A Malicious Tournament

The Yuso Clan Lord took a brief glance at Yaan, but didn't show anything on his face. Nobody noticed this quick glance, not even the other Origin Soul realm Qi masters.

'The young disciple of the Heavenly Path Sect is even more formidable than expected. I cannot allow this potential threat to exist.'

The old man's expression remained neutral and he continued speaking, though this time, he only spoke normally. His initial impression was a success, he had reminded the surrounding groups that the difference between them was vast, thereby scaring them to an appropriate degree.

"We will start with the youngest True Yuan Qi realm disciples. Those below thirty years of age may compete."

It was normal to start a tournament like this. These battles would be held between the young geniuses to showcase their talent, it wasn't really a part of the official competition.

The old man turned around and nodded towards a boyish looking young man seated in the Yuso Clan area. The young man grinned and jumped onto the stage, his white robe fluttering as the Yuso Clan leader returned to his seat, the highest seat above everyone in the crowd.

"Does anyone dare take my challenge?" The young man puffed out his chest and yelled proudly. It was abundantly obvious that he was enjoying the adoring gazes of the audience.

"Yuso Ging!"

"That's Yuso Ging, the talented genius of the Yuso Clan!"

"To reach the True Yuan Qi realm by age 18, he really is amazing…"

…

The crowd seemed to forget about the intimidation of the Yuso Clan Lord and immediately erupted into chatter as the young man stepped foot on stage. Yaan was able to overhear enough about this person, learning that he was currently 20 years old and at the Early True Yuan Qi realm. Just as the Sect Lord turned towards Yaan and was about to advise him to go up, an arrogant sounding young voice rang out through the crowds.

"Hmph, I, Zue Yin of the Zue Clan, accept your challenge!"

Yaan glanced over as a young girl from the Zue Clan leapt onto the stage and stood opposite Yuso Ging. Her demeanour was shockingly even more arrogant than Yuso Ging! The pride in her eyes couldn't be hidden. This was the pride of a young talent who had always stood high above her peers for the entirety of her life.

"Zue Yin, it's Zue Yin!"

"Woah, she's even more stunning in person!"

"I heard that she's even more talented than Yuso Ging, do you think that it's true?"

…

Yaan was somewhat thankful for the helpful chatter, as he didn't need to ask anyone to provide him with some background information on all these new characters.

This young girl was perhaps the most arrogant looking girl he had ever laid eyes upon in his life. Really, her face said it all. Zue Yin's eyes held contempt for everyone around her, as if she viewed them all as peons who were below her.

Whilst the other male disciples wanted to woo her, Yaan suddenly felt the strangest urge to punch her in the face. Well, it was only a mild impulse, he easily suppressed this odd desire and watched on calmly.

Zue Yin might have come across as excessive, but she indeed possessed the qualifications to flaunt her arrogance. She was only 17 years old and like her opponent, her cultivation was at the Early True Yuan Qi realm. Aside from Yaan, she was the youngest disciple present to achieve this stage. On top of that, her beauty was really peerless. She couldn't match up to Xin Tia's ice cold demeanour, but her features were flawless. Skin as as smooth as silk, hair coloured with an interesting mix of chestnut with streaks of fire-red, and a very well maintained figure.

A Spirit Core realm Elder from the Yuso Clan flew forwards, this was the same man who brought Yaan and his sect up Yuso Mountain three days earlier. He was still wearing that same polite smile and plain green robe.

He stopped above the arena, clearly planning to act as the moderator for the coming battles.

"Take your positions and get ready." He spoke calmly, without releasing his aura. The two disciples stepped backwards onto the marks drawn on the ground. They each stood 33 feet from the edge of the arena, leaving another 33 feet between the two of them.

"Begin!"

Without further ado, the battle began.

Both Zue Clan and Yuso Clan disciples dashed forth at the exact same time. It was clear they both wanted to prove their superiority by dealing with their opponent in the fastest time possible.

Zue Yin drew a thin short sword as Yuso Ging pulled out a wooden pole, both of these weapons were spiritual treasures. As they each injected their Yuan Qi into their weapon of choice, the weapons shone faintly with pale light as the Yuan Qi enveloped them. Like this, the treasures were activated, displaying their glamorous effects.

"Take my Flaming Dragon Slash!" Zue Yin shouted proudly, a fierce and battle-keen expression on her face.

