Rong Ming’s forehead.

“This is Slashing Qi. It is a low King ranked martial arts attack skill. It allows you to solidify qi into a blade which moves according to your desire. It slashes through any defense. It is not the blade of a sword, but a blade of qi. You cannot hold it, but it moves at your command.”

Every word Lan Feng said caused the others to pant slightly and their eyes shone with excitement. This skill was, without a doubt, a rare high-ranked martial arts skill which did not have any tough requirements for the cultivator to overcome.

Rong Ming, who received the skill, was shocked as the knowledge came flooding into his mind. It was as though the floodgates had been left ajar while the flood swept through, spreading through his meridians and finally resting in the qi cave. The skill felt so familiar to Rong Ming. He was completely engrossed in his own world, as he moved to a quiet place in the courtyard where he immediately started to train.

The next was Rong Xing. She received the Floating Qi Fan. This skill was a fan that Rong Xing could move by thought. If her qi was of high enough quality, she could use the fan as a means of gliding through the air. Floating Qi Fan was also a low King ranked martial arts attack skill.

Ma Kong looked at Rong Xing as she moved towards another empty place in the courtyard. Her eyes were deep in thought as she analyzed the imprints and qi-patterns of the martial arts skill.

The next skill was given to Ma Kong. It was a middle King ranked martial arts attack skill which went by the name of Exploding Qi Flowers. Just as the name suggested it allowed for Ma Kong to create flowers from his qi strands. These flowers could be thrown, after which they would explode with a thought. It was a skill with the most potential. Out of all the skills which had been given out so far, Hui Yue felt that it truly fit Ma Kong the best.

Although Hui Yue shared these skills with his friends, the skills were still kept within Lan Feng’s head. He would easily pass them on to Hui Yue should he need them in the future.

As soon as Ma Kong had received the skill, his expression was filled with astonishment. Then after a certain amount of stubbornness appeared, he moved towards the only corner that was left in the courtyard. Here, he sat down and closed his eyes in meditation. He decided to analyze it thoroughly before he attempted to create any flowers.

“Now it is just the two of us,” Deng Wu said with a smile, as he observed the four focused youths who were practicing their skills. Hui Yue nodded in reply but said nothing as his eyes were focused on Gao Yan. A chill flashed through his eyes causing Deng Wu to feel a shiver go down his spine. He did not wish to be Li Shing, but even Deng Wu felt the older boy deserved the punishment that was coming to him.

Currently, Lan Feng was back within the dantian cave and Hui Yue back in his body.

‘I already gave Little Dragon’s friend the attack skill which most suited him,’ Lan Feng said while thinking, and Hui Yue nodded. Deng Wu already had a skill so giving him another was not as important. Nevertheless, it seemed as though Lan Feng did not agree.

‘I might not have trusted this guy at the start, but since Little Dragon accepted him then he cannot be all that bad,’ the blue phoenix reasoned. ‘Let us see if he is capable of learning Qi Guard. He has an attack skill so let’s give him a defensive skill this time.’

Hui Yue nodded in agreement. He, too, felt as if Deng Wu was trustworthy, albeit slightly dramatic and hard to see through.

‘This time you teach him Qi Guard,’ Lan Feng said while yawning. ‘It is quite exhausting to transfer knowledge from the mind. You have already perfected Qi Guard, so it is fine if he learns from you.’

Hearing this Hui Yue raised an eyebrow slightly before he waved Deng Wu closer.

“I have a skill for you,” he said and closed his eyes, “but you are learning it from me rather than Lan Feng.”

Hearing this caused Deng Wu to become awestruck. Lan Feng would only allow Hui Yue to train the best skills. Little Dragon had spent a very long time telling Deng Wu about Lan Feng’s perfectionism and stubbornness. This perfectionism showed that the skill Deng Wu was about to learn was nothing about which to joke.

