The Lantis Republic. The Atoll of the Ancients. Yingxiong Amphitheatre. One month later...
Like the common cockroach, the Shin had begun to assimilate into the lifestyle and culture of the Lantis Republic. Although Longyu Tian had watered down the daily expedition tours, Shin was brought around to experience the training facilities that the Longyu Clan boasted. There were specialised lakes which were pumped rife with dense water-elemental crystals to aide in the Spirit User's cultivation. In the east, there was an expansive library that boasted over a hundred million books and ancient scrolls, some of them depicting various ways a Sovereign Koi could cultivate. Up north, there was a myriad of gyms that trained cultivators in martial arts and weapon combat. And finally, Longyu Reef, in general, had the higher water densities that Shin had ever seen, making it the best place for the youth to train for his upcoming matches.
Speaking of those matches, news quickly spread that Shin Iofiel, the Prince of Water, was about to take on the five greatest Luminaries in a series of exhibition matches. Many have heard of Shin's illustrious name but few had seen him in person. Hence, over the past month, tickets for the matches had skyrocketed to an astronomical price and the Atoll of the Ancients were expected to be filled to the brim.
Merchants, nobles, soldiers, generals, elite chefs, small business owners, mercenaries and bureaucrats… They were all aching to get a ticket to witness the six Luminaries duke it out.
Though, the logistics of the matches didn't matter to Shin. All he cared about was defeating the five Luminaries to impress the High Council enough so that they'll allow him to take the trial. Thus, he trained. Shin had already mastered a great deal of his water creation, martial arts and healing abilities, however, he was still rather inexperienced with using the Domain of Dreams and the partially ignited Shard of the Azure Dragon.
Since the five Luminaries all possessed higher cultivation realms, Shin couldn't forcibly induce them into sleep as he did with the other Spirit Adepts back in the Himmel Empire. So, the Prince of Water had to be creative in his attacks. Qilong Hu and Meijing Bingying were in the upper echelons of the Spirit Spectre realm while the lowest ranked person, Xunyu Feifei, was at Rank 47. Additionally, they weren't like typical Spirit Spectres that Shin had faced earlier on. All of them were experts in their craft and some could even beat Rank 50 Spirit Lords soundly. Qilong Hu was the prime example. Being Rank 49, the man was basically one step into the Spirit Lord realm. Defeating him would be the pièce de résistance of Shin's bout against the five Luminaries.
As with all of Shin's earlier fights, the youth investigated the five Luminaries thoroughly. All of their spiritual abilities, their fighting habits, their previous wins and losses… Everything was sent under the microscope for Shin to dissect. And accordingly, Shin developed new variations of his abilities to deal with each and every one of them.
One month wasn't enough for Shin to completely master all of his new techniques, but he sure did his best. He had even relinquished his sleep during some periods, just to squeeze in those additional hours. And finally…
The day of the matches came.
"How are you feeling?" Kanari gently stroked Shin's two arms while they were alone in the changing room. Outside, the roars of the hundred thousand audiences inside of Yingxiong Amphitheatre shook the thick walls of the stadium. The rapid footsteps as men, women, families and prized individuals all increased the atmosphere of the arena. It was electric. Having a hundred thousand spectators watching you that is. Not everyone could get used to this atmosphere and Shin was no exception. He could hear the beating of the drums and the pulsation of the stadium, even from his changing room. It really brought his nerves to the edge, but fortunately, one of his pillar of supports was right there with him.
"I'm good..." The youth replied, quite dazed. "It's just, I had put the audience factor at the back of my mind. Really seeing them all present is quite… Staggering..." Shin downed a gulp of water to quell his nerves, but no matter what he did, the tension in his heart never waned.
Shin was never good with the adulation he received. From his first win inside of Imperius Academy to the exhibition matches in the Summit. He always felt that the attention he got was undeserved. Of course, when the bell was struck, Shin would turn into a different animal, with the killer instinct to match. However, everything before and after a match was a complete turn-off for the youth.
"A hundred thousand people in the crowd can be quite terrifying..." Kanari agreed while holding her boyfriend's hands. Earlier that hour, she had peeked out into the stands and could see oceans upon oceans of people. Some of them were regular commonfolk that had just chanced upon a ticket. However, the vast majority of them were affluent members of the government, army and the Lantis Republic's own upper class, which meant that there were more powerful cultivators than regular people.
Spirit Adepts were the average amongst the crowds as even Spirit Spectres and Lords were relegated into the common seats. So imagine having not only a hundred thousand pairs of eyes looking down at you, but over half of them were above the Spirit Spectre realm. It really was a fearful feeling for anyone within the arena.
"Hah… Why must they make such a big spectacle out of every bout? Can't we just calmly spar in the middle of a lake or something?" Shin groaned as he fell down on Kanari's lap. It was the only solace he had. The soft thighs and sweet fragrance of the young woman helped to ease the anxiety that Shin was suffering from, even if it were just a little.
