DDD Chapter 127: The Preliminaries Begin (Patreon)

Over the next several hours, the interior of the arena grew crowded as more and more people registered. They came in all shapes and sizes. Most belonged to a clan and sect, and wore uniforms displaying their allegiance. The rest were rogue cultivators, who were an eccentric bunch to say the least. I saw one man covered in furs and wearing a necklace made of rat skulls around his neck.

As the interior of the arena filled up, it grew louder and louder. This would’ve annoyed me, in my exhausted state, if it weren’t for Cultivator Vivian. The two of us traded cultivation insights and debated with one another. Like me, she was a dual refiner, though she didn’t have a Dual Foundation. Instead, she focused more on qi refinement rather than physical refinement. Even so, I learned a lot from our discussion and I looked forward to internalizing the insights I gained.

We were interrupted when our tournament tokens lit up with a bright green glow and a voice emerged from it.

“Welcome, Fellow Cultivators, to the Rising Heroes Tournament.” The voice said. It sounded male. Somehow the voice wasn’t overwhelming even though it came from every tournament token within the vicinity. “Registration has closed, so we may begin right away.”

The interior of the arena buzzed with excitement. A sliver of anticipation found its way into my heart, pushing back against the exhaustion. Finally!

“Before we begin,” the voice said, “Let me give everyone a brief summary of the tournament’s format.”

A cultivator just a few feet away let out a groan.

“Just let us fight already!” He exclaimed.

Everyone nearby murmured in agreement, including myself.

“The preliminaries of the Rising Heroes Tournament will have a double elimination format.” The voice continued. “There are two brackets. The winner’s bracket and the loser’s bracket. This means that even if you lose a match, you can still participate and may even pass the preliminaries. At the very least, you’ll earn a ranking. However, if you lose a second time, you will be eliminated from the tournament altogether.”

Hmm, this seemed simple enough. However, I wondered why they would do it this way. Why give participants a second chance instead of just eliminating them right away?

“Matches are determined by random lots.” The voice said. “If your tournament token glows red, it means that you have been selected for a match and you should make your way to the arena proper.”

Ah, nevermind. It made sense now. If matches were determined by random lots, it was possible for an early Foundation Establishment cultivator to end up facing an opponent in late or peak Foundation Establishment. Having two chances meant that participants could still earn glory and honor for themselves, even after losing because they were paired with an opponent far above them.

“Now then,” the voice continued, “Let us begin.”

With that, the tournament tokens stopped glowing green. Instead, a few of them started to glow red, mine included. Cultivator Vivian, whose token remained dull, gave me an envious look. I grinned at her, before standing up and heading towards the arena proper. Several others joined me.

The arena proper wasn’t difficult to find. While there were privacy restrictions in place, they only covered certain locations. The rest were laid bare to my spirit sense. The arena consisted of a massive round stone platform surrounded by tiered seating. Most of the seats were empty, only occupied by a few dozen people, giving it a deserted feel. I saw Ellen and Elliot, who secured front row seats for themselves.

There were several barrier arrays set up on the stone platform. Illusory numbers floated in the air above each one. It took me a moment to realize that the tournament organizers intended to hold several matches at the same time, no doubt to save time. Otherwise, given how many participants there were in this arena alone, it would take months for the Rising Heroes Tournament to finish.

Several cultivators wearing the uniform of Clan Black Iron hovered in the air around the stone platform. Judges and referees, I assumed. Most were in Foundation Establishment, though one was in Golden Core.

“Each of you head to the area that matches the number on your token.” The Golden Core cultivator said. His voice matched the one from earlier.

I looked down and saw an illusory “three” emerge from my tournament token. Illusory numbers also emerged from the other participants’ tournament tokens. I headed towards area three, taking a moment to wave at Ellen and Elliot. They waved back. A young man wearing gray and blue robes joined me in area three. He looked like he was sixteen or seventeen years of age.

Once everyone was in place, the arrays activated and barriers sprang into existence all over the stone platform. To my relief, there was enough room for me to maneuver around. For the first few matches, I decided to gamble by choosing my leather gauntlets and Wind-Fire Boots as my two magic treasures. It would have been safer to use the stone necklace, since it was a defensive magic treasure, but I wanted to take a more aggressive approach.

“Begin on my mark.” The Golden Core cultivator said.

