Chapter 115 – Chosen Ones
The two leaders were caught in a deadlock in the air. One of them gave off an overbearing, violent presence while the other’s Qi felt nimble and as light as a breeze.
“They are from Tri-Sol?! No wonder why they are so arrogant. They ranked number seven last year! That red-haired man is their vice-principal, and he is a famous seven-star condensed prime Warrior in this outer region with thirty-six cities! See his red hair? How could I not realize earlier?” Mu Feng whispered to the others.
“I never knew the vice-principal was so strong. He never showed his abilities before… He is actually standing his ground while facing a seven-star condensed prime Warrior, and I would even say he has a slight advantage!”
‘How did he just…’ All the South Star students were shocked while they admired the presence of each and every one of Tri-Solar School’s representatives. They were also curious about why the vice-principal kept such a low profile, and they wondered what else he was hiding.
“Who are God’s Seven Children?” Cao Ning whispered.
“They are the seven strongest cultivators under the age of twenty in our province. The holder of this title cycled through the years, but the quality and strength of them remained high. They were all geniuses in their own rights and will always be…” Chen Mo answered. “And the cultivator in Tri-Solar who is honored with the title is called Shi Hun Tian.”
The eyes of South Star’s cultivators naturally fell on the striking young cultivators next to Shi Xiaoran. One of them, in particular, caught their attention as he was handsome and tall. The primal feather wings behind his back were twice as larger than the others’.
Feeling their gaze, he stared back at the South Star cultivators, and all of them, even Liu Jian and Chen Mo, were intimidated by his fearsome presence. It was at this point when most of the South Star cultivators decided they would not try to win against Tri-Solar School. That they should do what was necessary to protect themselves, and perhaps lose valiantly.
“God’s Seven Children?” Ye Wei’s eyes lit up as mumbled to himself feeling curious and competitive about the level of strength behinds this seemingly prestigious title. ‘I will have to beat them at some point if I want to go further…’
Chen Mo continued. “Shi Hun Tian is the latest addition, and he is ranked last out of the seven.”
Shi Hun Tian scanned around, and his cold gaze stopped on Ye Wei. “I hope you will be able to entertain me in this year’s tournament!”
Liu Jian, Chen Mo, and the rest were enraged by Shi’s disregard for them, and they all ground their teeth and clenched their fists.
Shi Xiaoran was known for his rash temperament. He did not feel the need to tone down his attitude because Xu He was stronger than him. “We have five cultivators who are seven-star at the Warrior level or above. The worst one of us is a four-star Warrior, and even he knew one of our cultivators was a God’s Child!” He pointed at Chen Mo and said.
“Let’s see what you have here… Only two seven-star Warriors and you brought a one-star Warrior along too! Is this really your best? And that kid over there, does he even know how to spell ‘Qi’? Oh wait, is he one of your relatives you brought here so he can see the big city?” Shi Xianran then pointed at Ye Wei.
“Hahaha! Last year you guys couldn’t even get in top ten in the first stage. I guess history indeed has a way of repeating itself! It was fun at the inter-state stage last year; it’s a shame that you and your school will never get to compete on a stage larger than the provincial fights! I feel bad for you having to lead a group like this.” He shook his head and said in an irritated tone.
Xu He was not angry because he knew from years back that Shi Xianran was a mouthy person. He smiled and said: “It’s too early to brag, you should just focus on keeping the rank you achieved last year. I certainly hope that kid doesn’t lose his title as there are a lot of powerful contestants this year!”
“Haha, someone is confident! I will see if you can be this calm in a week’s time!” Shi Xianran went back into the golden runicle with his team and drove off.
Just when Xu He told his team to return to their runicle, a sharpness tore a hole in reality as mighty sword Qi fell from the sky. It created a vertical vacuum on its path.
The whole South Star team was shocked, and they all had their guard up as they observed.
A purple robed elderly man with an old sword on his back descended from the sky and next to him was a boy that looked no older than sixteen.
The teen had delicate facial features, and he was dressed in simple clothes which gave off a sharp pulsing force similar to a fine, aged blade. There was a metallic glow around him which twinkled in a mysterious way.
“Zhoutian Sword School, Jian Shi Yu!” Xu He’s pupils dilated. “Greetings master!” There was fear in the vice-principal’s eyes.
