Zhu Xian

Chapter 22: Contest

Chapter 22 Contest A

Ashh saw that person staring at itself with a weird look. Ashh got angry and scratched the person with its claw. The person wasn’t prepared. His face almost got scratched; fortunately, he reacted fast, his neck bent back and dodged it.

Shaw Danon was surprised and told Ashh to stop. The person was also surprised. With his hand covering his cheek, he mumbled: "That was close."

Shaw Danon was a bit embarrassed, said: "Shixiong, sorry!"

Unexpectedly, he didn’t care. He waved his arm and smiled: "That’s alright. It was my carelessness. I forgot that ’Monkey Phantasm’ have very bad tempers; very easily harm people."

Shaw Danon was startled: "Monkey Phantasm?"

The person was surprised: "What? You don’t know that monkey is a Monkey Phantasm?"

Shaw Danon was puzzled: "What is Monkey Phantasm?"

That person opened his eyes wide, examined Shaw Danon, asked: "You don’t even know it’s Monkey Phantasm, why would you have it?"

Shaw Danon said: "When I was cutting down bamboo, it smacked me with pine cones, then, it followed me back home."

The Jadeon disciple’s jaw seemed to almost fall off, murmered: "Got smacked by pine cones and it followed you back home, got smacked by pine cones and it followed you back home..."

Shaw Danon shook his head and walked away. After he took a few steps, the person followed him. The person smiled and whispered: "Shidi, oh, no, Shixiong, you."

It was the first time Shaw Danon had been called Shixiong. The person’s age was at least twenty. Shaw Danon quickly said: "Oh, I don’t deserve that; just tell me what you want to say."

The person grinned: "Ho ho, Shidi is so easy to approach. Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Ceng, name Shushu. Peak of Wind’s disciple. Shidi, your name is..."

Shaw Danon said: "I am Bamboo Peak’s disciple, Shaw Danon; Issa Shixiong, you are, um, ’uncle?’"

The person was startled, then smiled in embarrassment: "Ah, I was not intentionally trying to gain advantage over you. My Shushu is books. Not uncle. It’s all because of my dad. My mom named me Yingxiong. How dignified Ceng Yingxiong sounds like. However, my father saw that I love to read books, so he named me Shushu. This became a joke, really."

Shaw Danon couldn’t help but laugh. This person’s name was as funny as sixth Shixiong’s. The frustration in his mind was eased by this person. He said: "Ah, so, Ceng Shixiong, you really love to read, then?"

Issa smiled: "In regards to that, I don’t need to be modest, no one in Peak of Wind reads as many books as I do. But, most of the time, I like to read about anecdotes and strange magical creatures; often that made my dad mad at me. Ah, anyway, you really don’t know this monkey is Monkey Phantasm?"

Shaw Danon shook his head, said: "No, I thought it was just a normal monkey."

Seeming like it understood what they were talking about, Ashh suddenly screamed and pulled Shaw Danon’s hair. Shaw Danon cried: "Ouch, stupid monkey!"

Issa looked at it with admiration, said: "So smart."

Shaw Danon said, while bearing the pain: "All that stupid monkey knows is how to hit people, you still call that smart?"

Issa said: "This monkey may seem common, but with this strong spiritual mind, it is a rare celestial creature. Do you see the small line between its eyes?"

Shaw Danon turned and looked closely, and discovered a thin vertical line was under the grey fur. There was no way to discover it without close examination. He said to Issa in admiration: "You can even notice such small details. Amazing!"

Issa spoke solemnly: "Don’t underestimate it. From what I had read in <>, Monkey Phantasm is a divine creature. It looks no different from a normal monkey when young, but it’s third eye will open once it grows up. It is not only able to use magic of the five elements, it is also able to see things from thousands of miles away. The legendary faculty of ’clairvoyance’ came from Monkey Phantasm."

Shaw Danon took Ashh into his arms. He couldn’t believe that the monkey had such a great background. No matter how hard he tried to picture it, Ashh looked like nothing other than a normal fat monkey. Ashh seemed to have gained a few pounds over one night at Peak of Widows.

Ashh was bewildered why so many people were looking at itself. It screamed madly. Shaw Danon made a face and tossed Ashh at Big Yella. Big Yella was surprised and jumped away. It was relieved to see it was Ashh. Ashh gestured, like demonstration, and turned its attention to Big Yella’s fleas.

Issa looked at Ashh admiringly, then turned back and asked Shaw Dannon: "Zhang Shidi also came to participate in Seven Peaks Tournament?"

Shaw Danon nodded: "What about you Ceng Shixiong?"

Issa smiled: "Me too. Yesterday, I got number thirty-three. What is your number? You had better not happen to be my opponent today."

Shaw Dannon smiled as well: "I got number one."