It was just a few more minutes before Shin had to face his first opponent, Xunyu Feifei. If he was successful in beating her, he would then have to face Longyu Linji, Jingyu Taiyi, Meijing Bingying and Qilong Hu in that order. Yes, it was a marathon of a schedule, but if Shin could pull it off, he would solidify his name as the Prince of Water and possibly convince the High Council to let him take the Trial of the Celestial Dragon.
"Brother Shin! Brother Shin!" An excited cry echoed into the changing room, forcing Shin to part with the comfort of Kanari's lap. A young ponytailed girl, who looked no older than eight, excitedly held onto a basin of hot water and a rinsed towel was hanging over her shoulders.
"Hai'er? What's up?" Shin changed his grimace to a smile and warmly called the young girl.
"I'm here to wipe your face!" Longyu Hai placed the basin down and rinsed the white towel she had one more time. She crept closer towards the young man. Just like Kanari, the young girl was trying to lull the nervous youth into a sense of security, in her own juvenile way of course.
"Hai'er, I'd said that you don't have to always do this..."
"No! It's my job to serve Brother Shin as a squire!" The young girl heavily protested, her two adorable hands tightening around the edges of the towel. "Or is it… You don't like me around?"
'There it is...' Shin and Kanari smacked their heads, snorting as they saw the puppy-eyed face that Longyu Hai used. In the beginning, Shin didn't like the idea of having a squire, particularly since Longyu Hai was the current Clan Master's granddaughter. Also, he wasn't quite as comfortable around young girls since the whole incident with Latina. So for the earlier parts of the month, Shin had kept his distance around Longyu Hai.
However, credit where credit's due, the little girl was unusually good at adaptation. Longyu Hai soon developed a longing and pitiful look and whenever Shin rejected her, the lassie would unleash that secret weapon to make Shin feel bad for her. Bit by bit, Shin allowed himself to open up to the young girl and had even begun to mentor her a little about his understandings about the Celestial Water Mantra.
Now, Longyu Hai was basically a mascot character that followed Shin around wherever he went, helping him with random chores and whatnot. Cleaning and massaging Shin before a match was one of the few things that Longyu Hai could do, so the girl was committed to executing her duties to the best of her power.
"Fine..." Shin reluctantly sighed as dropped both his hands to stick his chin up.
"Yay!" Longyu Hai celebrated and peered forward, hot towel in hand. She slowly cleaned up the youth's face, rejuvenating his pores and warming his soul. Shin had to admit, the hot towel service was kind of excellent. A minute later, the young lass kept the cooled off towel in the basin and proceeded to give Shin a back massage, something she tried to do on a daily basis. Kanari found it odd to see Longyu Hai's dainty and petite palms trying to wrap itself around the youth's shoulders.
"Brother Shin, do you think that you can beat all five of them?!"
"Oh ho? Shouldn't a squire trust in their knight's abilities?" Kanari found an opening to tease the young girl
"Ah, of course, I trust in Brother Shin!!! Brother Shin is the strongest Spirit Spectre in the world!!! Brother Shin is the best!!!" Flustered, Longyu Hai flailed her hands about, worried that Shin would see her in a negative light for doubting his skills.
"She's just messing with you, Hai'er..."
"Huh? AH!!!" Realising that she'd been pranked, the pure young girl puckered her lips and scowled at Kanari in protest. "Sister Kanari is mean..."
The Witch of the South chuckled and lovingly placed her hand over the girl's head. "Haha, sorry about that! You're just too cute!!!"
"Hmph! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
"No! Don't do that!!!"
"Hahaha..." With Longyu Hai's one visit, the mood in the changing room had turned bright and warm, lifting the spirits of the nervous youth.
'Children sure are amazing...' Shin thought. Then, Longyu Hai's worried words began to resurface in his mind. 'Hai'er is right… I need to find ways to conserve my power for the five rounds...'
At his peak, Shin was confident that he could take down all of them. However, he had to face them all consecutively with little breaks in between. It really was a monumental task for him to accomplish, but for the sake of the twins' freedom, Shin had to try his best.
"Shin Iofiel. The first match is about to begin. If you're ready, we'll escort you out." A manager of Yingxiong Amphitheatre walked into the changing room with a clipboard on hand.
"Yeah, I'm ready..." Shin sighed and tapped on the shoulders of the two supporters he had.
"Be careful," said Kanari, the pupils in her eyes trembling a little. Kanari couldn't be in the arena to support the man, but she was most definitely going to be right there at the side watching him. Landing a single kiss to his cheeks, the black-haired maiden sent him off with a forced smile. "And good luck!!!"
"Yeah..." Shin smiled. He took one deep breath in and the anxiousness of being in a crowded arena vanished entirely. His soul was now as calm as Longyu Lake.
Shin was now… The Black-Haired Tyrant…
"I'm going..."
✵✵✵
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