It was now 4v8 and looking good for the NightSwordz. LowClouds were in a dire situation but not all hope was lost. If LowClouds acted quickly and found a monolith before Meiga and his partner could regroup with one of the two squads protecting the monolith, they could snatch victory.
However finding a monolith was no easy task, luckily Inner Haven disciples had a special ability that could make it easier for them. Inner Haven disciples were all in the True Soul Realm which is the next Realm following the Nebula Realm.
Cultivators in the True Soul Realm are able to connect with their soul and spirit and thus can learn 'Soul Sense'. An average cultivator at the True Soul Realm can expand their Soul Sense up to 300 metres in every direction but nobody in the Cloud Haven Sect could be considered average cultivators. An average Inner Haven disciple could reach 1000 metres with their spiritual sense.
However this could also be a double-edged blade since naturally if you could use your Soul sense, your opponent could naturally use theirs to counter. It was a gamble worth taking if you were currently on the LowClouds team. It seemed that Lady Luck was smiling down on them as not even a minute passed since Corey Hart was eliminated when they found one of the monoliths. It was in the centre of a large encirclement of trees that acted as a natural boundary.
The remaining 4 members on LowClouds were all Inner Haven disciples who ranked between 200 and 400 on the Inner Haven disciple rankings. They knew NightSwordz had 2 Inner Haven Disciples ranked within the top 100 and a third was ranked just outside the top 100 so they activated their movement techniques and equipped a blacked-out cloak which covered the entirety of their body. This cloak was an extremely expensive piece of equipment able to hide its wearer from any spiritual sense as long as they were in the same realm. The cloak was a Heaven-grade piece of equipment that cost them 1000 cloud points each. They had to save for over 5 years just to get the 4 they were currently wearing.
Added to the stealthy cloak, their movement technique 'Cloud steps' was also a Heaven Grade technique which was derived from a Divine Grade movement technique 'Thunder step'. Thunder step was a movement technique that all the elders were given and it was made by the previous Cloud Haven sect master.
Cloud steps not only increased the movement speed of a cultivator but also made them lighter thereby eliminating the noise made from their movements. The second ability was pretty much useless considering the area they were playing on but the technique was still useful.
As they got within 50 metres of the monolith they suddenly came to a silent halt. 2 men wearing black cargo pants and silver upper body armour suddenly appeared in front of the monolith.
Two names instantly came to mind when they saw the 2 bulky men who had almost identical appearances with only their hairstyles differentiating them.
'Zhao Su and Zhao Hu.' The leader of the 4 LowClouds members thought. Zhao Su and Zhao Hu were born 2 years apart but it was easy to mistake them as twins. Zhao Su held a large broad sword strapped to his back and a cocky grin plastered on his face. Zhao Hu held two identical-looking arming swords, one in each hand. Unlike his younger brother who was a battle maniac, Zhao Hu was much more level-head and realised that the situation was not looking too good.
However, he wasn't worried since there was a third member still hiding and the Outer Haven disciple was acting as cannon fodder in front of the monolith.
He was confident in emerging victorious if this was a straight-up deathmatch but not if they had to fight and worry about the opposition sneaking their way around them.
Zhao Su wasn't a thinker so as soon as he saw his opposition approaching his will to battle exploded and without waiting for his older brother, he dashed towards the 4 cloaked cultivators.
He reached for his broadsword which looked larger than him and swung down towards the cloaked member closest to him. No technique, just raw power was used in the swing but the damage was immense.
*Booom!*
Even the unique environment of the Voiceless Forest was unable to suppress the noise made from the explosion caused by Zhao Su's sword crashing against the ground.
The members of LowClouds jumped back to dodge the attack but before they could land, Zhao Su used his sword which was now stuck in the ground as a springboard and jumped in their direction once again. Since they were mid-air they had no way to avoid the battle manic speeding straight at them.
'Cloud Arts: Gentle Cloud' The member closest to Zhao Su said in his head as he circulated his mana to perform the defensive technique.
A giant puffy cloud materialized in front of the 4 members and when Zhao Su's punch connected with the cloud, his fist was simply absorbed into it.
"What the fuck." Even though no sound came out of his mouth, everybody knew instantly what Zhao Su was saying.
Overcoming hardness with softness was a basic principle when it came to close combat. The idea of using your opponent's own force against them was the sole inspiration for the creation of the Gentle Cloud defensive technique. This technique only worked well against blunt weapons and hand-to-hand combat, when it came to defending against blades, however, it was not worth mentioning.
Zhao Hu jumped over his younger brother's back and swung his dual swords multiple times in less than a second. The fluffy cloud was sliced apart, freeing Zhao Su in the process. Zhao Hu flicked his younger brother's head and mouthed to him to calm down and think. Zhao Su huffed in response and looked at the 4 members who retreated 50 metres back. A cheeky grin appeared on his face and the 4 LowClouds members felt something was wrong but before they could act on their instinct the member furthest to the right of the 4 exploded into thousands of golden particles.
The 3 remaining Lowclouds members' eyes widened to the limit when they saw their teammate's body being replaced by a 2m long broadsword with a hilt only big enough to be gripped with one hand.
They looked back at the Zhao brothers only to see Zhao Su with tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.
The leader of the LowClouds team, Sheamus MacColla rank 219, gritted his teeth and circulated his mana. The remaining 2 members, Tomos Wynn and Iolo Fawnn, followed their leader and circulated their mana.
'Cloud Arts: Low blow'
All three LowClouds members performed the same martial technique. Their bodies released millions upon millions of tiny water droplets until they filled the surroundings completely.
All the members of LowClouds received a cultivation manual called the 'Nexus Cloud Manual'. To study this cultivation manual, one needs to comprehend at a minimum, advanced Will of both water and wind.
