V5C46: The First Stage

As the hour was coming closer, more and more people arrived at the square, eventually filling up roughly half of the area without much space in between them. In total, there were roughly three hundred potential participants in the Selection of the Heavenly Masters, the Heavenly Sword to be more precise, and from what the Ascendant was able to gather about their abilities, it did not seem that most would be her equals.

The vast majority lacked the sign of any Dao vision states, meaning that they would not have an advantage in that regard, and their bodies did not exhibit signs of techniques trained to an excessive degree. Thus, they would not have a combat style that they had polished unceasingly.

There were three that she could see with marks of a vision state within their irises, but she could not determine the exact Dao that had brought them their vision state. As such, it was difficult to know whether they would be particularly effective in combat as a result of the vision state, as they might very well have accidentally comprehended the Dao of Baking, and thus have become exceptional at providing baked goods for the district and not at all capable of properly combatting others with that skill, even if it did have a theoretical application in the arena.

Out of those that she could detect and evaluate with any degree of accuracy, there were two that she was most concerned with. The first was obviously a Wu District resident, and likely a family member, with a vision state circle within his irises and a powerful body that had clearly been trained for many, many years, and the second… the second made it very difficult for her to remain calm and quiet.

So far as she could tell, the figure on the other side of the Master’s Square, standing away from the others with a familiar arrogant and irritating expression, was a member of the Great Wu Family. The aura of thirty-nine distinct anchors, as well as fifty searing marks upon his core, made it very clear that she was facing one of the second generation members of the Great Families, and although he lacked any distinct features that might indicate him to be from a specific family – something common in the regular Wu family as they were far more open to outside visits and quickly allowed permanent residence so long as one proved themselves to be capable – he had a very different aura to the majority of the Great Family members that she had interacted with up to this point.

Rather than the usual focus on the anchors within his dantian, his innate aura was that of thirty-nine swords, arranged in the same manner as his anchors were. It was still obvious what his origins were, as his aura didn’t even attempt to hide that, but it was the first time she had seen one like this.

From the current distance, she was fortunately remaining away from the gaze of the Great Family member, or else she might have had an even more adverse reaction to him. While he might have become aware of her and attempted to combat her, she would be fine in that case, as she had dealt with plenty of those at his level before she had even reached her current realm. The true problem would be the reaction of the district to her actions, as they might see her as a disruption to the process and thus a foe, to a certain extent.

Whether it got her kicked out of the district, or just led to her being seen as a bad pick for either a Heavenly Sword or the Matriarch, it would not be ideal.

As a result, she was trying very hard to keep calm, and could be said to be succeeding aside from the extreme surge of smoke-like energy from the eternal wound at her left shoulder, all of the ground beneath her was cracking, some of the structures behind her were being eroded by her fury, and her robes were actively fluttering as if she was standing in the middle of a hurricane.

Most had chosen to distance themselves from her, resulting in two wide open spaces around her and the Great Family member by the time that the people in charge of this selection process finally arrived at the square. There were five figures, four men and a woman, guarded on the left and right by armed and armoured guards that looked to be there mostly for appearance rather than function, as their cultivation and equipment were inferior to that of the five in the middle.

They did not respond to the odd spaces around her and the Great, instead travelling to the middle of the square and looking around, while their guards stepped aside and travelled to the edges.

“Are all of you those that believe themselves to be suitable to become the new Heavenly Sword?”

All those present provided some sign of acknowledgement and agreement, with even the Great Family member managing to do so without a disdainful look upon the five in the middle. It was rather exceptional, and was made far less shocking after he lowered his gaze and his expression twisted into a look of disgust, alleviated only by the sight of his own hand, which he held near his chest in a fist.

The man that had spoken first quietly shook his head and looked to the woman, who held up a small box that she had brought with her. One of the other men took a step closer, carefully placed their hand on the lid, then addressed the crowd, “There are simply too many of you. If you think that you may claim this position, then you must prove that you understand the sword, and would not fall to ordinary blows and plain attacks. Remain standing for a minute, and that proof shall be given to us, and you may remain. The rest ought to leave, before they hurt themselves further.”