Xu He bowed respectfully to the purple-robed elderly man who happened to be one of the strongest swordsman in the province. Within the region, the cultivators who were worthy enough to be compared to Jian Shi Yu were very few indeed; he was one step away from being a returned-prime Warrior.
“Not bad, you look more content and mature since I saw you ten years ago! It looks to me like your team is stronger than it was last year. Did you and Gu Qing work hard on teaching these kids? Hahaha speaking of him, how is old Gu doing?” The purple-robed old man nodded and approached.
“Principal Gu is doing well; he talks about you quite a lot actually.” Xu He said. The principal of Zhoutian Sword School was a good friend of Gu Qing’s so it was only natural that the vice-principal acted like a respectful junior.
“To be honest, it has been more than ten years since the last time I met old Gu. I’ve spent all my time on this little kid here. When the tournament is over, I might go catch up with him, and let him teach this kid a thing or two!” Jian Shi Yu patted the teen who stood next to him and smiled.
Although the teen was in simple clothes, he still stood out. He wore a pleasant smile on his fresh, childish face, and looked tidy and presentable. He bowed to the South Star representatives. “Hello everyone, my name is Jian Chen!”
Beyond his ordinary looks, he radiated a presence that did not match his appearance. Liu Jian, in particular, was very interested in Jian Chen’s Qi. “Nice to meet you!” He humbled himself and replied.
The others also greeted Jian Chen.
Ye Wei too was intrigued by the teen as he could feel the surge of energy hidden in Jian Chen’s meridians was no weaker than Shi Hun Tian’s.
“This is the first provincial tournament Jian Chen is attending?” Vice-principal Xu asked with a friendly smile on his face.
“That is correct” Jian Shi Yu nodded.
“You have taught him well. I have a feeling this kid is going to do well; he should even be able to take a title if he fights with one of the seven!” Vice-principal Xu was not just being nice, he had been analyzing Jian Chen since he first laid eyes on him.
“God’s Seven… Maybe!” Jian Shi Yu smiled. “We are heading off, but let’s sit close to each other at the tournament so we can chat while watching the fights!”
“Take care!” Xu He greeted them.
Jian Shi Yu then flew off in a flash together with Jian Chen.
“Vice-principal, does Zhoutian Sword School only have one representative?” Everyone was curious, and Chen Mo asked after Jian Shi Yu left.
“It is their tradition to send fewer people the stronger they are, and the fact that they are only sending one this year means they are extremely confident. That teen we just met, he was undoubtedly strong enough to challenge for the God’s Seven title!” Xu He looked at the direction Jian Shi Yu disappeared to and paused then slowly spoke. “That kid resembled a sheathed sword; I look forward to seeing him shine when he unleashes his power.”
The South Star cultivators were startled and doubtful and to them, it was slightly disrespectful and even reckless that a school sent only one cultivator because no matter how strong Jian Chen might be, he was just a young teenager. He would have to face multiple cultivators from different schools. Considering the occasion and the amount of talented individuals that would be participating, they could not picture Jian Chen very far.
“If you kids face Polaris Academy or the Tri-Solar School, in fact, any school of that caliber you have to give it your all and have a good fight. See what will come of it. But if you are up against the Zhoutian Sword School or Galaxy Academy, just concede!” Xu He did not bother explaining more as he was sure these kids would know what he meant when they see these schools.
Galaxy Academy was the reigning champion. Located in the province’s capital Ning City. They had already gotten first place in the tournament for three consecutive years.
Xu He was feeling more ambitious than usual with Ye Wei on the roster, and he was even confident that South Star could come in third, but he was too realistic to dream about squeezing into first or second.
“Qi Xiu from Polaris, Jian Chen from Zhoutian Sword School, Galaxy Academy…” Ye Wei mumbled to himself. He has been calm while seeing all these talented youngsters, but deep in his heart he longed to fight and apply what he has learned from his three years of intense training. That was the only way he could get stronger from this point on.
“We haven’t even reached the state stage yet, and there are already this many people we should pay attention to, can you imagine if we can go further than just our province…” The students were a bit tired from traveling but meeting these new people had woken them up.
The black runicle drove off again, and it sped up becoming a stream of light penetrating the valleys of the Sunset Mountains closing in on Ning City.