"Who is that guy? He took out those 2 LowClouds members in an instant"
"He is Sumadera Suzu, ranked 75th on the Inner Haven disciple rankings but they say he could rank higher if he put more time into it. He was even approached by 'Ethereal Blade', a faction that's currently ranked 6th on the League Rankings but he declined."
Jett enlightened his friends again, it was quite impressive how much he knew about those in the sect but it was natural considering he grew up in the sect due to his mother being an Inner Haven Elder.
"So then isn't LowClouds for sure going to lose this match?" Timo asked, if he was so strong then surely LowClouds didn't have a chance at winning.
"Not necessarily, raw power isn't everything in League ranking matches. You must remember that these are elite of the elite disciples, they definitely did their homework on their opponent and they have their trump cards they have yet to play."
It was Witney that answered the question. Her father would often tell stories about his time as a disciple of the Cloud Haven Sect and how his faction would often find ways to overcome those disciples who seemed unbeatable to many. Weapons and artefacts are considered part of a cultivator's strength and thus having artefacts that could neutralize the opponent's strengths or improve your own strengths was immensely important in League matches.
There was no shame in relying on external means to win a battle. It just means you were more prepared than your opponent.
Vasari nodded in agreement and started patting her head as a reward.
'I know how to pick them alright, smart and talented. Nana would be proud hmmhmm.'
The 10 others looked at the satisfied smile on Witney's face with a blank expressions. Talia's eyes burned with envy. Head pats from Vasari were her favourite and now someone else was enjoying it right in front of her. How envious!
"Round 2 begins!"
The voice on the intercom announced and everyone turned their head back towards the arena.
The two teams switched sides with LowClouds now the defending team and NightSwordz the attackers. The outcome of this round was something very few people expected to happen. Just as Witney mentioned earlier, Sheamus used an artefact that completely changed the flow of the round.
The rare-grade artefact was a cylinder-shaped object that emitted an icy aura. When Sheamus activated the artefact, copious amounts of freezing air molecules, which on its own was nothing special but when combined with the martial technique 'Cloud Arts: Low Blow', caused over half the forest to be enveloped by a freezing fog.
The members of NightSwordz had no way of entering the fog without either freezing to death or being bombarded with explosions.
With the score being 1-1 NightSwordz were still favourites to win and unless LowClouds could find a way to win an attacking round, they were bound to lose.
As expected the 3rd and 4th rounds were once again won by the team defending which came as a surprise to nobody. It was now do or die for LowClouds, if they lose now then game 1 goes to NightSwordz.
They changed their tactic for this last round, they would send the 2 Outer Haven disciples on their own as a distraction while the 6 Inner Haven disciples stick together and target 1 monolith. They figured that NightSwordz had 3 people on each monolith and they would send 2 people to just run around and delay or kill anybody they found. The assassin would also alternate between the two monoliths which meant at certain times there would be one monolith with only 2 people guarding it and one of them was an Outer Haven disciple.
Their plan was good and well executed but NightSwordz also learnt from their previous mistake. Instead of letting the muscle head Zhao Su guard a monolith, they allowed him to be on the 2 man team with Meido.
When the group of six Inner Haven disciples eventually located the monolith being guarded by the assassin and another Inner Haven disciple, they couldn't help but want to curse the world for their shitty luck.
Standing in front of the monolith was a handsome man with long silky black hair tied into a bun with some loose strands falling over his face. His facial features were as sharp as a blade. In his hand was a weapon that not many would be able to forget even in death. An Ōdachi with a blade measuring 210cm long and a handle extending the size of the sword to 280cm long. The blade was metallic silver and it was awfully similar in colour to the blinding light that's caused the death of many.
'Sumadera Suzu' The name echoed in the heads of many throughout the stadium and those currently no more than 300 metres away from him. The 6 members of LowClouds looked at each other before nodding in resolution. In a 6v1 fight, they were confident enough to beat him and activate the bomb on the monolith.
They did not have plenty of time before the assassin returns so they had to act swiftly. They also couldn't use their rare-grade artefact because it ran out of Ice energies.
'Cloud Arts: Cloud Palm'
5 palm-shaped clouds gradually increasing in size, shot towards the two surprised NightSwordz members. The 5 palms slowly merged into one another forming a single massive cloud palm that was now over 20 metres tall and 20 metres wide.
Sumadera Suzu quickly regained his composure and snorted in disdain. He looked to his side and saw his teammate using 'NightSword: Last Stand of the Moon' to defend himself and an idea popped into his head.
'Huh what is big bro doing' The Outer Haven disciple was surprised when he felt Sumadera Suzu's hand on his shoulder.
'Don't take this personally' Sumadera Suzu mouthed before throwing the stunned Outer Haven disciple towards the giant palm-shaped cloud. The confused guy lasted no more than a second before turning into golden particles but Sumadera Suzu was happy with the outcome.