Hui Yue grumbled slightly as he scurried through his brain looking for all the information he had about Qi Guard. This information gathered itself into a ball of light, which Hui Yue slowly withdrew from his forehead.

This ball was larger than the ones Lan Feng provided. Hui Yue was unable to perfectly separate the Qi Guard attack skill from his knowledge about the skill.

Gaining the knowledge, on the other hand, was a benefit for Deng Wu; it would make training easier. It would also end up causing Deng Wu to train the skill the exact same way Hui Yue had; this would, in turn, narrow down the possibilities of evolving the skill.

“Qi Guard?” Deng Wu said, shocked, as he finally completely understood the skill which Hui Yue had been using to defend against Wang Ju Long’s Qi Lightning.

Deng Wu was astounded as he understood the skill; even more so when he realized that this skill had been perfected by a person who had lived for a mere ten years.

Deng Wu, unlike the others, did not immediately start training. Instead, he observed the others for a while before he finally started practicing his Dancing Qi Pillar. This skill he had previously been given by Hui Yue. Deng Wu had heard from Hui Yue how important it was for Lan Feng to perfect one skill before he would start practicing another. The older boy had decided to follow suit.

Having laid everything bare in front of his friends caused Hui Yue to feel alleviation. Hui Yue had felt indebted to the Rong twins from an early age. Everyone within the courtyard was someone Hui Yue trusted hundred percent.

Watching Deng Wu practice caused a smile to appear on Hui Yue’s face before he, too, submerged himself in practicing Transforming Weapons, the sword version.

The six youths remained within the courtyard the entire time. Only once did the gate open. That was when Lord Rong Liang showed up to see Gao Yan’s injuries.

Lord Rong Liang’s expression was stern. He had required the academy to investigate as to whether or not the damage could be considered an accident. Yet Gao Yan stopped him.

Within the day, Gao Yan had already managed to reach the second star of the Student rank, and his current quality was slightly better than it had been before. Gao Yan was quick to understand that although he had lost his cultivation base, this new cultivation technique would allow him much better future prospects.

Upon seeing Gao Yan’s current cultivation base, Lord Rong Liang was fairly shocked and asked multiple questions. No matter how much he asked, Gao Yan refused to answer. Eventually, Rong Liang could do nothing but shake his head. He left the courtyard allowing the six youngsters to return to their training.

Finally, the day arrived, and it was time for Hui Yue to fight once again. The semi-finals consisted of the fights between Hui Yue and a commoner who had won in group 3, while Li Shing was up against Wang Ju Long.

A complicated feeling was finding its way into Hui Yue’s heart. Everything he had done this entire tournament was for the sake of his fight against Wang Ju Long. The current enmity between Hui Yue and Li Shing was something that, by far, outweighed his feelings of rivalry towards Wang Ju Long.

Hui Yue did not value his pride as something more important than gaining revenge for a friend. Still, Wang Ju Long was not weak. She might be a woman, but her achievements were, without a doubt, nothing to laugh at.

Looking at Wang Ju Long, Hui Yue noticed that she was looking at him while walking towards him.

“Win,” she said as she reached Hui Yue. “Win your fight, and I will be waiting for you in the finals. Any scum who seriously wounds their school mates deserves no respect.”

Within her brown eyes, he saw determination and coldness. Hui Yue nodded in reply. Even Wang Ju Long was willing to take revenge for Gao Yan. In that case, Hui Yue had nothing to worry about.

As Hui Yue stepped onto the stage he saw that his opponent was a commoner; one of Gao Yan’s followers. Hui Yue’s opponent's face was twisted with rage and hate, yet the emotions were clearly not aimed towards Hui Yue, but Li Shing who was standing just next to the stage.

“I forfeit!” the young man yelled into the air, shocking everyone present. As he was on his way down the stairs, he walked by Hui Yue. Placing a hand on Hui Yue’s shoulder he whispered, “If Li Shing gets to the finals make sure that he does not walk off this stage, ever again.”