Chapter 202 - Long Tian's Resolve

When Hei saw Xie Guanyu activate his techniques, a feeling of surprise arose within him. Leaving aside the metal tail behind Xie Guanyu's back, the technique of the Darkness Law used by Xie Guanyu was similar to his Spider Carapace technique. Both consisted of solidifying their spirit power and giving it a precise form.

"He looks like a scorpion, right?" Lang asked as she had seen the amazement in Hei's eyes.

"Yes. Is the Xie Family one of the Beast Families by any chance?" Hei asked in turn.

"No, they aren't part of the Beast Families. They are a normal bloodline family that developed techniques based on the scorpions' attack pattern. The Xie Family territory is close to an area occupied by scorpions, so they have always fought with them for the control of the area. They aren't very common, but there are still other families who have created techniques based on the spirit beasts' attack patterns. But, only a few are truly refined while most are so inferior that they cannot even be called imitations." Lang finished her explanation as she returned her gaze to the combat stage.

The Xie Family was one of the few who had managed to invent an effective technique to reproduce the scorpion attack pattern. Therefore, as a member of the Beast Families, the only ones who had personally received techniques from the divine beasts, she was curious to see the fruit of years of research that this family had made.

"Take this!" Xie Guanyu shouted as he advanced. Long Tian meanwhile, had drawn his two hook swords.

Slash!

One of Xie Guanyu's black claws stabbed at Long Tian. The latter just responded with a simple lateral movement. However, the next instant, the metal tail's sharp tip quickly and stealthily moved where Long Tian had moved.

"Repel."

Long Tian pointed one of his hooked swords against the metal tail. At his command, a wave of spirit power pushed back the metal tail, pulling it backward.

"Death Claw Crushing!"

Xie Guanyu quickly moved his other claw and tried to crush Long Tian's body. The Imperial Prince then pointed his other sword and repeated the same procedure as before.

"Repel."

Again, part of Xie Guanyu's body was rejected, but that didn't stop the Xie Family's young man.

"Death Stab!"

The metal tail attached to Xie Guanyu's waist stopped being pulled back. As soon as the repelling movement stopped, the metal tail snapped forward again. Only, the speed with which it moved had significantly increased.

Stab!

The tip of the metal tail stabbed the air, missing Long Tian. The Imperial Prince had activated his movement technique and dodged the attack. But Xie Guanyu's assault was far from over.

"Death Dance!"

As if a murderous raptus had enraptured him, Xie Guanyu started to move his black claws and metallic tail simultaneously. It started moving so fast that it left residual images every time they moved. Incredibly, though, Long Tian was dodging every hit with ease.

'His speed technique. Rather than moving his legs, he appears to be slipping through the air. No, it isn't correct. It seems more like being pushed back or attracted to a specific point.' Hei came to that conclusion. He didn't want to miss any second of the fight. He had fought side by side in Long Tian and knew how strong he was. Now he wanted to know how much Long Tian had improved since the last time he saw him in action.

"Darkness Law, Dark Blade!"

Xie Guanyu, seeing his Death Dance fail, began to summon black-colored spirit blades that rushed at Long Tian.

"Intent of the Double Swords, Whirlpool of Swords"

Long Tian's hook swords shone with his spirit power before moving at an insane speed. The blades of the two swords cut the darkness law's technique without any issue.

"Attract."

Long Tian pointed one of his swords towards Xie Guanyu. The latter felt a mysterious force pushing him in the direction of Long Tian. He tried to oppose it, but it was in vain; he was pulled towards Long Tian's blade.

"Dark Sphere."

Xie Guanyu created a sphere of darkness that burst a few centimeters away from his opponent's sword. The sphere's explosion interrupted the force of attraction imposed on him, freeing him from that forced movement.

"You're done!"

Xie Guanyu pounced on Long Tian with his black claws stretched forward. At that distance, there was no way he could miss the target. The Imperial Prince, however, didn't get flustered and used his technique again.

"Repel."

