Chapter 17 Attend A
That morning, everyone was excited for the Seven Peaks Tournament. The disciples were especially excited, every one of them had a smile on their face. Although there would be some nervousness, they all got covered by excitement.
Within them, only Da Shixiong Xavion, second Wu Dayi, third Zheng Dali and fourth He Dazhi had participated in the previous tournament. Fifth Ludaxin and Sixth Amandla were new students and, of course, Shaw Danon and Hidi, too, had never been there; it only took place every sixty years.
As Tian Bolis and Surin were making the final preparations, Hidi pestered Xavion, who is the most experienced: "Da Shixiong, is it really that many faction members attending Seven Peaks Tournament?"
Xavion said: "Correct. Seven Peaks Tournament is the most important event in our faction. Anyone who can represent their house in the tournament is a talented student. Not to mention the exciting battle scene."
Fourth He Dazhi heard them talking and came over. He winked at Hidi, smiled: "Xiao Shimei, you may not know, actually Da Shixiong still has something he did not tell you."
Hidi asked: "Ah? What is it, fourth Shixiong?"
He Dazhi smiled: "Being the winner and standing in the middle of the platform while listening to the applause of hundreds of people. This pride cannot be escaped. But, if a young beautiful Shimei from the other houses admired and cheered for Da Shixiong, isn't it a more joyful occurrence in one's life?" Then, he turned and asked Xavion: "Da Shixiong, am I right?"
Xavion blushed.
Hidi was curious, asked: "Da Shixiong, why is your face red?"
Xavion shook his head hard, kept on murmuring: "No, no, my face didn't turn red..."
He Dazhi coughed and saw everyone had gathered around him. Shaw Danon and Amandla were puzzled, but Wu Dayi and Zheng Dali were both smiling. So He Dazhi said: "Oh, second Shixiong and third Shixiong are both here. I have a bad memory these days. I think it was at the previous tournament, when Da Shixiong won twice in a row and entered the third round, there was a young, pretty Shimei. Um, I forgot her name..."
Wu Dayi quickly said: "Ah, I can't remember it clearly. I think she is a Shimei from Bamboo Heights. Her face is extremely pretty. But the name..."
Zheng Dali said: "We all forgot her name. But we can still remember she clapped her hands the loudest, and flirted with Da Shixiong."
Everyone laughed. Hidi began interrogating: "Da Shixiong, who is the Shijie who was being so nice to you?"
Xavion was embarrassed. He stared at He Dazhi and hollowly smiled: "No, no such thing. Don't listen to your fourth Shixiong. Bamboo Height's Baako Shimei was just cheering for me because of Shi niang."
"Huh?" He Dazhi immediately said: "Da Shixiong, that's odd. Me, second and third Shixiongs all forgot her name. How come you recalled her name so fast? But the kindness of Baako Shijie to Da Shixiong is..."
Everyone laughed. Xavion realized he said it wrong. He knew He Dazhi was an expert in battles of wits. The more he said the more mistakes there will be. He snorted and ignored them: "Stupid people. Heh heh, I am going to check if master and shi niang is ready yet."
Hidi still wanted to ask, but Xavion ran away fast like the wind. So, she could only ask He Dazhi. Her eyes were filled with excitement: "Fourth Shixiong, tell me, what does Baako Shijie look like?"
He Dazhi said: "Xiao Shimei, aren't you always going to Bamboo Height to visit Master Shui Yue with Shi niang? How come you never saw Baako Shijie? She is Master Shui Yue's favourite student."
Hidi shook her head: "Mom and I went directly to Master Shui Yue when we went to Bamboo Height. We rarely met any Shijie there. Come on, tell me."
He Dazhi smiled: "No need to hurry. Today, when we go to main house's Peak of Widows, you will see her, most likely."
Hidi rolled her eyes, seemed like she realized something: "Oh, no wonder why Da Shixiong was so excited today, he had some evil thought in his head!"
Everyone was confused, then when they realized, they all laughed. Hidi herself also laughed. The little nervousness was gone. She looked around and saw everyone had a smile on their face. But when she looked at Shaw Danon, she was surprised. Even though Shaw Danon had a smile on his face, Hidi could sense that Shaw Danon was lost in thought.