"My Earthen Pole Strike can smash through anything!" Yuso Ging yelled energetically.

A flame appeared around the blade of Zue Yin's sword, which then erupted forwards as she slashed out. Yuso Ging countered this by dragging the pole along the ground, then striking upwards, bringing up some earth from the ground. Strangely, the arena repaired itself immediately after, a scene that made Yaan raise and eyebrow in surprise.

BANG!

The two skills collided, creating an explosion of fire and earth. Yaan wasn't that impressed by this grand display, instead, something had him feeling confused.

"Teacher, why did they yell out their spell names? Is that a requirement of some spells?"

Great Elder Wan had to suppress his laughter on hearing this. He shook his head and smiled at Yaan amusedly.

"No, it's just that some people…mostly younger Qi masters, like to show off by yelling the spell name. If the spell is difficult to master, then others might find it impressive."

Yaan was speechless. It was actually for such a stupid reason like that? Weren't they just giving away their plans merely to show off needlessly?

"There are some spells that require speech to activate, but such a requirement is not applicable to these low level spells. These two are ridiculous, if they want to show off then they should try harder to win." Rui apparently agreed with him.

Yaan returned his attention to the battle. It was obvious that each of the disciples only knew a single spell, as they kept using the same methods time and time again.

As fire exploded out and the earth rumbled constantly, in the end, Zue Yin managed to gain the advantage. Yuso Ging's expression became panicked as he realised that he had been too rash, exhausting his supply of Yuan Qi!

Bang!

A fiery dragon slammed into his chest, throwing Yuso Ging backwards. He tumbled along the ground and groaned in pain, his former arrogance nowhere to be seen as a trail of blood tricked down his chin.

Zue Yin on the other hand, was shining with an even greater radiance than before. Her confidence reached a new level after defeating Yuso Ging, the rising star of the strongest clan in Greenwood mountain range. As the second strongest clan, the Zue Clan was constantly competing against the Yuso Clan, yet they always seemed to be a single step behind. For bringing glory to her clan in the first match of the competition, Zue Yin felt extremely proud right now.

However, there was one other person whom she wished to defeat even more so than Yuso Ging. As Yuso Ging was carried off stage and the crowd chattered loudly about the fight, she turned towards the Heavenly Path Sect and pointed directly at Yaan.

"You, do you dare accept my challenge?!"

Everyone turned towards Yaan with different expressions. Some showed concern, others expectation. As for Yaan himself, he was totally bewildered.

As he thought about it though, it made some sense. Before Yaan became known to the world, Zue Yin was considered the most extreme talent of the new generation. Then Yaan came along, stealing away her title of the youngest Qi master to reach the True Yuan Qi realm in the past century!

Yaan spared a glance at the over-eager girl, then stood up and smiled lightly.

"Sure."

With that, he jumped down onto the stage. He knew that he would need to fight anyway, and this girl was a perfect warm up. She was clearly tired from her last fight, she was overly confident, and in Yaan's eyes, her battle experience was lacking.

These young talents were often shielded from danger until reaching a higher realm. It would be too pitiful if they were to die before reaching their prime, so the clans often kept their younger generation sheltered until they reached maturity.

Yaan on the other hand, already possessed extensive survival and battle experience.

The two took their places on opposite sides. As they stared at each other, Yaan wore a calm expression whilst Zue Yin showed an intense desire to battle. Yaan even felt like the streaks of red in her hair were glowing, whilst there were faint flames flickering within her eyes! After he blinked, this illusion vanished.

"Begin!"

Zue Yin shot forwards, whilst Yaan only took a single step forwards, his expression not faltering in the least.

"Master, why is Yaan not moving, will he be alright?" Elia turned to the Sect Lord and asked worriedly.

However, the Sect Lord did not reply.

If one looked around, they would see that many of the Elders were staring at Yaan intensely. They were all thinking the same thing.

What an admirable temperament!

The younger Qi masters often over exerted themselves in battle, putting in their full effort to show off to others. They would become anxious and excited, quickly wearing themselves down needlessly.

Yaan was the opposite. He had been in many near death situations and knew the importance of staying calm, conserving his energy and stamina. Since Zue Yin was rushing towards him, he saw no need to waste energy on moving.

