A disciple from the New Port Sect was first to leap onto the stage.
"I am 24 years old, at the 6th level of the Qi Absorption Realm. I'm issuing an open challenge. But to make things fair, I will also fight cultivators at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm."
Right after he spoke, discontent broke out among the Swan Sea Sect's disciples and Elders. Those words were too humiliating, and the laughter from the New Port Sect's disciples only made it worse. It was just the first battle, but the New Port Sect was already showing their true colors.
"This is what I mean," Slade muttered to Harry. "These bastards are always looking for ways to humiliate our sect."
Only the Sect Master sat there calmly, smiling to herself for reasons unknown.
In the Swan Sea Sect, there were plenty of cultivators at the 6th level of the Qi Absorption Realm, but very few were only 24 years old. Most of those cultivators were at the 4th or 5th levels. Reaching the 6th level at that age would make the disciple a talent in the Swan Sea Sect.
Even though this disciple was challenging the 7th level, none of those cultivators made a move. If they actually accepted his challenge, they would be acknowledging that the Swan Sea Sect didn't have anyone at the 6th level who could defeat him.
Finally, someone stepped up and got onto the stage.
"I am also 24 years old and at the 6th level of the Qi Absorption Realm. I will accept your challenge."
"Good, let's fight!" the disciple from the New Port Sect exclaimed.
"Ghost Lizard Claw!" The man wasted no time before yelling out his attack. He thrust his palm forwards, and a pitch-black claw, scaly like the claw of a reptile, appeared and shot towards the Swan Sea Sect disciple. It was made of Qi, but gave off an ominous air that Harry could feel even from far away.
"Swan Sea Arts – Cloud Palm!" the Swan Sea disciple yelled, and a palm also made of Qi formed. But as the two attacks collided, the claw shredded though the palm attack, and continued towards the disciple. He took out his weapon, and cleaved through the ghostly claw. But by the time, the cultivator from the New Port Sect was already upon him.
"Weak! Too weak!" the man laughed. "Take this!"
A flurry of ghostly claws shot out his hands, all of them heading towards the Swan Sea Sect disciple. He was forced into the defensive, trying to strike as many down as possible.
"How's he creating so many of those attacks?" Harry asked his friends in surprise. How was someone supposed to defend against this onslaught?
"It must be his Magic Spirit," Shaun answered. "I'd bet you this guy's spirit is some variant of the Ghost Lizard. Cultivators at the Qi Absorption Realm can start to borrow moves from their Magic Spirit. But I have to admit, his control over this move is extremely high. He must have a lot of experience, and it's probably a Rank 3 Magic Spirit. Unfortunately, it looks like we've lost the first battle."
Indeed, the Swan Sea Sect's disciple was quickly cornered under the barrage of ghostly claws. In just a few seconds, he lost all his momentum, and was forced to defend from all sides. His own Qi attacks were ineffective. It wasn't long until he slipped up, and a ghostly claw tore into his arm.
It sliced through his skin like a knife through paper, and the disciple hissed in pain, dropping his sword. The wound was filled with a strange black strength, which corroded his arm and caused him to cry out in pain.
"I lost!" he yelled. The claws all froze in midair before dissipating – except for one, which continued through the air and sliced through his other arm. The disciple of the Swan Sea Sect yelled out in pain this time, and immediately took out a healing pill to recover from his injuries.
"I already admitted defeat!" he exclaimed through the pain. "Why did you continue attacking me?"
"Excuse me, that was an accident," the New Port Sect's disciple said unapologetically. From the look on his face, it was clear it was anything but that. Laughter broke out from the New Port Sect's side as their disciples jeered at the fallen cultivator.
"In a fight, it's very difficult to control one's strength. As they say, fists and feet have neither eyes nor ears. I'm still inexperienced in that move, and wasn't able to stop that attack in time. Next time, I shall strive to do better."
Though his tone was meek and polite, the mirth in his eyes gave his true thoughts away. And by claiming to be inexperienced, he was just humiliating his opponent even further.
All the members of the Swan Sea Sect felt perturbed. The two fighters were the same age and had the same cultivation level – so shouldn't it have been an even battle? Even if the man from the New Port Sect was stronger, why was their disciple suppressed from the very beginning, without even a chance to counterattack? Many new members of the sect, who hadn't witnessed the competitions in previous years, refused to accept the New Port Sect's superiority. But after seeing the very first battle, they felt nervousness in their hearts.
After the two fighters stepped off the stage, another man from the New Port Sect leapt up.