Hidi pulled Shaw Danon aside, quietly asked: "Xiao Fan, you have any trouble?"
Shaw Danon was startled. His right hand touched his chest, then finally responded: "I am fine, Shijie."
Hidi directly asked: "What is it? Let me see."
Shaw Danon hesitated for a moment, then took out an item and let Hidi see it. Hidi was surprised, asked: "Why would you bring this black fire stick with you?"
Shaw Danon looked at Hidi's surprised face. He mumbled: "Master's kindness allowed me to participate in the Seven Peaks Tournament..."
Hidi understood what Shaw Dannon was saying. She couldn't hold in her laughter. "Ah, ha ha, that's why. You bring this, this fire stick to participate in Seven Peaks Tournament? Jadeon's two thousand year history, sixth Shixiong's gambling dice is already weird enough. Can't imagine, can't imagine you really, really bring this fire stick to...ha ha ha ha, it's killing me."
Disciples heard Hidi's laughter and came to see what happened. They laughed after they heard the reason. Shaw Danon saw Shixiongs and Shijie next to him were smiling and happy, but anger arose in his heart.
The anger in his heart was just an instant; however, it was so intense that it almost made Shaw Danon stop breathing.
He lowered his head and held the ugly fire stick tight. The familiar chill spread to his palm.
"Xiao Fan." Hidi suddenly took back her smile: "I am sorry."
Shaw Danon was shaken, he raised his head.
Hidi said: "I was planning to give you an esper so you won't become a joke within our faction. But Mom forced me to practice too much, I forgot about it."
Shaw Danon shook his head, said: "Shijie, cultivating is more important. You don't need to worry about me."
Hidi patted his shoulder, smiled: "Doesn't matter anyway, everyone knows your limits. This time is just a chance for you to learn." She lowered her voice: "If anyone is giving you a hard time, you have to tell me, hmph, and I shall help you get back at them."
Shaw Dannon looked at Hidi's gentle eyes. He wouldn't doubt her promise. He could also feel the kindness from other people around him; however, his emotion was still unstable. What is it, that burning inside of his heart like raging fire, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Hidi was still grinning. She patted her favourite Xiao Shidi's shoulder. She whispered: "Let me tell you. There are a lot of fun places in Peak of Widows. This time, we sneak out and go there, sound good?"
Shaw Danon suddenly didn't want to look at her beautiful face. He lowered his head. His mind was sweet and frustrated. He said: "Yes, Shijie."
He Dazhi suddenly said from behind them: "Master and Shi niang are here."
They turned and saw Tian Bolis and Surin were coming out from Hall of Quietude. Tian Bolis wore a sky blue robe. His face looked serious. If not for his fat belly and short body, he would look more like an admirable master. Surin wore a light green dress and a jade flower in her hair.
Xavion followed behind them. His face looked as serious as it could be. But as other disciples saw him coming, their face was working hard not to smile. Following behind Xavion were Big Yella and Ashh. Ashh was already used to sitting on Big Yella's back. When Ashh saw Shaw Danon, it screamed: "Creak creak" and jumped on Shaw Danon's shoulder.
Tian Bolis looked at each disciple and nodded: "Let's go." He waved his right arm. Red light flashed in the middle of his palm. His famous esper "Flame Spirit" appeared. Just when Tian Bolis was about to step forward, his pants got pulled on by someone. It was Big Yella. It kept swinging its head and tail, and its mouth moaned. Its dog eyes stared at Tian Bolis.
Tian Bolis hesitated and murmured, but still waved his sleeve and rolled up Big Yella and brought Big Yella to Flame Spirit. Tian Bolis stood on Flame Spirit and was the first to fly away.
Surin shook her head, smiled: "Come." Then she paused, spoke to Xavion: "Daren, Xiao Fan's skill isn't strong enough. You carry him."
Xavion nodded: "Yes."
Surin nodded. Green light flashed and brought her to the sky and followed Tian Bolis' red light.