My opponent, the young man in blue and gray robes, sneered at me.

“You might as well save yourself the trouble and forfeit.” He said.

I raised an eyebrow at him and didn’t respond. At least he was confident. However, he was only at early Foundation Establishment, so I didn’t view him as much of a threat. Even so, I didn’t underestimate him. The Rising Heroes Tournament was full of geniuses and prodigies. Arrogance and complacency had no place here.

I took a moment to study my opponent. Like me, he also had two magic treasures, both high-grade: a sword and the robes he wore. I assumed the latter was a defensive magic treasure. So, he decided on both offense and defense. Smart. However, it wouldn’t be enough to save him.

“Begin!” The Golden Core cultivator shouted.

The moment the word left his mouth, I sprang into action. I activated my Wind-Fire Boots for a moment, to give myself a burst of speed, while using Wind Dash Shoulder Slam. Caught off guard by my sudden attack, my opponent didn’t react in time. His eyes widened as my shoulder slammed into his chest. He went flying backwards and collided with the barrier that surrounded us. I dashed forward to continue my assault, but one of the tournament organizers intercepted me, barring my path.

“Enough!” She said. “There’s no need to continue. You won.”

I blinked at her in surprise, before I looked over at my opponent and realized that she was right. I knocked him out with one attack.

“Wait,” I said, flabbergasted, “That’s it?”

The tournament organizer nodded.

“Yes,” she said, “Congratulations on your victory. You may leave now and wait for your next match, Fellow Cultivator.”

I felt no joy or elation at my victory. Instead, I felt hollow and disappointed. I hadn’t expected much from my opponent because of his cultivation base, but I thought it would take more than one attack to defeat him.

In a daze, I made my way back to Cultivator Vivian. The other participants, the ones who hadn’t fought in a match yet, gave me a wide berth. They whispered to one another, but I paid little attention to their words. When I reached Cultivator Vivian, who still occupied our little corner, I sat down next to her.

“Congratulations, Cultivator Darian,” She said, “You achieved victory faster than I expected.” She snorted. “Though, it’s not too surprising, since they paired you with such a weakling.”

I turned towards her.

“You saw that?” I asked.

Cultivator Vivian nodded and gestured towards one of the crystal slates hanging from the walls. To my surprise, they now depicted images of the arena and the matches still ongoing. This made it possible for those waiting to fight to see what was going on.

“I see.” I said, before letting out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Cultivator Vivian asked, frowning.

I took a moment to articulate my thoughts.

“I won without much effort on my part.” I said.

Cultivator Vivian raised an eyebrow at me.

“And that’s a bad thing?” She asked.

“Yes.” I said. “No. I mean…” I trailed off. “It was too easy. I thought it would be more of a challenge. This is the Rising Heroes Tournament. Isn’t everyone here a genius and a prodigy?”

Cultivator Vivian’s lips twitched, as she tried to hold back a smile and failed.

“You’re… Surprisingly naive, Cultivator Darian.” she said. “It’s rather endearing, which I never expected to say about a demon.” She shook her head. “I definitely lied to my father.”

I glared at her.

“How am I being naive?” I demanded. “And why do you keep saying that you lied to your father?”

“It’s simple,” Cultivator Vivian said, ignoring my second question, “Cultivation aptitude and battle prowess are not the same thing. Just because someone is a cultivation genius and prodigy, doesn’t mean they’re skilled in battle.” She nodded towards the cultivators around us, who were busy watching the ongoing matches. “Most of these people are delicate flowers, coddled and protected by their clans and sects because of their cultivation aptitude. This is likely their first time leaving home and going to the outside world.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“So you’re saying that most of our opponents are inexperienced and sheltered children.” I said in a flat voice.

“Yes.” Cultivator Vivian said. “That’s the whole point of the preliminaries, to separate the wheat from the chaff. I doubt either of us will face a true challenge until most of the weaklings have been eliminated.”

I opened and closed my mouth several times.

“There are hundreds of participants in this arena alone,” I said, “Which means that we’ll have to wait days before most of them are eliminated.”

Cultivator Vivian nodded.

“If we’re lucky.” She said. “If we’re not, it may take up to a whole week.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.” I said.

“I am not.”

I stared at Cultivator Vivian, filled with despair and disbelief. She gave me an amused smile.

