Far into the main facilities of the mountain, Senior Qing had just begun one of the main events, a bit of sparring between the younger generation.
Of course, a gathering such caliber would be too boring if all they did was converse and demonstrate techniques to each other. There had to be some sort of excitement and competition. Furthermore, it was an opportunity to show off.
Returning to the arena, everyone had taken their side and watched as a duel was about to begin. Those of the older generation sat closer to Senior Qing while the others watched from behind.
Currently it was someone from the Eternal Blade Sect against a core disciple of Clear Spring Mountain. In fact, it was Jing Hai, the one from the bloody plains. Her eyes shined brightly, one golden and one indigo like the sun and the ocean.
She faced her opponent, wielding her blade with both hands. It was a tall and slender blade that was pure white with small holes lined up where the one edge of the blade met with the other. Each hole had a gem inserted in each one. Jet black in color, it was a sharp contrast to the rest of her equipment.
"If I remember correctly, there was a peculiar student who has a weapon such as yours. Could you be Wan Li Quan?" she asked.
The one against her was similar in age, somewhere around his early twenties. In his hands were daggers but these were unlike any other. He gripped them backwards with the blade facing behind him. The edge was serrated in the pattern of waves. The blade itself was simple, only curved slightly. The handle seemed to fit perfectly in his hands, a grayish hilt with a hole* where his index finger wrapped around.
"Indeed, that is me. The daggers of mine were something I found during my time travelling", he replied.
"Miss Jing Hai, I hope I do not disappoint you", Li Quan continued, "Your reputation as the "Celestial Sword" of Clear Spring Mountain is far above mine."
Jing Hai smiled, "It is just a name. I do not care to boast my strength. Now let us begin."
She held her blade towards Li Quan, who also took his stance.
With one leg forward and the other behind him, he crouched lower to the ground. His hand were positioned in front of him with his daggers led backwards.
With the both of them prepared, Senior Qing stood up from her seat.
"Begin!" she yelled out.
The first to move was Li Quan, dashing forward as his daggers glinted under the sun. His hands moved swiftly as he attacked from two directions.
Jing Hai stood still with her blade upright. She waited for him to approach her before stepping forward. As soon as they were only a meter away from each other, their weapons clashed in the air.
From there, they stood their ground battling for some sort of advantage. Their blades were locked between them and the shrill sound of metal scraping each other screamed out.
In this deadlock, Li Quan pushed away the young woman's blade before attacking. Swift and forceful, he sent in a flurry of attacks, slashing and stabbing. It could be described as wild and yet controlled like a chained up tiger. Despite the strength put into each strike, he was able to control it and accurately aim for weak spots.
However, this was suppressed by Jing Hai's swordplay. It was elegant to say the least. Her sword danced in the air as she blocked and parried each strike. There was a rhythm to her moves, like she was dancing and yet, she had barely moved from her position.
As they continued to battle, Fu Men, Leader of the Eternal Blade Sect, spoke with Senior Qing. He was an old man with neatly combed hair and a clean shaven face. He seemed more like a government official that an martial artist. Wearing emerald robes, he carried with him a sword sheathed in a black scabbard.
"The younger generation truly surprises me. It's only been a year or so and yet Jing Hai has continued to improve by leaps and bounds", he praised.
"She's been cultivating and training nonstop", said Senior Qing, "Not too mention, she is rarely here, always taking on a mission of some sort. In any case, this disciple of yours seems quite interesting."
"Oh, he has been part of the sect for a long time now. Fortune smiled on him as he found those daggers in some ruins. It seemed to be his calling as they suited him perfectly. When he came back, he created his own fighting style and techniques to match", Fu Men explained.
"I see."
The two of them looked back at the platform as the intensity of the fight had begun to ramp up. Now, they no longer stuck to pure skill and began showcasing their techniques.
Li Quan's strikes began to warp space itself, strikes that seemed to go in one direction had suddenly appeared somewhere else. His attacks would become feints and his feints would become real attacks. It was difficult to determine where and when he would attack.
This was the Dao of Space!
A rare and difficult concept to pursue and excel in. To appear elsewhere or just vanish, to twist one's vision and trick. Space is a powerful thing and at the same time, it was easily one of the most difficult things to understand.
Few would dare to venture into the Dao of Space but those that understood it were feared. After all, the further they achieved, the more one could bend the laws of the world.
Jing Hai began to struggle under his techniques.
"Curling Tiger!" he called out.
Li Quan jumped back and slashed the air upwards with both his daggers. The air suddenly twisted and contorted itself.
Jing Hai sensed her surroundings and her instincts kicked in as a feeling of danger closed in on her. She quickly turned around and brought her sword down. In that motion, the crisp sound of blades crashing into each other rang out as space seemed to warp. Two ethereal strikes emerged from that space only to be blocked by Jing Hai's sword.
In response, Jing Hai began using her own skills.
Her body exuded a fearsome aura as all sorts of phenomena appeared behind her. The illusion of stars within the sky stood behind her. Each star radiated a faint and gentle light, there was warmth coming from each one.
What dao was this?
With the teachings of softness from Clear Spring Mountain and her own accumulations, she began to form her own Dao.
Created from the Dao of Fire, It was the Dao of Stars!
But how was this possible?
From fire, Jing Hai focused on the warmth that is produced. Of course, the closer someone is, the hotter it becomes. But she did not feel satisfied and believed it to be insufficient in power. Thus after months of testing and brainstorming, she finally gained inspiration from something.
A celestial body that ruled over the world, the Sun.
Indeed, the Sun was what inspired her to create this dao. After all, the Sun was a great ball of flame and full of power, yet its heat gives nourishment to the world. Outside of that, it was a star and there were countless of other stars, some filled with even more explosiveness than others.
Thus from that, she strived to further improve her dao, trying to expand upon it. This was how her name as the "Celestial Sword" came to be. The phenomena that her techniques created resembled that of stars and other celestial bodies. The light that it produced made her resemble that of a goddess.
"Glaring Sun..", Jing Hai spoke those words as her blade began to glow. In fact, it seemed sizzle in the air.
The stars merged together to build one large body before merging with her blade. The tender heat suddenly shot up to a scorching flame.
What sort of technique was this?
The pressure from her slowly grew on Li Quan as she walked forward. Her blade shined brightly, from the heat.
Li Quan felt fear but at the same time there was excitement. It was rare that he felt such an aura from an opponent.