Among the Bamboo Peak's disciples, Wu Dayi, Zheng Dali, Ludaxin's cultivation had not yet reached level four and could not use an esper. Shaw Danon rode with Xavion while the other three rode with He Dazhi, Amandla and Hidi. Hidi's esper was Phoenix Soul. He Dazhi's esper was "Landscape Brush," really fitting his book-worm personality. However, the most comical was Amandla's gambling dice esper. Once it was activated, white light flashed and the dice enlarged ten times of its size, circled around in min-air. If comparing the gambling tools of this earth, the winner would be here.
Chapter 17 Attend B
Fifth Ludaxin worriedly looked at Amandla's dice, asked: "Sixth, that thing won't fall out of the sky, right?"
Amandla grinned: "Fifth Shixiong, let's have a bet. If it falls from the sky, you win, then I..."
Ludaxin said: "Will I dare to win this bet, then?"
Amandla was startled: "Oh, that's right!"
Xavion walked in front of Shaw Danon, smiled: "Xiao Fan, are you ready?"
Just when Shaw Danon was about to nod, Ashh screamed from his shoulder. They were surprised. Ashh pointed to the sky, then pointed to itself. Shaw Danon was startled: "You want to come too?"
Ashh grinned. Shaw Danon hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xavion. Xavion thought for a while, then smiled: "Master brought Big Yella anyway, let's bring Ashh there too."
Shaw Dannon was glad. He nodded. Ashh was even more excited.
Xavion turned to the others, said: "Let us get going too, or else master will be mad if we are late." They answered and left with their esper. Hidi told Shaw Danon before she departed: "Be careful, hold Shixiong tight."
Shaw Danon nodded, said: "I know, Shijie."
Hidi smiled. Her hand pointed. Phoenix Soul rose and carried her to the sky. Xavion drew out his esper "Ten Tiger." He was Bamboo Peak's oldest disciple. Although his Shidis crafted different espers, he still crafted a sword. "Ten Tiger" was yellow all over, four feet long and two inches wide. It was slightly larger than the average sword. Sadly an esper's strength could not be determined by size.
Shaw Danon had experience with riding Hidi's Phoenix Soul. So, when Xavion pulled Shaw Danon to "Ten Tigers," he wasn't surprised. But Ashh, on the other hand, had held Shaw Danon's head tightly.
Xavion lightly smiled: "Xiao Shidi, here we go." Then, his right hand pointed at the sky. "Ten Tigers" roared. The sword ascended three feet. Shaw Danon grabbed Xavion's back.
The sword tip slowly raised at about a seventy degree angle. Shaw Danon needed to rely on Xavion in order to not fall. Then, "Ten Tigers" charged into the sky.
Shaw Danon held Xavion tightly. Although he was nervous, he didn't want to close his eyes. He saw Bamboo Peak was getting further and further away from him. Suddenly, everything in front of him turned to white. He was inside of thick clouds and unable to see anything.
Clouds were surrounding him. The wind blew against his face feeling like it cut. Shaw Danon's body was shaking. It's nervousness. It's excitement. Flying within sky and clouds, a dream had become true!
Within the sea of clouds, flying for some time now, just as Shaw Danon's emotions became settled, there was another surprise waiting for him. "Ten Tigers" had brought them out of the sea of clouds.
The blue sky, as blue as a deep ocean, so pure and boundless. When they came out from the clouds, the cloud beneath their feet seemed like a water spray, following them, creating long, thin cloud trails. Like the waves in the sea, the thin cloud trail slowly descended back to the sea of clouds.
Xavion finally lay the sword flat after they were three hundred yards above the clouds. They headed straight to Peak of Widows.
The mountain peak stood tall and magnificent. There was the ringing of bells echoing from the peak. Peak of Widows looked like a stairway to heaven.
Shaw Danon held his breath, as he saw countless amounts of colorful lights near the mountain peak. The closer to Peak of Widows, the more concentrated the lights were.
Shaw Danon knew those were the light of disciples' espers. Due to the five elements, they came with different colours, very pretty. The lights like stone rain rushed toward the mountain peak. Shaw Danon and Xavion with "Ten Tigers," soon joined into the colourful river of light.
