Chapter 41 A Dozen Bouts

Xuanyuan watched as Tai Yang swiftly removed himself from the conversation. The young man, who had approached Xuanyuan in order to ask him about the hidden profundities of the Fire Path hidden within the Legends Of Ren Zu, left as quickly as he arrived, his mind overwhelmed by the rapid fire information that Xuanyuan had drowned him in.

The otherworldly demon just smiled seeing Tai Yang leave. It didn't quite occur to Xuanyuan until Shadows As Thought Gu brought the idea to his mind, but having Tai Yang and Tai Yin on his side wasn't a complete waste of time.

Both were the descendants of Elder Tai, and their cultivation, Gu and access to resources exceeded that of someone like Yu Xiaolong, someone who did have a Gu Master background. Elder Tai wasn't someone who Elder Luo had disagreements with either, and his personality was rather jovial, if slightly lascivious.

Xuanyuan could see that the Tai siblings were friends with Song Pei, and that of the Elder descendants that he knew by name, Tai Yang, Tai Yin and Song Pei were the least… annoying of the bunch.

Fang Kai and Huo Jin were exceptions to this of course, the latter being a particularly annoying figure in Xuanyuan's life. 

If Xuanyuan could befriend both siblings, or even just Tai Yang, it would give him another thing he could leverage in the future. Cultivating relationships allowed Xuanyuan a greater degree of freedom within the Ancient Soul Sect. Having multiple Elders in his corner, would only further benefit himself in the long run.

Even if Xuanyuan had to share some of his knowledge on refining Gu or nurturing Gu, it would be worth it so long as he becomes a Rank 5 Gu Master.

Yu Xiaolong stared at Xuanyuan, poking him in the ribs causing him to frown and jump back slightly. Staring at the other boy, Xuanyuan watched as Yu Xiaolong just sighed, shaking his head from side to side.

"You're really scary Xuanyuan. I don't even understand what you mean by a battlefield killer move, or Dao Marks, or the Ten Extreme Physiques but I can see why Lu Guo called you… different", he said honestly.

Xuanyuan stared at Yu Xiaolong for a moment, before waving him off patting him on the shoulder.

"Don't fall in love with me Xiaolong. It won't end up good for either of us", he smirked.

Yu Xiaolong threatened to send a bolt of lightning towards Xuanyuan but the latter just tilted his head back and laughed, ignoring the threats of dismemberment and decapitation. Yu Xiaolong was surprisingly easy to get along with, and his cultivation and innate talent didn't make it feel weird when he compared himself to his friend.

Xuanyuan was worried that others his age would be envious or jealous of his comprehension, which is why he tried to choose his friends closely. Yu Zhong Er and Long Xi were among them, although his relationship with them had turned less student and teacher, and more friends with common enemies.

So long as Huo Jin continued to annoy the three of them, they would inevitably push them closer, uniting them under a common threat. Yu Zhong Er also promised to take Xuanyuan out on missions, and agreed that after the tournament she would take him out. He was already a Rank 2 Middle Stage Gu Master, but he became sidetracked by researching Nine Eyes Shadow Gu and the Space Path lessons he took from Elder Luo.

Xuanyuan wasn't someone who removed all human concepts of the self, obsession and emptiness from his mind. He couldn't just suddenly disassociate his entire moral framework and understanding of human existence in just a few years.

He had read how Fang Yuan removed all obsession, all sense of self and saw the World completely equal. That much he could understand. All life was equal, no matter if it was a single immature sapling, or a near omnipotent Rank 9 Gu Immortal.

By removing all emotions, all sense of self, all things that were subject to change, Fang Yuan could focus solely on his goal to reach immortality. But the power of relationships, of other people were not completely worthless, as seen by him currying favor with Shang Ci, even if the relationship was mostly one-sided in the end.

Xuanyuan would learn as much as he could about Fang Yuan, both his philosophy, and his knowledge. But he wouldn't stop there, Star Constellation, Giant Sun, Duke Long, Red Lotus, Thieving Heaven, and even Spectral Soul, all of these people Xuanyuan knew he could learn from.

It was then, that Xuanyuan heard his name being called out.

"Platform 1, Xuanyuan vs Bing Ti!".

Standing up, Xuanyuan heard Yu Xiaolong wish him good luck, causing him to smile, waving him off. Walking towards the platform, Xuanyuan could see Bing Ti walk up to the other side, his expression jittery, eyeing Xuanyuan warily.

Knowledge on Xuanyuan's Shadow Path had exploded after his fight with Tai Yin, and most of his Gu had been revealed, allowing others to try and figure out a method to counter it. Their knowledge on the Shadow Path was severely lacking, forcing them to test out their theories in the matches, risking themselves in the process.

Bing Ti and Xuanyuan just stared at each other, each acknowledging the referee before sparking into action the moment the fight was formally announced.

"Begin!".

Xuanyuan knew that Bing Ti didn't have much primeval essence left within his aperture. The boy was still only a Peak Rank 1 Gu Master, and knew that Xuanyuan was a Middle Stage Rank 2 Gu Master. Having access to a higher quality of primeval essence and Gu, Bing Ti did the thing that any Gu Master would do when faced with a stronger opponent.

He ran. 

Xuanyuan raised an eyebrow, noticing Bing Ti run to the other side of the platform, putting as much distance between them as possible. He didn't even try to attack Xuanyuan as he ran away, prompting him to follow him, striding towards him, the shadow of an enormous scorpion stinger emerging from his back, and a sword falling into his hands.

