Chapter 53 - Hundred Token Seal Part 2

When a servant rang the gong, everyone immediately rushed into the forest. Only Shu did not move. His soul was at the fifth level. Seals and formations all affected the soul. How could he not detect and break them? Shu focused his spirit energy into his eyes, as he closed them. When he opened them, a ray of orange light beamed from his eyes and quickly disappeared.

Suddenly, the world seemed to spirit energy all around him, each of them had a tiny strand of spirit energy, each could be traced to a living body. If he touched a strand, he could instantly know what the person looked like, his cultivation, and his location. There were far more blue spirit energy strands. The blue spirit energy strands belonged to magical beasts. He waved the strands away and the spirit energy of the creatures the strings followed to, disappeared. Shu smiled as he could see isolated, grey energy. It was not spirit energy, so no strings were there to trace back to them. All around Shu, the blue green planetary life force swirled, like a visible mist that flowed like the wind.

Shu let the blue strands of spirit energy come to him from the balls of blue spirit energy. He looked for one with a grey energy signature within. He smiled as blue and grey energy swirled together. The gold knight stared at Shu in alarm. Somehow, the boy was able to sense the energy of the seals. They were made from spirit energy, but spirit energy only triggered the seal. The seal, itself, was a different energy together. Like Shu's vermillion energy and death energy, it was not spirit energy but could still be used or cultivated.

Shu closed his eyes as he blocked out the world, the only image in his mind is the blue spirit energy strand leading to the magical beast in question. The flying moon blades flew from his back, swirling around him. A ring of purple flames burned around Shu, giving his hooded, masked appearance a more menacing look. These weapons had the ability to hurt Shu, cutting past his Eclipse Indestructible body when he fought the humanoid Hyperion. That meant they could also cut through seals. The seals were not very strong, if one with experience in formations studied them. Even seals were based on a formation barrier.

Shu thanked Meng Ce before spreading his arms out. The moon blades surged forward, following his guidance to the neck of the magical beast. As it closed in, an orange tortoise with a black shell looked, with fear, as it saw two balls of purple fire head in its direction. Its eyes widened, but tortoises cannot retreat into their shells. It tried to reinforce its shell as it dug into the ground, but Shu made his blades increase in velocity. Instead of striking the tortoise, they swirled, incredibly fast, around the tortoise. Soon, a gust of flame burst, turning the ground to ash as a small tornado of purple fire burst from the blades, the tortoise screaming as it was surrounded.

The faster the blades spun, the more it broke through the tortoise's defenses. Unable to block the fire, the skin soon became to burn and the smell of burnt meat hung in the air. Grass burned and trees were uprooted and ablaze as the tornado only became fiercer. After a minute, only a shining token, the color of blood, was left in a pile of ash. Shu, eyes still closed, began to pull his arms together. When the tips of his hands touched, the moon blades began to swirl in a tight formation, the tip of the tornado of fire burning the top of the token. A grey light shined and the token's seal was broken. Shu opened his eyes, a smile on his face, as the moon blades scooped the token and brought it to him.

"Here is the token," Shu said as he gave the token to the gold knight. The gold knight was speechless and unable to say a thing as he mindlessly took the token and nodded. He shook his head as his wits returned and he stared at Shu, the shock still evident on his face.

"A contestant of the Black Lotus Academy has retrieved a token first. Ninety nine remain," the gold knight roared, augmenting the sound of his voice with spirit energy. Shu sat on one of the benches nearby as he began to wait for the others to finish, the moon blades back in their sheathes. He wanted to go to the forest and beat some of the people there, but the gold knight did not let him.

Shu stood as he sensed some people running, frantically, back to the clearing. As they entered the clearing, Shu saw a large, white drake roaring as it tried to bite the humans. One of them was Ivy and Shu used his Phantasmal Sky technique to appear behind her, one hand raised at the drake. Drakes looked like lizards, but were still draconic magical beasts. They had scales even tougher than dragons and their teeth and claws ripped through steel as if it were silk. The drake stopped its run as it stared at Shu, shocked beyond measure. Everyone stared at the scene, their mouths agape, as the drake dipped its head. It was as if it were bowing to Shu. Shu tilted his head in confusion. His eyes widened as the drake seemed to recognize that his body was fused to a Dragon Fox. He smiled and laid his palm on the drake.

"What the fuck!" members of the ancient clans shouted, alarmed as they stood from their seats in the stadium's VIP booth.

"How is that possible? A drake is a prideful creature, like all dragons, and would definitely not bow to a human. Especially wild draconic magical beasts, none would stop their tracks to bow to someone. How is this possible?" Liao gasped. "I would not be surprised if he killed the drake, as he is Ancestor Feng's heir, but he made the drake bow. Bow! It is as if he is their king!"

