16 So Begins the Talent Show!

Silently, two days passed by.

On this grey and gloomy morning, the talent show hosted by the village elders would begin. The mortal villagers, the cultivators of the region and even some people who were originally from beyond the region had gathered in the plaza.

As agreed, Sun Wukong had supersized a brick to be used as a stage. Various guards were stationed around the stage, ensuring that none could interfere while a demonstration was underway. Everyone was standing around even before the sun rose from behind the dismal clouds. Now, all they had to wait for was Logean Wuji's descent from the mountain.

As the crowd continued to grow, various eccentric individuals came out in public for the first time. There was a team of men dressed in sack-like shirts with ripped sleeves, all led by an ebon man with scarlet hair. His body was chiseled; his muscles seemed to reflect those of a perpetually buff statue. As he surveyed the competition with dark red eyes, his face which was locked in a perpetual glare seemed to soften ever so slightly.

"Now then, students, do you remember what I told you?" As he turned to face his five students, a swelling sense of pride overcame him. The people closest to him and his students could see, as he turned around, the presence of a blood red character from the word 'heaven.' [1]

"Yes sir, Supreme Master, sir!" His students, all males, stood side by side with fists tight. The one they called supreme master, the dark-skinned inhuman-looking man, nodded and then began to shout a series of odd sentences.

"Teach them the meaning of pain!"

"Osu!"

"There is only one true winner, for the weak shall surely lose!"

"Osu!"

"I am the Master of the Fist, and you are my students! We are power made flesh!"

"OSU!"

After each sentence, his students would become more and more intensely focused. Their eyes sparkled with fervor, their bulging muscles gleamed with sweat and their fists tightened so much they began to emit odd noises. The 'Supreme Master' nodded in satisfaction, then he gave the final command. "Now, channel the Murderous Intent! Assume the stance!"

With that, his students all got down into a low stance and had their arms and fists positioned strangely- all the while emitting the sound of a soft roar. The 'Supreme Master' folded his arms and turned around, looking down on all before him.

As he was conceitedly doing so, a new batch of people had only just arrived. This time, a group of women had appeared, all of them wearing white clothing. Leading them was a mature woman holding a sword in one hand, while she made a sword seal in the other. With narrowed eyes, the Supreme Master scoffed and said in his heart, 'Maybe this world is not as weak as I thought. I could stay here and perfect my killing power!'

After that, even more people started to roll into the spacious plaza.

There were reclusive monks, hard-boiled orphans, spoiled brats dragging their parents along and even old monks with daoist scriptures in their hands. From every corner of the Logean Mountain Region, people who thought something of their talents were coming out.

No one knew exactly how the news had spread so far except those that did the spreading. At some point, Father Tang had sent a transmission to Mother Guan and Old Man Sun through his spirit-link with them. Thanks to their efforts, even people from the other regions had heard murmurs of some kind of talent show taking place in the Logean Mountain Region today.

The 'Supreme Master's eyes then widened as he noticed a hooded figure concealed amongst the others. He subconsciously unfolded his arms and assumed a battle-ready stance, ready to enter a heated battle at any moment, Of course, this was not because the hooded figure was intent on fighting him, but was due to his insane sensitivity to killing intent and aura.

The Supreme Master could sense that this hooded figure was no weaker than himself, someone who had cultivated to the peak of the Divine Spirit Stage.

Not only that, he then began to sense a number of similarly powerful, yet hidden auras. It took him a few moments of frantic swiveling, but he was finally able to pinpoint the majority of those auras. For the first time since he had arrived, he was beginning to feel excited and his blood was running hot.

With a smile, he also got down into the stance with a stomp and began to channel the 'Murderous Intent' he spoke of. This was actually a form of dao energy unique to the style he used. Just like nature energy, wind energy and the like, his Murderous Intent was an energy to be used when cultivating.

'My fists are forged in the flames of murder! All are nothing before the Master of the Fist! Abandon hope, strength and life! I, Gouki, Supreme Master of Fist, am here to accept any and all challenges!'

Gouki, the 'Supreme Master,' channeled the murderous energy along with his students, wholly looking forward to the upcoming event.

As that was happening, atop Mount Logean, Ye Hong, Ling Ji'er and Father Tang were waiting for Logean Wuji. He was sitting on the stone chair within the tiny temple, looking at the bare-visible sun and reminiscing. Though they would not dare ask him what he was reminiscing on, they speculated amongst themselves as they stood at the waters edge, albeit silently.

"Ji'er, do you think Sir Wuji visited the sun a long time ago and fell in love with a Sun-Maiden?" Ye Hong seemed to have suddenly had a revelation as he said this. Though he looked the same, after his period of enlightenment he had been born anew. His eyes were brighter, his skin smoother and his stature more dignified and mighty.

"Oooh, that's a good theory, Ye Hong! Due to circumstances beyond their control, the two literally star-crossed lovers were forced to separate, only able to barely feel each other's presence by staring across immeasurable time and space-"

Whack!

With a swift motion and a disgruntled expression, Ye Hong smacked Ling Ji'er upside the head.

"What blasphemous, sacrilegious crap are you spouting!? As if there could ever be a circumstance beyond Sir Wuji's control! Taste my slap!"

Whack! Whack! Whack! Ye Hong rained down slap after slap on Ling Ji'er, mercilessly punishing her for her words against Sir Wuji.