Issa was surprised: "You were the Bamboo Peak disciple yesterday?"

Shaw Danon’s face flushed, nodded.

Issa smiled: "You are so fortunate." Then, he paused and calculated in his mind, said:"It seems like we will not meet each other until the final. This is going to be difficult."

Shaw Danon laughed: "With my level of cultivation, I will be out after the second round."

Issa stuck out his tongue: "I am afraid I can’t even pass round one."

They both laughed. They chatted for a while, then Xavion called: "Xiao Fan, time to eat."

Shaw Danon answered, then said farewell to Issa. Big Yella and Ashh followed Shaw Danon to Xavion. Xavion asked: "Who is the person you were talking to?"

Shaw Danon said: "A Shxiong from Peak of Wind. His name is Issa."

Xavion was surprised: "Issa?"

Shaw Danon was bewildered: "What it is, Da Shixiong?"

Xavion turned and said: "That person is Head of Peak of Wind: Ceng Shu Chang, Ceng Shibo’s only son. He is very talented, has strong memory, high knowledge; his cultivation is also very deep. He is one of the hot topics for this tournament."

Shaw Danon was startled; he couldn’t find a word to say.

???

After breakfast, Jadeon disciples gathered at Cloud Sea. Hundreds of people were there.

On the large square, eight platform stages were set up while everyone was eating breakfast. Each platform was about twenty meters away from each other. They were placed in the shape of Bagua. Next to the largest platform, Qian, a tall red list displayed the disciples’ names, numbered in gold characters. Shaw Danon’s name was at the farthest right, without an opponent.

Shaw Danon looked at his Shixiongs. They were all smiling except for Amandla who was complaining: "Not fair, not fair, not-"

Chapter 22 Contest B

"Shut up!" A shout came from their side. They were surprised and found it was Tian Bolis, Surin and Hidi. Bamboo Peak disciples immediately saluted: "Master Shi Niang!"

Tian Bolis nodded and did not say anything. Surin said: "The contest will be beginning soon. You must make us proud, understand?"

"Yes." They said all at once.

All Shaw Danon noticed was Hidi who is standing next to Shi Niang. Today, she seemed to be more beautiful. She seemed to be in a very good mood.

Shaw Danon’s heart was felt like it had been stabbed by a needle. He lowered his head.

"Xiao Fan." Surin noticed her disciple was unusual today. She walked toward him.

Shaw Danon quickly raised his head and responded: "Yes, Shi Niang."

Surin asked: "Are you all right?"

Shaw Danon shook his head: "Nothing, Shi Niang."

Surin took a look at Shaw Danon: "Xiao Fan, your luck allowed you to skip the first round, but you still need to pay attention to Shixiong Shijie’s duel. It is good for you, understand?"

Shaw Danon nodded: "Yes, Shi Niang."

Surin turned to Tian Bolis. He nodded and walked toward the platform. Bamboo Peak’s disciples followed.

"Dang!" A clear bell ringing sounded in Cloud Sea. The noisy square suddenly became all silent.

On the center of the large platform, Master Doyal Shen and Master Vasp Caelo appeared. Master Doyal Shen took a step in front and announced to the disciples: "The tournament begins."

Then he waved his sleeve, the bell rang again. "Dang dang" filled the sky. Shaw Danon peeked at Hidi, seeing her excited smile.

He couldn’t move his eyes to anywhere else and couldn’t hear what Master Doyal Shen and Master Vasp Caelo said. Then another bell ringing came again and pulled Shaw Danon back to reality. He realized the contest had already begun.

Sixty-three people, eight platforms, so there will be four groups. Within the first group, Hidi was the only one from Bamboo Peak. Her platform was at Li of the west. All Bamboo Peak disciples rushed there.

Hidi’s first opponent was a disciple of Sun Rise Peak. His name was Mansa. He jumped onto the stage. The disciples cheered for him. Surrounding the "Li" platform, most of the disciples were from Sun Rise Peak. Even their head, Shang Zheng Liang, was there. It appeared that they valued Mansa greatly.

Tian Bolis and others were covered by the Sun Rise Peak disciples. Almost everyone at the platform wore Sun Rise Peak’s robes. Tian Bolis did not care. His eyes met with Shang Zheng Liang’s. All they did was give a faint smile.

There were disciples already bringing the seats for the masters and Surin. Tian Bolis and Surin sat down. Hidi came and said: "Dad, Mom, I am going up there."

Tian Bolis looked at his daughter, said: "Go."

Surin said kindly: "Careful."

Hidi looked at the stage, smiled without a bit of nervousness, said: "Wait for my good news."

Then she turned, with the smile still on her face. Her left hand formed an incantation, shouted: "Up!"

