Lind and Solon stood inside the massive ring. It had been repaired since the semi-finals but many expected that the finals would obliterate sections of it this time. Strangely, there was no tension as the overly handsome swordsman seemed to look over the young man in front of him. Lind as well was looking at Solon in detail.
The wind and earth seemed to gather around Solon like before but no sign of the sword intent appeared. Lind assumed his stance but Solon stood still and looked on with his pale eyes and a smirk of joy on his face.
"You have impressed me, young man. Please name yourself." Lind blinked at the friendly tone and felt the tension fade from his shoulders. This was not a bad person, he could feel it.
"I am Lind. I am sorry, senior, but I cannot concede from this round." Lind stated his determination and saw a firm nod from Solon that finally pulled his sword from off his back. It had no fantastic designs at all. It was a pure steel blade and bronze hilt with a counter balance on the end. There was no change in the air, but Lind felt like the sword was humming with joy to be in its owner's hands.
"I did not like the assignment given to me for the sect but you have made the trip worthwhile. I am also looking forward to Shoti, but you are a gem. My master is also a 6 elemental." Solon seemed to be very chummy and Lind found himself smiling. The seriousness of the tournament and his cause faded as Solon spoke as the broadsword was lazily placed on Solon's shoulders.
"Thank you for the praise but I did not intend to break through at this time. I just could not hold it back any longer. I had many inspirations through my battles." Lind shared the truth and saw Solon nod. The swordsman took out a leather thong for sweeping his long hair back. It was clear Solon was going to fight seriously.
"I normally would not bully a junior, but your eyes are good. I can see you are burdened, but as your senior, I hope to inspire you to continue on your cultivation journey. No hard feelings I hope?" Solon smirked openly at Lind but it felt so light hearted that Lind smiled back.
"No hard feelings at all. I hope senior will accept the same from me. I will not bow to defeat here!" Solon laughed and firmly bright forth his sword and sword intent flared brightly to Lind's eyes. Lind felt the pressure of 2 minor realms pushing on him, but Lind would not give in. He would not give up!
The sword sang through the air faster than almost anyone could follow as Solon exploded forward right behind it. The Divine Sword Sect disciple took no chances with the young man and no one in the crowd thought it was bullying. Lind had proven that underestimating him was essentially suicide. Lind, however, did not move at all.
His eyes almost glowed as he pushed his Soul Eyes to their limit and let his instinct move his hands at the last moment. The sword intent was silver to his eyes but his hands immediately flared with pain as Lind caught the attack and twisted around with it.
Solon's eyes spread wide as did anyone in the crowd with an inkling of sword intent or World Realm cultivation. The sword intent was whipped around right back at its owner! Blood spurted on Lind's fingers but that was all. He was also sweating but had plenty of Qi to spare.
Solon had no time to evade, thus he sent out another blaze of sword intent, but this time it was his full power of 6th tier. Lind had risen to a true opponent at this moment beyond a respectful junior. This boy was now a threat!
"Again!" Solon shattered his first attack that had been subverted and continued to charge through the remnants at speed. Lind also channeled his Qi and had earth and darkness combine in his body. Some of the more experienced were confused but Shoti's eyes widened in awe. This boy had no fear!
The crowd thought this was the brave end of a true cultivator. Win or lose, they felt respect for his desperate struggle without being arrogant. The crowd loved the vicious battles, but this was appealing to their inner child that once dreamed of standing at the top of the world. Lind's stubbornness struck the right chord with them all.
The broadsword flashed through the air and even the members watching from afar could feel the sharpness of the sword intent from so far away in the high seats. At the last moment, Solon suddenly looked confused but none saw this but Lind. The blade descended and caused the ring to shake as if the spirits of Heaven and Earth were smiting it. The massive dust cloud obscured both of the contestants. Just when everyone expected to hear Lind cry out, instead a figure flew out from the cloud!
The shadow was bleeding and flying uncontrolled into the arena barrier before stopping suddenly. The inner wall of the arena cracked and a vertical crater was made. The new dust cloud obscured whoever it was, but most assumed it was the poor youth that had made it to the finals after pushing himself to his limits. Silence filled the stadium as all waited for the dust to clear.
As it was made first, the sword strike cloud dispersed first and stunned silence ensued. Bleeding from a shoulder wound and heaving breath like he had sprinted for hours, Lind stood still inside the ring with his fist extended. Despite the blood, the wound did not look too serious. All turned in unison to the far wall as that cloud dispersed and found a bloody faced Solon unconscious in the wall!
"LIND! LIND! LIND!" The cheer started slowly but soon the whole stadium roared as the underdog moved forward once again. The remaining 8 competitors' reactions ranged from shock to disbelief. Most knew they stood no chance against Solon but they at least were tier 5 or 6 of the Soul Realm. How could a freshly minted tier 4 Soul Realm launch an expert like that outside of the ring?!
****
"Earth and Darkness, eh?" The 3rd Princess was impressed. It was basic element control but it was executed both precisely and with excess power. Earth to defend but also to solidify the position while darkness in tandem could change the gravity of the situation. This boy once again defied fate. Taking the hit while using the resulting dust cloud to hide his counter attack was amazing. Even more so considering his opponent.
