Strong Ones

Shin Sumi arrived at the third of the many arenas that formed the path to the top of the mountain, towards the exit and the end of the Rising Star Tournament.

The whole time she kept a sliver of her divine sense connected to the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.

"There has to be a Vein of Hell Fire somewhere accessible, or else Senior Brother Fen wouldn't have told me to refine the sword in the five of them. Come on sword, sense it !"

Since the beginning of her roaming around the massive continent, Shin Sumi had always relied on the golden sword to find the Veins of Hell Fire. The ability of the weapon to sense them was way higher than her own even though she could still sense their presence to a certain extent.

She had found the first four and had opened sixty-two doors of Shinsoo.

She was so close to unclogging all sixty-four Shinsoo Apertures that it was infuriating to her. So close yet with no idea about how to find the last Vein.

During the past few days, Shin Sumi had also constantly counted and recounted all of the resources she had in her bag of holding.

A few high-grade spirit stones, golem cores, beast cores, miscellaneous food items full of spiritual energy… She had more resources than would be needed by any disciple for a chance at a breakthrough to the Liquid Realm.

But for every Shinsoo Door open, the amount of energy sufficient to force the next one open rose exponentially.

Thanks to the little nut refining the Shinsoo Gathering Manual, Shin Sumi had chosen a path of cultivation that was long forgotten by the world. This had enabled her to reach the top of the realm, being unchallenged by any other.

But with all great prowess came a heavy price to pay too. If really she couldn't find the last Vein of Hell Fire, Shin Sumi would have to try opening the last two Doors with her own powers and resources.

It was still possible, but with a lower success rate and augmented risks of a cultivation backlash. If she didn't have enough energy, it would all dissipate forcefully in her body, unleashing a storm of raw Shinsoo inside her meridians, leaving her defenseless and drained.

Obviously using the gentle Shinsoo of a Vein of Hell Fire while meditating was the best option.

"I still haven't seen a tenth of the mountain though, maybe I'll find it easily later after all."

Trying to keep a positive mindset, Shin Sumi entered the third grey monolith, a sword already in hand. Even if there were more opponents this time, she would be prepared and ready to fight as soon as the light of teleportation faded away.

The third arena still featured the tiny world, in which two other people were already fighting.

Because the path Shin Sumi had followed up the mountain was only one out of many, there were many crossroads along the way. The third arena was one of them.

Compared to the previous two, this expand of tiny land was more than devastated. A lot more disciples had gone through it and fought seriously.

Craters had shaped the landscape in a bizarre way, and most of the small city's buildings had already been turned to dust and rubble.

Compared to Ke Muhan and Dafun Ghu, the two yellow robed disciples were clearly not adept at working together. Even as Shin Sumi beat them to the ground, they realized that she was not a match and still tried to fight between themselves.

Shin Sumi was at a bit of a loss, becoming quickly dispirited. Somehow it was a very similar situation to Xiao Yue's when she had been fighting for the Black Devil Spear.

"You guys are not even going to try and take me down?" Shin Sumi said in a low voice.

It was as if the two men were simply playing the long game, waiting to see which of them would get beaten by the newcomer faster, so that the other could take advantage and win their fight too.

The loser would simply get beaten twice.

Shin Sumi didn't care at all about the two disciples. She was mildly infuriated, and simply chose one at random and knocked him out with the flat part of her blade.

"If I had a hammer that would be even easier."

As soon as the man was unconscious, Shin Sumi sensed the force of rejection coming from the entire arena. It was just like when she had won against Tai Bu, the grey monolith was trying to kick her out of the sub-dimension.

It only took a bit of force though in order to resist the teleportation back out.

Just like any fighter could decide to leave the dimension to rest with the good quality Shinsoo outside, only a thought was needed to complete the teleportation or resist it.

The second disciple, the one still standing, was about to relax his shoulders, expecting the fighting nightmare that was Shin Sumi to exit the arena. A grin was on his lips.

He now only needed the other guy to wake up so he could knock him out himself, registering a win and the ability to go on along the mountain.

He surely didn't expect Shin Sumi to stay a bit longer than necessary. She didn't stay for long, just enough to also get rid of him.

The next thing the yellow robed disciple knew, he was waking up alongside his previous opponent, still in the arena and with both of their bags of holding almost empty.

"Were they really yellow robed disciples?! Such shame and lack of motivation... You could have thought that months of hard trial would have given them a bit more nerve..."

Thankfully for her, not all the disciples were lacking luster like these two. As things progressed and she climbed the mountain towards the yellow pillar of light one arena at a time, her opponents were getting stronger and stronger.

A few days later, Shin Sumi had entered the seventh trial alone. She had waited a few hours for someone to finally come join her in the arena. When the teleportation happened, a young women with a yellow dress appeared.

The girl was maybe sixteen or seventeen and was completely unassuming. Her shyness almost prevented her from looking directly at Shin Sumi as she spoke in a soft voice.

"Pr-Prepare yourself Senior Brother. I am Fu Xue from the Fu clan. I will give it my all to defeat you so you'd better be ready!"

