Blue Wind Ranking Tournament

--- Chapter 40 ---

The entire assessment site became quiet.

Hayate's casual statement caused a heated discussion among the audience because the assessment stone truthfully was made of precious material.

It's a material called "Profound Rock." and was sought with a high price by many sects.

If we didn't count the skills one requires to build an assessment stone, the raw material costs a fortune already.

Silver Lake City was famous because of its unique and fresh attractions.

The newly growing city made so much money in the last four years, even more than some empires on the profound sky continent.

The reason Cang Wanhe, the blue wind emperor, gave Silver Lake City the "Gold Mine of the Blue Wind." title was this.

Hayate has the background to back his words, but he declared it casually as if he was buying a random stone, making himself look arrogant in others' eyes.

Ling Kun opened his mouth in awe.

'He is full of confidence.' He thought while staring at Hayate's golden eyes, shining dimly with cold light.

"Haha, interesting." A man's laugh echoed in the assessment site.

Hayate moved his gaze to the Heavenly Sword Villa's master seat and cupped his hand politely.

A handsome man around his thirties with a trimmed beard was sitting on the Heavenly Sword Villa's master seat.

He wore a black robe with a simple adorned edge, showing some scars around his chest area.

"This junior greets you, Villa Master," Hayate said naturally.

"As for the assessment stone, I'll still pay for it."

"The Villa Master shouldn't have any problem with this, no?"

The Heavenly Sword Villa's master, Ling Yuefeng, observed Hayate with a calm gaze.

"Very well," He nodded a little. "We can talk about that matter later."

"However, let's continue the tournament first."

Ling Yuefeng moved his gaze to an elder near him, who nodded his head in understanding.

"Elder Ling Wuguo, start the next event."

Ling Wuguo glanced at Ling Yuefeng and jumped onto the assessment site since he was a person who was supposed to be the host and referee of the blue wind tournament.

Ling Kun, here was only to test the talent of Blue Wind's youth for some research.

Ling Wuguo cleared his throat and said, "Ehem, you can leave now."

Hayate and Ling Kun walked out of the assessment site and saw Ling Wuguo performing some hand signs, changing the center area into separate battlegrounds.

In just a few seconds, The assessment site turned into a clean area separated into several parts, and each combat zone was around the size of the baseball field.

"I'll be watching you from afar, young man." Ling Kun suddenly patted Hayate's shoulders, applying his profound strength to him.

A typical weak cultivator wouldn't realize this, but Hayate's sense was several times better, making him aware of the minor physical examination.

Hayate frowned inside because Ling Kun gave him a strange vibe. Nevertheless, he won't be able to pry much into his body secret because Kaiju Creation has an automatic masking function.

[Myriad Genesis Profound Veins] is a miracle because they can accommodate every element within Heaven and Earth, changing according to the user's cultivation method. It's three times thicker and denser than normal profound veins.

Ling Kun's eyes widened because he couldn't see anything special inside Hayate's body. Heck, even his energy weirdly dissipated when reaching this young man's profound veins for some reason.

'Weird.' He stared at Hayate with a new light.

'I can't see anything special besides his profound veins' abnormal sizes.'

Ling Kun walked and disappeared from Hayate's sight, leaving some dust flying on the ground.

"Dirty..." Hayate's golden eyes become cold.

Little Ghost arrived with a clean towel and skillfully cleaned Hayate's shoulder, where Ling Kun patted him before.

The nearest audience looked at Hayate with a speechless expression. "What a show-off." They said simultaneously.

Hayate ignored them and walked to the quiet part of the audience seats, closing his eyes for a moment.

He leaned on the wall and began to circulate [Mystic Art of Body Cultivation].

Someone suddenly grasped his shoulders again, but this time massaged him gently. His dragon blood somehow was stimulated and heated slightly.

"Little Ghost."

"What are you doing?" Hayate asked calmly.

Little Ghost's soft hand halted for a moment. She opened her mouth a little and answered, "It's a special massaging technique from the Drag-, Perverted Dragon."

"I can use specific acupoints to relieve your body, giving my profound energy to heat your blood."

"It's slower than using Virgin Dragon Seed, which I don't have because I merely was granted five drops of the blood."

She approached Hayate's ears and whispered, "The tattoo on my back is the proof of that, and it's the mark of the primordial azure dragon."

