Chapter 59 - The Elimination Tournament Part 2

"Judgment of the Burning War God!" Duren roared, his arms flinging at Shu as the fiery maces spinning as they flew toward Shu.

"Radiant Howl of the Freezing Devil!" Shu roared, realizing the true form of the insect-like spirit technique that replaced his skeleton and fused with his subconscious. That weird exoskeleton that appeared when he had first made contact withit and Meng Ce seeing it over Shu's body when he went to check on him. It wasn't really an insect, but it was not of the Mortal Realm, just like the other four living spirit techniques the Great Ancestor once had kept away in the empire's treasury. It could not be identified and insects certainly did not howl like beasts.

The crowd shrieked as waves of cold and heat blasted as an explosion of fire and ice was created upon the collision of a field of spinning, burning spirit maces and an unidentifiable sword blast of ice. The invisible barrier formation that protected the spectators saved them from any harm caused by the explosion, even blocking the chill and heat soon after. When the dust, ash, and frost cleared; the crowd saw two people on the ground.

Duren was sprawled on the floor, unconscious with both wings destroyed and frozen solid. His limbs were slowly regenerating and color was retuning to his cold, pale body. As for Shu, he was one his knees, the armor on his arms in pieces. his entire shirt was burned away as his skin slowly regenerated charred skin. His eyes slowly returned to normal as the armor spirit faded away. He coughed blood but held his sword up high.

"Winner of the sixth stage division is Shu of the Lu Clan from Black Lotus Academy!" the announcer cried, after spending a few minutes to get over the shock.

Bahamut and Supaiku quickly rushed over to Shu, sharing their spirit energy with their master. Shu trembled as he immediately entered a meditative state as he sat, cross-legged, on the stadium. It was no wonder Practitioners who were true Archons through one of the four true Archon body techniques, the ones without spirit reactors, were deemed the most powerful among their cultivation stage. Shu only won due to his immense spirit energy, resilient body through fusion with the Dragon Fox, and Eclipse Indestructible Body technique.

Shu panted as his body returned to normal and slowly got atop of Supaiku, Bahmut shrinking and settling on Supaiku's head. Shu laughed as he had gotten first place. Shu lost consciousness and slept on Supaiku's back as Lu Feng appeared. Lu Feng pat Shu's head as he led Supaiku to the area the Black Academy students were watching in the stands. The ending ceremony was held that night and a grand feast was geld for the top four schools. Everyone celebrated that night, ecstatic and jubilant for having many students gain access to the Vault of Kings.

Although only one student of Red Dragon Temple gained access to the Vault of Kings, they celebrated as they could finally hold their heads high against the arrogant Steel Horn Temple. Of the Big Three, only Steel Horn Temple were arrogant and used their ranking as an excuse to bully and mock the other six rival schools. Red Dragon Temple and Green Hare Tower even made a truce. It wasn't hard as they were on opposite sides of the empire and hardly interacted.

Shu's eyes narrowed as he sensed spirit energy gathering at the tents where he slept. He snuck out the feast, took off his jacket, and wore a simple black cloak all over his body. He pulled out skull dagger and used his Phantasmal Sky technique to quickly travel to his tent. His eyes widened as he saw students of Steel Horn Temple apparently looting the tents of any valuables that were not in their owners' storage bags. He wrinkled his nose, with disgust, at their petty actions. Well, no one was watching as they were all supposed to be at the feast. Stealth works both ways.

Due to the enchantment of his skull dagger, his arm holding the dagger made no sound as he grabbed them by the necks and slit their throats. He had already buried them halfway through the floor once. Killing them was much easier. He would also rip out their Mystic Stones, using his innate demon ability before they died, devouring the spirit energy and storing the empty marble in his storage bag. There would be plenty of people who would buy a Mystic Stone as it is far more difficult for most people to even attain one without some connection.

He made sure to loot their storage bags before leaving their bodies to rot. People would believe someone took their Mystic Stones from their corpse. After all, a Mystic Stone could be retrieved from the corpse of its owner, but it would be completely empty with no trace of spirit energy inside. His innate demon ability enabled him to rip out the Mystic Stone and devour spirit energy, whether the body was dead or alive. However, he could only absorb spirit energy from Mystic Stones if the owner was still alive as he ripped it out.

