Fenrir's Journey : I Shall Devour The Heavens!

Without any suspense, Quan Zhen was eliminated from the tournament by Gong Xinyue's fiery whip. To make matters even worse, the flames on his body began to increase in intensity, resulting in the youth screaming in a high-pitched manner as he struggled to pat them out with his bare hands. This only caused the flames to spread even further as he screamed, "AAAAAH! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!"Truth be told, Gong Xinyue was going easy on her opponent but, in order to make sure others had second thoughts about trying to take advantage of her, she needed to set a hard example. Since her opponent should have been able to protect himself with his Qi, at least a little bit, she didn't expect him to behave in such a manner.It was only after several second that Quan Zhen finally managed to extinguish the flames on his body. This earned him a lot of incredulous looks from the crowd but, as if he didn't see them, he pointed toward Gong Xinyue and shouted, "You devilish woman! You must be some a disguised Demonic Beast! I'll make you-"Despite there being nearly twenty meters between them, Gong Xinyue's whip seemed to defy logic as it easily extended the full distance to Quan Zhen, striking him across his chest. This sent the youth flying backward once again but, at the same time, a shadow leaped into the arena from the viewing stands, shouting, "You dare attack my brother after the match has already ended!? What a wicked and outrageous display...!"As the tournament was opened specifically to recruit outsiders, there were a number of people who had gathered to join in the rather festive event. This included aspirants who wanted to join the Sect but, as such events always drew a crowd, a number of Mercenaries and Vagrant Cultivators were also in attendance.Quan Zhen was an example of someone who had ventured to newly named Devouring Moon City as he had also heard the rumors of the mysterious individual who had run rampant through the city. He, along with many others, wanted to catch sight of this figure as, according to some of the rumors that had spread, she was supposed to be a young woman with unique features.The most important part of the rumors that had been spread was that this same woman practiced an incredibly powerful Yin Cultivation Technique so, while the chances of obtaining her for yourself were slim, belonging to the same Sect as a powerful female provided various opportunities. After all, when the strongest member of a Sect was female, there were generally more females within the Sect than males. Thus, for many errant Cultivators who wanted to take shortcuts on their path to power, they were very eager to try their hand at courting such a powerful and mysterious beauty...Though she hadn't exactly dropped her guard, Gong Xinyue was surprised when a member of the crowd suddenly leaped in from her blindspot to attack her. She instinctively twisted her body in a very limber fashion, shouting, "Shameless...!" in a cold voice as her whip quickly darted back like a bolt of flaming lightning toward her new attacker.While her flaming whip would have been able to deal with most Cultivators of a similar level, it was very apparent that the man sneak attacking her wasn't a standard participant of the tournament. He was able to grab the whip with his bare hands as flames of his own making covered his forearm.Before Gong Xinyue was able to fully understand what was happening, the man showed a malicious smile on his face as he coldly uttered, "A woman has no place wielding flames. I'll be taking this...!"With considerable ease, the man yanked the whip and, like a lure used for fishing, Gong Xinyue was pulled off her feet due to her habit of tightly holding onto her weapon. At the same time, the man made a three-pronged claw with his right hand as he attempted to strike toward her chest with an obviously lethal amount of force.(Fenrir's Commentary: '....')

