Soon the maelstrom of wind stopped, the eyes of wind settling into a calm breeze, the stadium turned silent as those watching took in the sight of Jin Bao's transformation.
Each and every one of the spectators understood clearly that this was no longer a mere match, a hint of tension had risen in the air as whispers of discussion passed through one ear to another, the elders had surrounded the stage, watching closely, ready to act if needed.
Inside, Shu He didn't take notice of the happenings outside, he was fixated on his opponent, his enemy.
15 eyes of wind slowly rotated around Jin Bao in a chaotic fashion, he slowly stood up from his crumbled position as his eyes settled on to Shu He's form, his pupils were fully dilated as his sclera was tainted by black veins pulsing steadily.
There was a hint of consciousness, hidden deep beneath the mountain of torment, it wasn't enough for conversation, for coherent thought.
But it was enough to fight.
*WOOOOSH*
He shot towards Shu He without even a single murmur, the wind at his back boomed as it stirred the air and dust creating a mini cyclone behind him, the remaining eyes stretched and coated his body like a suit of armour, in an instant he became a living cyclone.
It would have been a sight that inspired strength of those who saw it, had the winds not been tainted black by the rotten Qi and fetid blood that was steadily leaking from the rupturing veins piercing the surface of his skin.
Shu He knew he couldn't risk hand to hand combat with this monster, he put his hand in to his quiver, even though it was empty, his Qi surged and transferred through the quiver, and suddenly a green light shone.
Before even half a second occurred, a handful of arrows had appeared in his quiver! He nocked them and shot three immediately, they flew fast and straight but they weren't aimed at Jin Bao but the stage floor between them!
The arrows struck the floor, embedding themselves even though it was hard stone, their appearance was different from normal arrows, their head was made out of a dark wood, the shafter a lighter flexible wood and the fletching thin, paper like strips of wood, it was an arrow made entirely out of wood!
'Jin Bao' didn't even a flinch at the arrows in front of him, charging forward to attack Shu He, but a moment later the stone beneath the arrows cracked.
*Crack* *Split*
In the next moment it burst open, wood spikes piercing in all directions like urchins, Jin Bao who was in the centre of them was barraged from all sides.
"AAAAAAUUUOOO" He screeched the moment the spikes began to pierce his skin, bypassing the wind surrounding him.
*SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH*
Like a blender, the wind eyes stacked on top of one another creating a tornado filled with sharp winds, the wooden spikes were torn apart like they were thrown into a woodchipper as debris flew all over the stage, striking the barrier before disintegrating.
His body seemed to become thinner, his face more emancipated as the veins throbbed faster, each and every move seemed to eat away at him, yet he didn't stop.
Shu He didn't merely stop and watch, the moment he saw the large funnel of wind form he reached into his pouch and grabbed a handful of seeds, channelling as much Qi as possible into this while moulding an image in his mind.
He slammed them to the floor as they reacted, growing into the grounds as their roots bug deep, then crackling sounded out as they grew upwards in front of him, multiple smaller trees weaving together to create a thick shield in front of him!
When the debris struck the wood was quickly torn away, the winds battered the shield and tore it apart, but it eventually held, barely an inch left as it was left resembling a curled wood shaving.
Shu He stood up, over the shield he had made and drew his bow as far as possible, his eyes fixated on Jin Bao's figure as he recoiled from the large technique!
*TWANG*
The bow string sounded as the arrow flew true, weaving through the 'eyes', it struck Jin Bao dead in the right side of the chest, the force making him fall backwards, but before he fell on to his back he stopped like someone was pulling him up with strings.
Shu He grit his teeth, not because his attack seemed to have failed but because he knew what he had just done.
The arrow wasn't normal, it was barbed, designed for the head to stick into the opponent.
*SPLATTER*
The sound of piercing flesh, broken and rent bones crackled throughout the area as spikes gouged their way from inside out of Jin Bao's flesh, the arrow had grown into spikes.
A technique that Shu He had quickly thought of when he was theorising about the use of <
It was brutal, maybe even overkill, he wouldn't have even considered using it against another person before; But he made an exception, he couldn't take his opponent lightly, he had to use his best techniques.
He had hoped that with this technique, it would be over… but his hopes were soon dashed.
Jin Bao rose to his feet; it was like watching someone rewind a tape of he pulled his torso up before flopping forward.
His face was filled with pure suffering, his mouth twitching as black blood dripped constantly, a guttural moan occasionally passing his lips, the spikes were protruding from his right chest, bones shattered and pierced the skin, his windpipe and multiple organs ruptured and exposed.
Yet he was still 'alive'.
Shu He looked on with abject horror, even began to feel sorry for Jin Bao, he had colluded with the dark sects, who knows what atrocities he had a hand in, but even then shouldn't he at least be allowed to die after suffering?!
He felt disgusted at the methods he was seeing.
He had thought by striking the black sphere's location, the source of this transformation directly, he would have ended it, but he was wrong; It had infected his body, its black form had permeated every inch of his flesh and bone.