He stored his loot in his storage bag while he stored the Mystic Stones in Spook. He did not want to be found out as the guy who killed them all. He kept hunting all the students of Steel Horn Temple who dared to sneak back to steal. Such petty people deserved no mercy. Wraith, always in his shadow, kept watch and always alerted him if there were others nearby. Before an hour passed, Shu successfully assassinated and looted all the Practitioners of Steel Horn Temple.

"Just too weak," Shu sighed as he wiped the blood on his dagger on the last corpse he found, or made. He quickly used his Phantasmal Sky technique, changed back into his jacket, and returned to the feast. The students were busy chatting away and celebrating to notice him gone. They had seen him in the corner of the area, resting as he was fatigued and respectfully avoided disturbing him. Of course, some had noticed him missing.

"Where were you?" Ivy and the others asked as they sat around his table. Ivy was with Joey and the others. They had spent quite some time looking for Shu.

"I wanted to take a tour of the castle. However, I was intrigued by the smell of magical beast meat in their kitchens," Shu said, a pretty good alibi based on his constant hunger for it. "You didn't happen to find some here, did you?"

"Typical," Hinako sighed and showed him the plate she carried. Shu grinned and thanked Hinako before digging in.

"I'm surprised that Red Dragon Temple and Green Hare Tower are here. They seem to be the merriest of the people here," Shu observed as most of the laughter came from those students.

"Try living in a world in a poorer state than the elite. Then, you'll understand how they feel," Bella answered. "They were constantly bullied and looked down on by Steel Horn Temple. Steel Horn Temple getting third place only made them more insufferable as they took their frustrations out on them.

"Still, we get to go to the Vault of Kings!" Joey laughed. "Er, most of us. Sorry you lost, Kei and Geo."

"Still, I wonder what happens now?" Shu asked, wanting to change the subject from Steel Horn Temple as a gold knight walked toward Shu.

"Shu of the Lu Clan, Spirit Sage Light requests your audience," the gold knight said.

"Did I get caught?" Shu thought as the gold knight looked at him warily. "Yeah. Of course I would not go unnoticed by the Spirit Knights. I'm sure they don't mind students looting each other, but I killed and did both."

"I'll go first," Shu grinned, trying to keep calm. "Enjoy the feast guys. I'll see some of you in the Vault of Kings."

Ten minutes later, Shu was in the throne room of the palace with members of the royal family wearing crowns, and Lu Feng, all in the room. All the guards left and secured the doors from the outside. Shu could only grin helplessly as they all stared at him.

"We know what you did," Crown Prince Trent began. "The question is, why did you kill them instead of knocking them out?"

"True victory is one where there won't be any future battles. Complete and utter annihilation," Shu said coldly. "You have to think about the consequences. If I knocked them out, they would obviously be punished and search for who stopped their nefarious, petty plans to loot those who beat them. You know, I didn't go after the mages too. I could have," Shu shrugged.

"I am Empress Rua Kindu," a woman who looked in her late twenties began, a gold crown and lavish cerulean dress complementing her figure. "Prince Shu, what did you do to their bodies? They are completely drained of spirit energy. I can guess that you carved their Mystic Stones out, but how did you absorb their spirit energy? In fact, how were you able to kill so many of them so silently? My guards could not hear your arm when you took their lives."

"I'm afraid I just killed them, looted some stuff that seemed interesting, and ripped out their Mystic Stones from their corpses," Shu lied. "I'm afraid I don't know who would waste time draining spirit energy as it leaks out from the dead body. As I'm sure you know, I killed all of them rather quickly. I did not have the time to drain them of all the spirit energy in their corpse. I would have risked discovery. Well, I would have noticed I was discovered. You don't happen to want the Mystic Stones and loot I got?"

Seeing the empress's eyes, Shu sighed and covered his right hand over his storage bag. Over a hundred Mystic Stones appeared in a flash of white light. As for the loot he did not take it out as they were less valuable. The empress did not seem to care either as she told Trent to store the empty marbles, averting her eyes from Lu Feng's direction as he slowly emitted spiritual force from his body. Spirit Sage Light entered the room and sat down on the opposite side of the throne room across Lu Feng.