While others would have been able to intervene, Wen Xiulan quickly noticed there was something wrong with the current situation. She had suddenly sensed several powerful auras in the area so, without any hesitation, she moved like a phantom into the arena while shouting, "Members of the Devouring Moon Sect, we are under attack...!" as she moved to intercept the unknown man's flaming claw.Rather than withdraw, the man tried to move into a position so that Gong Xinyue was between him and Wen Xiulan but he severely underestimated the latter's speed. Before his eyes could even fully widen, he felt an icy cold sensation spread through his body as a jade-white palm pierced his chest without any hesitation.As she didn't need to guess why her Sect was being attacked, Wen Xiulan had no interest in the words of their attackers. All that mattered was that they were enemies and, if they failed to come out ahead, the number of victims on their side would only increase. There was no reasoning with those who had malicious intentions as the only outcome was an even greater tragedy.After killing the man, Wen Xiulan looked at Gong Xinyue and, seeing she was still in shock, gave the girl a light slap on the face before stating, "If you do not want to get caught up in the conflict, you need to move. Regroup with your friends and seek shelter. You are in the way here...!"Having been brought back to her senses, Gong Xinyue tried to say she would fight as well but, at a speed much faster than her perception could follow, two blazing figures shrouded in crimson flames attacked from Wen Xiulan's flanks. This caused the later to send out a wave of frigid air as two icy loti bloomed from her hands, blocking the surprise attacks and causing the two middle-aged men attacking her to wince slightly as they quickly pulled back.Using her Qi, Wen Xiulan flung Gong Xinyue out of the arena at a speed much faster than the girl could manage on her own. Fortunately, the same Qi that sent her flying also cushioned the impact, allowing her to pass through several walls before being thrown out into the city proper without any injuries.Gong Xinyue felt ashamed to be discarded so readily but, feeling the intense clash of Qi inside of the arena, she knew her own power was negligible compared to those fighting within. This caused her to bite her lip with a layer of moisture building in her eyes as she turned her back and joined the crowd in fleeing. She swore to herself that she would become stronger so that, in the future, her weakness would not hold back others.Without realizing it Gong Xinyue's hair began to dance behind her back and, rather than the usual silky black, it began to turn vermillion in color. The very tips even began to ignite, turning into a stark red flame that drew the attention of a few disreputable Cultivators who were charged with stopping any members of the Devouring Moon Sect from fleeing...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'What is this feeling...?')

The difference between Cultivators at different stages, depending on the skill and elemental matchup, was oftentimes an insurmountable gap. As it took an extreme amount of effort to transition between each stage, someone at the Second or Third stage was often twice as strong as someone at the First or Second. Thus, with Gong Xinyue being at the Fourth Stage of Qi Refining, while her opponent was only at the First Stage, the best her opponent could do was draw out the battle to make a better impression on the Judges.Unfortunately for Quan Zhen, Gong Xinyue's temperament could be just as fiery as her Cultivation method, causing her to unceremoniously lash out with her whip and sending it slicing across the pale-faced youth's chest. As a result, he was sent careening from the arena like a kite that had its strings cut, slamming hard into the outside walls before ultimately plopping to the ground.Seeing how fierce Gong Xinyue's attack was, many in the crowed sharply inhaled while some shook their head in dissatisfaction, muttering things like, "Of course a woman who uses Fire Qi would be a brute..." or "So vicious. She is like an unleashed Tigress...!".Since Cultivators all had excellent senses, Gong Xinyue heard most of these comments but, believing such remarks were just how the weak expressed their pettiness, she ignored them with a cold glint in her uncharacteristically purple eyes. This earned her a few nods of approval from many of the older Cultivators who, unlike their younger counterparts, knew the road towards true strength was a long and arduous path. If you allowed yourself to suffer setbacks by getting riled up at every middling remark from those weaker than yourself, you would be drowned in the monotony of the average.It was generally considered 'proper' for those who wielded true talent and power to be somewhat haughty and prideful by nature as, if not them, who else had the right to be? Any sign of weakness would be exploited by your enemies, this being doubly so for any Cultivators who were females. As male Cultivators easily outnumbered their fairer counterparts, almost four to one, females were just a small minority that was often exploited, even in the so-called righteous Sects. This was due to the fact that many of the more established families focused on grooming their male heirs and, with the body of female cultivators one of the greatest aids to increase the potential of a man, there was no end to the number of tragic stories, so commonplace that even children as young as three or four knew the 'truth' of the world...Being one of the few to 'escape' the vicious cycle, even though she was still in danger of sharing the same fate if captured, Wen Xiulan looked down at Gong Xinyue with a ruminating gaze. Though she felt the latter's disposition was a little too fiery, that was something that could be fixed with proper guidance. Thus, even though many of the other contestants made snide remarks, she had decided to make Gong Xinyue one of her personal disciples in the future. Hopefully, before their Sect Guardian decided their small mountain was no longer suitable for her training, they would all be able to grow strong enough to protect themselves from outside forces...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'I miss Master's cooking. The food stalls in this world only serve bland items...')

Chapter 83: Burn (1/2)