Bing Ti noticed the five meter long scorpion stinger was raised high, poised to strike at him, but continued to run, trying to circle around Xuanyuan.

He didn't quite make it that far, and quickly shouted to the referee, informing them of his surrender.

"Ah screw this! Just let me regenerate some primeval essence for my next fight! I surrender!".

Glaring at Xuanyuan as he walked off the stage, the otherworldly demon just deactivated his Gu, exiting from his end of the platform. The previous fights ended quicker than this one, but he couldn't blame Bing Ti for trying, and just walked back towards his seat.

More than a dozen rounds continued like this, and after more than half a day sitting and fighting and meditating with the Strength Soul Hall, there were only a handful of disciples left. The sun had long since started to fall towards the horizon, and the shadow of False Soul Mountain cast the valleys and rivers surrounding Earth Soul City into darkness.

Xuanyuan, Song Pei, Fang Kai and Tai Yang were all forced to be... more heavy handed in order to force their opponents to exit the tournament. All of them were running low on primeval essence, even with their Rank 2 Gu Master cultivation.

They had all fought more than a dozen fights, some even against each other. Xuanyuan had fought Song Pei and Fang Kai, and won against the former quite easily, while the latter used the nature of his Poison Path Gu to force Xuanyuan to fight at distance, removing the advantage he had with Shadow Stinger Gu and Silhouette Strings Gu.

Song Pei brought out his Raging Waves Crocodile, a beast which had been given to him by his grandfather, Elder Song. It possessed the strength of a Rank 2 Gu Master, and a strange movement which allowed it to slide on the platform, as if it were covered in oil or slime. 

Xuanyuan was forced to use his Silhouette Strings Gu in order to defend himself, but Song Pei used another Rank 2 Gu which removed all sense of pain from his Raging Waves Crocodile. It forced Xuanyuan to expend a large amount of primeval essence in order to repeatedly use Dense Shadow Blade Gu and Bright Red Light Gu to defeat it.

Fang Kai on the other hand, possessed a nasty Rank 2 Gu. 

Rank 2 Corrosive Shadow Gu was a Shadow Path Gu which seemed to mimic the effects of the Poison Path. It could corrode shadows that can into contact with it, and worked extremely well against Xuanyuan's Shadow Stinger Gu and Silhouette Strings Gu. It essentially ignored his defenses, allowing Fang Kai to bridge the gap between them, allowing him to use his martial arts without having to worry about extra appendages or invisible string blades.

Xuanyuan burned through a significant amount of primeval essence, in order to beat Fang Kai using his Dense Shadow Blade Gu. 

Tai Yang ended up defeating both Jia Yufei and Li Xiao Er, using his Rank 2 Burning Lantern Gu to defend against Jia Yufei's Fire Fox Gu, and to counter Li Xiao Er's speed.

Burning Lantern Gu continuously drained his primeval essence, providing an almost universal defense against objects that came to close to the Gu Master's body. Xuanyuan believed that it had the greatest primeval essence cost of any Gu used in the tournament, but it's strength wasn't anything to scoff at.

Even Yu Xiaolong, who also fought against Li Xiao Er could do nothing against her speed. While his linear speed exceeding Li Xiao Er, her Rank 2 Chasing Wind Gu, combined with her Rank 1 Air Eyes Gu allowed her to perceive, and subsequently react to things better than her opponent.

He was defeated quite quickly after that.

Against other Tai Yang and Fang Kai opted to use their martial arts in order to swiftly deal with their opponents, but found that they tried to use their Gu when they least expected it in order to deal a decisive blow, hoping it would force them out of the tournament.

By this stage, there were no more members of the Light Soul Hall in the arena. No Gu Master could receive healing, only enduring the blows and punches of their opponent, carrying their wounds into their next fight.

Xuanyuan himself had been touched by Fang Kai's Corrosive Shadow Gu, making the others believe that his left arm had been quite severely injured. However...

'A Rank 2 Gu won't have much effect on a Rank 5 Gu. Even if Shadows As Thought Gu doesn't have the same suppressive force that an Immortal Gu has, it should still resist a significantly weaker Gu. My arm tingles a little bit, but is still useable in the long run'.

He had been saved by Little Shadow. 

Looking into the crowd, he could see Elder Luo give him a glance, but other otherwise remain as impassive and unbiased as always. Elder Hu showed a similar expression, but Elder Gong nodded at him, while Elder Kong just chatted with the Sect Master.

The three Gu Immortals in the crowd also remained, completely unnoticed by the others around them, the dark haired Gu Immortal winking at Xuanyuan, directly gesturing to Xuanyuan's shadow, causing him to freeze up.

'... She knows about Little Shadow', he thought.

The Immortal, that Xuanyuan now reasoned was Immortal Song, didn't seem to say anything to Immortal Di, or the other Immortal sitting beside them instead using some unknown Gu to message something to Xuanyuan, unbeknownst to the others in the arena.

"Don't worry Little Yuan, I won't tell anyone about the little Gu hidden in your shadow. If it was an offensive Gu, maybe I'd have something to worry about, but a Shadows As Though Gu, while rare, is not something considered valuable to Gu Immortals. Tell me later how you got it, and if anyone asks, tell them I gave it to you".

Xuanyuan didn't return the message with a nod, or smile, instead continuing his conversation with Yu Xiaolong, patting his back after his most recent defeat. It wasn't long after that, that Xuanyuan was called up again to the platform.

"Platform 2, Jia Yufei vs Xuanyuan".