This Cultivation manual combines the two elements granting the cultivator access to learn a special Will called Cloud Will and in the future, if their comprehension of Cloud Will exceeds the advanced stage then comprehending Nexus Cloud Intent is a high possibility.
Unfortunately, these members were not on that level yet and only comprehended Advanced Cloud Will.
The Zhao brother's vision was coloured grey and they could feel hundreds of water droplets stick to their skin. Zhao Hu for the first time panicked. He knew what this technique was and it meant bad news.
Suddenly all the water droplets on their bodies and their surroundings started exploding. Zhao Hu and Zhao Su screamed in silence as the impact of hundreds of thousands of water bombs crashed against their bodies. Their bodies were blasted apart before transforming into golden particles.
"Holy crap! That was epic!" DT jumped off his seat as he stared with wide eyes at the arena below. His eyes were sparkling with admiration as he watched the battles unfold.
"This is amazing, the way they used their martial techniques was genius. This is how real cultivators fight?" DT was born into a common family that owned a bakery. For his family, cultivation was considered a waste of time but it was DT's dream to one day become a cultivator and soar the skies. He was lucky enough to be born with a high mana affinity and worked hard every day to improve his body to break through past the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He decided to participate in the Cloud Haven entry examination on a whim and managed to somehow pass the exam making him the first in his family to join a sect and not just any sect but one of the strongest in the world.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would be a disciple of the illustrious Cloud Haven Sect. If at first, he wanted to prove his family wrong about cultivating being a waste of time, now he had a new goal and that was to one day be strong enough to participate in the League Rankings.
It wasn't just DT who was awed by the battle. The 10 youths sitting next to him were similarly watching the battle with excitement. Although they all had parents or family members with higher cultivation than these Inner Haven disciples, it was not often they would see them use their strength or fight against other cultivators with similar cultivation to them. So this was an eye-opener for sure.
The group of students were split in their allegiances. Some wanted LowClouds to win while the rest rooted for NightSwordz to win. It was only the first round of the first game yet it was already this exciting.
-----
Sheamus breathed out a sigh of relief once he confirmed that the Zhao brothers were eliminated but his relief did not last long as he felt a sharp wind rush past his skin. He quickly turned his head to the side just in time to see Tomos Wynns' dismembered body explode into golden particles.
'There's another one!' Sheamus was initially surprised but calmed himself down. Panicking in this type of situation is a recipe for disaster. He was going to take out an artefact from his spatial ring but decided against it. It would be unwise to reveal all your cards in the first round, he was okay with losing this round since attacking is always more difficult than defending. Their techniques were also better suited to defend compared to their opponents.
'Cloud Arts: Cloud Palm' Sheamus's palm punched in the direction of where he thought the sneaky member of NightSwordz would be and a palm-shaped cloud materialized and shot forward. As the palm-shaped cloud flew forward it absorb all the moisture in the air around it and continue to grow. After travelling 20m, the palm was as large as a standard house. Bushes, plants, trees and rocks were all crushed when it came into contact with cloud palm, nothing seemed to be able to hinder its path forward.
The assassin of NightSwordz snickered in contempt as he watched the cloud palm fly off into the distance until it dissipated into thin air.
'What a fool.' The assassin thought but then Sheamus did something that made him take back that statement.
Sheamus started palm-punching in every direction, he only stopped once he completed a full revolution.
'How much mana does this guy have!' Now it was time for the assassin to panic as a palm-shaped cloud was headed in his direction and with every metre it moved forward it gained in size.
'NightSword Art: Last Stand of the Moon '
The assassin's thin snake-like body started glowing in a silvery hue and he raised his dual daggers to form an 'X' in front of his chest.
*boom*
A mini explosion sounded when the cloud palm crashed against the glowing human indicating just how much power the cloud palm produced but the glowing human held on tight. He knew if he fell now that his team would lose, there was no way an Outer Haven disciple could hold his own until backup arrived.
Seeing his cloud palm being blocked Sheamus smirked and tapped Iolo on the shoulder and mouthed for him to take the assassin out while he is busy defending. Iolo nodded and quickly arrived behind the assassin.
'Cloud Arts: Cloud Palm'
Iolo sent out his own cloud palm from behind the assassin who gritted his teeth in frustration. He screamed in pain when the second cloud palm directly crashed onto his back. His armour held on for a couple of seconds before giving in and crushing his spine. The assassin swore he would get revenge in the next round but just before he exploded into golden particles he noticed 2 figures approaching his direction in the distance. Black cargo pants and silver armour.
He smiled in relief and knew that the round was theirs.
Sheamus had no time to confirm if the assassin was eliminated on not, he dashed towards the monolith which was guarded by an Outer Haven disciple who had a look of determination on his face. He would protect this monolith for as long as he could.
Sheamus scoffed at his determination and performed another 'cloud palm' but this time he only used 20% of the mana he used on the cloud palms he did just before.
The Outer Haven raised his longsword in a defensive position and performed the same defensive technique as the assassin.
'NightSword Art: Last Stand of the Moon '
His body glowed in a silvery light as stood defiantly in front of the monolith, giving justice to the meaning of Last Stand of the Moon.
Many in the audience applauded him for his bravery but nobody thought he would last more than 3 seconds against the palm-shaped cloud.
They were right.
His body disintegrated into thousands of golden particles.
Sheamus smirked in victory as he hastily approached the monolith that was 5m tall. He reached his hand out to touch the monolith and activate the bomb on it but just then his vision was filled with a bright light and when his vision returned to normal soon after he found his arm dismembered.
He didn't even have time to react when another bright light filled his vision.
*SSSSHHHIIINGGG*
The sound of a blade cutting through air echoed throughout the arena.
"NightSwordz win round 1"