Chapter 52 - Hundred Token Seal Part 1

Vast amounts of killing intent surged from Shu as the students from the other schools stared at him. Their stares remind Shu of his feral time among the mountains full of powerful magical beasts. He didn't have his skull dagger out, so he grabbed his flying blades, their purple flames emitting heat from the blades. His killing intent formed a violet aura, causing most of the students to turn white with fear as others fell to their knees as they began to choke. Even though it was not directed to Ivy and the other students of Black Lotus Academy, they could feel the immense fear and danger from Shu.

From the spectators who were viewing the competitors of all the divisions, they focused on the image of Shu. Most were Practitioners and they knew the origins of that violet aura. Only by killing thousands, could killing intent actually become visible and take shape. This hooded boy actually manifested his killing intent into a violet, baleful aura. This wasn't a Practitioner weapon that emitted baleful auras. Those weapons could be inherited or bought. This baleful aura was violet, only possible by personally killing thousands, possibly millions.

"Who is that?" one cried with fear, as they could actually feel the fear from the aura as they gazed at the screens of water above the stadium. It was as if a huge box of water had four giant television screens, each as long as a hundred feet.

"HAHAHAHA!" one of the voices laughed, from the VIP booth at the top of the stadium. "That interesting brat. How many more times will he surprise me?"

Yes! It was the very ancestor that slaughtered the tenth of the ancient clans: Lu Feng. Lu Feng smiled as he saw Lu Shu emit a violet aura. Even though Shu was had materialized a mask spirit over the lower half of his face, Lu Feng could tell his many times grandson was smiling.

"Ah, Ancestor Feng. Is that your descendant, Shu?" an elder wearing a simple red cloak asked.

"HAHAHA! Indeed. It is my, Lu Feng's, many times grandson. Of course, I was many times more powerful at his age. I think I was at the fifth or sixth stage of the Spirit Knight tier. Too many centuries ago. BWAHAHAHA!" Lu Feng laughed, as some of the members in the VIP booth stared at Shu. Some of them were parents, or guardians, of some of the competitors. Half of them were from the ancient clans. None of them were of the Spirit Sage tier. Although they were Fiend Adepts, they were no match for a Spirit Sage of Lu Feng's caliber,

"He's actually killed so many times to manifest his killing intent," the red cloaked elder sighed, fear and awe in his voice. "At such a young age. It is quite obvious he's only less than fifteen years, even with the black hood over his head. Yet, he can materialize his spirit and has violet, baleful aura. He has much potential as a true Archon. Shame he hasn't engaged with the ancient clans."

"HA! It might happen. You can't control love," Lu Feng laughed, although people could sense a small amount of pain in his voice. "Alas, Fiona....if you could see our descendants now. Our direct bloodline is favored and even holds the seat of power in the Yan Dynasty."

"Are there other Spirit Sages in the Yan Dynasty, Ancestor Feng?" one of the VIPs bravely asked.

"You already know about four others. How many more, I cannot say. I can tell you that you cannot detect their spirit energy, even I have trouble sensing if they still breathe as they cultivate," Lu Feng laughed, causing many to pale with fear as Emperor Lu Yi's words were proven true. After all, why would Lu Feng lie? He could easily annihilate everyone. Even the Empire of Jakkom feared to anger him, but he says there are others he couldn't detect? How fearsome were they?

"Presenting His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Trent Kindu," a gold knight announced. A youth nearing his twenties walked, a silver crown on his blonde head. His blue eyes glistened, like the oceans, as he gazed around and nodded at the VIPs. He saw Lu Feng and bowed before walking to sit next to him. Trent was an Arch Mage, the equivalent of a Spirit Knight between the seventh and ninth stage.

"Hello, Ancestor Feng. Great Spirit Sage and ancestor of the Imperial Lu Clan of the Yan Dynasty. As my father is currently engaged in battle with the Hyperion, I was given the honor to oversee this year's inter-academic games. Thank you for coming," Trent said, with sincere words of respect from his heart.

"HAHAHA! I gotta say, I did not expect your empire to gain a fifth Spirit Sage. Your nation is like the ancient clans, save for the whole ruling an entire continent bit. BWAHAHA! The House of Kindu remains strong," Lu Feng smiled. "Who do you think will win this year?"

"I know for certain that the Big Three are the ones to watch out for. The Black Lotus Academy has always won, overall, while the Gold Crow Palace and Iron Bull Temple fight for second and third. The difference, in power, between them and the other six schools is too great. Alas, if they stopped their fighting, they could have a shot," Trent smiled weakly. "That boy has caused quite a stir. Manifesting baleful aura in its purest form, how many lives were taken?"

"That boy is Lu Shu. Among those den of beasts, he is sure to be the king," Lu Feng laughed.

"If he is to die under the hands of others?" the red cloaked elder asked as other members of the ancient clans also looked at Lu Feng.

"And you are?" Lu Feng inquired.

"Ancestor Feng, I am Liao Hong. I am the brother of the current head of the Hong Clan, one of the nine ancient clans. My two nieces and fifth and sixth daughters of my brother, Elizabeth and Rian, are competing. There are also others of the Hong Clan, but they are at the fourth and fifth stage. However, my two nieces are at the seventh stage," the red cloaked elder answered with a nod. "I hope Ancestor Feng will not be angered and attack the ancient clans if Lu Shu dies."

"Then he was weak. It won't happen," Lu Feng smiled. "He won't lose his life. That kid, he's still surprises me. I know he will have a few cards at his disposal. You'll see something quite entertaining. Of that, I'm sure."

Meanwhile, Shu was gazing at all his competition with his orange, cosmic eyes. He could see their spirit energy and noticed quite a few with spirit reactors in their body. They also had higher concentrations of spirit energy. These were students who were scions of the ancient clans. He purposely provoked them to gauge their spirit force and measure their strengths. Satisfied, he put his blades away and dissipated his baleful aura.

"There's quite a few members with spirit reactors," Shu told his classmates. "each of the academies has at least one member. However, given the histories of the academies, the lower six academies will try to eliminate each other first. Try to avoid them and let them fight amongst themselves."

"Right," the fifteen nodded in unison.

A golden knight appeared in front of them, a burst of bright light blinding most of them. He had a dominating presence as he looked down at them. Seeing that they had all arrived, the golden knight snapped his fingers. Servants, in dark blue tuxedos with gold ties and cufflinks, appeared and distributed small mirrors to the competitors. They were all round, about two and a half inches in diameter, with a string of feathers that fell from the side of the mirror.

"Hello and welcome to the first of the games amongst you Practitioners of the sixth stage," the golden knight announced as they all observed their mirrors. "The first game is known as the Hundred Token Seal. The objective is simple. There are one hundred and thirty six of you. Each of you must use that mirror to find a token, all of which are camouflaged. You can only find them through the lens of the small mirrors in your hands."

"Is there no other way to find them?" one asked.

"There is none. These tokens contain no spirit energy for you to track as the spirit energy is sealed. You must find the token, break the seal, and bring it to me. You can only possess one token. This clearing is the only safe zone. You are not allowed to hurt anyone outside the forest. Different seals have different levels of difficulty. Some tokens are hidden in plain sight, some in trees, some underground, and even some within magical beasts," the golden knight explained. "Once you break the seal, you can physically touch the token. Thirty six will fail. If some are incapacitated and unable to continue in the games, their spot will be given to the next strongest person. You can only blame yourself for weaker spirit force pressure. When a servant bangs the gong, the first of the games begins! Good luck!"