Xie Guanyu was pushed back one more time, but this time Long Tian decided not to let him rest. After pushing Xie Guanyu back, Long Tian set off in pursuit with his two hook swords, ready to tear his opponent apart.

'Yes, so this should go. Thanks for the push, Long Tian.' Xie Guanyu thought while he didn't seem to be afraid of his opponent's moves.

With his body still pushed back, Xie Guanyu stuck his metal tail into the combat stage, abruptly stopping that backward movement. The metal tail emitted a series of screeching but resisted the pressure. At that point, Xie Guanyu met Long Tian's hook swords using his two black claws.

Peng!

Xie Guanyu's black claws repelled Long Tian's hook swords. Although the two swords were made of Spirit Metal, the hardness of the claws produced by the Darkness Law was such as to be able to withstand such exchange.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the metallic tail stuck in the combat stage rose. Since Xie Guanyu was no longer subjected to the repelling force, he released his weapon. Then, he used it to attack, taking advantage of the fact that Long Tian's weapons were currently engaged in resisting his black claws.

"Intent of the Whip, Scorpion Sting!"

Stab!

The tail-like metal whip that ended with a sharp point hit Long Tian at the stomach's height. This time the Imperial Prince was unable to dodge, being hit in full by the technique. Yet, although the tip of that scorpion tail was stuck in his body, Long Tian didn't seem to have been affected at all.

"What?!" Xie Guanyu exclaimed in surprise; he didn't believe his eyes. Even after considering the defensive layer of spirit power, his blow wasn't such that it could be received without consequences. At least Long Tian's spirit power's defensive layer should have diminished.

"Repel." Long Tian said, pointing the sword upwards.

Once again, an intense pressure pushed Xie Guanyu's body, bringing him up several meters. Long Tian also made the metal tail fly along with him, thus freeing his body from the tip that had stuck inside.

When he did this, the public could see how Long Tian had emerged unscathed from the attack - a layer of rock had formed in the area of ​​the Imperial Prince's body under attack. The metallic tail had only broken the rock layer that served as temporary armor, thus canceling the damage.

"It is over now, even if there was no doubt," said Feng Chen approaching Hei. "Hei, I want to clarify a point now that Long Tian isn't present. Dae-Won, Hide, Xinya, William. Don't worry; I won't tell anything Long Tian doesn't want to reveal, so stay calm. But I believe that for the good of Hei and his companions, it is right that they know certain things."

Hearing those words, the face of the four guards twitched slightly, but they did nothing. Long Tian trusted Feng Chen, and the latter was an intelligent person. Even leaving aside their social position, Feng Chen would hardly have done anything that could have annoyed Long Tian.

"So be it. Do as you wish. However, if I were to believe that you are going to mention something you shouldn't, then I will intervene, regardless of the academy's rules. And this applies to others." replied Dae-Won, who was the leader of the four guards. Hide, Xinya and William nodded to support Dae-Won's words.

Feng Chen then made a sign with his head to thank them for their understanding and then said what he wanted to say. "If you continue to stay close to Long Tian, ​​it is likely that you will hear many rumors about him. I won't say anything about the truthfulness of those rumors; that's something you'll have to judge for yourself. All I can tell you is that Long Tian is the person I fear the most to face. Not you, not Hu Jie, not one of the other children of the Eight Big Families or one of the other Imperial Princes. I think the same applies to you as well, right, Hu Jie?"

Being called in question, Hu Jie scratched his head before replying, "Yes. Although it bothers me to admit it, I share your opinion. No matter how fiery my fighting spirit may be, a part of me can't help but think I can't beat him."

As if he had foreseen such an answer, Feng Chen continued to speak, "The reason for this is simple - Long Tian's belief is practically an endless monster. His goal is so crazy that you can't help doubting his mental abilities. Yet, it isn't his goal that matters as much as his belief that he can achieve it.

Long Tian is convinced that he can achieve it and is willing to do anything to do it. The problem, though, is that to make it happen, he doesn't have to be defeated. Even being defeated only once would mean the end of his dream; therefore, he isn't allowed to lose.