Red light flashed. The Phoenix Soul around her waist had moved under her feet, carrying her to the platform.

This performance was far better than Mansa’s jumping up to the stage like a monkey. Since most of the disciples were males, they were attracted by Hidi’s beauty. The applause was so loud that even disciples at the other platforms turned and wondered what happened.

Shaw Danon and others were standing behind Tian Bolis and Surin. Surin smiled and told Tian Bolis: "Seems like Ling’Er’s cultivation has improved."

Tian Bolis smiled. Although he said nothing, he appeared to be in a very good mood.

Hidi already arrived at the stage. She was only one yard away from Mansa. Her hands folded, said: "Shen Shixiong, it is an honor to face you."

Mansa noticed the red glow coming from Hidi’s esper. It must be the "Phoenix Soul" that his master had warned him about. He replied: "Tian Shimei, please go easy on me."

He took a step back. His right hand summoned a sword with faint brown glow in front of him.

Surin frowned, whispered to Tian Bolis: "This sword is same as Ling’Er’s Phoenix Soul, both are earth element. This battle will be dependent on the level of cultivation of the caster."

Tian Bolis smiled: "Of all the earth espers in Jadeon, who can match your Phoenix Soul? I say that sword is eighteen thousand times worse than yours."

Surin said: "Nonsense."

Chatper 22 Contest C

The bell rang, announcing the contest had begun.

Right after the bell, Hidi immediately pointed. The Phoenix Soul with red glow charged at Mansa as fast as lightning.

Mansa didn’t expect Hidi would attack immediately. He fell back two steps and sent his sword to face Phoenix Soul.

Red light and brown light crashed together. Hidi and Mansa’s bodies shook, then returned to normal. The two espers battled in mid-air.

Tian Bolis frowned. Surin was also surprised: "That Mansa’s cultivation isn’t low." At the same time, the Sun Rise Peak disciples cheered: "Yeah!"

The cry from nearly a hundred people immediately covered Bamboo Peak’s disciples’ voices. Sixth Amandla snorted: "Why so loud? It isn’t a screaming contest."

On the stage, the two espers were in a draw and returned to their respective masters. Mansa took seven steps, murmured some kind of incantation, then shouted: "Dash!"

His brown sword went high into the sky, then, in the speed of lightning it struck at Hidi from above her head. The force could be felt before the sword even landed.

Hidi had no sign of withdrawing. Her left hand grabbed Phoenix Soul and pulled it above her head. Phoenix Soul widened several times, formed a wall of red light above her head. At the next moment, Mansa’s sword crashed on the red wall. The red light severely shook but there was no danger.

Surin was relieved, whispered to Tian Bolis: "Ling’Er is so silly and arrogant."

Tian Bolis snorted, shook his head.

Mansa’s sword’s attack was blocked and the sword returned to its master. Hidi didn’t rest. Phoenix Soul extended and rolled up like a long staff. Hidi caught the staff in hand.

The audience was amazed.

Mansa frowned. The sword had returned back to him. He grit his teeth. His right hand held the sword while his left hand twisted. As the large staff was about to strike at Mansa’s head, the audience was silent. Then, suddenly, the wooden floor of the platform cracked. Five or six huge stones rose out and blocked in front of him.

Tian Bolis and Surin’s faces darkened while Shang Zheng Liang nodded.

The staff struck heavily on the stone. The dust covered the entire stage. Hidi’s body shook heavily, but the stone was indestructible. Phoenix Soul bounced back.

The dust hadn’t settled. Mansa’s face was slightly pale, but still didn’t rest. He roared. His body floated above one of the stones. He held the sword with both hands. The sword brightened and stabbed against extremely hard stone.

Another creaking sound. Hidi felt the ground under her feet shake. Then, after several sounds, the wooden floor where Hidi was standing splintered into thousands of pieces. Countless numbers of rock spikes were shooting out from the ground.

"Ah!" Shaw Danon let out a scream. He then immediately fell quiet. Surin began to worry. Sun Rise Peak cheered loudly.

"Nice one, Shen Shixiong."

"Great!"

"Victory!"

The stage was still covered with dust. Hardly anything could be seen. Mansa, who was still standing on top of the stone, didn’t relax. His eyes widened, search. Expectantly, after a while, within the thick dust, red light flashed and brightened instantly. Hidi was like a flaming phoenix, flew out from the dust with the red glow of Phoenix Soul circling her waist.

Hidi formed an incantation with both hands. Then, she swung her hands down. Phoenix Soul stopped circling and entered into the earth like a viper.

Without thinking, Mansa immediately flew backward. Just as he thought, at the location where he was standing, viper-like Phoenix Soul came out from the earth, appearing like a red dragon. A large hole was created.