Of course, those that had chosen to come here did not do so without any thought, and thus they were convinced that they were right to be here. Not even the most cowardly would step out this early, as they would either not have been here from the start, or would leave after the first round, willingly or otherwise. For that reason, none of the three hundred chose to move, and instead gave a few glances to those that they might assume would leave instead, looking away when they did not.

The figures standing in the middle shook their heads together, with the man with his hand on the lid of the box quietly lifting it by just an inch.

From within, a vast and indescribable aura burst out, instantly overwhelming the area with an impossible sensation of extreme might. It felt as if a world was dropped onto them, and yet that was somehow the least of their current problems, and of the extreme sensations that fell upon them without any ability to endure them, at least not so far as they were able to perceive and catch.

The Ascendant felt all of that crash upon her, but the impact was far lesser on her due to a combination of reasons, with the most recent one clearly being the acquisition of the Absolute Soul. She still felt the sensations, and sensed the difficulty of getting through it, but it was almost as if her mind could exist in two states – one weak and enduring the brunt of the attack, and another that could then observe it from the side and learn from all of the damage dealt to the first part without her needing to suffer it personally.

It wasn’t quite how it worked, but it was close enough, and it was very much to her benefit.

One of the problems with gaining a significant resistance to anything was that one could no longer use that to temper themselves, whether in that field or in general. For instance, she was essentially immune to common forms of physical attacks, like an ordinary sword being used by an ordinary person without a cultivation, so if she ever got into a fight with someone like that, she would not be able to gain anything from battling them, no matter how hard she tried.

Since she retained the ability to experience the full brunt of whatever aura had emerged from the box, and also analyse it personally, she benefitted from it twice. As a result, she was almost tempted to thank the five that brought the box out after this event, as they had allowed her to experience a great level of stress while being entirely safe. It was perfect, in fact, and she would have liked to keep that box among her collection of otherworldly gifts. For now, she was perfectly content to stand by and observe, focusing mostly on her opponent at the other side of the Master’s Square, where the Great Family member stood, enduring the mental blow.

Unlike her, he did not appear to have any kind of abnormal soul, and even the presence of one would be very unlikely to provide him with the exact kind of resistant attribute that she had, so he had to deal with the immense aura using his own strength, and that alone.

As a result, she got to witness the blades of his aura congregate in a barrier around him, trembling and lightly ringing as they dealt with the absurd onslaught of pressure. Beneath the layer of illusory blades, he stood firm and proud, his back straight and his eyes finally raised to look upon those that he undoubtedly disdained with a passion.

He started to look on to those to his left, and slowly began to turn towards the right, as if to take in all those that were inferior to him. Many were unable to withstand the force of the pressure within the box, and those he looked at for a moment, but a few other than the Ascendant could, prompting him to look away far more quickly, hence the assumption of his purpose in doing so in the first place. If he had turned over to her, he would have likely recognised her either for her ability to stand around and seemingly ignore the pressure, or for the rather obvious crimson hair, silver eyes, red robes, missing left arm and all of the other things that she possessed that few others did. For that reason, she was very pleased to see that his gaze did not end up reaching her.

The box was shut very suddenly, allowing those that had been overwhelmed by it to see the world around them. Many realised that they had fallen to the ground, and a few noticed that they were close to doing so, barely remaining standing at this point.

Far more than two thirds of the initial group had fallen, and they were now out.

“All of you, get out of the Master’s Square this very moment. You have no ability deal with the rest of the competition, and so you no longer need to disgrace us with your presence,” the man that had opened the box declared, removing his hand from the lid and quietly spitting at the people that fell first. It seemed that this was the extent of his intentions, but there were a few drops of blood within his spit, making it immediately obvious to Wei Yi that he had not been spared from the extreme influence within the box.

As her spiritual perception had been unable to perceive what was within the box, she had no clue what lay within, although she did have a little bit of an idea.