Not expecting this kind of respectful talk before a fight, Shin Sumi had been a little bit stunned.

Usually to give themselves more courage and get in their fighting mindset, cultivators were more prone to insults and hostility.

This Fu Xue though didn't seem to have an ounce of virulence in her, her personality being as soft as silk and smooth like the surface of a mountain lake.

"This one's name is Bai Fulong" answered Shin Sumi with a slight bow from her head, "I am ready to receive your sword if you are ready for mine."

Fu Xue nodded before reaching behind her back.

Between her shoulders was a small wooden scabbard held up by a single strap. In a swift movement, Fu Xue took out the strangest sword Shin Sumi had ever seen.

The blade looked like stone, just like the handle and the pommel. Even the guard was just a squared piece of rock.

"Has she stolen her sword from a statue or something?" thought Shin Sumi.

But she didn't dare make fun of it, as this unassuming looking sword gave off powerful fluctuations of an unseen kind for her.

Fu Xue muttered a few inaudible words before blowing a wisp of Shinsoo onto her hand.

Shin Sumi readied her sword, suddenly being assaulted by a strong pressure.

"What is going on?!" she exclaimed.

In the small white hand of the yellow robed girl, the stone sword was undergoing the strangest changes.

In the span of five breaths, the stone sword as tripled in size, becoming almost as long as the wielder herself.

Veins could be seen bulging on the girl's forearms, the massive stone weapon obviously really heavy now.

And what was even more impressive was that the transformation didn't seem to end there.

The uneasiness in her guts was growing too strong, Shin Sumi knew that she had to attack successfully before the transformation was complete.

It was hard to imagine the petite girl wielding such a massive stone blade, but she seemed to have confidence in herself, judging from the gleam in her eyes, becoming colder and colder by the second. And if indeed that Fu Xue could wield that blade, Shin Sumi knew she was potentially in a lot of troubles.

Shin Sumi threw the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword in the direction of Fu Xue. The golden blade flew in a straight line with incredible speed.

Holding a sword that was basically a large chunk of heavy rock, Fu Xue should have been unable to protect herself from the incoming blow.

At the last moment, light grey lines erupted from somewhere under her robes. Their brilliance showed how powerful the spell was as the lines wrapped around Fu Xue's arms.

The next instant, the massive sword was in the path of Shin Sumi's Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.

CLANK !

The stone sword blasted away the golden blade, swatting it like an invasive fly. Against the power of Shin Sumi's throw, the stone sword didn't even budge.

Fu Xue had clenched teeth and her forehead was already quite sweaty from holding a sword this large and heavy.

"GHAAAAAA" she launched herself forward, her steps crushing the tiny landscape due to her weight.

Shin Sumi recalled the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword a second faster than the incoming attack, managing just in time to swing with full power.

That was a mistake, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword being strong enough to resist the massive hammering but not Shin Sumi's arms. Despite that, she had no choice, being too late to evade the strike.

Shin Sumi was struck aside, tumbling on the ground for a full five meters.

Fu Xue was breathing heavily but she still held her clan's sword for another attack.

The Fu clan was a rather small clan based not too far from the Dark Sky Starry Sect. Much like Bai Xuengen's Bai clan, every few years they would send in their most powerful youth to join the ranks of the sect.

Despite looking gentle and frail, Fu Xue was indeed worthy of the title of most powerful from the clan in her generation.

Arriving at the sect at roughly the same time as Shin Sumi, she had been placed under direct tutelage from her uncle, Elder Fu. There she had trained only in the secret arts of her clan, the Breaking Fu Sword.

"How can she move like that with a sword that heavy ??!"

Shin Sumi was being rapidly pushed back. Her sword absorbed the brunt of the impact from each blow but it was being blasted away every time.

It was only due to her ability to recall her sword to her hand when it was away that she managed to stand after so long.

Unfortunately for her, as much as the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword dampened the blow from the Breaking Fu Sword, Shin Sumi's arms still had to bear with the force of a thousand hammers each time the two swords collided.

The grey lines on Fu Xue's arms were shining less and less bright with each move.

It was this special magic from her clan that allowed the small stone sword to transform into the terrifying Breaking Fu Sword and that enabled clansmen to wield it properly.

Fu Xue was panting hard, occasionally lowering the tip of the stone sword to the ground to lessen the burden on her arms.

At the same time, Shin Sumi was rolling on the ground once more. She could feel the fractures in the bones of her forearm, relying entirely on willpower to raise her weapon again and again.

The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword that was usually light as a feather now felt heavier than lead.

Without realizing it, both fighters were wishing for the other's strength to drain.

For the first time ever, Shin Sumi had been completely beat, but it took all of Fu Xue's Shinsoo reserve.

She had almost no power left, the lines on her arms disappearing into her skin and the giant stone sword progressively getting back to its original form.

Shin Sumi couldn't lift her hands. In fact she couldn't even stand anymore.

Unleashing a desperate roar, Fu Xiao ignited her Fu clan's spell a second time. The palm of her hand was bleeding extensively, her skin having ruptured a long time ago.