"This matter is settled then. Good. Thank you for your cooperation," Empress Rua said.

"Don't push your luck, empress," Lu Feng snarled, stopping her from speaking further. "If it wasn't for Spirit Sage Light and the crown prince, I would have ripped your head off."

"Well," the empress started, but declined as Light warned her with a stern look. "I apologize. I do not want to make an enemy of the Yan Dynasty over some dead kids of a disgraced school."

"Prince Shu, I will tell you something about the Vault of Kings. You have a total of twelve hours to fid three objects of your choosing. The Vault of Kings is large and there are many magical items many would kill for. However, why do you think we allow the twelve hours?" Trent asked.

"It would be because there is something more there. Could it be dense areas of spirit energy?" Shu asked.

"Indeed. It is a paradise for people to cultivate in. Most gather their items and meditate for as long as they are allowed. Third place only gets one hour to find an item and meditate. Second place gets four hours to find two items and meditate. This shows just how great it is to get the first rank. Think about two Practitioners who fought in last years games as first years: Hinako and Rian. They were fourth year students but a year later, they are at the seventh stage. Hard work played a part, but it is very difficult to reach the seventh stage onwards," Trent explained. "Even now, I'm guessing you're at the peak of the sixth stage. Meditating there will certainly help you. Especially if you have that talisman of yours."

"How do you...?" Shu began.

"We have embassies in the capital of all countries of note who are not hostile to us. Naturally, we have some who attend the auctions. Of course, it was our mistake to not attend your birthday. We were quite shocked to learn of so many Spirit Sages, five being verified with Ancestor Lu Feng as the first who was seen," Trent smiled. "Information is key to the survival of a nation. Strength is for the army, but words can do what armies cannot. Needless to say, there are countless other magical items that can convert energy essence into liquid pearl elixirs, but they are rarely sold due to their usefulness."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shu nodded.

"You don't need to pick a skill to learn as you have already gained a new one. Find magical armor and items. I will be returning to the Yan Dynasty. I have visited kid Seto and overseen your progress in the competition," Lu Feng said hugging Shu with a grin. "Out of all my descendants, you're the most interesting one. Train well. Farewell Shu. If you need me, just message your father with the transmission bead you have. I will be cultivating with the four others at the palace."

"Goodbye Lu Feng," Shu cupped his hands and bowed, the other people in the room doing the same as Lu Feng left the throne room.

"You may leave now. Hopefully we meet again, at the Pantheon of Devils. I can't be there at the Vault of Kings. Goodbye, Prince Shu," Trent smiled as they bowed and Shu left.

"He is dangerous. They both are," the empress said. "It is no small wonder that the Yan Dynasty has survived for so long. Who knew they were hiding such powerful experts and claim there are even more. Even the second prince is beyond expectations. I expected that Isabella of the ancient clans would win against a true Archon without a spirit reactor, but not that Lu Clan boy."

"We cannot make enemies of the Yan Dynasty, Little Empress," Light warned. "Little girl, I could not even hope to guess how powerful that Lu Feng is. He could kill Fiend Immortals, Practitioners more powerful than most peak Spirit Sages. The other four must also be powerful. Perhaps, even more so."

"I know," the empress said, not disturbed by the Spirit Sages words as he was an ancient being. "I did not have any inclinations. I was relieved Ancestor Lu Feng did not threaten me and allowed me to take the Mystic Stones."

"You can only have one. They are just used for bartering now," Light shrugged. "I will be heading to Steel Horn Temple. I will destroy the head of the snake and replace it with someone more suitable. Burn the bodies. Such trash are unworthy to be returned to their families. It would only stain and ruin the futures of the next generations of their families."

"Yes, Elder," Empress Rua said and left to carry the task.

"Trent. Kid, you must also train for the Pantheon of Devils. Remember, humanity might have some relations with magical beasts, but the demons and Hyperion will certainly try to kill anyone in their way. Also remember, humans are not without their greed and lust. Do not be tempted by the words of a beauty or let down your guard," Light said, the room silent as Trent bowed and left the throne room.