"Ancestor Feng?" Crown Prince Trent asked. "What are we seeing?"

"I don't even know," Lu Feng answered, mildly surprised. "I did say that he was going to be interesting, but I did not expect this little surprise. He truly does not disappoint. Did you see his face? He was also surprised, but seemed to discover why the drake bowed to him."

The VIPs continued to focus their eyes back on what the other screens displayed, the shock still in their hearts. Shu murmured to the drake and watched the drake disappear into the forest. He closed his eyes and he could see the soul planet of water in his realm of consciousness. His mind entered the Mystic Crystal and entered the depths of the planet, toward the core where the Dragon Fox stayed.

"Are you the reason the drake bowed to me?" Shu asked it.

"Yes and no," the Great Spirit smiled. "I am the reason you have that body, but it bowed to you. Similarly, creatures with the planet's life force will bow to you as you cultivate it as well. You are an existence akin to a deity to those beings. The dragons are more prideful and will only refrain from being rude. That Emerald Steel Dragon of yours is an exception. It is your magical beast and perfectly loyal, like your Gold-Eyed Lightning Tiger. I know no true Archon body that is as exceptional as yours. Most people died because they chose the wrong Great Spirit or did not have a true Archon body. Only a true Archon body can assimilate the change in their body."

"So I am no longer human?" Shu asked.

"Yes. With my body fusing to yours, you're only a demon and magical beast. You only have the body of a human, save the ears, eyes, horn, wings, and that azure crystal skeleton from that living spirit technique. Your wings can appear at will and your skeletal structure seems human, but that's it. However, all your changes don't stand out as many Archon and true Archon body techniques come with similar changes," the Great Spirit said in agreement. "The only way they can truly tell is by seeing through the true color of your first spirit energy. It is a demonic red. If they were immortals, they would know. Good luck in the rest of your games. I enjoy seeing the world through your eyes."

Shu retracted his mind from the Mystic Crystal and walked over to Ivy. He noticed she was okay, as well as the other fourteen who came with her. It seemed they all traveled together, in a large group, causing the other groups to stay away as they sought to expand their search by dividing their forces.

"How did you pass? Why did that drake bow to you?" Ivy asked, shocked by what she had witnessed as she had expected him to fight it.

"The first part: I used my flying blades. I can detect the energy of the seal without needing to see it through the lens of the mirror. As for the second part: I'll keep that to myself," Shu said and sat down on the bench.

Shu slept soundly as the rest of the one hundred were decided as night fell. About nineteen were killed by magical beast or another student. The one hundredth token was retrieved by one, but he died from his wounds inflicted by another. The person who killed him replaced him and the last of the one hundred was decided. Later that night, people cried out in alarm as they watched the recording of the first game as they tried to find out the weaknesses and techniques of other competitors. The students in Shu's tent stared at their classmate with envy and fear. He had so easily passed the first game without even entering the forest.

"If you looked closely, you'll notice that some Practitioners did not reveal their techniques either," Shu said, drawing their attention. "Those students are our threat. You came here while being chased by a drake. Remember, you can use magical beasts to your advantage. You can lead them to another group of students and quickly escape past them as the magical beast might choose to attack them instead. We are not knights. What use is honor if you are dead?"

"Right," they said as they thought about the drake.

"Shu," Ivy said as Shu left the tent to gaze at the moon.

"What is it?" Shu asked as he turned to Ivy, the moon light basking his body and making his silhouette divine.

"Thank you for saving me," Ivy said. "Tomorrow will be the second game. It won't be as easy as today. Did you see the recording of how the seventh stage division went? So many people died. Hinako and Hailey are alright, but they failed as they could not get their hands on one of the hundred talismans as many were broken during the fighting. Rian, Elizabeth, Miguel, and Isabella all qualified for the top eight. They'll be fighting tomorrow. "

"I know," Shu said, as he gazed back at the moon. "You better rest. You looked like you used a lot of spirit energy to help the others escape. Next time, you can't afford to be so charitable. You might die."

Ivy nodded and left Shu alone. Shu had seen the fear in the eyes and expressions of the others when they saw his killing intent materialize. They had the same look of fear on that scientist professor who had tried to steal the data of his research with the government soldiers. Those same eyes, as if they were looking at a monster. Back then, it would have disturbed him to see how they viewed him. Now that he has lost his humanity, as well as the hunting he did in the forest and mountains, he knew his perspectives had changed. He had no qualms for killing.

"So much has changed," Shu said as he kept staring at the moon. "I'm not even seeing the same moon like the one around the Earth. This is a world of spirits and magic, not one of science. Too much has changed."

