Mystic Eyes: My Eyes Steal the Laws of Cultivation

The girl from the Wind Sect acted first.

She disappeared.

Not literally, but her speed was so high that the naked eye could barely follow her. She moved like the wind, unpredictable, fast, and cutting.

Huo Ling did not move. He simply smiled.

When the girl appeared behind him with a compressed wind strike, Huo Ling swung his sword in a wide arc. A wave of fire expanded in all directions, forcing the girl to retreat.

"You are fast." Said Huo Ling.

"But wind cannot extinguish fire. It only feeds it."

He raised his sword.

"Flame Sword Technique. Dance of Embers!"

Multiple blades of fire appeared around Huo Ling, spinning like a vortex of destruction. They flew toward the girl from the Wind Sect, forming a cage of flames.

The girl tried to escape, using bursts of wind to deflect the blades, but it was impossible. The heat was too intense. The air around her was so hot that it burned her lungs with every breath.

She attempted one last desperate attack, a concentrated wind blade so sharp it could cut steel.

Huo Ling deflected it with a minimal movement of his sword.

And then he attacked.

A single strike, direct and simple. The blade of fire struck the girl on the shoulder, burning her robe and the skin beneath. She screamed and fell backward, out of the arena.

"Huo Ling wins!"

The audience applauded thunderously. At the end of the day, the seven winners were decided.

Kyrian, from the Verdant Sword. Huo Ling, from the Flame Sword. Mu Qing, from the Ancient Forest. Mo Sun, from the Ancient Forest. Yin Xue, from the Shadow Valley. The disciple of the Mortal Fist. The disciple of the Thorn Flower.

Seven warriors. Seven talents.

The Leader of the Ancient Forest Sect rose, his voice echoing across the plateau.

"Now, the final phase! The seven will fight for the ultimate title of the Domain Gathering."

The sun was already high on the horizon when the Leader of the Ancient Forest Sect raised his hand, asking for silence.

"Seven warriors remain. Seven talents. Now, the final phase will begin immediately. The rules are the same. A draw will decide the fights, and one of the seven will advance automatically."

Murmurs spread through the stands.

Seven golden leaves floated from the great ancestral tree, spinning gently before flying toward each competitor.

Kyrian caught his. His eyes narrowed. The number 0. He would advance directly.

Beside him, Huo Ling let out a dry laugh upon seeing Kyrian’s number.

"Looks like we’re the ones who got lucky." Huo Ling said, imagining that if any of them fought Kyrian, they would have no chance. His advancing to the next phase without fighting was great.

Kyrian did not respond. He stored the leaf and stepped back into the area of already qualified participants. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the arena. He wanted to see how the others would fight.

The list appeared in the sky.

First fight. It would be Huo Ling against the disciple of the Mortal Fist Sect.

The second fight would be Mu Qing against the disciple of the Thorn Flower Sect.

And the third fight would be Mo Sun of the Ancient Forest against Yin Xue of the Shadow Valley.

Kyrian watched carefully. Three fights. Three spots for the semifinals, in addition to his.

The disciple of the Mortal Fist Sect stepped onto the arena first. He was a broad-shouldered man with huge hands, calloused from decades of training. His skin had a grayish tone, like polished stone. He carried no weapons. His hands were his weapons.

Huo Ling entered the arena with slow, almost lazy steps. His flaming sword glowed faintly in the light of the setting sun.

"You may begin!"

The disciple of the Mortal Fist attacked first. His fist tore through the air with a boom, creating visible shockwaves. It was a blow that could shatter rocks.

Huo Ling did not dodge. He raised his sword and cut.

Fire and brute force collided. The warrior’s fist was sliced by a blade of flame, and he recoiled with a muffled cry, blood flowing between his fingers.

"Weak." Murmured Huo Ling.

He advanced. Three quick strikes. The first burned the opponent’s left arm. The second cut his chest. The third sent him flying out of the arena.

"Huo Ling wins!"

The audience applauded, but without much enthusiasm. The fight was too short.

The second fight was more balanced.

Mu Qing faced the disciple of the Thorn Flower Sect. The girl with thorns on her arms was fast and poisonous. Each of her strikes released small thorns that could paralyze an opponent.

Mu Qing, however, was a master of wood. He simply raised a wall of living wood and let the thorns embed themselves in it.

"Your flowers are beautiful." Said Mu Qing.

"But my roots are deeper."

He brought his hands together, and vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the girl’s arms and legs. She tried to cut them with her thorns, but each vine cut was replaced by two.

In less than two minutes, she was immobilized.

"Mu Qing wins!"

The third fight soon began.

Mo Sun, of the Ancient Forest, against Yin Xue, of the Shadow Valley.

The two faced each other at the center of the arena. Mo Sun was tall and imposing, with green hair and eyes that glowed with wood Qi. Yin Xue was the opposite, thin, pale, almost ghostlike.

The fight began.

Mo Sun attacked first, creating wooden spears that flew toward Yin Xue. The disciple of the Shadow Valley simply disappeared into a cloud of darkness.

When he reappeared, he was behind Mo Sun.

A pale hand touched the back of the Ancient Forest disciple.

Mo Sun froze. His eyes widened. His skin began to darken, as if life itself was being drained from his body.

"Devouring Shadow Technique." Someone whispered in the stands.

"He’s consuming the opponent’s Qi."

Mo Sun fell to his knees. He tried to raise a wooden wall but had no strength left. Yin Xue gently pushed him out of the arena.

"Yin Xue wins!"

The plateau fell silent. The victory was quick, silent, almost frightening.

The Leader of the Ancient Forest Sect rose.

"The four semifinalists are Kyrian, of the Verdant Sword! Huo Ling, of the Flame Sword! Mu Qing, of the Ancient Forest! And Yin Xue, of the Shadow Valley!"

Kyrian observed the three other warriors. Huo Ling, confident and blazing. Mu Qing, calm and solid. Yin Xue, silent and deadly.

The competition was nearing its end, and as Kyrian had imagined, it would be simple to win.