“Why do you think I sought you out?” She asked. “Interesting company makes the time go by faster.”

I sighed. As disappointed as I felt, at least I didn’t have to go through it alone.

***

The rest of the day followed a similar pattern. My tournament token would glow red, I would go to my assigned area of the arena, and then I would defeat my opponent with ease. I grew excited a few times, whenever I faced an opponent that seemed strong. However, they all inevitably disappointed me.

Cultivator Vivian went through the same experience. Whenever she faced an opponent, she defeated them with just one attack. She didn’t even bring out her halberd. That was how easy it was for her. Sometimes, our tournament tokens glowed at the same time. However, we never ended up facing one another, which frustrated me to no end. Despite sharing my frustration, Cultivator Vivian found my reactions amusing and teased me about them.

We weren’t the only ones breezing through the matches either. Over the course of the day, whenever I wasn’t fighting or watching Cultivator Vivian’s matches, I kept my eyes on the crystal slates. Sooner or later, I would face a worthy opponent. I might as well put this time to good use and figure out who they were beforehand.

A few people caught my attention. One was the old man that I saw earlier, the one being insulted and mocked by the two disciples from the Myriad Poison Sect. From what I saw, he was a qi refiner who focused on mystic arts. Like Cultivator Vivian and I, he defeated his opponents within one or two moves.

The two disciples from the Myriad Poison Sect, Annoyance One and Annoyance Two, also caught my eye. No wonder they were so arrogant. They had the skill and strength to back it up. As befitting their sect, they specialized in using poisons. Annoyance One used poisoned weapons, while Annoyance Two focused on using poison mystic arts. However, neither brought in external poison. Instead, they produced it themselves somehow. I couldn’t tell if it was some kind of mystic art or an innate ability.

The last figure that attracted my attention was a female rogue cultivator at mid Foundation Establishment. I knew she was a rogue cultivator because she wore one of the gaudiest, most eye-catching outfits I had ever seen in my entire life. It appeared that she took parts from various other outfits, each a different color, and stitched them together.

It would’ve been fine if there had been some pattern or harmony to it, but there wasn’t. Instead, it was a chaotic clash of color and style. Just looking at her hurt my eyes. No clan or sect would ever make something like that their uniform, not unless they were insane.

However, despite her garish choice of clothing, the woman was a skilled fighter. She wielded a sword-shaped zither magic treasure, which was unusual. As expected, many of her attacks were sound-based. That alone was difficult to defend against. However, she was also a sword cultivator and somehow imbued her sound attacks with sword intent.

Yes. She imbued her sound attacks with sword intent.

During one of her matches, the female rogue cultivator faced off against an opponent in late Foundation Establishment, forcing her to use sword intent in order to win. It caught me off guard when I first saw it. However, once I realized that she could use sword intent, I grew excited at the prospect of fighting her. In doing so, I could deepen my own understanding of intent and increase my chances of manifesting it when I reached mid Foundation Establishment.

Other than those four, the only ones that caught my attention were the participants in late and peak Foundation Establishment. However, I doubted that I would face any of them in the preliminaries.

Over the course of the day, I noticed that the random lots for matches weren’t as random as I expected. The odds were weighted, so participants were less likely to face opponents with cultivation bases far above theirs. The chances of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator like myself facing an opponent in late or peak Foundation Establishment were quite low. At most, I’d face someone a single major realm above mine.

When I realized this, I sighed in disappointment. When would I face a true challenge?

***

The next few days passed by in a similar manner. Whenever I fought, I defeated my opponents in one or two moves, much to my disappointment. I wasn’t the only one going through it either. Willow and Harlow, who registered at different arenas, also experienced the same disappointment. Like me, Willow wanted to face challenging opponents. Meanwhile, Harlow lamented the fact that she didn’t get to use any of the poisons she concocted in preparation for the tournament. Ellen found our complaints amusing.

During this time, I tasked Elliot with looking after Zayne. A part of me wanted to let Zayne starve, so he could experience some of the hardships I endured. However, I decided against it. When I gave him the beating he so rightly deserved, I wanted him to be in perfect condition. It would be more satisfying that way.

I received a few messages from Senior Lucille demanding that I release Zayne. However, I ignored them. She wasn’t in any position to demand anything from me, nor could she force the issue. The Thousand Blade Sect wouldn’t interfere, since this was an internal matter of Clan Wind Dance. As for my uncle, I doubted he would risk angering my maternal family for Zayne’s sake.