The next day, Shu and the others assembled at the stadium. For the first time, they could see numerous people. Black Lotus Academy had won second place of the fourth stage division through Joey. Steel Horn Temple took first and a member of Red Dragon Temple unexpectedly took second place from a Gold Crow Palace member. The student was of the ancient clan and underestimated the opponent. He lost as he had been knocked off the stage. As for the fifth stage division, Bella took first and Kei took third, but Gold Crow Academy took second place. So far, Black Lotus Academy dominated the Practitioner games.

As for the mage games, they had concluded with Black Lotus at first place, Gold Crow Palace at second, and Green Hare Tower at third. Everyone was shocked by the results. Green Hare Tower, ranked seven overall, actually won third place. Steel Horn Temple had been knocked down and it was possible for Green Hare Tower to challenge Steel Horn Temple. Not only that, there was even a member at the seventh stage who had a true Archon body without needing spirit reactors. Naturally, he was one to watch out for. The other five academies were in shock and Green Hare Tower, even though it only took third among the mages overall, stole the limelight.

"Now that is surprising," Liao Hong said as he looked at the screen that held the images of the mages of Green Hare Tower, all with bright expressions and smiles. "Steel Horn Temple won't like that. They'll try harder for the three ranks among the sixth and seventh stage divisions."

"I agree. The seventh stage division will end up quite bloody this year," Prince Trent agreed. "What do you think, Ancestor Feng?"

"Times change. You can't expect your opponents to be weak forever. Your empire remains the strongest because you are never lax with improving your defenses and power. It is evident by the sheer size of your nation and its environment. Your academies are always at each other's throat, preventing any from growing lazy," Lu Feng praised. "Your father does his duty well."

"Thank you, Ancestor Feng," Prince Trent cupped his hands as he bowed his heads. "What do you expect the results to be in the remaining games?"

"Seeing how the sixth stage went yesterday, everyone now knows the prowess of my clan's Practitioner prodigy. So easily defeating three members of the seventh stage as well as passing the first game without stepping foot in the forest or using the lens of the mirror. Heh. If they don't take precautions against them now, then all those schools are all fools," Lu Feng laughed. "As for the seventh stage, that Practitioner with a true Archon body without a spirit reactor has become a big player. His talent is peerless. He is a contender among all the scions of the ancient clans. However, he's nothing if he doesn't use his talent well. However, talent is only a foundation. Without hard work and dedication to training and life-or-death experiences, no one is guaranteed to perform well. Talent only gets you so far."

"Too true," Liao Hong laughed. "A tame environment will make a weak Practitioner. One has to experience the world and train in the wild. To know one's limits while training is the best you can get. Just cultivation is foolish. Mages are an exception to this rule. Some don't need to get in the action, up close, if they excel in long range and teleportation spells. Damn mana junkies are slippery."

"HAHAHA! Let's just observe how the sixth stage division fares," Lu Feng laughed. "By the way, why is the top eight elimination tournament already starting for the seventh stage Practitioners?"

"They were so bent on killing each other," Prince Trent sighed. "They were supposed to get one of one hundred talismans from the underground caverns, below the forest. However, the hatred among the six lower academies, as well as the rivalry among the Big Three, caused bloodshed beyond the predicted body count. The gold knights were only tasked to observe and maintain the rules. They could not interfere if the fighting was in the designated area of the games. Originally, eleven people qualified, but one died from his wounds while two others quit as they knew they could not fight the remaining Practitioners."

"Who are in the top eight?" Liao Hong asked. "I know my two nieces are alive, as I have glowing, jade talismans with a strand of their spirit energy imbued with it. If they died, it would have cracked and dimmed."

"The top eight are three people from Steel Horn Temple and the Practitioner from Green Hare Tower with a true Archon body. Both Elizabeth and Rian Hong qualified as well as Isabella Rivers, Miguel Drakon, and a member of Blue Phoenix Palace. Everyone else either did not get a talisman as they were allowed to be destroyed, suffered severe injuries, or died. We allows the destruction of talismans to incite fighting and more entertainment for the spectators as the competitors would become more desperate with less talismans," the crown prince sighed. "We just didn't expect them to be like this. It seems the appearance of the entrance to the Pantheon of Devils was the source of it all. Because of that, all mages and Practitioners know where to go when the less than ten years of waiting are up. Even now, we are glad the sixth stage Practitioners were not as aggressive."

"It is probably because many know that they cannot reach the required level of cultivation in time," Liao answered. "That, or they are not from powerful families or don't possess powerful connections. When will the top eight fight?"

"After the sixth stage Practitioners finish their second scheduled game," the crown prince answered. "However, I fear news of the loss of their classmates will incite hatred and revenge among the participants. I can only hope they don't go too far and restrain themselves."