The whale descended calmly into the center of the arena, receiving mixed looks from the entire stands. To the youths, it was funny and ridiculous to see such a fat, giant human; if only he had extraordinary cultivation... but his level for his age was as common as any mediocre mortal in their eyes.
All the members of the Moonlight family, following the leader’s orders, just planned the cleanest way to eliminate him. Meanwhile, the high elders from the other three families saw in him a juicy target. Having him on their side was the same as having the four extraordinary youths under their influence; they coveted this opportunity and cursed the Moonlight family for hosting the competition and taking the initiative.
Amidst everyone, the four groups of young members who were gathered by allies observed him with extreme curiosity and anticipation. He was the figure their leaders adored and to whom they were extremely loyal. Everything they heard about him was exaggerated and unbelievable... but even seeing him live, they couldn’t believe it.
"The first fight was decided: The winner will take three peak basic immortal weapons. According to young Setai, he will attack Denil only once. If he endures, Setai won’t be able to move again." The elder approached and announced excitedly, then spoke to the whale. "Just put some effort, and counterattack."
Young Setai smiled lightly, confirming the conditions. The whale simply waved for the elder to hurry up, as if he were bored.
Setai seemed to struggle not to laugh excitedly. He was just watching the competition when he was summoned by orders from the family leader for this mission. The rewards would be plentiful, and he only needed to beat up that whale a bit. As he wasn’t so strong or talented, his goal was to win without causing major harm, to make the opponent want to keep fighting and betting.
Alm and Bruno watched the young idiot indifferently, already fully understanding the higher-ups’ plans. The scheduled fight with that central disciple was certainly known by the Moonlight leader. They had nothing to do with it and didn’t care; in fact, they were sure that after the whale glimpsed the level of cultivators in the competition, he wouldn’t be crazy enough to kill himself in this duel. So, they ordered the elder to help him a bit, so he would be grateful to the family. It was a small effort they made for Ruri.
Ruri was a natural Empyrean, which, although scary to the family, was not so uncommon in the divine world; her power was equal to that of all transformed Empyreans. Even her mastery of spatial laws, though rare, was not impossible to find in talents outside the family. She was seen only as someone with the potential to become great, a bet that was worth a little effort.
However, now everything has changed drastically. With the awakening of her manifestation so early, Ruri was no longer just a bet for the future. She was on the same level as the main members of the divine sects. Coupled with the fact that she had developed her own Dao and was judged by celestial laws as a deity, Ruri was destined for greatness.
The leader of the Moonlight family wanted to have her completely for himself, and all the other families were willing to do the same, no matter the cost. The timing was crucial, taking advantage of the fact that she was young and inexperienced. The easiest and most concrete way, in the eyes of the others, was through an arranged marriage with gratitude. However, it couldn’t be done abruptly, like killing the whale.
The youths were easy to manipulate, especially this arrogant whale, who seemed to be adored by mortals. The Moonlight leader’s plan was simple: make the whale fight, giving him assurances. First, he would lose, but not get hurt much. Then, other members would be deliberately defeated, slowly inflating his ego. After that, all they had to do was encourage him a bit, until sending those who would hurt him badly, making it clear that it was his own fault and that he didn’t know his place.
He would die shortly after, and Ruri would not be left helpless. Over the years, she would understand that the whale was just a stupid mortal who passed through her life; but it was the family who took care of her.
"Fight!" The responsible elder announced the beginning.
Setai didn’t move, just breathed gently with a smile on his face. Meanwhile, the whale crossed his arms behind his back and stared at him. He was tall and gigantic like a mountain; Setai saw him from above and felt a ridiculous air coming from him, as if he were facing a stupid child and was too lazy to act.
Snorting, Setai calmed down; he couldn’t hit too hard or he would kill that mortal. Soon, his eyes changed and a subtle violet glow appeared. It was his mental power, being used thanks to the family’s central technique.
Alm and Bruno watched that with mischievous smiles internally. Comparing the level of that technique with mental cultivation was like comparing a mortal with an immortal cultivator; they weren’t in the same category.
’Ruri only mentioned she learned this before, and that it was ridiculously simple and easy. Now, seeing it... it’s more ridiculous than expected,’ Bruno commented lightly. ’It’s not pure mental power, it’s a third of mind power mixed with QI. And just a brute way of putting out mental energy.’
Setai remained totally focused for a few seconds, and his whole body pulsed with the power of the technique. Everyone in the stands saw that, a bit perplexed. If it had been before, they would have been amazed; mental power was something complex and powerful, and that was the family’s central technique, not something everyone could train in. But after seeing Ruri’s power, that seemed like a drop in the bucket while hers was the overwhelming sea.
"Is it going to take long?" The whale spoke, sighing for everyone to hear.
Next to Ruri, Kaiyka just watched, unable to hide her concern. The whale and Ruri were rare individuals she felt inclined to help. But right after they spoke that, Setai roared and punched the air.
The air distorted and the mental power shot out like a sacred arrow towards the whale. The round figure with an indifferent expression remained still watching it approach. In the stands, everyone forgot to breathe, and in a second, the whale was hit... or not?
There was no sound, movement, or any sign of impact. Was that really an attack? Everyone wondered.
It was as if the whale had... absorbed the entire blow? No one could comprehend what had happened.
But in the next second, there was a sudden change. The whole atmosphere grew heavy, and people’s hearts began to beat frantically against their will. Those who knew about mental power felt something scary and incomprehensible in the environment.
The whale waved, and his eyes lit up in a violet hue. Ruri smiled; she felt a small fraction of her mental power being drawn out through the array beforehand.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.
The entire Moonlight family took a step back in shock. "He... he’s using mental power?!" An elder spoke incredulously.
"Was that all?" The whale spoke slowly, and the entire arena fell silent. "Give it a try."
CRACK!!
The whale just snorted, remaining in the same position as before; but with that simple snort, space cracked. A violet power surged like a celestial pillar, and another violet arrow appeared as if it were the final judgment.
The entire arena floor shattered into tiny fragments, and no one noticed that in the whale’s crossed hands, two tattoos glowed softly.
Using a technique with two-thirds Qi against them? It was a joke.
They just grabbed a fragment of Ruri’s mental power and replicated the Moonlight family technique using the tattoos. They didn’t practice mental cultivation, but received all the knowledge from the system and skimmed through it, just to help Ruri if necessary. They had a sense of how mental energy worked, and that technique, which didn’t even fully utilize mental power, only required a glance and feeling it once to learn.
RUMBLE!!
The mental arrow burst with a roar that echoed through the arena, shaking all the spectators. Setai felt the shadow of death looming so close that his whole body petrified, unable to move a muscle.
A tense silence spread through the crowd; everyone swallowed hard, stunned, feeling that if it were aimed at them, no matter what they tried, they would be torn apart. They saw the arrow advancing anticipating a violent and explosive death, but suddenly the arrow froze. It was just an inch from Setai’s head.
The lingering turbulent winds made his body stagger and wounds open on his skin; only the remnants of it could harm him, he was as fragile as paper in the face of that power... but... the arrow remained still.
A nod from the whale and everything evaporated in the blink of an eye, as if it had never existed.
In the next second, the young man collapsed to his knees on the ground. Soon, everyone in the stands noticed something liquid coming from him, slowly trickling around him.
The whale turned to the distant elder. "And then?"
He woke up with a start and, still trembling, proclaimed: "Victory... for Denil...!"