"I am 24 years old, at the 5th level of the Qi Absorption Realm. I'm also issuing an open challenge."
"I'll go!" a Swan Sea disciple leapt up, and the two began exchanging moves. 24, and at the 5th level of the Qi Absorption Realm, wasn't a particularly impressive feat. There were many disciples with the same talent who could challenge him.
The two of them were equally matched, and clashed with each other. After 50 or 60 moves, the disciple from the Swan Sea Sect was the first to tire, and was too slow to avoid an attack. His opponent's weapon swept through the air and stopped an inch away from his neck.
"You've lost," the New Port Sect disciple calmly stated.
"I lost," the Swan Sea Sect disciple admitted, and got off the stage with his head bowed. Though he was full of unwillingness, at least he wasn't injured. The New Port Sect disciples loudly cheered, and the winner walked off the stage to the congratulations of his fellow disciples.
For the third fight, a man from the Swan Sea Sect stepped up first.
"That's Sebastian," Shaun excitedly pointed him out. "He's one of the strongest disciples at the 6th level, and undefeated below the 7th level! He must be going up to give our sect a morale boost."
"I am 25 years old, and at the 6th level of the Qi Absorption Realm," he stated confidently. A member of the New Port Sect leapt up to accept his challenge, and the two began.
'Undefeated?' Harry's interest was piqued. 'Let's see what skill he has then.'
Sebastian wasted no time in attacking. After having lost the last two battles, he was eager to win one for the Swan Sea Sect and reverse the negative flow. He immediately summoned his Magic Spirit, a massive bird, some sort of eagle or falcon, Harry noted, and sent it charging at the man from the New Port Sect. At the same time, he withdrew his sword.
"Silver Wing Slash!" he cried out, and as he slashed his sword through the air, blades of Qi turned into images of silvery wings, matching the brilliant wings of his Magic Spirit. In a few seconds, the air over the stage was filled with the sight and sound of a dozen buzzing silver wings.
"There it is! That's his strongest move!" cries rang out, and the members of the Swan Sea Sect looked excited to win their first battle against the New Port Sect.
But something wasn't right at all – the man from the New Port Sect looked too confident, and he didn't even make a move to defend. And given that the New Port Sect disciples were all battle-hardened warriors, it seemed unlikely he was struck dumb by shock.
Just as Harry thought, the man wasn't nervous at all. In fact, he had a mocking smile on his face, and right before the attacks were about to land –
"Binding Chain Spirit, come out!" he yelled, and the New Port Sect's disciple's Magic Spirit appeared behind his back. It was a short chain, maybe the length of an arm, made of hundreds of small but sturdy metal links. It floated in the air, and then vanished.
One second, the illusory metal chain was behind him, but the next moment it disappeared and reappeared in front of him. It instantly grew to longer than 100 meters, and seemed to have a will of its own as one end of it wrapped itself around the eagle Magic Spirit. The other end, somehow, twisted through the air and intercepted each of the sword slashes. The moment an attack struck the chain, it was sealed and frozen, unable to continue moving forward, and then it dissipated.
In a flash, the attacks disappeared, leaving just a metal chain that tightly wrapped around Sebastian's Magic Spirit's neck. To Sebastian's horror, it was choking the life of the bird out.
"Let go!" he yelled, and charged towards the New Port Sect's disciple with his sword. But that disciple just used his shield and a sword of his own to block those attacks, while his chain spirit overpowered Sebastian's spirit up in the air.
In less than a minute, the chain had doubled in length, and was now a tight ball that completely covered the bird. It still floated in the air, and occasionally the ball could be seen twitching and squirming, but all noise from within was cut off.
Then, to everyone's fright, the ball started compressing. It was shrinking and growing tighter, and Sebastian could no longer keep watching.
"I admit defeat!" he yelled, and the man from the New Port Sect sneered before withdrawing his Magic Spirit. The once mighty eagle appeared and plummeted straight onto stage, landing with a loud crashing sound. Silver feathers landed all over the Dueling Hall as Sebastian hurriedly recalled his spirit, and then dejectedly got off the stage. It was the first time he'd lost to an opponent at the same level as him.
The most vicious thing about his opponent's move was that after the chain was wrapped around the spirit, Sebastian lost some of his connection to his spirit. Part of it was blocked, and he was unable to retreat it in time. And because his spirit was injured so grievously, it would take many weeks for it to recover. Magic Spirits couldn't just be treated through pills or medicine, at least, not the type available in the Swan Sea Sect. All Sebastian could do was wait for it to recover naturally.