"Aie! I see the error of my ways! Do slap me some more, Ye Hong! More, more, more! Punish this bad girl!" With her eyes closed, Ling Ji'er had started to lean into Ye Hong's attacks. Seeing this, a blank expression overcame Ye Hong and he remained with his hand limply suspended in the air.

"Eh? How weird... Ji'er, you should see someone about that fetish..."

".....ah?" Ling Ji'er, her subconscious having revealed her secret, curled into a ball on the floor and wept silently.

Father Tang gave a short guffaw then stroked his chin, "Ignoring Ling Ji'er's idiotic theory, it is clear to me that Sir Wuji feels a sense of longing for something beyond this world. Looking at the sun reminds him of this otherworldly thing, thus he grows sad and distant each time he sees it."

Ye Hong nodded, thinking this could be possible. Then, a single sound brought them all out of their theorizing and, in Ling Ji'er's case, sulking. Once again standing side by side near the pond's edge, they watched Logean Wuji walk over the water and stand on the stone tiles near them.

"It is about time. Shall we go?"

The trio nodded, replying in unison, "Then lead the way, Sir Wuji."

...

"Who dares to step onto the stage! Are you trying to start the talent show without the Son of Destiny's permission!"

A ragged little boy with wild platinum hair, soot and bruises all over him had ducked under the guards and leapt onto the stage. With an imposing air that did not match his wretched disposition, he stared down his noses at everyone and shouted, "I am Cyrus!"

Though his aura was pitiful, Cyrus' imposing manner was all-too evident and overbearing. With his words alone he had reached the innermost spirits of the people around him and had brought them to a state of tranquility. The guards that were about to seize him stopped and just stared at him in awe.

Even Lin Fei, who had shouted earlier, was wide-eyed and silent after the boy merely introduced himself. However, this would not last much longer.

"When I was born, divine phenomena occurred in the skies. The image of a tiny serpent devouring armies of dragons persisted in the sky for days. My father, recognizing the signs, killed my mother and left me in the wilderness to die out of nothing but fear! I am here to earn my place beneath the great Logean Wuji and become strong enough to take my rightful place as ruler of the Pro- Oof!"

Before Cyrus could finish, a blast of powerful controlled air swept him off the stage and sent him flying into the roof of a nearby house. As everyone looked around, trying to find the person that had done it, a haughty laugh echoed out from amidst the people. A petite figure leapt out from behind the people and glided onto the stage, her red hair flowing in the wind.

With a soft landing, Ling Jian'er put her hands on her waist and smirked. "Enough of that loser! I am Ling Jian'er, and I'm here today to prove to that Longan Wuji that I'm not a monkey!"

It was only after that odd remark that the people noticed the brown monkey's tail curled upward behind her. This sparked interesting conversations among the people.

"Hey, did she say she's here to prove she's not a monkey or that she is a monkey?"

"It would only make sense for her to say she's here to prove she is a monkey, right? I mean, look at the tail behind her!"

"I agree, that tail is a genuine and authentic monkey tail. The only question is, why would she need to prove to Sir Wuji that she is, indeed, a monkey? Wouldn't he already know?"

Face twitching, Ling Jian'er shot a glare at the group of people that were discussing her and shut them up. Just as she was about to say something, a high-pitched scream of rage was heard before a blurry figure shot toward her on the stage.

Most of the people looking on were unable to identify what it was, but those among them with high enough cultivation bases could clearly see. The person that had attacked her was that little boy, Cyrus.

He leapt from the roof and came flying toward her with a punch, causing Ling Jian'er to twist her body and dodge his fast-paced attack. Even so, Cyrus followed through with the momentum, went down low and swept his leg out, striking Ling Jian'er's feet and causing her to fall backwards.

Cyrus smirked, but before Ling Jian'er could fall she whispered something incomprehensible and the air around her stiffened, reversing her fall. At the same time, a current of air found Cyrus and easily subdued him. Confused by the fact that the air itself was confining him, Cyrus didn't notice Ling Jian'er land to his right.

By the time he did, her foot was already heading straight for his face.

The crowd was silently watching the action play out, but a decent number of them were also unimpressed by their paltry skills. Those with the best sensory capabilities- those with the highest cultivation bases- were intrigued by the technique Ling Jian'er was using.

Gouki, who was now besieged by a very faint scarlet aura, suddenly made a 'hm' sound and looked up. The female sword cultivator in white also looked up, as did the hooded figure and the other more powerful people present.

After they noticed what was in the air above them, everyone else eventually did.

On the stage, Cyrus and Ling Jian'er now found that they had been teleported away from each other. Cyrus was, again, confounded by the strange occurrences, but Ling Jian'er could already guess what was happening.

In the sky, Logean Wuji, Ye Hong, Ling Ji'er and Father Tang had arrived. Everyone, even the people that had already seen Logean Wuji, gasped as the urge to kneel overwhelmed them. It was only when Logean Wuji waved his hand that the feeling went away.

Suddenly, he folded his legs and a metaphysical table appeared before him that only a few people with powerful enough souls could see. Ye Hong and Ling Ji'er took a seat at the table, but Father Tang bowed and then descended to stand beside the other village elders and Lin Fei.

Gouki and the others felt an innate fear when they saw him due to their increased sensitivity. However, Gouki was only growing more and more excited.

"Now then, since the two youngsters have already volunteered themselves... Let the Talent Showcase begin!" Logean Wuji said this, holding a cup of tea that seemed real yet also not.

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[1] - This is the same kanji that Akuma usually has on his back.