Tournament (03)

"Hmm?" The arrogant youth in front of him noticed that something was different and finally looked at Issei. When he did, he couldn't help being surprised.

It wasn't only him, the whole audience was surprised.

That was because… Issei, a ten years old child, was actually giving off the Spiritual Power of someone in the third level of the Nascent Profound Realm. Not only that, the Spiritual Power was much purer, denser and in larger quantities that the normal for the third level. In fact, it was comparable to the ninth or tenth level!

"What is happening..." Someone in the audience muttered in a weak voice.

"This aura.."

"This kid..."

The entire audience was flabbergasted.

"Oh?" The arrogant youth finally said. "Seems like you are quite interesting… This battle should be quite entertaining!" As he said that, power from the first level of the True Profound Realm emanated out of him.

"True Profound Realm?" muttered Issei as he analyzed the power coming off the youth. However, before he could analyze it further, he hastily jumped to the side. In the place he had just been, a five meters wide crater appeared, a sword shrouded in lightning in its middle.

"What..." Issei muttered before seeing countless shadows on the ground surrounding the youth. Quickly looking up, he saw over twenty of the same swords as the one on the ground floating in mid-air, dancing around the youth. Behind each one of them, a thin thread of lightning could be seen.

"Fast reflexes..." said the youth, as if analyzing him. He then waved his left arm, making two out of the twenty swords fly out, dashing towards Issei.

"Crap!" Issei muttered as he watched the incoming swords. He already knew that he had lost the element of surprise. I was too hasty, he cursed in his heart.

Thankfully, Issei wasn't one to dally around in his mistakes. He would simply learn from it and get over it.

Clearing his mind, calming his heart and stabilizing his breathing, Issei focused on the two swords in front of him. It was as if the terrain, the audience and the youth had ceased to exist.

In the entire world, only he and the two swords existed. Nothing more, nothing less.

Under this concentrated state that most experts could only hope to achieve, Issei carefully observed the incoming swords. Behind them, lighting burst, giving off a loud noise.

Just when the swords were about to reach him, Issei's eyes narrowed as he jumped up, making the two swords go past him.

But it was also at that moment that the two swords changed directions, charging towards him again.

"Tracking ability!" Issei cursed under his breath as he once more dodged the two swords. While he dodged, a pouch near his waist shone with a bright luster as two swords appeared on his hands.

"Since they won't stop until I'm hit… I'll just break them!" As he said that, he adjusted his stance. He was preparing to use Shinso's personal double swords style, which was not a Martial Skill, but a simple art.

As the two swords flew towards him again, their noise even louder as they cut through the wind, lighting flowing about, Issei calmed his breath. He concentrated his mind on the two swords in his hands.

Soon, they no longer felt like swords, but as an extension of his arms. He now had complete control over them!

As the two lighting-clad swords neared, his eyes flashed with a mysterious light. Instantly, he lifted both swords up, pointing them at the incoming blades.

As the four swords were about to clash, Issei's swords spun, and instead of taking the attack head on, Issei targeted the sides of both sword, consequently changing their trajectory. What faced them in their new path was… their kindred sword.

Since the distance between was too short, they didn't have time to change directions again as they clashed into each other, the lightning in them instantly transferring to one another in successive and deadly bursts.

Because the power was the same only was one result awaited both sword… double elimination! Just as expected, cracks simultaneously appeared on both swords before they exploded, sending lighting everywhere.

As the lighting approached him, Issei immediately threw both of his swords in the air, attracting the lighting to them because of them being made of metal, making not even a slight strand of lighting reach him.

The lightning instantly destroyed both swords.

From the moment that the youth had sent both swords towards Issei to the current moment, only five seconds had passed. In five seconds, four swords were destroyed.

Most of the people in the audience couldn't keep up with such quick happenings, but the elders of high cultivation thoroughly saw what happened. Their eyes shone with disbelief.

Issei had just displayed quick thinking of a veteran cultivators well versed in the arts of war while being only ten years old. At that moment, they understood that Issei wasn't a genius because of his strange and high cultivation, he was a genius because of his sharp mind!

They instantly swore in their hearts that they would do their utmost to recruit such a child with boundless future achievements!

While all that happened, Issei had already begun counter-attacking. He didn't have time nor reason to gloat because of such a small feat. He would have enough time for that once the battle was won.

As he ran to the youth, the pouch at his waist shone with light as two more swords appeared on Issei's hand. Immediately after, he employed the rank 2 Martial Skill, Feather Steps.

Instantly, his speed increased greatly. At the moment, he was only a few feet away from his enemy.

The youth was also not simple. Although two of his swords were destroyed, his eyes never left Issei. When they were about to clash, three of the swords behind him flew out, bustling with energy as they approached Issei.

* cang *

The three swords clashed on his own swords, causing an ear-piercing noise of steel collision to spread in the air. The strong impact made Issei take some steps back.

As he looked at the swords in his hand, they were filled with cracks while the three lighting swords were meticulously clean. Immediately, he waved his hands, throwing his two swords at the ground, two more swords appearing on his hands.

"This is on!" He exclaimed as dashed towards the three swords, striking at the weak points that he saw with his trained eyes. After training with Shinso for countless hours each day, finding weak points in his enemy and weapons was like second nature to him.

* cang * * cang*

Countless ear-piercing noises filled the air as five swords clashed. With each clash, Issei would throw his now cracked swords at the ground, immediately bringing out new ones that looked the same as before. After various clashes, Issei was surrounded by cracked swords.

Issei, himself, was not quite well-off either. With each clash, lighting would slightly enter his body, numbing him a little. Although he could forcefully ignore the numbing effect, he knew that it would be painful for him after the battle ended.

