"The Hand of the Dragon from the Release of the Dragon Power book of battle tactics, formed from the artistic conception of martial arts!" said someone in the crowd.
The elders shuddered. Having the artistic conception of martial arts meant that sorcery had started blooming outside of his body. Cultivators in the Unmaker Plane were able to do this, but nobody expected Ye Futian, who was two planes behind, in the Mystery Plane, to be able to do this as well. What was even more shocking was the fact that he was using the Hand of the Dragon.
At that moment, many people were reminded of the Fall Quarter Examinations when Ye Futian defeated Ling Xiao and Yang Xiu with great ease. It seemed now that Ye Futian did not give it his all. He stepped off the battlefield and made Yu Sheng fight. This seemingly shameless move was not because he was afraid, but because he wanted to let Yu Sheng shine. It was also because of this that Ye Futian reacted the way he had when it was announced that Murong Qiu had gotten first place over Yu Sheng.
Almost everyone had underestimated Ye Futian.
Ye Futian took a look at the young swordsman in training who had fallen into the grasp of the Hand of the Dragon and spoke lightly, "Heiyan Academy came so far to pick a fight but is this all you guys have?"
All the disciples of Qingzhou Academy looked at Ye Futian. Even though he was still being as pretentious as always, it did not bother them as much as usual.
After the three previous losses, Qingzhou Academy was utterly humiliated. Now, they were going to gain back some honor with the help of Yu Sheng and Ye Futian.
The young swordsman gave Ye Futian a dead stare. He still could not understand how Ye Futian managed to have such quick reflexes despite having his eyes closed.
"Next!" shouted Ye Futian. The loud roar of a dragon accompanied the movement of his arm. With one quick, simple swipe, the young man was thrown back into the group of his peers from Heiyan Academy.
Nobody in that group looked too good. They had sent out three people and gotten three consecutive wins, but now, two of those three people had been defeated in the blink of an eye. If this was the result they left with after having come such a long way, it would be really embarrassing.
Yun Tianhao stepped up, looking more serious than before. He looked at Ye Futian and said, "You're worthy enough for me to step in personally."
Worthy enough? Ye Futian looked at him in disbelief. Yun Tianhao was more arrogant than Ye Futian.
"Make your move," said Yun Tianhao.
"You should make the first move. If I go first you won't have a chance to do anything." After hearing Ye Futian say this, Yun Tianhao's expression darkened. He then released his Life Spirit and took a step forward, a matrix forming underneath him. It was a Fire Matrix, able to endlessly absorb the world's Fire Elemental Spiritual Qi. Frightening fire boas revolved around the matrix. Yun Tianhao stood at the center pompously.
"How dare you act so presumptuously in front of a Mandate Sorcerer?" asked Yun Tianhao. As he finished speaking, a fire boa broke free from the matrix and raged toward Ye Futian.
Everyone from Qingzhou Academy had a change in expression. Yun Tianhao was able to control his sorcery outside of his body in the Awakening Plane. What's more, his spells were very powerful, perhaps even one of the most powerful in the Awakening Plane.
Despite what everyone thought about Yun Tianhao's powers, Ye Futian walked up to the fierce fire boa nonchalantly. No matter how strong Ye Futian was, wasn't he being a little too cocky disregarding its powers?
The fire boa approached, ready to engulf Ye Futian in flames. There seemed to be something clutched in his hands, and the next moment a force enveloped Ye Futian. Lightning and thunder surrounded him. When it collided with the fire boa, they both dissipated into the air.
"It's a spell scroll," said someone in the audience.
"Shameless, how can he use spell scrolls in a battle?" the people of Heiyan Academy complained. Yun Tianhao continued to control his matrix, more fire boas danced through the air and charged at Ye Futian.
Ye Futian charged head-on at the boas with multiple spell scrolls in his hand. With a sly smile on his face, he threw the scrolls into the air, and more of the boas disappeared in the cloud of lightning.
Yun Tianhao growled in anger and continued to manipulate the matrix. More and more fire boas appeared in a frenzy. Suddenly, Ye Futian was holding a handful of scrolls on each side. People from both academies were dumbfounded. I guess that's one way to go about the situation...
"Stop." Yun Tianhao was not impressed.
Ye Futian stopped what he was doing and looked at Yun Tianhao who was still standing in the middle of the matrix. "You finally realized that you can't beat me and want to give up?"
Yun Tianhao had no words for Ye Futian. He stared at the spell scrolls in Ye Futian's hands and felt an urge to curse him out. Was this even a battle? How could Ye Futian be so shameless? How were they supposed to have a fair fight when he had fistfuls of top-grade spell scrolls?
How did Ye Futian even have the nerve to ask if Yun Tianhao wanted to give up because he was unbeatable?
"As a disciple of Qingzhou Academy don't you think it's disgraceful to use spell scrolls in a battle?" asked the eagle-eyed leader from Heiyan Academy. He could no longer stand what Ye Futian was doing.
Others from Qingzhou Academy felt ashamed of Ye Futian. Their opinion of him had changed not long ago, but now they realized that he truly was just...shameless.
However, Ye Futian did not seem to notice anything wrong. He remained arrogant as he stared at the eagle-eyed leader. "If he can use a matrix in a battle, why can't I use spell scrolls? If you guys know that you can't win, then just leave. Stop throwing a tantrum."
