The Samsara God King's rebirth

CHAPTER 14

The moon rested over the horizon, casting silver rays over the valley.

Men and women gathered from across the sect, their gazes locked on the Meet platform, made from palm wood and molten metal.

Luo Yuyan sat on a wooden bench, with two high-level cultivators standing at his sides.

On the platform stood Lin Xue, the Meet’s host.

“Dao masters and ladies, welcome to the 13th Moon Blade Meet. For the first time in years, we have nearly twenty competitors, each possessing great techniques and combat skills,” Lin Xue announced.

An outburst of cheers and applause rippled through the valley.

“Unlike previous Meets, Sect Master Luo Yuyan pledges a winning prize of Gale-Step Boots, crafted from the hide of a Cloudwing Beast, and the Baiyun Spirit Blade Sword.”

Gasps echoed faintly.

“The Baiyun Spirit Blade Sword?”

“Sect Master had previously denied access to it, and now he is giving it as a reward?”

The villagers murmured amongst themselves.

For decades, the Moon Blade Meet had been a tradition in the Baiyun Sect. Cultivators of different levels took part in it without care for rewards. To the villagers, it was a test of one’s ability.

“He denied me the right to that sword, and now he is giving it as a reward?” Mo Yueli hissed, her fingers clenched at her sides.

Her expression hardened as she locked gazes with Luo Yuyan.

He hadn’t just denied her right to the sword but had also denied her participation in the previous Moon Blade Meets.

“When the time is right, I will let you participate, but not now.”

He would always say.

To Mo Yueli’s surprise, he agreed to let her participate this year.

“May the Moon Meet begin.” Lin Xue’s voice rang across the valley.

Luo Yuyan nodded slightly and leaned into the bench.

Immediately, two men landed onto the platform, their combat robes well draped around them.

Shang Li and Tan Su.

Shang Li lifted his hand into the air, spreading his legs apart in a fighting stance.

Tan Su stood still, his hazel irises locked on Shang Li as though he was nothing more than a nuisance.

With his hands behind his back, he stepped to the side.

“What are you doing?” Shang Li snapped, his eyes darkening.

Tan Su didn’t utter a word. He simply took another step to the side.

Gathering qi at his feet, Shang Li propelled forward with terrifying speed. Blue flames curled around his fist. Without a fuss, he drove it into Tan Su’s cheek.

BOOM!

Dust billowed into the air. The ground shook. Villagers trembled from the impact.

“Ouff. Shang Li must have fainted,” Lin Xue commented, shielding his face from the dust with his hand.

Just then, Shen Wuyin arrived at the valley.

His eyes widened at the scene.

“The hit must have knocked the receiver out. Such force?” he muttered.

Suddenly, the dust retracted back to the ground as swiftly as it had risen, revealing Tan Su standing at the rear end of the platform, his hand still clasped behind his waist.

“Huh?”

“Not a single bruise?”

“Is that it?” Tan Su sneered, his eyes dazzling. “After all that gathering of so much qi, how many hits could you land?” he scoffed.

Shang Li stood in the same spot he had been in when he landed the blow. He turned around slowly, meeting Tan Su’s gaze.

“This is a Meet, not a dodge contest,” Shang Li said through clenched teeth.

The faint crack of his knuckles echoed across the platform.

A smug smile pressed on Tan Su’s lips.

“It is a Meet, quite alright, but I find it insulting to compete with a low-level cultivator.”

“Oh my,” Lin Xue gasped.

Shang Li pressed his lips together briefly, veins bulging around his forearm.

“Enough talk. Let’s get this over with,” he hissed.

Moving his hands in a circular motion, he took a step back. Blue flames formed between his palms, condensing into a sphere.

Tan Su stood smirking.

Just then, Shang Li shot his hands forward swiftly. The blue sphere shot forward at lethal speed. The air cracked from the intensity.

Lin Xue leaned forward, anticipation flickering in his gaze.

A few inches away from Tan Su, the sphere dissolved into thin air as though it had never existed.

“How is that possible?”

“Who is this Tan Su?”

Mo Yueli folded her arms across her chest, her gaze locked on Tan Su.

“He didn’t even move, yet Shang Li’s technique dissolved,” she muttered in her thoughts, squinting her eyes.

Shang Li’s lips parted.

“Was that his qi barrier?” he pondered, lowering his hands to his sides.

Luo Yuyan spread his arm across the headrest.

“The Dismissal Tanlou Technique,” he muttered to himself.

Shang Li stared at Tan Su for a few seconds.

My attacks aren't working. That defensive technique seems to activate whenever I attack him. If I continue attacking recklessly, I'll only waste my qi.

His gaze sharpened.

Then I'll wait for him to make the first move.

Taking a step back, he realized his right foot was stuck to the floor.

“Huh?”

He lowered his gaze to his feet. There was no sign of glue or a potential trap technique.

Just then, a sickening crack tore across the valley.

Shang Li flew across the platform and crashed into the ground with a dull crack.

Tan Su towered over him, his hands spread apart.

A few seconds earlier, while Shang Li stared at his foot, Tan Su had channeled qi into his feet and lurched forward so fast that only a blur of faint light could be seen.

Reaching Shang Li, he slammed his foot into his chest, sending him flying across the platform.

“Lin Xue,” he called out.

Lin Xue stepped forward.

“I’m only sparing his life because you set him up against me,” Tan Su said curtly.

A sharp groan escaped Shang Li. He shut his eyes in agony, blood trickling from his lips.

Lin Xue tilted his head in amusement.

He must be a Top Grade cultivator to pull off that kind of strike, he thought.

Shen Wuyin stood, watching, not the competitors, but the flow of qi.

“He moved with no spiritual energy, yet he moved at terrifying speed.”

He nodded, impressed.