Drawing out his scarlet sword which felt cold to the touch, he made his way towards the destination. It was known as the Sword Haven and it was the reason why the Badger city was one of the richest among all the cities on the seven continents.
It was a place in which sword masters can challenge each other. One's cultivation would be completely suppressed, it was a battle between sword masters with just their physical body and sword.
While coming here for his own training was primary, there was a secondary reason as well. If lucky, he might find some potential seeds that have yet to be discovered by other forces. The chances were slim, but it wasn't of major importance after all.
Walking along the bustling streets, the badgers running around were a spectacular sight to see. If only Charlotte was here to accompany me.
Even though Ace had the intention to bring Charlotte along with him wherever he goes, he understood that it was only possible when they became strong enough to deal with any trouble one day. That day was far, but bloodlust was near.
Shaking his head, he got rid of the fleeting thoughts and focused on the main reason he came here. As for Charlotte's suggestion, he might have to delay it for now.
Entering the Sword Haven, he stopped in his feet, amazed by the sight he was seeing. All the Sword Haven had was a gigantic tree and beneath the tree were countless sword masters comprehending their own sword intents.
To the right, there was a label, 'combat section'.
To the left, it was another label, 'training session'.
At this moment, a sword master with his hair tied up in a bun ended his comprehension session and stood up as Ace approached him.
That sword master upon seeing such a young face was surprised, but still kept his calm and asked, "What's the matter?"
Heaving a sigh of relief, Ace cupped his hands and replied honestly, "I have a question to ask. May I know what's the difference between the two different sections?"
Without even much thinking, the sword master briefly explained that that combat section was for duels between sword masters while the training session was against illusionary enemies that possessed combat strength.
"Thank you for answering my queries." Ace cupped his hands while giving his thanks before sitting down under the tree. It was worth the experience since he made an effort to come all the way here.
Closing his eyes, Ace could sense his consciousness slipping somewhere else and when he opened his eyes again, he was actually standing against a phantom of himself.
Holding the same sword, with the same appearance. Eluding the same aura, with the same demeanor. If it weren't for the fact that he was sure this was an illusion, he might have lost to himself.
Taking a few quick breaths to calm himself down, Ace raised his sword in the same manner as the pattern as he slashed towards the phantom of himself.
It wasn't a battle between cultivators, just two swords and two humans that oppose each at the moment.
Slashing down, the phantom blocked Ace's attack easily and charged towards Ace.
He's fast! Ace reacted at the last moment and evaded by stepping to the right while doing a horizontal slash, only to realise that the phantom was faster and that a vertical slash was going to hit him soon.
*Swoosh*
Leaping backwards, Ace evaded the fatal attack as he realised one thing. The phantom was designed to only know the sword moves he knows of, but much swifter. There was only one way for him to win, by making a breakthrough now.
In just a few seconds, they have already exchanged countless moves, but one thing remained certain. Ace was always the one who lost in all those exchanges.
In just these few moves, Ace could sense the energy within his body being sapped away, his stamina was being drained and his robe was sticking closely to his skin. Beads of sweat flowed down his face, his breathing heavy as he pulled distance away, only for the phantom to catch up.
I'm getting it, just a while more. Ace told himself time and time again as he exchanged moves with the phantom. Yet he doesn't know of the commotion going on under the tree because of him right now.
The tree, for the first time in history, was shaking violently and the energy was going on a rampage.
If that was the case, it would at most catch attention, but all the sword masters who were immersing themselves in the illusion realm were utterly destroyed in their own illusion and were forced out suddenly. Not just one, but all of them.
Suffering different degrees of injuries, they were about to question the person behind the Sword Haven only to realise that he had already arrived.
Wrapped around his eyes was a bandage and even though he claimed he wasn't blind, no one has ever seen his eyes. Back then, many forces joined together in an attempt to take his life, only for him to defeat everyone with just a single thought, including those sent by the kingdoms.
When asked why he bandaged his eyes, he gave the same reply each time, "There isn't anything in this world that can enter my eye."
Just what could he mean?
"All of you, get out of this place now!"
One of the hot tempered sword masters who had been interrupted during the crucial moment of his sword comprehension stepped out and argued, "So what if you're stronger than me? Are you going to pay for our injuries?"
"That's right, none of us here might be your match? But shouldn't you at least give us an explanation!"
"If you expect us to just leave now, then you can expect no one to come here in the future! Who knows if another incident will take place?"
Taking a deep breath, the blind sword master by the name of Jay descended from above. "I won't repeat myself twice, get the hell out of here now! If you don't wish to come here in the future, don't bother, I've never charged a single spirit stone from you guys. Remember, it's your loss."
"Don't you think you're overestimating yourself?"
One of the notorious sword master present questioned. Turning towards his back, he asked, "Who here is willing to fight with me?"
"Count me in."
"Haha, we can't allow someone to step on our heads that easily after all."
It seems that the name of the Zephyr has already been long forgotten, to think that around sixty percent of them are trying to put up a fight against me. The remaining thirty five percent or are just bystanders while the rest who are smart have left.
Still, there were a few interesting youths.
The one wearing a purple robe seemed to know what was going on.
The one wearing a light green robe left with a smile as though nothing happened.
The one wearing a black robe while annoyed, knew that it was pointless staying here.
Now, I just need to deal with this trouble before I can speak with that youth who brought me so much trouble. It's amazing though, how everyone here is too blind to see him besides the three youths who had a pure heart for the sword.
"The sword path has already been shamed by you guys!" Raising his voice, a gigantic blue sword manifested itself before Jay.
The sword was made up of pure lightning and with a single thought from Jay, the sword released a shockwave that numbed everyone present before sending them on the way out.
Yes, none of those who tried to attack him died, but the constant pain of being tortured by lighting would last for hours without stopping and each second would feel like hell to them.
"The rest of you, before I change my mind, leave." Jay's command this time lacked power, but everyone scurried away more quickly than before.
The world has still yet to change, his eyes were refusing to admire the beauty of this world.
In the end, was violence the only way for people to listen? Jay was in a dilemma once again, but he knew he had to settle the problem first.
The rampaging energy soon gathered together as it took on the form of an old man. This old man was the tree spirit that has been creating those illusions for sword masters to cultivate for fun since there wasn't much it could do.
"Senior, what's with the ruckus going on and just what exactly is going on with this young boy?" Jay asked as he made use of his ability to detect Ace's actual age through his bones. Only to realise that he's only thirteen years and two months old. He wasn't even an adult yet.
"Look at this."