Based on what she had sensed, there was a clear trace of aura and intent within the box, and it was unlikely that the box could hold those two things themselves and be used regularly without them being exhausted quickly. It needed to be some kind of object, then, one capable of storing and possibly producing the intent actively, perhaps a fragment of an artefact or some kind of otherworldly gift. The latter would be significantly more abnormal, obviously, as those things rarely broke.

It was most likely to be some kind of artefact shard from a time long past, created by one of the ancient ancestors of the Wu District, and imbued with their energy and techniques to the extent that the fragments of the artefacts retained a certain degree of their user’s original power long after they were broken apart and left to rot in a box. Given the immense aura, it might very well be beyond the capacity of most within the modern world to even stand near it and endure it, so she wasn’t surprised that it would be kept within the box for so long instead of being actively used to better the people of the district, or at the very least of the Wu family… which, technically speaking, it was, as the people that would join the district’s forces as a result of the Selection of the Heavenly Masters would indeed be beneficial.

The occasional exposure to the immense hostile aura contained within would certainly make the family members more able to endure it and other forms of killing intent. Provided that their foes at the Reclaimed Lands, over to the south-east, used it often, it would even benefit them actively during any battles that they fought in, regardless of the status they eventually earned.

Whatever the nature of that thing was, she wanted to get her hands on it, and if she did become a Matriarch of the district, she would most certainly do so. An artefact shard, if that is what it was, might not be the most useful weapon on its own, regardless of its overall quality, but there were always uses for it. For instance, if all it was good for was manifesting that aura of terror and complete suppression that she and the rest in the Master’s Square endured, then her own killing intent was likely to be able to empower that effect and allow her to spread it further, while controlling it herself to a certain extent.

While she was pondering all of that, those that had fallen to the ground had left the square, some willingly and others far less so. A few attempted to make their displeasure known to the five that took up the middle of the square, but their voices were ignored and they were threatened with repeated exposure to the contents of the box, or the power of the ones that stood around it, quickly lessening their will to engage.

In a way, this did make them even less suitable to be a Heavenly Sword, for the Wu District believed that one must be willing to face adversity, doing as much as possible even if one would then surrender, simply to learn as much as possible from it. By failing to do so, they showed cowardice.

‘I would personally disagree in some instances, but hey, I have no reason to make a fuss about that,’ she thought, preparing to make a fuss about something completely different as she took a step forward, “Excuse me, what is that thing? I’ve not been here long, so perhaps I’ve just missed out on the name of that… artefact, I’d guess?”

The man holding the box looked at her, as did a few others, the Great Family member fortunately being excluded from the list for the time being.

“It is a relic from a long time ago. However, you need not know more about it, for you endured it perfectly sufficiently,” the woman replied, “If you do intend to learn more, then you ought to do so at a different time, perhaps once you have proven yourself in more ways than just one.”

Her words still didn’t catch the attention of the Great Family member – whose name was, providing that they still adhered to their previous naming scheme, Wu Chao – but after the initial reluctance to be seen by him, she had come up with a different plan. Since she could suffer as a result of the rules of the district, then it would, at least in theory, be possible to reverse this and force him into a position where he could not make use of the powers of the other Great Family members in order to cheat in the Selection, or to bring the Ascendant to their attention.

Based on the fact that Wu Chao was participating in the process normally instead of simply barging in and demanding some degree of power, he was still constrained by the rules of the Wu District, and that meant that if he was the aggressor, and she offered a method to resolve it that satisfied the district’s current leaders, she could steer the situation in her own favour really easily.

For that reason, she did not back down and instead asked, “In that case, why did you stop right now? Had you kept the box open for a little while longer, there may have been a few more than would be eliminated, and you would need to spend less time on the rest of the Selection process.”

“Endurance of violent auras are not the only sign of a good swordsman, and testing only that will have no value whatsoever. All that is necessary is for those involved to be able to endure enough of it to not fall before a foe in battle, and then they needed to be able to handle combat in full, whether they fight another swordsman or some foe that is entirely unfamiliar,” the woman answered with surprising patience, “For that reason, there is no point to removing those that could stand up for themselves, either, as it would mean that a moment of fear would not lead to them losing a battle completely. Unfortunately, none wished to do so, and now you are the only ones that are left.”