"I see..." Hayate opened his eyes and noticed Little Ghost's tattoo releasing a faint light.

Of course, only Hayate could see it because he was the only one who possessed Dragon God's soul. It's simply the difference in the level, where he was higher and could command them.

Chu Yuechan might be the same, but Hayate couldn't find a trace of the mark when they were about to part away.

Hayate's golden eyes scanned through the audience seats and saw some familiar faces, but none of them were threatening to him.

"Hmm?" He covered his mouth a little.

There are 1 to 3 Ghosts in each row of the seats, making Hayate amused because Hong Guan planted them quite well. Even the Heavenly Sword Villa couldn't tell that a third of the competitor actually was sabotaged.

Hong Guan has stayed in the Heavenly Sword Villa for a few months, putting everything in place for Hayate. After all, She knew how important this yearly event was for their plan.

"500 people, huh," Hayate commented while thinking about something else.

Hong Guan waved her hand at Hayate and said, "Come here."

"Little Ghost, let's go," Hayate said, to which the young girl responded with a nod.

They walked to Hong Guan's seat and exchanged greetings with Xuanyuan Yufeng.

"Nice to meet you, Villa Mistress." Hayate put on a fake smile.

Xuanyuan Yufeng giggled and replied, "Oh my, nice to meet you too."

"Your mother has said so many things about you, and you're sure is a fine young man." She praised gently.

Xuanyuan Yufeng admitted Hayate possessed such a rare charming face. Her eyes traced Hayate's looks from top to bottom.

Hayate doesn't possess a flashy appearance. He was tall with a towering figure and excellent refined muscle hidden under his clothes. The only exception was his golden eyes, which seemed able to suck one's soul.

He's handsome, but not to the point of making one's eyes bleed.

Xuanyuan Yufeng lost a grasp on reality for a moment and inhaled Hayate's scent.

He released strong pheromone, which was the side effect of Miyabi Orochi after enhancing his body. Kunoichi of the Fuma Clan used this effect to charm their male target, eliminating them quickly in the bedroom.

'What's this pleasant scent?' Xuanyuan Yufeng's eyes widened in wonder. Her entire body was warmed gradually, burning with familiar desire.

"Mistress?" Hayate's gentle voice brushed her ears.

"A-Ah, yes." Xuanyuan Yufeng snapped out of her thoughts and coughed awkwardly.

"I see that your mother isn't lying about you."

"When did I ever lie, hmph." Hong Guan crossed her arms, which caused Xuanyuan Yufeng to chuckle wryly.

Xuanyuan Yufeng pressed her hand against her chest and sighed inside. She had never felt something like this for a long time.

"Then, I'll sit here." Hayate shook his head and sat beside Hong Guan, sending some spiritual message to her.

Hong Guan frowned because knowing Hayate was injured made her heart sink terribly. She sighed inside because her young master at least only lost two of his senses.

"You're reckless..." She stared at Hayate, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

Hayate sensed a bunch of jealous gazes on him right now.

He sneered indifferently, fueling the jealousy more because he wanted to see their reaction.

After a minute, he concluded that 69% of them were charmed by Hong Guan's beauty, including the elder from Heavenly Sword Villa.

It's understandable because Hong Guan didn't only possess an alluring appearance but also a noble-like aura, making her extraordinary in others' eyes.

The Heavenly Villa Master, Ling Yuefeng, even glanced at Hong Guan, which surprised Hayate.

"This..." Hayate looked back at Hong Guan.

Hong Guan pulled a fan and covered her smirk, knowing Hayate realized her progression. Yes, She wasn't here only to plant spies.

If possible, Hong Guan has to take control of every faction in the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament. It's supposed to be a surprise for Hayate later.

Yet, he found out about it so quickly.

'As expected of you, young master,' Hong Guan praised him inside.

Even after living with Hayate for four years, Hong Guan was still amazed by his observation level. The devotion inside her heart for him only grew more powerful than ever now.

Ling Wuguo clapped his hand and declared, "Ehem, I've separated the tournament into several blocks."

"Here, take your plate."

Hayate raised his hand, catching a tile plate with the character "wind." and his contestant number on each side.

"Number 1500."

"The last, huh."

He moved his gaze to Cang Yue and asked, "What about you, Cang Yue?"