And now, the reason I'm telling you all this. I am not asking you or your teammates to let him win should you meet him in the tournament; however, I warn you. Long Tian cannot be beaten unless you have a belief comparable to his. The weight he has decided to carry is something that I could never think of bearing myself.

Even if you defeat Hu Jie or me, if you don't have the characteristics I mentioned earlier, you are bound to lose against Long Tian. Therefore, if you ended up facing him, if you want to win, you have to give over 100% of your strength and overcome your limits. Otherwise, however strong or skillful you may be, you will end up losing.

Finally, I want to ask you for a personal favor like I asked Hu Jie earlier. If you really ended up against Long Tian in the tournament, do everything to win. This tournament is a test. A test to evaluate if he has the qualifications to support what he is convinced of. Obviously, the same goes for your companions. If you end up fighting Long Tian, ​​don't give up but fight to the end."

Then Feng Chen ended his speech leaving Hei and the others stunned. They didn't quite know how to react to such a statement. Fortunately, shortly after that, Hei recovered and replied.

"I don't know what Long Tian's goal is, but after this period spent together, I was able to perceive a strong determination in him. However, even after your words, the situation doesn't change. I have my reasons for winning, and I'm not going to give up. It is true that in these months, my companions and I have become very close to all of you, but I also have something to accomplish. Even if it means that I will have to shatter Long Tian's dream, even if it means to ruin the bond that has been established, I don't intend to back down.

This is the life we ​​chose when we took the path of martial artists. Each of the fighters in this tournament, each of our classmates, each of the people we met in our lives has their own purpose and battle to carry on.

The stakes are too high, and this world is too cruel to show generosity to others. I don't know what the weight that Long Tian has to bear is, but I know mine, and it is a weight that I don't have the confidence to protect unless I become the strongest. And I'm going to defend it even if it means that I have to crush you, Hu Jie, Long Tian, or anyone else in this world."

Hei's words rang majestic and full of conviction like an old tree whose roots were too deep into the ground to be moved.

Upon hearing this, both Feng Chen and Hu Jie couldn't help but be amazed. The same was true for Huli Xieren and the four guards of the Imperial Prince. Within them, a single thought was being formed in their heads, 'the belief behind his eyes resembles Long Tian's one.'

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Long Tian had made Xie Guanyu fly in the air. After that, an aerial combo started; calling it monstrous was an understatement. Using two simple moves, repulsion and attraction, Long Tian made Xie Guanyu bounce around in the air. The latter had no way of resisting; whatever he tried, Long Tian would easily block him and then attack him again.

After a couple of minutes, waiting for Xie Gunayu to free himself, Song Yazhu declared the end of the fight. "The winner is Long Tian."

At his announcement that ended the fight, the public forgot to applaud. Their eyes were still glued to Long Tian and the demonstration of strength he exhibited. Without even activating his bloodline and relying on just two techniques, he had completely crushed the young man from the Xie Family, who was well known for their lethality.

Even the VIP spectators were impressed by this performance. They had heard rumors about Long Tian and knew from reliable sources that Long Tian was indeed the weakest of the five imperial prince candidates as the next Sun Emperor. Yet, the level of strength shown now didn't correspond at all to the information in their possession. Considering Long Tian's other hidden cards, ​​wasn't he comparable to the other four Imperial Prince Candidates? If this were true, many things could change regarding the future fight for the throne.

'Yes. You had to hide your strength for fear of retaliation from other factions of the Imperial Family too long. But now your time has come. Show the world your strength. The fate of the Yellow Dragon Faction resides in you, Long Tian. No, that of the entire human race. Only you, Long Tian, are worthy of being the next emperor and finally bringing peace.'

Principal Long Jing was in his seat without saying a word, indifferent to the discussions that were taking place next to him. However, he wasn't at all calm inside. His emotions were wiggling like a raging storm that had been suppressed for too long. The dream he had set for himself but had failed to fulfill - now Long Tian had the real possibility of carrying it out. As an elder who had now lost the chance to move forward, he could only do his best to support the new generation, and therefore he would do all he could to help Long Tian.