The 20m by 20m cloud palm was reduced to 17m by 17m in size.
Sumadera Suzu raised his massive Ōdachi above his head before swinging down ruthlessly when the palm came within 5m of him. The giant cloud palm split in two right down the middle and continued moving right past him.
Suzu looked towards the 6 LowClouds members and frowned when he noticed their cocky, almost mocking expressions aimed at him. He suddenly remembered that technique Meido struggled to defend against and just then a large shadow was cast over the nearby surroundings.
The cloud was large enough that Meido and Zhao Su who were basically on the opposite side of the island could see it. Meido frowned before signalling for Zhao Su to follow him.
'Shit', the NightSwordz assassin cursed before circulating his mana and speeding off in the direction of the massive grey cloud.
-----
'This is at least 3 times bigger than the cloud he made against Meido. It must be due to some artefact.' Sumadera Suzu gritted his teeth in frustration, He was a sword cultivator through and through. He didn't believe in anything but the power of his sword and yet he already lost 2 rounds due to some artefact and now he might lose a 3rd because of another one.
'Fine I didn't want to show off this move just yet but I don't feel like losing today.'
'NightSword Art: Moonlights Wrath!'
All of a sudden, an ethereal full moon with a diameter of 80m was suspended in the air behind Sumadera Suzu. It was imposing and majestic as it radiated a beautiful silver hue but if one paid close attention one would notice that everything from the grass beneath the suspended moon to the surrounding trees were constantly being slashed or stabbed.
The light being emitted from the moon was sword Intent!
Sumadera Suzu's previously dark irises turned a captivating silver and the tips of his black hair started to turn white.
With the mystical-like moon as his backdrop, Suzu positioned himself in a Kasumi no Kamae sword stance. He wasn't worried about the deadly rain falling down because the moonlight infused with sword intent was intercepting the raindrops before they even got close to Suzu.
Sheamus and his teammates were left speechless as they watched a beautiful yet frightening scene play out in front of them. Even as they were being obliterated by the sword-intent moonlight they stood there motionlessly. It's not that they couldn't try and flee but it was more like there was no point in doing so. The ethereal image floating behind Sumadera Suzu's back indicated one thing and it was frightening to those Inner Haven disciples currently viewing this match.
Sumadera Suzu broke through.
----
"What do you mean he broke through?" DT asked a random disciple who was seated nearby.
"It means he broke through to the peak of the True Soul Realm, the True Avatar stage. It also means that he is on par with the top 50 Inner Haven disciples in terms of cultivation."
The others in the group listened in on their conversation. The peak of the True Soul Realm seemed so distant to these Mortal Ascension Realm cultivators that it made them feel puny and for the first time made them realise how weak they truly were.
Sensing the depressing aura coming from Witney, Vasari chuckled before picking her up from her seat and placing her on his lap.
"There's no reason to be feeling so down. You have to remember that all of those cultivators fighting out there were once just like us. Watching cultivators much stronger than them while thinking how weak they were. You have to be patient and things will come to you naturally, even those almighty legendary cultivators had to start from the bottom so there is no reason to get depressed. In fact, seeing how powerful these Inner Haven disciples are should strengthen your will to cultivate because soon you might be in that arena competing against them."
Vasari lectured the young beauty on his lap while stroking her head that was resting on his chest. Hearing his words improved the mood of these young geniuses as they registered what he said. It was true, all those cultivators competing in that arena were once Cloud Haven School students like them and worked their way up, so why couldn't they do the same?
Vasari nodded his head with a smile when he noticed the shift in the not-so-long-ago depressed group of youths to the now determined group of cultivators.
The key to becoming a powerful cultivator is self-confidence because if you don't believe in yourself how will others believe in you?
"The winner of game 1...NightSwordz!!"
The announcement and the loud cheers brought these youths back to reality.
"Game 2 will begin shortly."
After a short 10-minute break, the man wearing a white tuxedo walked out to the middle of the arena with the 'Wheel of Impartiality'. The man once again pulled the lever to spin the wheel.
*Ping*
*Ping*
*Ping*
*PING!*
"End-to-end race on Blitz Ultra Obstacle Course!"
"OOOHHH" A few oohs and ahhs echoed around the stadium when the next game mode was selected. An end-to-end race was a competition that not only tested a cultivator's movement speed but also agility, reflexes and quick decision-making.
The factions had to pick 3 players, 1 Outer Haven disciple and 2 Inner Haven disciples, to represent them. 1 by 1 the selected members have to complete the obstacle course and when all the members have completed their run, their times will be recorded and the team with the fastest combined times will be the victor of the game.
"LowClouds, NightSwordz, send your selected competitors onto the arena."
After a little discussion, both factions sent their selected competitors to the arena.
The man in the white tuxedo nodded before announcing to the whole stadium, "Game 2 will now begin in 3...2...1!!"