Would he even be able to defeat Jin Bao? No, would he be able to kill this… creature?
His arrows were only good for piercing targets, his wood technique was similar but also good at binding.
His hand reached down, to a sheathe that rested on his leg.
He only had one choice.
*Crack*
The winds sheared away at the wooden spikes in his chest, cutting them out of the way before he shambled forward slightly.
Jin Bao's eyes were dull, lacking any light, his voice was silent, the moans had ceased, his breathing had stopped as well.
Jin Bao was gone.
All that remained was a husk, a shell inhabited by a living abomination.
Its skin was emancipated, littered with tears leaking blood, the bones showing through the tight skin had signs of cracks.
Shu He took a step forward and it turned towards him, the lifeless eyes staring deep into his soul.
If he waited long enough, maybe this thing would die on its own, but he could tell, even though Jin Bao was now gone his lingering will be had imprinted on this 'thing'.
It wanted to kill him, but it was falling apart.
The next move will be its last.
Shu He saw the eyes of wind shift, the control style had changed, it was no longer chaotic and filled with the emotions of the controller, it was methodical, emotionless, robotic.
The eyes overlapped, one after another the wind began overlapping, growing, fiercer and fiercer with each layer, in front the creature a ring began to form, visible to everyone, a loud whistling sound rang out piercing the ears of all that listened.
*Shiing* Shu He drew his knife, the translucent red stone began to shine brightly in the dark wind as his Qi flowed into it, sparks of flame began to flow into the wind like fireflies on a stormy night.
He held it in front of him, he couldn't help but shake a little.
The sheer amount of Qi flowing into the creature from the world was beyond anything he's seen so far, the barrier seemed to be struggling to maintain itself under the force of absorption, the technique the creature was using was also incredibly dangerous.
No matter where he ran, no matter what shields he used, he could tell.
He would be torn apart, reduced to scraps and die.
As he held the knife in front of him, channelling all his Qi into it as it lit aflame like a beacon in the night he couldn't help but laugh at the difference between them.
In the end he was a mere Meridian Awakening disciple who had trained for a measly few years, what was before him now was something far above that.
'My strength isn't enough'.
'Will they save me?'
'Will I die here?'
His mind felt clear at the last moment, all the rage and anger he had felt was cleared away, it all felt pointless before the fear of losing his life again.
-
"Is this his limit?" Rong Jia murmured.
She was slightly impressed, his archery had allowed him to hold off this long and that use of <
"Sect Master, isn't this enough? He'll die!" Bai Shun pleaded, watching the deadly wind technique grow with each passing second.
"Sect Master, the barrier is showing signs of instability, letting this continue on any longer isn't recommended" Da Ru recommend, but it was clear he too thought what was happening was a fools endeavour, the child was in way over his head.
"…Right" She said, finally agreeing.
Her hand reached for the large saber that was in a sheathe held in her other hand, the moment the saber peeked out of its sheathe a heavy pressure began to descend on to the surrounding area.
But then Rong Jia's eyebrows twitched, she them sheathed her saber again causing the surrounding members to become confused.
In response she merely smirked.
"It seems he hasn't given in just yet".
-
'No…'
'I just said it earlier, I should just do what I want'.
'What is it that I want now? In this life?'.
'I wanted to live with my family peacefully, enjoying a healthy life in that peaceful village as long as I could'.
'But that was cut short, so what now? Live a life suffering because of my past? Hunting those that might be involved?'
'Don't be stupid Shu He, you let your emotions get a hold of you.'
'I want to enjoy life, I want to be able to cure any affliction, learn about alchemy, I want to eat all the nice food, enjoy all the great entertainment, explore the world, discover its mysteries, meet all sorts of people, walk my path of cultivation'.
His mind was filled with all the things he wanted, now that he looked there were so many he didn't know where to start, he had shut himself away too much.
"Shu Li… protect our child".
"Please…. Live well… my son.."
The two memories flashed in his mind, he had locked them away, the abhorrent moments that were the last of their lives scarred him.
But he was wrong, he shouldn't be scared to remember it, they were his parents last words.
And all they cared about was him, they wanted him to live, they wanted him to enjoy life even without them.
While he had tried, he had been haunted by those moments the last few years, preventing him from truly stretching his wings.
So from now on he would do everything he wanted, he would live so they could be proud of him.
But in order to do that in this world…
He needed to be strong.
And to be strong he needed to embrace everything he had.
Ever since that day he had met that strange old man that seemed to stop the world around him, he had an inherent fear of the trigger.
The golden flame that rested inside him, the one he had discovered on his own before he even understood cultivation, he had marked it as far beyond his understanding, like it was a power he shouldn't ever have used.
Even now, he was merely using it to empower his normal Qi, his subconscious fear restrained it with shackles, preventing it from flourishing.
But he had to accept it, it was his only advantage, his talent was average, every miracle that had happened to him was because of this flame.
Thus he would throw his fear away, no matter what this flame was part of him, he needed to embrace it in entirety.