Hidi was standing in mid-air, her hands formed an orchid shape, crossed in front of her chest, shouted: "Extend!"

Phoenix Soul paused, then the red light brightened and extended hundreds of times. It went in a circle, went into the ground and came out from the other side. It surrounded Mansa. Countless layers of silks tightly covered him.

Bamboo Peak disciples looked at each other. This was the magic Hidi used two years ago against Baye. Today, it became even more powerful. With the sky and earth covered by silks, how will Mansa differ from Baye?

As Hidi kept channeling the incantation, the giant ball of silk slowly contracted. Between the gasp of the lines of silk, the brown glow was faintly visible; Mansa was clearly continuing to resist, still. Even the silks slowed down due to the resistance; however, it still continued to contract.

The Sun Rise Peak disciples were quiet, nervously watching the giant red ball. Everyone knew what may happen if they got squeezed like that by an esper.

The red silk was six feet wide. The red light had completely forced down the brown light. No one could see Mansa. Hidi was still in mid-air. Her face began to flush. Her hands began to shake.

After a while, Phoenix Soul contracted one more foot. Everyone held their breath. At that moment, Mansa broke through the silk and came out; however, his face was completely pale.

The Sun Rise Peak disciples cheered loudly; however, Shang Zheng Liang closed his eyes and sighed. Tian Bolis and Surin smiled to each other.

Mansa was dying trying. Hidi pointed her hand. Phoenix Soul quickly followed and hit Mansa’s back. Mansa couldn’t dodge; even turning his body seemed to be a great difficulty for him. Phoenix Soul hit him, and Mansa fell off of the stage.

Sun Rise Peak disciples stopped their cheering, as though muted. Shang Zheng Liang stood up, shook his head, yelled at the disciple next to him: "Hurry and help Shen Shixiong."

The Sun Rise Peak disciples realized and went to Mansa, helped him to get up. Hidi took back her esper and landed on the ground. She smiled to Mansa: "hank you, Shen Shixiong, for going easy on me."

Mansa looked at her, smiled bitterly: "Tian Shimei is very gifted. I hold admiration." Then, he let the disciples carry him away.

Shang Zheng Liang came, said to Tian Bolis and Surin: "Tian Shixiong, although niece is still young, she already has developed great talent. It really fills me with admiration."

Tian Bolis smiled proudly: "I am flattered."

Surin also smiled, said: "Shang Shixiong’s house has many talented disciples. I believe there are stronger opponents in your house."

Shang Zheng Liang smiled and walked away. Tian Bolis did not press further questioning. He turned and walked. Hidi returned to them, immediately she was surrounded by Bamboo Peak’s disciples. They were all smiling, saying many praising words to drown Hidi with. Shaw Danon was happier than anyone else. Tian Bolis came over. Hidi swiftly went to Surin’s side, pulled her arms and smiled: "How was it Mom? Aren’t I tough?"

Surin rolled her eyes, but then laughed: "Yes, yes."

Tian Bolis was also smiling. His daughter had given them a good start. He was finally able to let out his pressure. He patted Hidi’s head. Then, he turned back to the disciples: "Now is your turn. Ling’Er has set an example for you all. You must try hard. It is possible for you to match disciples from other houses."

They said together: "Yes!"

Shaw Danon shouted along with them. They left and prepared for their own battle. Next round, three disciples from Bamboo Peak were up; Tian Bolis and Surin seperated to observer different matches. Surin noticed Shaw Danon was still standing in the same spot, she reminded him to closely observe the contest, then left. Shaw Danon thought for a moment, planning to find Hidi and go with her to cheer for their Shixiong. His eyes searched through the crowd and found Hidi was walking quickly toward Kevern.

Shaw Danon’s heart sank.

Hidi spoke with Kevern. Kevern and talked to Hidi. Hidi laughed. Together they picked on of the platforms to watch the contest.

Shaw Danon stood still. A sorrowed disappointment rose in his heart. His blood turned cold and froze his heart.

Note:

Shenmo Ziyi Spiritual Creatures Monkey Phantasm-Came from Mount Sumeru. Extreamly smart and naughty. The third eyes open when it become thousands years old. It can see things thouands miles away. Able to control nature. Protector of Buddha.

Shenmo Ziyi-An ancient book with collection of strange creatures, gods and devils, theasures. Wrote by Xiao Ding

Xiao Ding-His name didn’t recorded in any history. Bla bla bla....(let’s not translate this part. It is just how Xiao Ding keep saying how smart he is in this part of the note)....Very intelligent since young age. Very strong memory. Had traveled around the world. He wrote the best book of the world: "Shenmo Ziyi"....

P.S If you don’t know, Xiao Ding is actually the author of this book, Zhu Xian. Er...you know what I trying to say about the notes above...