Solon was no pushover and he was a veteran of many battles, even if they were simple bouts in his sect. The Divine Sword Sect did not hold mock battles in the Soul Realm. It was always live combat. She had witnessed such a fight that resulted in one of the competitors being crippled.
What kind of life had this boy lived to grasp the timing of an expert's opening? She was more intrigued than ever before.
****
Lind felt all his muscles shaking and the distant pain of his right shoulder was getting worse. WIthout pause, he swallowed a pill and began collecting Qi as quickly as possible. He was not entirely drained as he would have been before but the tempering benefit was minimal. No matter how strong, he was still using tier 1 Soul Arts. While there was some risk in that, it was just as minimal at tier 4.
The fact Solon had pushed him so far already did not bode well. Lind was not a blind fool but he refused to give in. He heard vaguely the judge call his victory but rest was cut short as the vivacious Shoti entered the ring.
Lind stood up but he was glad his right arm was no longer in pain. His mother's pills were amazing. Lind exhaled a minor fetid breath as he assumed his positions, but once again, his opponent was not unkind.
"Take a moment to collect yourself. I want to face you at a stable point at least." Lind knew he was forcing his recovery and nodded at her while he resumed his lotus position. It was only a few more moments, but his raging elements were brought under control. He could not delay it any longer than this.
"Thank you senior. I am ready." Lind stood up and assumed his stance far more easily. The water and darkness of Shoti surged but nothing else. Lind never took his eye off of his target, the whip. Each time she attacked, he had noted it took her time to collect elements into the whip. Even so, it was fairly quick.
Shoti leaned forward but Lind vanished from her sight. Shoti was caught off guard. It was clear Lind was young, what young man would not react to her offer of a view of the goods? Shoti stretched out her water sense and uncoiled her whip, but then the feeling of a dagger was on her back right side.
"Your whip is too inefficient, senior. It cannot handle the dual elements you are channeling very well. If you focused on a single element, I doubt I could get this close." The knife glowed with light. Fire would have been negated easily by water, but the piercing power of light enhancement would not even be slowed by water or darkness as a defense. Shoti was shocked.
"Am I not your type?" The question came out before she really thought about it but LInd blushed a bit before answering. The judge took it as her concession and LInd won again. One was strength, the other was a surprise, but a win was a win.
"You are very pretty, but I am here to protect my Big Sis. Also, you don't need those tactics, you know?" Lind looked right at her face without glancing at her visible assets. Shoti felt a skip to her heart. She shook her close cropped hair before smiling at Lind.
"I am working on it, but it is hard to break an old habit. Men are such easy things to control usually." Her laughter sent chills up Lind's spine but he shook her offered hand. Before he could respond, Shoti pulled him in tight to her chest and leaned into his ear. "We will meet again, Lind."
Lind felt his heart thundering his chest but a flash of Teyla's eyes calmed him. He looked up firmly at Shoti and nodded acceptance. A pleasant smile on her face could steal souls but only Lind saw it. He wondered if he would have been so level headed if not fighting to protect Teyla from the Overseer's son. He shook off the smell of lavender that entered his nose as Shoti exited the stage.
The remaining 5 competitors stared at Lind. Both Shoti and Solon were 2 minor realms above him, but he had defeated them as easy as breathing to their eyes. Most of them were only 1 minor realm above him at tier 5. Clearly, the boy had not expended himself too much on the last bout but none of them had any confidence left. Lind was a 6 elemental, thus any attack they launched he could counter. Any trickery could be pierced by the right element and Lind had demonstrated a deep understanding of his elements at the tier 1 level beyond most cultivators.
The judge signaled for the next competitor as Lind meditated but then something odd happened. The 5 men left from the Gu, Che, and itinerant cultivators had a glance between them. They looked at Hu and sneered in their hearts. This sham of a tournament was clearly in his favor and thus they chose to ruin his plans.
"I concede." Two words but one after another of the next 5 competitors conceded. Strangely, they walked up to the ring slowly and stood opposite Lind before looking him over and conceding. The judge felt frustrated but nowhere did it say people could not agree to concede. A glance at Hu could see the rages in his sweaty face as the final contestants clearly let Lind rest.
The weak cultivator had proven he was a terrifying opponent. Hu watched as the certain fate of defeat was defied by Lind. It was supposed to be Solon or Shoti fighting it out with the elites of the Southern District. Yet somehow, all his careful manipulations were ignored. Lind was a minor realm lower than him, but it was clear he had done it the hard way.
Hu wanted to sneer at the naive boy, but the strength Hu had seen throughout the tournament left Hu shaking. There had to be some way to buy the boy off. Powerless children like him were ideal for sacrifice but at this moment, Hu was forced to ascend the stage with a rested Lind.
On one side, a cheater found all his machinations falling apart, while on the other, Lind smiled at the good fortune of his fate. The target he had sought all this tournament had finally come before him and Lind felt happy at long last. Anyone that made Big Sis cry must pay!