"Light, Number 1000," Cang Yue smiled and showed her tile plate to Hayate. "We are on a different block, Hayate."

"Well, It's good because I won't get eliminated early."

She shook her head and added, "My condolences to people on the same block with you."

"They didn't know what's coming toward them."

"Anyway, why didn't you tell me about the problem too?" Cang Yue suddenly changed the topic.

Hayate gently pressed his finger at Cang Yue's forehead and replied, "I'll tell you when you're stronger."

"Focus on the tournament."

"You have to make your father proud, remember?"

Cang Yue giggled and responded, "Mhm."

Hayate's feelings were complicated at the moment because he wanted to encourage Cang Yue more, but his heart told him this was more than enough.

No, even not encouraging her is acceptable.

"Wind, 1500." Ling Wuguo suddenly called Hayate's contestant number.

"Against Wind, 120."

Hayate moved his gaze to the fighting arena and saw a female cultivator. She had a long sword in her hand and wore a fashionable blue robe.

"low stage spirit profound realm." He commented while pressing his hand against the railing of the seat.

Since Hayate hasn't recovered his body entirely, he barely can use 5% of his original strength now. Regardless, his grip could still leave a crack on the carved stone railing.

Hayate walked to the stage and waited for Ling Wuguo to start the match.

The other match also started, but everyone's gazes were deadly set on Hayate. They want to see just how powerful the rumored young master of Silver Lake City is.

Burning Heaven Clan's special seats, Yun Che's eyes shone in cold light. He wanted to make sure just how powerful Hayate was, so he could create a way to defeat him in the future.

"My name is Qin Fei," The girl pointed her sword at Hayate. "I'll show you the might of a hardworking person."

"In the end, Talent is just raw potential."

Hayate rolled his sleeve and replied, "Sure, whatever."

Ling Wuguo frowned and declared, "You shall not kill each other nor attack a vital organ of your opponent, so making them yield and couldn't move is enough to make you the winner."

"Is that clear?"

Qin Fei and Hayate nodded their heads.

"Then, the first match began now!" Ling Wuguo continued while looking at them.

Qin Fei drew her sword from its sheath and entered a firm stance in the fighting arena. Her profound energy exploded, generating a white aura.

"Take my sword." She swiftly moved forward with a specific movement.

The sword was covered with faint sharpness, moving like a lightning flash.

"Hiyaaaa!"

CLANK! Crack!

Hayate raised his hand and watched the sword quickly reach his skin, breaking on its own.

"Eh?" Yun Che's eyes widened in surprise.

Qin Fei blinked her eyes and noticed a shadow approaching her left side abdomen.

BAM!

She was thrown to the audience seat and abruptly choked on air immediately because of the shock. Her consciousness couldn't grasp Hayate's movement.

It wasn't just Qin Fei.

Everyone, who didn't have attentive observation, couldn't grasp Hayate's attack.

Ling Wuguo looked at Hayate in awe.

He saw Hayate raise his elbow and punch Qin Fei in the stomach. It was so quick.

'He doesn't waste a single muscle movement.' Ling Wuguo thought solemnly.

Hayate's cold-blooded inner method made his mind in a tranquil state and unaffected by any hesitant emotion that held him back.

He's in the "Zone." where control is more distinguished than his usual self.

Even though Hayate's muscles haven't recovered, he can use 100% of them with less stamina and movement.

"Come..." Hayate breathed calmly, releasing a cold mist off his mouth.

Qin Fei lifted her body from the audience seat and wiped the cold sweat on her forehead. She rushed toward Hayate again and executed her most powerful technique.

"Threading Sword Song." She sliced the air and launched sharp air at Hayate.

Swoosh!

"Too slow." Hayate arrived in front of Qin Fei. He raised his left leg and disappeared from everyone's gaze.

Hong Guan, who experienced the same stance almost every day, smiled and said, "Flamingo."

Qin Fei's eyes dilated, and she fainted on the stage, leaving everyone speechless.

Hayate appeared again and grasped Qin Fei's collar.

"You, can you at least be a gentleman!" Someone roared from the audience seat.

"How could you beat a female like that..."

"Yeah, how unmanly!"

"I won." Hayate yawned and released Qin Fei's collar, smacking her face accidentally onto the floor.

Pa!

"..."