"Flaming Dragon Slash!" Zue Yin exclaimed as she excitedly struck towards Yaan.

Unexpectedly, Yaan didn't use a spell. In fact, he simply stepped to the side calmly, at almost the same instant that Zue Yin used her spell. She shot straight past him, then stumbled as Yaan stuck out his leg and tripped her. As her footing became unsteady, he stretched out his hand and pushed her back slightly.

She almost fell over, but managed to just about remain on her feet. Feeling embarrassed at her apparent humiliating blunder, she turned towards him angrily.

Her expression changed right away. She hurriedly raised her sword to block the sharp water blade that was shockingly almost on top of her! Because of her poor footing and hasty block, she was thrown backwards, flying through the air and landing painfully outside of the arena.

From start to finish, Yaan took only three steps. He still looked extremely calm, as if he had already foreseen this exact outcome.

Honestly, he didn't think that what he did was anything special. In Zue Yin's last match, it was obvious in Yaan's eyes that her style was extremely predictable. She only had one move, which was slashing out with that fire based spell. As soon as he was able to estimate which side she would attack from, he was able to evade and counter attack her with relative ease.

If she had been more cautious, he wouldn't have had such an easy time defeating her. That said, Yaan was still entirely confident that he could beat her 99 times out of 100.

"Winner, Yaan from the Heavenly Path Sect!" The Yuso Clan moderator called out the result from above them, his expression still unchanged. Zue Yin wasn't badly injured, but she was in a daze and struggled to process this result.

She…lost?

Suddenly, the young girl was filled with a burning sense of rage. She jumped to her feet, turning to Yaan with a red face filled with embarrassment.

"You, just wait until I reach your age and gain more experience, I will definitely defeat you!"

With that one sentence, Zue Yin turned around and stormed off. Yaan was once again left feeling bewildered.

"I'm younger than her though…" He muttered to himself.

"Hmm, I thought this might happen." Rui perked up.

"What is it?" Yaan frowned.

"These people think you're a reincarnated immortal. It makes sense given your 'talent', young age and combat sense."

"A what?" Yaan spoke quietly as he slowly walked towards the edge of the arena, intending to sit back down with his sect.

"A reincarnated immortal. Immortals are beings who have overcome Nirvana, they're not constrained by samsara in the same sense as other cultivators. Immortals also have a chance to retain or restore their memories after passing through the cycle of reincarnation."

Yaan's eyes widened in awe.

"Why don't you just do that?" He couldn't help but ask her. The way he saw it, Rui was far above any other cultivator he had ever met, he could only assume that she had once been an immortal!

"Reincarnating is nothing simple, it's dangerous and unreliable, nobody would choose to do so given an alternative. Especially for demons, it's not something any demon would willingly do to themselves." Rui sounded irritated as she said this, so Yaan didn't ask anymore despite his curiosity. He would certainly question her later on though.

Yaan was just about to leave the stage, when he was forced to stop.

"Yaan, I would like to spar with you for a bit. That is, if you accept my challenge?"

Yaan turned around and saw a young man smiling at him amicably. The man looked warm and easy going, but Yaan sensed that something was off. This Yuso Clan man gave him a strange sense of danger, despite his cultivation clearly being at the same level as Yaan's.

"Yaan, be careful, this person is hiding something." Rui's voice echoed within his mind.

"Mm." Yaan nodded lightly. He wasn't too worried though, since the rules of the tournament forbade them from seriously harming their opponents. The Elders would certainly step in if this man had any malicious thoughts towards him.

He returned to his position, and it wasn't long before the battle began.

Unlike Zue Yin, this boy didn't immediately rush forwards. Instead, the both of them slowly walked towards the centre of the ring, staring at one another without breaking eye contact. Suddenly, the Yuso Clan young man's eyes narrowed slightly. When he saw this, Yaan immediately reacted.

Water-Drop Slash!

He struck out with his spell a moment before his opponent cast his own spell. This unknown spell made use of his large dual-bladed axe. The axe swung down, creating an illusion of an even larger axe wrapped around and above it.

BANG!

Yaan took three steps back, as did his opponent. Yaan showed a more serious expression, then jumped back in and began attacking with his sword. Likewise, the young man grinned and swung his axe out again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metallic clashing resounded through the arena as both Yaan and his opponent showcased their weapon skills. Yaan's Agile Sword Arts allowed him to move around quickly, drifting like a leaf in the wind. On the other hand, the Yuso Clan disciple's axe wielding skill struck hard and fast, using brute force to maintain the pressure on him.