As for Zayne himself, I would deal with him after the preliminaries. Until then, I didn’t want anything to do with Clan Wind Dance. Instead, I wanted to focus on the Rising Heroes Tournament. After all, this was the main reason why I came to North King City in the first place.

And so the days passed like grains of sand falling in an hourglass. On the third day since the Rising Heroes Tournament began, I faced my first challenging opponent. It was the old man from Restless Grave Hall.

It occurred at noon, a few hours after the day’s matches began. It was a cold and cloudy day, though the excitement of the Rising Heroes Tournament kept it from feeling dreary and gloomy. A light snow covered North King City. Whenever I exhaled, my breath came out as little puffs of mist. A few hundred people occupied the stands, filling the air with the sound of their chatter and cheering.

I stood across from the old man. We faced each other in our little assigned area on the stone platform. Well, it wasn’t so little when compared to how things were in the beginning. As people started getting eliminated, the areas for fighting grew larger and larger. It wouldn’t be long before participants would have the entire stone platform to themselves when they fought.

Like with my other matches, I picked my leather gauntlets and my Wind-Fire Boots as my magic treasures. The old man had a jade bracelet around his wrist and a black mirror hanging from his waist. The jade bracelet summoned a shield when activated. I saw the old man use it a few times over the past few days. However, I had no idea what the black mirror did. I looked forward to finding out.

While we waited for the tournament organizers to begin the matches, the old man and I chatted with one another. Unlike most of my opponents, who were all bluster and bravado, the old man was polite and respectful.

“My name is Corvus,” he said with a smile, “Though everyone calls me Old Man Corvus. Feel free to do the same, Fellow Cultivator.”

I nodded.

“My name is Darian.” I said, forgoing my surname. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Old Man Corvus.”

“Likewise, Cultivator Darian.”

I studied Old Man Corvus for a few moments.

“I want to ask you a question, but I don’t want to offend you.” I said.

Old Man Corvus smirked.

“You want to know why I began cultivating so late in life.” He said.

I nodded. Old Man Corvus reached Foundation Establishment within ten years, otherwise he wouldn’t have qualified for the Rising Heroes Tournament. This meant he started cultivating very late in life. Most cultivators began when as children, or in their late teens at most, like me. Old Man Corvus looked like he was in his seventies.

“I’m not offended.” He said. “Everyone asks me that question, sooner or later. It’s no great secret. In fact, it’s a rather simple tale.”

Before he could continue, the Golden Core cultivator supervising this arena spoke up. 

“Begin on my mark.”

The other participants and I nodded at him, before we faced our respective opponents.

“Well,” I said, taking a stance, “I look forward to hearing your story, Old Man Corvus.” I smirked. “After I defeat you, of course.”

Old Man Corvus smirked.

“We’ll see, Young Man.”

We studied one another as the seconds ticked by, waiting for the signal.

“Begin!”

The moment the word left the Golden Core cultivator’s mouth, I dashed forward, activating my Wind-Fire Boots for a burst of speed. Old Man Corvus specialized in mystic arts. As long as I attacked him before he had a chance to use any, victory was mine. However, my efforts were in vain.

I was fast, but Old Man Corvus was faster. When I was still several feet away from him, he spoke an incantation and performed a series of hand seals. Dark gray mist erupted from all around him and filled our assigned area. It was made entirely of ghost qi. Not only that, but it muted my senses and even blocked my spirit sense. I circulated my internal qi to protect myself from the ghost qi’s harmful effects, before charging towards Old Mana Corvus’ location. However, he wasn’t there anymore. He had disappeared.

This wasn’t my first time dealing with mist like this, so I remained calm as I used Reading the Flow to become attuned to the flow of the air around me. A moment later, I sensed movement just a few feet away. Without hesitation, I used Burning Cloud Breath.

Heat flooded the area as a cloud of crimson flames emerged from my mouth. It burned away some of the ghost mist, though not all of it, which surprised me. However, this was enough to reveal Old Man Corvus. He looked at me in surprise, before activating his jade bracelet to protect himself from my flames. A yellow barrier sprang into existence around him.

