Chapter 54 - Sect Under Attack Part 1

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the second day of the sixth and seventh stage division games!" an announcer in a bright gold tuxedo smiled. "Although a little earlier than expected, we will be hosting the elimination tournament of the seventh stage Practitioners later today, right after the second of the sixth stage division games! Indeed, the second of the games will be hosted here, live, in the stadium of Black City!"

The announcer let the crowd cheer before continuing, "Yes. Yes! It is indeed a wonderful occasion. One hundred Practitioners of the sixth stage have passed the first of the games. For the first time, in eight years, we even have a first year among them. Many scions of the ancient clans have competed in the games, but this is the first time a member of the illustrious Lu Imperial Clan of the Yan Dynasty will compete! We even have the honor of having Ancestor Lu Feng, the same Lu Feng of legend who slayed the tenth of the ancient clans which betrayed all of humanity and tried to takeover the world! Most people don't know this, but our imperial family can verify the truth of my words! However, it was an unfortunate action against Ancestor Lu Feng which caused him to personally wipe them out. Only Ancestor Lu Feng knows."

"To ask me that is to court death," Lu Feng said coldy, his spirit force causing the whole stadium to shake as some fainted while others choked and fell to their knees.

"Hahaha," the announcer laughed, weakly. "Well. I apologize for the disturbance. Now, for the event you are all waiting for, look upon the Practitioners. By the end of the second game, only around half will pass. That is, if they are lucky. This second game is a classic favorite we are bringing back after fifty years: The Fall of Sects!"

Veteran spectators who had watched for decades all gasped as they heard his words. They had all seen what happened the last time. Many of them began to wonder how Crown Prince Trent was allowed to revive the classic game. Most people didn't know about The Fall of Sects, turning their attention to the announcer to hear the details.

"For those who don't, here are the details about The Fall of Sects. Each of these Practitioners will enter an illusory formation. They will experience the fall of the very first sect of the Rokkam Kingdom, decades before it became a kingdom," the announcer smiled. "They will all be Practitioners of the sixth stage and unable to use any spirit techniques they already know. Their task is to escape death!"

"Death?" many cried.

"I don't want my son to die!" one roared.

"Is this even safe?" one asked.

"Now, now. Don't be alarmed. Ladies and gentlemen, these Practitioners have the opportunity to learn one of ten spirit techniques. If they successfully survive, the knowledge of how to use the technique will not be lost when they exit the illusory formation. This illusory formation is made by two of our five Spirit Sages. Learning a spirit technique from an illusory formation is quite possible, if the Practitioners who made the formation array relay the information to your head. Otherwise, what you are learning and experiencing is just an illusion. What we see them read, while watching their progress, is also an illusion," the announcer smiled. "The only external factor they will possess is their knowledge, their strength without spirit energy augmentation, and their Practitioner weapon. Their spirit energy will all be of equal amount. They will have no memory of entering a formation and will experience the true terror of a disciple of a sect under attack."

"Fuck," Shu cursed as he thought about the second game's details. His spirit energy would be restricted to the level of everyone else. He would still have his tyrannical strength and Arctic Emperor. However, he could not use any of his spirit techniques. If he survived, he would proceed to the third game and gain knowledge of the technique, out of ten, he chose."

"To the death or escape, we will meet again," the announcer bowed as he gestured the Practitioners to a large, purplr formation array that appeared at the center of the stadium. "You will relive the experience of the disciples of the fallen sect: Serene Lion Turtle Sect. Our most powerful Spirit Sage was once a Spirit Shaman of that sect. He has long received his revenge a thousand fold. You will each live under an alias. There will be ten people in the same illusion. Thus, you have a chance to meet them. Of course, you won't remember them. Your appearance will also be different and you cannot see your Mystic Stone or Mystic Crystal, if you have condensed your soul to that degree. The ten groups, of ten people each, will be decided at random. There is no way to prepare as you will only carry your intelligence and knowledge with you. If you don't understand your own elemental affinities, it's too late for a last minute reading. I wish you luck and hope you will all remember and honor the fallen sect."

"Something else also happens in such a powerful illusory formation," Lu Feng muttered, drawing the attention of Crown Prince Trent and Liao Hong. Crown Prince Trent was not alive fifty years ago and did not know all the details. Liao Hong had never been trapped in an illusory formation as there was no one foolish enough to attempt to do so. Ancestor Lu Feng was a living legend. All the other VIPs turned their heads as they also wanted to hear more details.

