I had no idea how my opponent fights. There was simply no one to ask. My guards were as silent as fish, and the servants could only bow and send curses behind my back. So when the door to the arena began to crawl up with a clang, I was ready for anything. And even for another stream of insults, which didn't take long to come. As soon as I stepped out onto the sand of the arena, whistling was heard from the stands.
"He's so cowardly that he was brought to the challenge by force! So pathetic that even servants despise him! A dishonest thief who lost his cultivation," the crowd roared at these words, rotten vegetables flew in my direction. "Bastard Kai!"
But in the next second, I felt an unprecedented powerful fluctuation of spiritual power, and a tiny fire spear flew out of the elders' box. In an instant, it crossed the distance to the fat man and simply vaporized him on the spot. I watched in horror as thick black ash settled on the sand of the arena.
"Kai Shen is the lawful heir of the Shen family. Doubt in this is a challenge to the entire clan!" said the old man. Looking closer, I recognized Mo Shan, the angry librarian. Well, another visual demonstration that they've just been playing with me all this time. Only I still haven't understood for what purpose...
A wave of spiritual energy amplified his voice, so that everyone definitely heard his words. So, he killed him for calling me a bastard? Every second person here says that to my face, and every first whispers it behind my back. Wait, before I thought it was just an insult. Does this mean I'm illegitimate? A bastard? I'll think about this tomorrow.
"Begin!" I heard the same voice.
Ho gave me a formal bow, a second later I responded in kind. The words that I should bow to the elders and spectators as well came to mind, but something bothered me about it. I hesitated for a second, and it saved my life.
Without delay, Ho threw a whole swarm of heat-emitting fireballs in my direction. No way to break through. I activated the Dance technique and the world slowed down. I managed to dodge the spell at the last second, and I had already deactivated the acceleration, for which I paid. The fireballs exploded!
The blast wave threw me onto the hot sand. The taste of blood immediately appeared in my mouth, and through the ringing in my ears, I heard Ho saying something.
"He'll die... For the glory of the ancestors!" he turned his back to me and enjoyed the attention of the crowd. Yes, the audience's sympathies are clearly not on my side. But the surprise factor is on my side. That's what I thought right up until the moment I got almost close to him.
He turned around at a speed imperceptible to me and waved his hand. Only the movement technique saved me. I reflexively activated it and, it seems, we almost matched Ho in speed.
"Learned a new trick? Only I haven't stood still either," he spread his hands, pointing to the huge fire wall surrounding me. The fire was slowly contracting, although I'm sure—if it were his will, the flame would have instantly engulfed me. Playing around?! A fireball that flew at me a second later proved that yes.
Using the Pure Flame technique simultaneously with acceleration turned out to be difficult. So much so that at one point both techniques failed, and I nearly burned alive. Fireballs were flying at me from all sides, and dodging without the movement technique seemed impossible. At some point, I found a balance—Pure Flame no longer absorbed external Qi, but allowed me to manipulate fire within certain limits and didn't interfere with acceleration. And the next moment I realized something else. He doesn't control all the fire! The fire wall technique turned out to be too complex for him, and he just feeds it, occasionally manipulating a small area. Bingo!
I suddenly rushed forward, arms outstretched. Ho smirked smugly, but the next moment I saw fear on his face. Because I waited for the moment and took control of part of the fire he created. A mental effort and the fire wave rolls forward, right at the cultivator. The calculation was simple—it's incredibly difficult to defend against your own energy, and the fire wave mostly consisted of his energy. And my plan... Failed miserably.
"Nice amulet, right? Family heirloom, core formation level protection. It's great when you have a family that supports you, right?" he laughed. The crowd was jubilant. It seems they would have been happy with anything this big guy said.
But I didn't stay to listen to another speech. Taking advantage of the breach that formed, I rushed forward. The acceleration technique almost failed, but I managed to get close enough. I stopped restraining the Song of Pure Flame and a bunch of garbage that clogged my meridians started to burn. Black fire immediately burst out of my mouth. For a moment I looked like a legendary dragon, the spectators gasped, and I directed this stream forward. A noticeable ripple passed over the protective amulet's film.
"Impossible!" Ho paled. He even forgot about the technique for a second, for which he paid. I was already standing next to him, and black flame was coming out of my pores. Without overthinking, I sent a straight hook to his head, which he awkwardly defended against with the flashing film of the amulet. Wait. This big guy. This mass of muscle in the world of cultivators and martial arts doesn't know how to fight?