He raised the knife that was struggling to maintain its flames inside the maelstrom and…
Released the shackles on the golden flame.
He felt its pure energy surge throughout its body like a dam that had burst open, his muscles, bones and skin, every fibre of his body felt like it was on fire, at first he felt his conscious trip like it was going to fade but he screamed and held on.
He used everything he had, directing it to the knife in his hands.
The flame flared up like an explosion, a tear in the wind the colour flames formed as the temperature inside the barrier began to raise, sooner enough the flames began to change colour to blue as the flickering flame became an erupting blue flare.
Shu He could feel his hands beginning to burn, even though it was his own Qi it was so powerful he couldn't shield himself, but he didn't care!
*Rumble*
*FWOOOOOOOOOOSH*
It was time, the creature unleashed the technique as its figure began to rupture like rotten fruit, the wind roared as a pillar of solid white screeched across the stage that filled an entire half, the rock ground beneath was torn asunder leaving a trench of dirt as it passed while the debris was swept up in the storm.
Shu He swung his knife, as he did the flames flowed like a river of blue light towards the approaching attack, soon they impacted and the stage lit up with blue light, explosions occurred as the wind whipped up the flame and crashed it into the barrier and grounds.
Bubbling sounds echoed as the rocks were melted and boiled, in the centre a tornado a flames were formed, but unfortunately, it didn't stop the attack!
Its intensity was definitely reduced yet it was still heading for Shu He.
'Not enough…'
Shu He stared at the flame-tinged vortex that stared him down, he felt as if time had slowed before his inevitable death.
He had hoped the heat from an intense flame would have disturbed and offset the attack, but it seems he was truly not strong enough.
'…No!'
He was still standing strong, his whole body hurt, and he felt faint, his hands were burned, but he was still standing!
The golden flame still flickered strongly, but slightly smaller than before, yet he tapped into it once more! The blue flames began to roar.
*Crack*
The knife began to break, a line ran down from one side to another, it wasn't broken quite yet but it was clear it was almost done for.
'I only just got it' Shu He thought, but all he could do smirk.
It didn't matter in the end, he only needed one more chance.
His golden flame enough wasn't alone, what could he do to make it stronger?
He looked into himself, at the golden flame was joined with his blue flame like a pair of conjoined twins, normally it only reinforces his blue Qi like a supportive sibling… but each time he's used it properly in the past it seems to have gotten closer and closer with the blue flame.
He had always been worried about what would happen if they fully joined.
But now he would allow it, in order to survive here.
He channelled both of his Qi's, the blue and gold energy danced in his body as the core flames lit brightly like they were performing a waltz.
And then-
DOOOOOOOOOOOM
Like a bomb going off in his mind he felt a surge of Qi flow through him, he felt a transformation occur inside of him, yet he didn't have a single moment to spare and observe it.
His newborn Qi surged out of his body and in to the knife it lit anew, the blue flame sprouted as it began engulfing the area once more like a hundred serpents writhing everywhere.
'Not enough!'
It was the same as last time, it wouldn't be enough to break the wind, he had less than a second before he would be hit! His mind raced and his focus peaked.
'Closer, tighter, more precise!' The blue flames began writhing before they seemed to shift, and all of a sudden they straightened out.
*SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN* A bright light pierced the foggy winds, those that remained in the spectator seats witnessed a sight they wouldn't forget, a bright white light penetrating everything.
Shu He swung the knife as the light flashed.
And then silence, for a moment it looked like everything had paused, but then-.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
A humongous white light strew itself across the arena, piercing straight through the black wind and crashing against the barrier, white embers and flames licked the inside of the transparent cube blocking the inside from the sights of everyone.
*Crack*
"The barrier's going to break! Run!" Someone screamed as others heard them and jumped from their seats to leave the arena, no one expected this to happen!
*Shatter*
Not a moment later the side of the barrier shattered and flames began leaking out heading straight for the stands.
"<
"Elder Da!" The crowd saw their elder and cheered, he had called out his technique name to announce his presence and quickly quell any sort of panic, a drip of sweat leaked out of his wrinkled brow.
'What a dangerous child' He thought as he stared at the centre of the arena while maintaining the barrier.
The arena was filled with heat, smoke and debris, quiet sounds of bubbling and cracking stone could be heard here and there.
And on one side of the arena was Shu He, his surroundings were melted, the ground he was on had begun to sink, before him was a great trench leading all the way to the other side of the arena, and at the other end… was nothing.
Jin Bao, the 'creature' that he had become, had been incinerated, not a single spec was left.
*Crack* *Shatter*
Sounds of metal breaking were heard as the knife in Shu He's grip broke into hundreds of shards.
His body was tattered, scorch marks and cuts everywhere from the aftermath of the attack, his sect robes were mostly gone.
His body tilted…
And then was caught, the white hair of the person who caught him fluttered in the heated wind as her jade green eyes stared at his tattered state deeply.
"Just what have you brought to us, Chao Shi?'