After a few seconds, Yaan sensed that something was wrong. He had a 2-Star demonic body, so how was this person keeping up with him in close combat…?

"Yaan, he's hiding his cultivation level, look out!"

Rui's warning came just before a shattering sound echoed from the young man's body. His cultivation exploded upwards from the Early True Yuan Qi realm to the Peak True Yuan Qi realm! At the same time, his speed doubled. He then dropped the axe, allowing his speed to triple!

Yaan had no time to react to this rapid series of events. The man was now right besides him. Yaan hastily brought up his arms to block, but a violently glowing dagger appeared in the man's hand.

This dagger made an intense feeling of danger shoot through Yaan's body violently, but it was moving so fast that Yaan felt completely hopeless. All he could do was leap backwards hastily, but the dagger still made its way into his stomach.

CHI!

A grating sound echoed out as the blade pierced through his flesh and blood spurted out from Yaan's stomach. It wasn't the blood that made the surrounding Elders gasp in shock though, but the torrential stream of spiritual energy that flowed out of Yaan's body like water from a broken dam…

"Bastard, he crippled Yaan's cultivation!" Great Elder Wan leapt to his feet and roared out loud. His aura became violent and overbearing in an instant, stunning all of the disciples around him who had always known Great Elder Wan to be a kind and gentle old man. His body flashed, then he appeared within the arena and caught Yaan anxiously before he could hit the floor.

Yaan's face was pale, he felt like his life force was slipping away. Truthfully, were it not for his 2-Star body, then an injury like this would have certainly killed him on the spot. Many of the Elders in the surrounding were clearly stunned that he had somehow managed to hold on until this point.

More Elders from the Heavenly Path Sect appeared, whilst others glared at the Yuso Clan viciously. However, the Yuso Clan leader was unfazed by these gazes.

"Yuso Lan, you have violated the tournament rules, you will be imprisoned in the clan prison for one month."

"Yes, Clan Lord." Yuso Lan, the young man who had caused this commotion with his malicious and deceitful actions, clasped his hands towards the Clan Lord before jumping down from the stage.

This exchange told the audience everything they needed to know. Some people sighed regretfully, others showed looks of schadenfraud.

The Yuso Clan had obviously planned this from the start! They saw Yaan's potential as a threat, so they eliminated this threat right away. There was a reason that the Yuso Clan was the only group in the Northern mountain range without a single ally, and it was exactly because of their devious and malicious plots like this. Nobody could ever trust this scheming clan.

'Strange, why is he not dead? A unique constitution? I feel that his body is on par with a Rank 2 beast…no matter, he is crippled now, the threat has been neutralised.' The Yuso Clan Lord glanced at Yaan, considering using an investigative spell to examine him closely, but eventually deciding against it. Using such a spell would definitely be noticed by others, and it wasn't necessary to aggravate the situation any further.

The old man turned towards the audience indifferently.

"Mistakes happen in fighting tournaments, the junior will be punished for this accident appropriately. My apologies to the Heavenly Path Sect."

The Heavenly Path Sect members could only grit their teeth and glare at the Yuso Clan hatefully. Against an Origin Soul realm powerhouse, there was really nothing they could do. Despite wanting to eat this old man alive for his blatant attack against their clan's young prodigy, they could only swallow their anger and endure.

"Yaan, eat this." Great Elder Wan quickly placed a pill into Yaan's mouth, then guided it into his stomach.

Yaan really did feel too weak to even swallow on his own right now. Despite his 2-Star body, a crippled dantian was a very serious injury that would become life threatening if not treated immediately.

A few moments later, some light returned to Yaan's eyes. He was able to sit up, but winced in pain. It wasn't just the pain though, he felt strangely weak. After examining the condition in his dantian, his face darkened and his mood became heavy.

"Rui…" He muttered at an inaudible volume.

Rui took some time to respond. In the end, Yaan actually heard her sigh.

"Your dantian had been crippled, you cannot cultivate Yuan Qi any longer."

Yaan became silent. Even as he was guided back to the seating area and everyone tried to cheer him up, he paid no attention, their empty words were unable to reach him. Even when Elia, the Sect Lord and Owan Shi tried to speak to him, he stayed silent, as if he couldn't even hear them.

