Chapter 68 - One Against a Thousand Part 1

Shu stared around the crystals began to crack. He cried out as his body was pulled, by an invisible hand, toward the third clearing. He held his stomach due to the extremely fast velocity. As he recovered he looked up and saw a giant tiger paw appear before him. It was so large, he could not even see the body the paw belonged to as a large leg extended beyond his sight. However, the ground and wall behind him were still made of crystal. He imagined that, if he could see the tiger in its entirety, they were still in the crystal cavern. It was a black-furred tiger. The color of its stripes, Shu could not see.

"Summon thy sword," a voice said, shaking the floor beneath him as Shu desperately covered his ears. Was this the Tiger the chief spoke of? Not daring to make it angry, Shu closed his eyes and imagined his sword appearing.

"You wield the Practitioner sword of a Sword Immortal cultivator," the voice said, no earthquake or sonic boom appeared this time as it spoke. He stared at a long sword that seemed to float in front of him.

The blade of the sword was made of a shiny, white silver metal that released the same celestial aura that emitted fear. The sword had a small gold cross-guard, about two inches longer than the blade, with vein-like grooves made of emerald crystal. The grip was also made of a soft, black leather that seemed to look like the fur from the giant tiger's body. At the base of the grip, an emerald jewel encased in the holy of a shiny, white silver metal identical to the sword. The entire sword, as it was a Practitioner's weapon, was indestructible and reeked of power and majesty.

"What you wield is the sword called Nether Tiger Sword. As you absorbed the essence of a guardian lion type Holy Spirit Beast, you were supposed to be able to use your flame element to a superior level. However, you only have an ice flame that is really ice but shaped like flames. The Nether Tiger Sword is able to create dark purple nether flames. These flames are like poison to the living as it burns not just the physical but the spiritual as well," the voice of the tiger behemoth said. Through your Holy Spirit Beast, you now control three elements, and nether fire. Your ice will no longer appear as flames. All this is because of the guardian lion's influence in your body, changing your Practitioner weapon as it is tied to your soul. You achieved inner peace as you came to accept the fact that millions died due to your data."

"What?" Shu spouted. "I tried so hard to shape it as flames!"

"Ice is not fire! Ice chills and freezes. Even if it burns, it is only the sensation of burning as skin and flesh crack as it freezes! Do not attempt to change an element's nature!" the Tiger roared, blasting Shu against the wall. "Worry not. You can use the nether flames of your sword to become an Archon Phoenix. It is now time for your final trial. As you know, others travel to Spirit Road," the Tiger began. "Your trial is to kill them. People from other worlds will have this same trial as you called One Against a Thousand! The trial consists of a thousand different tribes sending a representative. In the end, only one can survive. Live, and you pass the trial. Your Holy Spirit Beast can feed on their bodies and grow to its juvenile state. That is the reward the trial gives. No one can use spirit techniques here. The only thing you can use is the abilities of your body and your weapon. In your case, your Old God Eyes, vermillion wings to fly, and your nether flames. If you succeed, a tassel of my black fur will appear on the bottom of the pommel of your sword. It is symbolic but all tigers and tiger magical beasts will recognize you and obey you without question. I am known as Tiger for I am the Creator God of tigers. I am the First. Show those tribes my glory!"

Shu's eyes widened as he disappeared from the cavern and entered a valley surrounded by several mountains. On the mountain behind him, Shu stepped back in surprise as he saw the chief of the Tiger Tribe, the eight elite warriors, Meng Wan, and other members of the tribe. It seemed that the white roads leading to each tribe at the foot of a mountain really led to the foot of a mountain valley as wide as infinity itself. Before him were one thousand other Practitioners. The trial ended when one tribe's representative killed and survived the onslaught of a thousand other tribe representatives. Hence, One Against a Thousand.

All the tribes and people not participating bowed on their knees as the sky shined a white halo that said, "All will hear and obey! I, the Immortal God overseeing this segment of tribes will listen. Today, one tribe will show its dominance. The winning tribe will have a thousand souls added to its reincarnation cycle. The winning representative earns the right to feed the corpses of the thousand dead to his or her Spirit Beast! Let the final trial, of those gathered today, begin!"

Shu grit his teeth as all the people went into a frenzy as he sprouted his wings and took to the sky. It was no small wonder the chief talked about surviving the third trial. The chief was talking about the trial: One Against a Thousand! Meng Wan must not have been chosen and given a different trial. Seeing as she succeeded, Shu felt a warmth in his heart and was glad she survived. She knew more about him from others and he could trust someone from Tiger Tribe, based on the chief's actions. Shu narrowed his eyes as about one hundred others were also capable of flight.

