Fenrir's Journey : I Shall Devour The Heavens!

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...?')

Though they had originally wanted to try and help Gong Xinyue, Hua Yan saw Wen Xiulan throw her from the arena surrounded by a protective coating of Qi.Knowing he wouldn't be of much help in the fight on stage, Hua Yan had his brother, Xuan Yan, protect Mao Qiu, Xiao Lan, and Susu Lengshi as he and Zhu Qiu cut a path through the red-robed attackers targeting members of the Devouring Moon Sect.It didn't take a genius to understand that an enemy Sect had used the tournament as an opportunity to try and destabilize the Devouring Moon Sect but, as he still intended to join, Hua Yan considered himself an active disciple. He wanted to pay back a bit of the debt he owed the mysterious woman who had spared them so, while he wasn't going to lay down his life for complete strangers, he would help those he was able to.With this in mind, Hua Yan used his longsword to deflect the attack of a man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had been trying to cut down two outer disciples of the Devouring Moon Sect with a vicious smile on his face so Hua Yan had no qualms about stepping in to put an end to the murderous man's attempt.Having his blade intercepted, the man performed a swift pivot on his heel that caused his body to blur as he angled his sword and drew a secondary arc toward Hua Yan. This caused a crescent of red flames to pour from the blade as he shouted, "You dare interfere with the matters of the Searing Sword Palace...!?"Hua Yan was momentarily surprised by the man's exclamation but, as the most powerful force on the continent shouldn't have such weak practitioners, his reasoning propelled him forward. He was able to use his own flames to diffuse his enemy's attack and, while his speed seemed to be a little slower than the man's, Zhu Qiu had appeared from the flank to sweep at him with his spear.Surprised by the emergence of a second attacker, the man twisted his right hand to form a rune out of flames but, before he was able to fire off the attack, Hua Yan threw his sword in a flaming arc that bisected the man at the waist. This caused the light to quickly fade from his eyes but, rather than go peacefully, crimson red blood began to flow from his mouth that quickly erupted into an intense inferno.As the red-robed man was not the first to lose his life, there were several infernos raging throughout the arena and, while many normal citizens had been able to flee, there were still hundreds of charred corpses littering the battlefield. The only place that was largely untouched was the stage used in the tournament as, after the initial surprise attack, Wen Xiulan had been able to claim the arm of one of her attackers while the other had been frozen solid in a pillar of pure white ice.After looking around the battlefield for a brief moment, Hua Yan forced the two cowering disciples to follow along with his group as they made their way to safety. They could easily be killed by any stray attack from anyone near the level of the Sect Master so staying to observe was not an option. Since he wanted to reunite with Gong Xinyue, as they were fellows from the same original Sect, he urged the group to make haste as he cleared the way through the intense flames that had already started spreading through the city itself...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'I smell burning...')

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: '....')

Chapter 84: Burn (2/2)