"He created the matrix himself. It's one of his abilities, so of course he's allowed to use it in battle," reasoned the eagle-eyed leader.
"Well, I also inscribed these spell scrolls myself, so it's part of my abilities as well. If he can use a matrix, then why can't I use spell scrolls?" Ye Futian retorted. Eagle-eye's expression darkened; he was speechless. Ye Futian's shamelessness was on a different level.
The people of Qingzhou Academy were dumbfounded. Had he just said that he had inscribed the spell scrolls? How could a seventh plane cultivator in Awakening produce top-grade spell scrolls such as those? Wasn't Ye Futian exaggerating a little too much? Yun Tianhao had also created a top-grade matrix, but it was because he was a Mandate Sorcerer. His Life Spirit was the matrix.
"It wouldn't matter if you did personally inscribe those spell scrolls. I created my matrix during the battle; but you came onto the battlefield with pre-inscribed spell scrolls. How could these be comparable?" said Yun Tianhao. He thought that Ye Futian was simply spewing nonsense.
"Since you won't admit defeat, I'll just have to continue to fight you until you accept it," Ye Futian spoke lightly. He then turned to the elders of Qingzhou Academy. "Will you please ready a pencil and some scroll paper for me?"
The higher-ups were surprised. Was Ye Futian planning to inscribe spell scrolls during battle?
"I'll get them for you," an elder responded and departed quickly. The audience was discussing quietly amongst themselves as they all studied Ye Futian. Could he really be an Inscriber? Did he really inscribe all the spell scrolls he used earlier? If what he said was true, then Ye Futian really was gifted beyond belief.
A short while later, the elder reappeared and handed a pencil as well as a stack of scroll papers to Ye Futian.
"Thank you very much," Ye Futian thanked him and began to lay out the papers in front of himself.
"What is he doing?" Everyone wanted to know. Inscribing spell scrolls was just like creating a matrix, you needed time. Yun Tianhao was a Mandate Sorcerer who possessed a matrix for his Life Spirit, so he was able to create the matrix quickly, and was able to use it immediately in battle. Even if Ye Futian really was an Inscriber, he wouldn't be able to mimic Yun Tianhao's speed and efficiency, would he?
If the opponent attacked with their matrix before you could finish inscribing your spell scroll, you would be as good as dead. However, it seemed that Ye Futian wanted to challenge the impossible.
Many people turned very serious. Although Ye Futian was shameless, his capabilities were not something people doubted anymore.
"Is he mocking me?" Yun Tianhao was furious when he saw Ye Futian laying out the papers. Even if he was an Inscriber, to do so while in battle with a Mandate Sorcerer using a matrix was a form of mockery.
"You may begin," said Ye Futian. He held on to his pencil calmly. He was being serious; it was as if a holy light was emitting from his person. This made people want to believe in him. It seemed like he was born with this aura around him.
Yun Tianhao took a step forward and released his Life Spirit once again. This time, it was no longer a Fire Matrix, but an Ice Matrix. The Water Elemental Spiritual Qi in the surrounding area began to be absorbed into the matrix. From there, it cooled into ice. A blizzard began where Yun Tianhao stood. He was in a world of ice and snow all by his own doing. One could feel the freezing temperatures from far away.
"Because his Life Spirit is the matrix, he is able to control all elements. His matrix is able to absorb all the different elements. He's too powerful," said someone from Qingzhou Academy. Even though the two schools were rivals, the elders of Qingzhou Academy could not help but be envious of Yun Tianhao's gift. He was truly a genius. No wonder Heiyan Academy had brought him here to gloat.
Even so, the young man whom Qingzhou Academy placed a ban on was facing Yun Tianhao fearlessly.
Ye Futian sat on the ground, covered in snow, and inscribed his scrolls quietly. He created his strokes at the speed of lightning. The pencil danced across the paper like a dragon in the sky. Lightning Spiritual Qi flooded into the pencil in his hand.
The bright lightning shone from the pencil. At that moment, Yun Tianhao made his move. A long icicle broke free from the matrix.
"Watch out!" screamed out many concerned onlookers. Despite their warnings, Ye Futian kept his head now and continued inscribing the scrolls. With every stroke, lightning flashed. In just a moment, a curtain of lightning appeared in front of him, stopping the icicle headed his way. The icicle fell to the ground and shattered.
"A defense spell, Lightning Shield," said someone in the crowd. Many people knew what spell Ye Futian had used. He was able to use this spell to defend against his opponent's attacks.
The ice on the ground cracked loudly. The Spiritual Qi continued to flow into the matrix, upon the completion of the matrix, Yun Tianhao raised both of his hands, controlling the icy world around him.
"GO!" yelled Yun Tianhao. At his command, countless icicles flew towards Ye Futian relentlessly.
"Finished!" Ye Futian completed his final stroke and lifted his pencil. The scroll followed the pencil and was lifted into the air. Once again, the Lightning Shield appeared and destroyed the attacking icicles.
Ye Futian had still not lifted his head. He was inscribing another scroll. The movements of his arms were extremely fluid. Coupled with his good looks, he had the female disciples swooning. Who knew he was this powerful?
Feng Qingxue kept her eyes on the young man sitting in the snow. She felt a slight sadness in her heart. She did not know why she felt this way. Ye Futian had just started to showcase his talents, yet it was already obvious that his gifts were unparalleled by that of any other.