It was very difficult to injure a Magic Spirit for a long period of time, especially for cultivators in the Qi Absorption Realm. But Magic Spirits like the metal chain, which were born to suppress other spirits, could do it. However, they were extremely rare. No one expected his opponent to have such a spirit.
Such spirits had a major weakness, which was that they could only suppress spirits at the same rank or lower. But Sebastian had a Rank 3 Magic Spirit, and a powerful one at that, yet it was still suppressed. Then obviously, the man from the New Port Sect also had a Rank 3 binding-type spirit, and as there were no disciples with Rank 4 Magic Spirits in the Swan Sea Sect, there was no one who could counter that spirit.
Unfortunately, Sebastian was a cultivator who relied heavily on his Magic Spirit. If it had been someone else, there was a chance he could have won the fight. But once Sebastian's spirit was suppressed, he lost the majority of his strength.
'This year's challengers – they're really strong!' the Swan Sea Sect thought in disappointment. As it turned out, all the stories about the New Port Sect were true. This competition was already turning out very poorly, despite the battles having just begun.
Pair after pair of disciples faced off and fought, and after the first 10 battles were over, the New Port Sect had won seven of them.
'Now I see what Slade meant,' Harry frowned. The disciples of the New Port Sect truly were stronger. It wasn't just that their fighting experience was richer, but their offensive cultivation techniques were also more varied and powerful. Many of them had a grasp of cultivation techniques that borrowed the power of their Magic Spirit, and their superiority clearly showed.
The mood among the Swan Sea Sect could only be described as bleak and depressing. And the mood among the New Port Sect was jubilant. Each victory brought louder and louder cheers, which eventually turned into mockery of the Swan Sea Sect.
"I am 22 years old, at the 3rd level of the Qi Absorption Realm. But out of consideration for the Swan Sea Sect, I'll also accept challenges from the 4th level."
To the Swan Sea Sect's shame, someone from the 4th level actually stepped up to fight. And the result was only a tie! The Swan Sea Sect disciple knocked his opponent off the stage, but at the last moment, he shot out an attack that caught the Swan Sea Sect disciple by surprise and knocked him off too. It was a low move, but they had no choice to admit it was a tie.
After the 20th battle, the Swan Sea Sect had won six, and tied one, putting the score at 13 – 6. And after the 30th battle, the gap widened to 20 – 9.
Harry just sighed and stopped caring about the score. At this rate, it was impossible for the Swan Sea Sect to win, and he instead focused on the fighting, hoping to pick a few techniques up. But Qi Absorption Realm cultivators practiced Earth Grade techniques, which were beyond his ability and comprehension. No matter how strong he was, he was unable to manipulate Qi like Qi Absorption Realm cultivators. Seeing the huge variety of Magic Spirits was shocking, and he even felt a bit depressed about his own situation.
This competition, however, did open his eyes in another way. After seeing the Inner Disciples, Elders, and Sect Master in action, he thought the Swan Sea Sect was a powerful force. Though he knew there were 19 other Tier 2 sects, he thought the Swan Sea Sect was perhaps around the top. Clearly, that wasn't true.
'There are powerful cultivators all across the empire. My vision is still too limited,' he sighed.
"Hehe," the New Port Sect's Sect Master suddenly chuckled after the 30th battle. "The result is already clear, and I think it's time to end this competition. Theodore, it's your turn."
As Theodore Nott leapt up on stage in a single fluid motion, people frowned at those words. What was he trying to say? There were still 20 more battles! But after Theodore got on stage, the crowd went into an uproar.
"I am 23 years old, and at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm. I will challenge any 20 Inner Disciples of the Swan Sea Sect, regardless of age or cultivation. Remember my name, Theodore Nott, because I will defeat all of you, and lead the New Port Sect to victory."
23 years old, 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm?
"What did he just say?" people asked each other, unable to believe what they just heard.
"I think… I think he said he's already at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm!"
"No way! That's not possible!"
To be at the 7th level of the Qi Absorption Realm at just 23 years old was an incredible feat. Of the entire Swan Sea Sect, everybody was shocked, Harry most of all. Well, everybody besides the Sect Master, who must have seen through Theodore cultivation when he introduced himself.
Some disciples looked towards the Swan Sea Sect's Elders, who just nodded gloomily. Cultivators had many ways of determining the age of others, and after checking, they indeed found that Theodore was only 23 years old. This time, the New Port Sect had raised a true genius.