※※※
Xavion and Shaw Danon landed on a huge square. Once they landed, Ashh looked around and jumped off of Shaw Danon's shoulder. It jumped around in the square. Shaw Danon did not care about it. He saw the white jade fence.
This place was familiar to Shaw Danon. He remembered this place was "Jadeon's six scene"'s "Cloud Sea." He hadn't seen it for five years; however, it was exactly the same without any changes. It was still beautiful. Today was just slightly more crowded than usual.
The square was very crowded. The disciples attending Seven Peaks Tournament seemed to be temporarily staying here. There was approximately a few hundred people. Most people wore Jadeon clothing. Many were the younger generation. Jadeon had been cultivating many young disciples.
Although there were a few hundred people in the square, the square still seemed spacious. Xavion searched through the crowd, suddenly a bright sound called "Da Shixiong, we are over here."
Shaw Danon and Xavion looked toward the direction where the call came from. It was from the Bamboo Peak's disciples. They were standing next to one of the forges in the middle. Hidi was waving to them.
Xavion answered and walked toward them with Shaw Danon. Shaw Danon looked around and saw the disciples from other houses were standing in groups. They were happily chatting. They all seemed to be looking forward tot he tournament.
He Dazhi was the first one to ask: "Da Shixiong, was the trip all right?"
Xavion smiled: "It's not the first time coming here, what could happen?"
Hidi looked at Shaw Danon, smiled: "Xiao Fan, the scene along the way is fine?"
Shaw Danon recalled the magnificent scene of the mountain peak in the sky, said: "Very beautiful."
Hidi giggled, patted his shoulder, said: "Try harder in cultivation. When you craft your esper and learn how to fly, you can go into the sky and see as much as you wish."
Shaw Danon didn't answer, instead he smiled and nodded.
Xavion looked around and asked He Dazhi: "Fourth Shidi, where are Master and Shi niang?"
He Dazhi said: "We followed Master and Shi niang to here, then the head house's brother lead master and Shi niang to Crystal Hall. They said it's seven house's master's meeting. Discussing some of the tournament's details. Master ordered us to stay here and wait for him."
Xavion nodded, then he waved his hand to gather his shidi around him. He looked around and whispered: "I have seen many new faces from other houses. You guys were here earlier, get any information?"
He Dazhi shook his head: "I also have the same feeling. It seems like the other houses have recruited many new people."
Second Wu Dayi looked around: "There are many new people. But, I guess, when we go on the stage tomorrow, most likely we will be facing the previous cultivated Shixiongs. They are the ones who have the experience."
Xavion suddenly sighed: "Second Shidi, it may not be so. Do you still remember the young disciple Baye from Dragon Head Peak two years ago?"
Wu Dayi was startled, then everyone was silent. They looked at each other in the eyes, nobody said a word. Shaw Danon had a complicated feeling pass by. It was gladness, admiration and also jealousy.
"What can trash do?" Someone suddenly said.
Everyone was surprised. That was Hidi. Her cheeks began to turn pink, her eyes opened wide, angrily said: "If he doesn't come to the tournament, it will be fine. However, if he does, the best will be meeting me on the stage, at that time we will see who will be the victor."
Bamboo Peak's disciples looked at each other. Amandla was smart, reacted to it quickly. He smiled: "Xiao Shimei is right. If it really happens, heh heh, shixiongs, let's have a bet on who is going to win."
"Get lost!" Fifth Ludaxin kicked him away.
Xavion smiled, just when he was about to say something, someone lightly coughed from behind him. A lady softly said: "Song Shixiong, long time no see."
Xavion seemed to receive a heavy blow.
Note from mooy: From this chapter, it begin to forshadow the effect of sinister orb had on Shaw Danon, and the relationship between Hidi and Shaw Dannon begin to get further apart. The unstable and complicate emotion sinister orb had on Shaw Danon is going to affect him greatly in future. When Hidi tell Shaw Danon to work harder and fly into the sky by himself, it has shown Hidi begin to has no interest in hanging out with Shaw Danon.