"Congratulations, Meng Wan," the chief said as the participants of the large-scale trial took to the skies as most began fighting below. "You were not chosen to participate. Honestly, you are much too weak compared to Lu Shu."

"Will he be able to survive?" Meng Wan asked, hoping he would.

"He has killed before. He won't hesitate. However, his chances.....Wait! Those are nether flames! He wields the power to manipulate nether flames?" the chief cried as dark purple flames streaked across the sky from Shu's sword, the members of the tribe shocked as nether flames were flames of demons from the Nether Immortal Realm, the immortal realm where only demons lived.

Shu narrowed his eyes as he surrounded his eyes in a frosty mist. Those who flew in would instantly freeze and pieces of their body would burst from the mist as Shu shattered them as they were blinded. True, he could not use spirit techniques; but it did not mean he could not control the elements! He would throw spears of darkness at the people below as he dodged through those who flew in the skies above. If he saw someone about to kill another, he would target that person with a spear of lightning as they struck the final blow. If someone flew too close, he would hug his knees, folding his wings, and burst out, sending a shockwave as his limbs and wings released blasts of lightning.

As he fought, he realized that everyone's overall stage of cultivation, or something similar in another world, were more or less the same. The only factors that decided their fate was their intelligence, cunning, weapons, experience, and the elements they wielded. As he killed the people in the sky, blood rained down as death cries resounded over the valley. He made sure to target those who hesitated before a kill. He had to kill them before they resolved themselves to kill to survive. If he got outnumbered, he would make his wings disappear and focus his spirit energy into his legs to dodge and weave through the crowd, forcing his pursuers to fight others to get to him.

Shu would wince from the pain as some hits drilled holes in his body or severed entire arms and legs. However, as a true Archon and the benefits of the guardian lion's physique, Shu was able to regenerate at the expense of spirit energy. The battlefield became more chaotic as soon as only a hundred of the best survived. As many fought amongst themselves, eight of them joined forces to kill Shu as they isolated him from the fighting. Shu could no longer afford to fly in the sky as one of the people pursuing him would shoot arrows whenever he tried to take to the skies.

"Fucker! Just stay on the ground," one of them yelled as Shu flew three feet above the ground but moved too fast for them.

He howled in pain as an arrow of fire pierced through his chest, missing his spine as he crashed into the ground. The wound healed and the fire dissipated as he submerged himself in a ball of water. He stared back, his wings disappearing as the sphere burst while the hole healed. His eyes widened as three of them had weapons different than before.

"Ha! You realize your predicament!" one laughed. "We wield Divine Weapons! So long as we have a connection to our soul, the energy the Divine Weapon granted us can be used to summon them!"

"MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" Shu laughed manically as his head bent back while a palm covered his face. "Ooooh. How could I have forgotten? Divine Weapon? I have one too! The Sentinel Bow!"

Shu shouted as the Nether Tiger Sword fell onto the ground, vermillion energy bursting from his body like fire. It consolidated in his left hand to reveal the Sentinel Bow. His pursuers cried out in shock and some began to flee as Shu pulled an arrow of vermillion, the mere power caused by the concentration of the energy causing the ground beneath him to quake. Shu roared as he released the arrow, a large tornado of energy swirling outwards, destroying any trapped within. Shu frowned, but guessed that the Divine Weapon also changed.

Four of the eight died and Shu raised his Divine Weapon up at the Heavens, as he released another arrow, this one reached about three thousand feet before falling down, fragmenting into a thousand arrows that rained vermillion from the sky. Two fools who sought to hide among the other people fighting all died. Soon, only Shu and two who also had Divine Weapons were left. Taking advantage, Shu flew into the sky. He summoned all the vermillion energy he had to shoot an arrow at the man who was shooting at him. His vermillion wings disappeared as the last of the energy formed a thousand foot crater as the vermillion tornado arrow killed the man.

"Hmph," the last man sneered as Shu shook his head while picking up his Nether Tiger Sword. "Not facing people directly and ambushing them, only to finish them off now. How cowardly!"

"I'm still alive," Shu scoffed as dark purple flames burned across his sword as a white aura permeated from the sword, causing the other man to feel fear.

"As if I will lose to some teenage brat! In one hand I wield my Spirit Weapon! In the other, my Divine Weapon! You only have your Spirit Weapon left!" the man laughed as he brandished two two-handed swords as if they were as light as daggers. "You think you can beat me? I am a dual-sword wielder! You're puny long sword is a toothpick compared to my swords! Just let me cut off your head and I promise my Spirit Beast won't eat your head!"

"Come and try," Shu scoffed as he entered a stance.