"What else is there, Ancestor Feng?" Crown Prince Trent asked.

"The Practitioner goes under a metamorphosis. His Practitioner weapon might also change due to the owner's memories and that of his alias. Take Lu Shu, how could he resist such a change within two Spirit Sages' formation? His katana will undergo a change. Maybe his temperament as well. He may forget about the spirit technique he learned, if he fails to escape, but the memories will remain. That is the danger of the illusory formation. It is both a blessing and a curse. The stronger you are, the worse it is as the young are able to adapt easily, but the old have habits that are too developed to change," Lu Feng explained. "I can only hope the experience of their fake lives contribute to their growth and not impair it."

"I knew they could kill, but this is something else entirely," Liao gasped. "It's no wonder this second game was ceased. It's effects are too mysterious and unpredictable."

"I did hear my father say that some Practitioners had their weapons change auras as well. Some gained celestial aura, baleful aura or they had their auras change. Those with baleful auras became weapons with celestial aura, but still capable of fear. Those with celestial aura became weapons with baleful aura, but still capable of emitting a healing effect. I did not know about the lingering effects on the mind. Let us hope that they pass the second of the games," Trent said, all the VIPs turning back at the Practitioners with fears and hopes in their heart for the Practitioners to persevere.

Shu and the other Practitioners stood in front of the illusory array. Shu knew he could only depend on himself when he entered the array. He would have none of his magical items, his sentient puppet, Spook, or his magical beasts. He would truly be alone. If his soul, his Mystic Crystal, cannot be detected; he could not ask the Dragon Fox for advice. He suspected he would have a fake Mystic Stone. Otherwise, how could he use the spirit technique he chose, or fight back against whatever attacked the fallen sect.

"Once you enter the illusory array, a medallion and your Practitioner weapon will be in the illusion with you. Your Practitioner weapon might change and the medallion will have the symbol of your academy. It will help you identify other competitors in the illusion. You won't know who they are, but you will feel that it is important to help each other," a gold knight said as the students moved closer to the formation.

"Good luck to you all," Shu said to his classmates and walked into the illusory array.

"Shu, you brat. You don't even know that formation can't restrict your Mystic Crystal. It was meant to lock Mystic Stones. Not only that, do those Spirit Sages think they can block the connection of the Great Spirit I sense in your realm of consciousness? I was the one who fused the two rings into Spook," Lu Feng laughed in his thoughts. "You're certainly full of surprises. I wonder what everyone's faces will be like when you regain your identity? HAHAHAHA! The next generations sure are lively."

---------Reliving the fall of a sect begins-----------------------

"The clouds seem peaceful today," a youth smiled, the hair on the back of his head tied in a ponytail. Short brown hair fell toward the front of his face, but bright blue eyes continued to gaze at the morning sky. His name was Yao. Due to entering the inner sect of the Great Lion Turtle Sect, he was given the family name of Wu. This was to discard his mortal family and continue the path to immortality.

Among the inner sect disciples, he was the youngest to enter at the age of thirteen, three years ahead of most people his age. This was all due to the tyrannical strength his body possessed. He had the choice of learning one of ten spirit techniques of the core sect disciple manuals. What he learned was a dangerous ice and dark acid technique called Ghost Serpent Strike. It was a dual element technique. It was the variation of the Great Serpent Strike as he had evolved the technique. No one knew why, but he had a powerful soul and natural affinity to his element. It took a whole year and he felt he could develop it further. Four years since he became an inner sect disciple, he was now at the sixth stage.

"Senior Yao! Senior Yao!" a familiar voice cried as Wu leaned up from a branch of a peach blossom tree and saw a young boy wearing the brown robes of an outer sect disciple. Wu Yao wore the white and red robe of a inner disciple. He scratched his head and landed, softly, on the ground below. The outer sect disciple was a boy named Han Kong. All disciples had the last name of Kong, as in empty, until they became inner sect disciples. Then, the headmaster of the sect would bestow on them a clan name and they were allowed to venture to the outside world or indulge in romances. They did not allow outer sect disciples to love or venture outside so as to avoid them from having any distractions.