I continued breathing out a cloud of fire, to maintain the pressure on Old Man Corvus. My flames ate away at the barrier protecting him. He regarded them with a calm expression on his face, before he spoke an incantation and performed a series of hand seals. Two wicked-looking claws made from ghost qi formed in the air in front of him.

The two claws clashed with my cloud of flames. Old Man Corvus and I engaged each other in a contest of mystical might. For a brief moment, we were even. Neither one of us could overpower the other. That changed when Old Man Corvus performed another hand seal, before spitting out a globule of blood that contained some of his vitality.

Old Man Corvus’ complexion paled, but that slowed him down not at all. The globule of blood split in half, before merging with the pair of ghost claws. They turned blood red, giving them an even more sinister appearance.

Empowered by Old Man Corvus’ vitality, the ghost claws extinguished my cloud of flames, before flying towards me. I dashed back to avoid them. For the first time since the Rising Heroes Tournament began, I was on the defensive. A smile stretched across my face.

I evaded the ghost claws and rushed towards Old Man Corvus. However, they kept intercepting me. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t shake them off. It didn’t help that the ghost mist, which filled the entire area once more, impeded my senses. Old Man Corvus wasn’t idle either. Even though I couldn’t see him any more, I knew he was up to something. I needed to deal with him before my situation grew even worse.

Just as I evaded a swipe from one of the ghost claws, the sickening stench of rotting flesh filled my nostrils and I sensed something approaching me from behind. Without hesitation, I activated my Wind-Fire Boots for a brief burst of speed. This allowed me to just barely avoid a sneak attack from a malevolent spirit. It shrieked when its attack missed, before pursuing me.

The malevolent spirit was sickly green and looked like the rotting corpse of some humanoid-shaped beast. It stank like one too. The malevolent spirit had claws, patchy fur, and a wolf-like maw filled with sharp teeth. Its eyes burned with hatred as it chased after me. Worst of all, it was fast. So much so that I needed to use my Wind-Fire Boots just to keep ahead of it.

Together with the ghost claws, the malevolent spirit came after me with a single-minded determination. It was all I could do to avoid all three of them, let alone go after Old Man Corvus. Sunlight was the bane of spirits and other undead creatures. However, due to the overcast sky, the malevolent spirit wasn’t affected at all even though it was day.

I didn’t have much time either. Protecting myself from the ghost mist’s harmful effects and using the Wind-Fire Boots drained my internal qi at a rapid rate. If I didn’t finish this soon, I would lose the match.

I considered my options, before settling on the simplest one: use my divine fire qi. It was also the fastest. While I hadn’t wanted to reveal myself this early in the tournament, I had little choice. It was either that or lose, and I preferred the former.

I took a deep breath, before I performed a series of hand seals to summon three Heavenly Seals; one for the malevolent spirit and two for the pair of ghost claws. While Heavenly Seal was merely a Qi Condensation mystic art, and therefore wouldn’t last long, I just needed a few moments.

The Heavenly Seals flew over and restrained their respective targets, buying me the time I needed. I took a deep breath and used Burning Cloud Breath. However, this time, I imbued it with my divine fire qi. A cloud of golden flames emerged from my mouth. It had an immediate, and dramatic, effect. The golden flames burned away the ghost mist and incinerated the two ghost claws, until nothing remained of either.

The malevolent spirit broke free from the Heavenly Seal restraining it, before it dashed away from the golden flames. It avoided complete destruction, but the golden flames still burned half of its body. The smell of burning flesh mixed with the scent of rotting flesh, a disgusting combination. The malevolent spirit shrieked in pain, the sound piercing my ear drums, before retreating towards Old Man Corvus. Without the ghost mist blocking my senses, I found him with ease.

Old Man Corvus stared at me in shock as the malevolent spirit leapt into the black mirror hanging from his waist and disappeared. I charged towards him, ready to finish this match once and for all. However, before I even made it halfway, Old Man Corvus shook his head.

“I forfeit.” He called out.

Caught off guard by his sudden surrender, I stumbled forward a few steps before I managed to right myself. Silence fell over the arena as the audience, the tournament organizers, and many of the participants stared at me. After all, I was a demonic cultivator that used divine qi. That could only mean one thing.

“It appears that I’m not the only one with a story.” Old Man Corvus said with a chuckle. “Let us head on down, so I can tell you mine.”

I nodded. With that, the two of us headed out and left the stone platform.