They didn't blame him. If their cultivation was crippled, they would probably feel the same way. Nobody, not even an Origin Soul realm Qi master, could stay calm in the face of such a terrible and life-altering event.

It wasn't until a few more battles had passed and his teacher whispered into his ear, that Yaan's eyes finally regained some clarity.

"Yaan, you can still cultivate your demonic body. It will be difficult, but…it should be possible."

Yaan turned towards his teacher and smiled weakly. He knew that cultivating the demonic body to the 4-Star level and above was extremely difficult due to the expense. However, he did regain some hope after thinking about this. The fire of hope, although faint and weak, was rekindled within his heart.

Since when was cultivation easy or simple anyway? He would just need to work harder, fight for more resources, then maybe, he could still succeed…

Seeing Yaan return to his senses, Great Elder Wan relaxed slightly. However, nobody else knew that right now, his mind was in turmoil. A melancholic feeling deeper and more confusing than any he had experienced before enveloped his heart and soul.

'The demonic body, I never intended to raise the demonic body to the 4-Star level…Can I really afford this? Will the puppet still be a success with a vital core rather than a demon core? Do I…truly wish to refine Yaan into a puppet? Perhaps, perhaps I could just…no, he's a demon, but…he's my disciple…but…'

As Rui observed Great Elder Wan, she had some thoughts of her own. Whilst she was still injured and severely weakened right now, her soul power was recovered ever so slightly, making her able to observe the heart of Yaan's teacher without him noticing.

Everyone had their own thoughts right now, but this was suddenly interrupted by a shock so deep that it would forever change the lives of everyone present.

"Sect Lord, Sect Lord, it's urgent, it's, I, I bring terrible news!"

Just as the True Yuan Qi league was reaching the semi-finals, the excitement was abruptly halted by an agitated looking elderly man. He stopped in front of the Fire Dragon Sect and stammered heavily.

"Elder Cui?" The Fire Dragon Sect Lord frowned. "What are you doing here, you should be guarding the sect!"

"Sect Lord, the beast tide rushed straight through the mountain, we were assaulted by a Rank 5 beast! T-tens of Elders and hundreds of disciples were killed instantly! I barely escaped with my own life, I feel ashamed, but I needed to reach you!"

"WHAT?!" The Fire Dragon Sect Lord leapt to his feet. His spiritual energy erupted outwards along with his aura, injuring many of his own sect's disciples. They felt terror and pain as they were subjected to his overwhelming and chaotic aura, but the Fire Dragon Sect Lord didn't have the heart to care about this right now. His heart was erratic, he could hardly believe what he had just heard, he didn't dare believe what he just heard!

Anxious chatter erupted all around. The Fire Dragon Sect's enemies felt quite pleasant that this sect had encountered such a calamity, but this feeling changed within the next few minutes.

"Clan Leader, it's too awful!"

"School Head, you must return right now!"

"Sect Lord, I barely made it here alive!"

…

More and more escaped Elders from the surrounding mountains arrived at Yuso Mountain at almost the same time. Eventually, after much anxiety and unease, it was the Heavenly Path Sect's turn to fall into the depths of fear and despair.

"Sect Lord, Heavenly Path Mountain is under attack! The entire outer and inner sects have been demolished, the core sect is barely holding out!"

This news was like an erratic thunderbolt in the ears of the sect members. Yaan was no different, the rapid progression of events was almost too much to process.

Through all of the fear and mourning though, he couldn't help but have a thought…

'Elder Sun, did he die?'

The moment he thought this, Yaan's emotions became chaotic. His main reason for everything he had done after leaving Lightstone village was to become strong enough to avenge his family's deaths. His entire reason for living, his motivation for cultivating, was all for the sake of obtaining his revenge against Elder Sun!

Was Elder Sun still alive? Did he…want him to still be alive…?

When his mind returned to reality and all of the terror and grief around him entered his eyes, Yaan felt a sense of guilt for even thinking about this, when there were clearly more important matters at hand. Whilst everyone else was worried about others, he was only focussed on his own selfish desire for revenge.

This guilt reached a whole new level, stabbing deep into his heart, as he heard Elia muttering besides him.

"Lightstone village…mama, papa, please be safe…"