Finally, the Great Family member looked in her direction and had the immediate reaction that she expected from him. He gasped first, then reached for his sword and unleashed the spectral phantoms of his thirty-nine anchors, all of which instantly shifted the attention from her to him. At the same time, he reached into his robes for something.

This was dangerous, as it could very well be part of the method that they used for communicating with one another from such a long distance, so Wei Yi did not wait before beginning her plan.

“That man-”

“Cease that behaviour right now, Wu Chao!” one of the four men in the middle beat her to it, prompting the Great Family member to look in his direction and, miraculously, pause his movements. Although he did still keep the anchors around himself, projected in full, to the extent that even the common person would be able to detect a trace of them, it was still both impressive and very much to her advantage. It was exactly what she needed, in fact.

“I wish to challenge that fu- that man!” Wei Yi called out, using the pause as well as she could, “We have a certain relation, and so I wish to make use of the Selection’s guidelines to ensure that he does not impact it or any of the other participants, nor force me to do the same.”

The third man, the one that had stopped Wu Chao, turned to her, “What do you mean?”

“You must know of his identity. You might be aware of my identity, as well, or have a certain clue regarding it.”

“So that really is that bitch-” Wu Chao froze mid-sentence when an overwhelming wave of killing intent burst out from the other side of the square, easily reaching him and practically punching him in the face with the sheer power contained within.

“SHUT IT, YOU MISERABLE PLAGUE UPON THIS WORLD!” Wei Yi couldn’t stop herself from shouting, her killing intent blasting out of her body, primarily from the wound on her left, instantly breaking the ground and forming a great crater in the square, complete with an endless network of cracks spreading out to the nearby residences and structures. Those that were closest to her creaked and crumbled, numerous bricks dropping into a pile that nobody could ever recognise as a home, even had they seen it moments prior.

This was her attempt to keep her killing intent under control, which was important to note.

“Do control your temper, or else you will have failed as much as those that have already left,” the third man said.

“Believe it or not, this is the most control that I can display right now. Provided that you do ensure that the assho- the man- Wu Chao doesn’t do anything to affect this process, I will restrain myself and ensure that I also keep to the rules. I have no intention of skewing the competition in any way beyond my own abilities, as I have a great deal of respect for the Wu District’s practises.”

She was naturally speaking a little more respectfully than she actually felt, but this was nothing in comparison to holding back a world’s worth of killing intent that could double in quantity at any given time. If it wasn’t a little more troublesome to condense the conduit of the seventh realm than to barge through all of the previous realms combined, then she might well have been on her way past the Yin-Yang Conduit realm and onto the Mental Discord realm, if going past the seventh realm was feasible with her cultivation paths before the world’s planar energy density had recovered to a sufficient degree, whatever that exact point was.

Luckily, few had the means to detect someone’s lies, and even then there would be plenty of methods of tricking such means, so she didn’t need to worry about being discovered.

“What means of his are you aware of, that we ought to watch out for?”

From his tone, it seemed that the man was not asking purely to learn, but more so to confirm her own knowledge, so she replied immediately and briefly, “A communication method that be used to communicate with his elders over at their Testament. His anchors can easily be used to crush others without using any planar energy. The very aura of them can do the same, and most don’t even know that they are anchors. His aura can only perform as a result of those-”

“One’s cultivation is not any of our concern, Wei Yi. Provided that one does not go against Yi City and our Wu District, then even one that cultivates by slaughtering nations has a chance of becoming a Heavenly Sword.”

“I hope that was not an attempt to say anything rude about me… Would you keep an eye on him?”

“The Selection of the Heavenly Masters must proceed properly, or else there is no value to any of the results. Since these are concerns, we will naturally ensure that no methods that go against our rules are permitted,” the woman said, “However, we will observe your actions just the same, so do not attempt to do what you should not.”