She walked one step towards Shin Sumi, dragging the massive sword behind her. Then another one.

Fu Xue's energy depleted entirely the moment her foot landed for a third step.

She was unconscious. Shin Sumi had won.

Embracing the feeling of rejection from the sub-dimension, Shin Sumi let herself be teleported out of the arena. She needed the gentle and strong Shinsoo from the outside to recover.

"Fu Xue…" she said in a raspy voice, laying down. Her eyes were looking straight up at the blood red sky.

"You are really strong. If you hadn't stuck to your single technique right to the last moment, you could have walked over to me and ended me. I may have won but this is still your victory."

***

"Elder Fu, your niece seems to excel in the Breaking Fu Sword style", in the Dark Sky Starry Sect's Grand Hall, Patriarch Sen calmly stated, "she managed to put the green talented kid in this sorry state in just a stick of incense's worth of time."

"The Patriarch praises that kid Fu Xue too much. The Breaking Fu Sword's offensive style can only win. This defeat is a shame to our name. As bad as that green disciple looks, my Fu Xue must be in an even worse state."

Although Elder Fu's words seemed harsh, all of the Elders present knew they were just a humble facade. Just a look at the old man's face was enough to see the peaceful smile and the praise in his eyes.

It was true that the Fu clan's way was of overwhelming strength and breaking their opponents by only one means -the Breaking Fu Sword- but none of the people here could really ashamed about the result of the last duel.

Facing against a green talented Honorary Disciple, Fu Xue had still managed to hold her own quite well. Compared to her, Tai Bu had been ridiculed over and over.

Elder Peng was fuming, close to exploding in place. Tai Bu was a boy he had picked up from the mortal realm. Even if he didn't come from any fancy cultivator clan with secret techniques he had still managed to rise and get recognized as the number three disciple under the Liquid Realm.

His prowess with the Flaming Whip was something that could give trouble even to monsters like Jun Qian and Sui Lin. But because of his first encounter with Shin Sumi he had been deprived of his prized weapon.

Thankfully for his Master's sanity, Tai Bu had been transported to another path on the mountain earlier. At least there were less chance of him facing against Shin Sumi now.

***

It only took Shin Sumi a few hours to absorb enough Shinsoo to sit properly. Because of the beating she had taken, she had been unable to meditate for a while, forced to wait patiently for the energy of nature to enter her body the natural way.

Her arms were painful and swollen, broken bones almost puncturing her skin. A few tears of pain rolled on her cheeks as Shin Sumi forced herself in a sitting position. From there on, meditation and the regenerative powers brought with it would be hundreds of times faster.

"Fu Xue didn't come out even to meditate ?" she wondered to herself.

Because of the rules of the fifth domain of the floating continent, only by winning in a fight inside the monoliths counted as a pass for the next arena. Fighting outside of it had become almost useless and the quality of the Shinsoo outside was much better to recuperate.

Because of that Shin Sumi found it strange that she didn't see Fu Xue come out at all. She was unaware that at some point in time while she was waiting, a blurry figure had gone in and out of the monolith, much too fast for her to even sense it.

A whole day later, Shin Sumi was finally ready to move on to the next arena. Because she didn't have any water in which to put the little nut, it turned out that mending bones together was really slow.

She even had to use quite a bit of spirit beast cores. Now the only ones remaining on the pages of the little nut's book were the high grade yellow cores and above.

With each important fight, her resources were used a little bit more. After the tenth arena, Shin Sumi's inventory was reduced to only the Sand Hawk's yellow core and the Silver Desert Swordfish's green core.

But at least she still hadn't suffered any proper defeat.

Shin Sumi arrived to the eleventh monolith along her way after having spent two weeks in total on the mountain's slope.

Even though she was doing good in fights, she was starting to feel a sort of anxiousness about the whole trial.

She was still missing one Vein of Hell Fire and by her experiences in the last ring she knew it could take months to find. But considering all the disciples she had encountered so far and all the other powerful yellow cultivators, she didn't have the luxury to wait.

Sword in hand, she teleported into the arena right as she arrived, not bothering to restore her strength to a hundred percent.

She had confidence and unless she met another Fu Xue, she would probably be able to deal easily with her next opponent.

The new expanse of tiny world that appeared before her eyes was empty. Sighing heavily, Shin Sumi sent a divine sense thought to go back out.

If she had no choice but to be patient, at least she could power up some more. Her cultivation level within the Shinsoo Gathering Realm was already so high that no amount of normal Shinsoo would help her advance, but it would still help to restore her reserves.

She sat down and started closing her eyes when an instinctual sense of unease made her turn her head. For a split second she thought she saw a blur of some kind swoop right past her but the next instant the place was empty.

Feeling that something strange was at play, Shin Sumi got up once more and sent her thoughts to the grey monolith.

The sub-dimension arena was not empty anymore.

A girl in beautiful yellow robes was standing in the middle, looking a bit shaken despite her cold eyes and her overall calm countenance.

Without a word she turned to Shin Sumi, reaffirming her gaze and taking out her weapon.