Reaching the 7th level by age 23 was very difficult. In fact, it was so difficult that no one could even recall the last time someone of that talent had appeared in the Swan Sea Sect. Most of the 23-year-olds of the sect were only at the 4th level! Theodore's feat of reaching the 7th level at such a young age was shocking.
But it wasn't just his talent that shocked everyone, but also his arrogant words. They caused fury to rise in everyone's stomach. Theodore was just far too arrogant. The Swan Sea Sect had cultivators at the 9th level of the Qi Absorption Realm – did Theodore think he could defeat them too?
However, none of them spoke up, as Theodore, at the very least, had the talent to back that up. If it weren't for him declaring that he was accepting any disciples' challenge, then the Swan Sea Sect wouldn't even be able to send a disciple up on stage.
"I accept your challenge," one man finally leapt onto stage. "I am also at the 7th level, and 27 years old. Your cultivation talent may be greater than mine, but it doesn't mean you have the fighting ability."
Theodore Nott took one look at the challenger, and sneered.
"One move," he calmly uttered. He unsheathed his sword, and pointed it towards the sky.
The moment he did, a vision appeared in Harry's mind. He saw a peerless sword slash, an unstoppable attack carving through the air and destroying all in its path. In his mind's eye, he saw the Swan Sea Sect's disciple sliced perfectly in half, from the tip of his head down to his waist.
Harry gasped, and inadvertently took a step back.
Theodore was still standing there, sword still pointing at the sky, and the Swan Sea disciple was unharmed.
'What – what was that? A vision? No, an illusion? That stance… the way he holds his sword… just the intent of his attack made me believe our disciple was killed!' Harry exclaimed.
Neither combatant had moved, but for those experienced in fighting, they saw a vision of Theodore's killing intent. Those without much fighting experience didn't understand why so many people simultaneously leapt in shock, but for everyone else, a vision of Theodore murdering his opponent played out in their minds.
'How the hell did he do that?' Harry thought in fright. Somehow, Theodore was able to project his thoughts, or at least, his desire to kill, through his sword. Though Harry had no idea how that was possible, he could guess that it required great experience in the sword, and having used it to kill countless opponents. Around him, many other disciples had similar looks of shock and fear.
"Sword Intent!" an Elder blurted out in surprise, causing others to gasp.
"Sword Intent? He's grasped Sword Intent already?" someone else exclaimed.
"How's that possible? I thought only Core Formation Realm cultivators could do that!"
All across the Swan Sea's side of the Dueling Hall, furious discussion could be heard. It seemed like everyone knew, or at least heard of, Sword Intent – except for Harry.
"What's Sword Intent?" Harry urgently asked.
"It's – it's like an aura, I guess. Basically, those skilled with the sword can emit an aura that causes their opponent to feel like they've been sliced. I've heard true experts can combine it with their attacks, or even summon swords out of nothing. It's unbelievable that this guy already grasped Sword Intent!" Slade exclaimed.
"Is it that rare?"
"James, it's really rare! Typically, only those in the Core Formation Realm can understand or display any kind of Intent! Oh, it's not looking good for our disciple," Slade sighed. Evidently, the Swan Sea Sect disciple on stage sensed the Sword Intent too, and he nervously backed up. He thought about the stupid words he said earlier, about how Theodore Nott didn't necessarily have the fighting experience. All of a sudden, he realized just what an idiotic thing that was to say. His opponent was actually a frightening monster!
Theodore sensed his weakness, and immediately attacked.
"Rainstorm Sword – Rain Pours from the Sky!"
All over the Dueling Hall, blades of Qi appeared in the air, out of nowhere. They hung there for a split second, then began to fall. Blades fell by the dozens, slashing all over the Swan Sea Sect's side of the stage. For a moment, it looked just like drops of rain falling from the sky. The Swan Sea Sect disciple was caught underneath a rainstorm – a deadly one made of hundreds of blades.
Harry gasped as he saw the shower of blades, and he wasn't alone. All the disciples and Elders whitened when they saw the thick downpour. The Inner Disciple tried to use Qi to defend himself, but it proved ineffective. The falling blades easily sliced through his defenses, and he was forced to dodge left and right, frantically leaping all over the stage. But –
"On your left!" someone yelled out.
That disciple hurriedly leapt to the right, but was too slow. There was a flash of light, then a scream of pain was heard.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Blood sprayed across the stage, and an arm thudded to the ground.