Sadly, Issei only thought about the battle at hand. No matter what it took, he would win it!

By constantly targeting the swords weak points, all three of them were on the verge of collapse.

* Cang *

One more ear-piercing noise resounded through the air as all three swords shattered. Issei immediately threw the now cracked swords at the ground, bringing out new ones. This time, however, they looked different. Strange marking could be seen on them.

The youth, now only with fifteen words remaining, couldn't help but to wonder how many swords that Issei actually had. On the ground, there were already more than two hundred cracked swords!

But, his worries only amounted to that. He wasn't worried at all about losing the battle. To him, Issei would never be able to win.

"Hmph!" huffed the youth in annoyance as he flicked his fingers, causing five swords of the remaining fifteen swords fly out towards Issei.

As Issei saw the approaching swords, he hiddenly smiled. He was waiting for an opportunity to take out so many in one go!

He then screamed as he threw the two swords on his hands forward. When they were about to reach the five swords, Issei screamed!

"Explosion Seal!"

Immediately, the markings on them shone with a bright light as they exploded, taking out the five lightning-clad swords.

Seeing five of his swords being destroyed, the youth's expression didn't change in the slightest. "So what if you have two swords capable of self destruction? I doubt that you have more anyways," He muttered as he waved both of his hands forward, causing all of the ten swords to fly towards Issei.

Issei immediately took out two normal looking blades, this time the same as the two hundred ones at the floor. When the ten swords were about to reach, a cruel smile appeared on Issei's face.

"The game's over!" He exclaimed as he threw the two swords forward, immediately running as far away as he could.

The youth, started by his action, didn't understand anything as he watched the running Issei.

"Could it be that he has given up?" He asked himself with a smile on his face. However, that smile quickly disappeared as he saw what the running Issei was doing.

"Explosion Seal!" Issei screamed. Instantly, on the two swords that were about to clash with the ten lighting swords, strange markings appeared, just like the ones before.

If that was all, it would be fine. The problem was that on all the over two hundred swords littering the ground, the same markings appeared, shining with a dazzling bright.

The youth's face, now bathed in the lights coming from hundreds of swords, completely fell. He now understood why Issei had run so far away!

However, he did not not have time to run, since the explosion was only a few milliseconds from happening.

"Dammit!" Cursed the youth as he immediately brought out all of the defensive talismans, treasures and items on his bag. He also employed all the defense techniques he knew.

Just as he finished preparing, the explosion came.

A loud noise, much louder that the clashes of swords, reverberated throughout the entire city.

Shinso, who had already known Issei's plan from the start, had placed a spirit formation barrier surrounding the stage beforehand. Even so, while still being protected by a spirit formation barrier, something that only World Spiritists could pull off, something considered quasi-unbreakable by many, the surrounding buildings shook.

The deafening sound and the tremor caused everyone to widen their eyes in fright. Only after seeing that the true power of the explosion could not reach them, did they sigh in relief.

As all of that happened, on the stage that once was a beautiful structure crafted from polished jade, now a wasteland of debris and dirt, only two figures remained. One standing, one laying on the ground.

The standing one, Issei, was barely wearing clothes. The explosion had almost completely destroying his clothes, leaving only some clothes that covered only his south areas. His chest, that was usually full of scars, was severely burned. Making people unable to see the endless number of scars underneath.

His face was ashen, but filled with determination. At the last moment, he pulled out a defense talisman that Shinso had given him. It protected him, although he lost the upper part of his robe, and was severely burned. Thankfully, they were on the level that Shinso could easily heal, meaning that it wouldn't leave behind any hints of ever being burned.

As Issei stood there, his face flashed with pain, but he quickly subsided it. Although he was in immense pain, he had a task to accomplish.

He had to win!

As he slowly tread forward, the audience followed him with their eyes, their breaths held back. With each step, the pain would grow more and more unbearable, but his task still wasn't finished.

He continued forward, ignoring everything.

His entire future depended on the result of this battle!

After a couple of steps, he was now standing in front of the body of the Lightning School's youth.

The youth was barely conscious. Although he had used countless treasures and Martial Skills at the last moment to protect himself, he was severely hurt. His Spiritual Power was depleted, not even a hint of energy left in his body.

As Issei approached him, he sighed. He knew that he had lost. He acknowledged that. Although his opponent was weaker than him, Issei was clearly more experienced, on a level that he couldn't even hope to match.

Although the youth had a haughty and lofty attitude, he wasn't a narrow-minded person. He was the kind of person who respected the strong and smart. He felt no anger at Issei for hurting him like this. In fact, he felt respect for him. To overcome the difference of an entire realm and win a battle, that was unheard off.

As they looked at each other, their gazes met. At that moment, the youth sighed.

"Brother, I truly admire you," He muttered, his eyes clear. "I hope we can be friends in the future," what he said were words that came from his heart. Seeing such deep strategies, reflexes and talents, he truly wanted to befriend him.

It was as if his personality had completely changed. He no longer viewed Issei as a weak and naive brat, but as a person equal to him.

He then moved his head with much effort towards the announcer. "I forfeit," He said, spending his final reserves of energy and passing out.

Hearing the youth's words, a joyous expression flashed across Issei's face. He also felt respect fro the youth, and didn't want to hurt him any further. The kind of respect between them… was only something that two people who had truly battled could understand.

"Issei from Azure Tiger City wins the last match and becomes the champion of the tournament!"

At that moment, it was as if all adrenaline had left his body. The pain, the numbness, the tiredness, all came back, rushing like a tidal wave!

Sending Shinso a smirk, his eyes closed and his consciousness faded away, falling down to the ground, a couple of feet away from the youth's body.