“No need to do that. I am confident enough in my victory, provided that the piece of shi- Wu Chao does not force my hand,” the Ascendant confirmed.

The fourth man of the group, who had yet to speak, suddenly spoke up, “You clearly carry a great deal of hatred and anger within yourself. It is not a beneficial force for yourself, even if it does carry some benefits with itself.”

“Don’t bother with that. I am aware, but it is currently essential for me, not to mention the fact that the source – one of many, unfortunately – of it is in front of me. At a later time, when they are gone and other matters have been resolves, that might become a possibility, but before then, I will not be able to do anything about it,” she replied, as uncertain as she was about the sudden interest in her killing intent from this otherwise silent figure.

This, too, wasn’t entirely honest, as she was not intending to dispose of her killing intent if she suddenly won the War of Ascendancy, and whatever other battles occurred in the future. The ultimate state of planar energy required the combination of every aspect of it, and so she could not dispose of one fifth of the total state.

It would be possible to tone down the effect of killing intent upon her, as well as weakening its nature to a certain extent, but beside that, she would maintain it no matter what. This was a significant aspect of herself no matter what, as her crimson light and the black smoke alike were manifestations of a greater part of her, even if she did lose any reason to pursue the true form of planar energy due to some significant change in either the world or her own state, whatever that may be. Her notion of justice did originate, to a certain extent, from her fury at the world’s terrible state, so losing it may also indicate that she has to lose her justice.

She restrained her killing intent further, stepped out of the crater formed by it, and then a little further out to avoid standing on a thick layer of dust formed from the stone surface that had been there prior, and crossed her arms, waiting for the Selection of the Heavenly Masters to proceed.

There was a bit of a delay in that, as some workers were called to manage the place and ensure that the two-stepped crater in the ground did not continue to grow out of their control.

Provided that the Ascendant was permitted to move around too much, she would slowly force the entire Master’s Square down by a dozen metres, and so some reinforcement needed to be done on the other parts of the square before she had the chance to damage them. At the same time, the Great Wu Family member was surrounded by the four men and affected by a number of techniques that would prevent him from using most means that might interfere with the Selection.

All of the methods used were unlikely to truly stop him, that much Wei Yi was certain about, but she said nothing as they would provide her with a certain amount of time in which to take any appropriate action that she could think of. They would also ensure that the Wu District’s current authorities knew about the actions of the Great Family member, and would thus lead to them inevitably concluding that she was at least partially justified in whatever action she ended up taking against him. They might object to her violently slaughtering him and tearing him into tiny pieces of flesh and bone, but that was fine.

So long as they understood why she acted the way that she did, they couldn’t deny that taking down that vile entity would be for the best.

“Now that these things are sorted, we may proceed to learn who among you have any capability in swordsmanship, and who came here in the bid to pass by purely on luck or endurance to mental effects,” the woman announced once all of this was done, “This time, you will finally confront one another, and you will fight until one is either exhausted or struck by an attack.”

Before anyone could ask for further information, the first man provided it, “No planar energy may be used, nor anything derived from it. All that you may use are your own skills in swordsmanship, using a weapon that will be given to you by us, and you must choose a single target to oppose. For the sake of preventing unnecessary damage, Wu Chao and Wei Yi shall not fight one another yet, and can instead settle their differences at a different time, provided that the two do not fail to progress onto the next stages. An array shall be applied to the area to limit your physical strength as well, for beating someone up with one’s raw strength is certainly impressive, but useless in this district.”

That much did not need to be said to most that remained, for they would not have been able to endure the previous aura from within the box had they been unaware of the way in which they would be tested, and how they would need to compete with one another.

Those few that didn’t know the ways of the Wu District already restrained their questions and simply proceeded, looking around the significantly emptier square in search of those that they would be able to defeat, and do so well enough. They needed to showcase their talent, after all, so it would not be wise to beat up someone that had no ability or talent beside resisting the immense aura of the artefact within the box.