Chapter 14: The Ten Paths of Vajra

"Three Great Heavens?" Taylor was taken aback by the question

"Yes, what kind of a place is it?"

"The Three Great Heavens are the top rank Academies in the Three Thousand Realms of the Western Region of the Cosmos. As you know Zayer we live in the Western Region of the Cosmos which is regarded as the smallest region among the four parts. Our Gaspra Realm is considered below average when you compare it with the other realms of the Cosmos. But in the entire Western Region, there are three Academies which rival the powers of the other parts of the Cosmos"

"So the Three Great Heavens are the strongest in the Western Region?"

"Yes,they are but there are other powers with similar power in the Western Region"

"So, is there a chance for us to join the The Three Great Heavens?"

"Our Academy gives one chance to some students who have extremely good talent. When the student turns fifteen, he will be given a chance. But Zayer, you must realize that the chances of actually getting selected is less than one percent. The kind of talent which appear at the The Great Academies most of the time cannot be found in the whole of Gaspra Realm!"

"Well, I guess I should give it a try"

"With your talent, I wouldn't be surprised if you were given a chance"

"I have three years to get as strong as possible! Are there any requirements for the selection?"

"You must have reached Sky Profound Realm by fifteen!"

"Hmm. The requirements are quite harsh. I don't suppose there is anyone who qualified from our Academy?"

"Exactly. There is exactly no one who has qualified from the Academy"

"Well, I guess history will be changed"

"Just where do you get such confidence?"

"Guys! I'm hungry! Let's go eat!"Joran began to shout as his stomach started to grumble.

Zayer and Taylor realized they would have a rough academy life with their eccentric roommate.

The day came to an end as the boys decided to head to towards the dining hall to eat. The boys had a journey to take, a long journey which would shape their lives, this was their martial journey!

It was morning once again as the students began to adapt themselves to the Academy life. Zayer and Taylor were standing in the training fields by themselves. Both of them held a wooden sword each. Zayer began to instruct Taylor on basic swordplay which made Taylor surprised as this was really a unique style.

"Well, those are some things which you should practice. The movements are basic but over time you will realize as to how important they are in shaping your way of the sword"

"Alright. I guess I'll start my training" Taylor nodded in satisfaction.

Taylor began to perform his sword drills and some of the basic movement techniques. Zayer looked at him in approval because he realized Taylor really did have talent for swordplay.

It was now time for Zayer to practice on his own. He realized he had to start from scratch to have a stable cultivation. Zayer knew it wouldn't take much time for him to reach Sky Profound Realm. According to calculations, he would reach Sky Profound Realm in a year and a half!

The reason for this was the black pearl! Every cultivator would absorb Qi from the surroundings and so did Zayer. But the absorption amount of a normal cultivator when compared to Zayer was Heaven and Earth! But advancing too fast also had it's risks. Zayer wouldn't be able to use his full potential.

To stabilize his warrior cultivation, he had no choice but to start from the beginning. He had to practice his foundation technique, the Ten Paths of Vajra.

The Ten Paths of Vajra was an ancient technique passed on from generations. The founder of the technique was unknown. It was one of the rare high level techniques of the sword. To successfully perform the technique,a cultivator's mind should be calm as water. It was through patience that the ultimate power could be wielded.

Zayer held the wooden sword in his right hand as he stretched his hand upwards. He then brought his hand downwards and was horizontally pointed forward. He sank into a squat as he murmured

"Vaayu"

It was the initial position of the Vajra Style. The Vajra Style had ten different postures. Vaayu was the first, then came Jal, followed by Agni and so on.

He began to perform the ten different postures repeatedly. Each time he would do it at an increased pace. Each posture began to connect as Zayer began to perform them swiftly in a flow. The result was truly astonishing as he had become one with nature! The Qi from the surroundings began to once again flow towards him as if he was a vortex. He felt a barrier within him was about to break.

"Bang"

After constant nourishment from the Qi, a barrier had been broken. He was now in the True Profound Realm Peak Stage!

"Not bad, I just had a minor break through. I guess it's now time for me to practice some strikes"

He began to take some stances and swing his sword. He was quite rusty with his skills as it had been some time since he practiced seriously.

The Ten Paths of Vajra was a style where one would combine postures to display the true might of the skill. The initial combination was of the posture Vaayu and Jal. Zayer stood motionless with his eyes closed as he was lost in his thoughts.

"As swift as the wind. As calm as Water. The silence shall not be broken"

Zayer popped his eyes open and began to swing his sword forward.

"Swoosh"

"Swoosh"

"Swoosh"

He executed multiple swings but there was absolutely no sounds of the swing. He didn't stop just there as he continued to perform the same moments. He would strike the air with tremendous force, yet there would not be a drop of sound. The moments were flawless and it gave the sword a meaning for its existence. This was the sword technique of the Vajra Style, the Sublime Cut!

"Swoosh"

Zayer made a last swing of the Sublime Cut as he switched stances. He now stood in a different posture which was similar to the initial posture, Vaayu.

It was now time for him to combine the next posture, Agni.

"The Will of Fire and the Swiftness of Wind has no equal. Merge both to forge a path!"

His hands moved backwards as he prepared to throw a full swing. The power of the swing was many times more destructive. It was fast but not silent like the Sublime Cut. It contained the destructive force which the Sublime Cut didn't have.

"Swoosh"

"Swoosh"

The sword made a loud sound as it swung upwards in the air. It once again split the air but what was frightening was the force behind it. It was extremely concentrated and it was as if each blow contained it's own will.

This was the Rage Blaster!

After a thousand swings, Zayer came to a halt. He had expended all his energy by practicing the Ten Paths of Vajra. It had been four hours since they came to the training grounds. Taylor had watched everything Zayer did and imprinted each stance in his memory. He would practice them when he would be alone. Though he could imitate the movements, it would be really hard for Taylor to progress further as he need an understanding regarding the technique.

Zayer and Taylor headed back to their dorms. When they got back, to their surprise Joran was sitting cross legged in meditation. Zayer realized once again that everyone here wanted to pursue the path of power. To gain power, one had to work hard and persevere. Only then would they reach the Martial Peak!

The boys then decided to get something to eat and head for their first class. They decided to attend the Primary Wind Magic class which would be held later in the afternoon. This would be the only class that all the three of them would share. As to whether they would attend everyday, it was solely their choice.

The boys made their way to the class. All the gazes were on them as they entered and a look of envy, greed and jealousy were present in the eyes of some students. Some girls blushed red when they saw them as sparks had begun to fly on the first day of the Academy life.

The three of them were seated in the back of the class and quite a few places remained empty near them. It was clear no student wanted offend the three of them. It was time as the whole class waited for their teacher.

"Looks like everyone's getting know each other. I don't understand why no one wants to speak to us!?"

"Taylor, I don't think you understand our position in this class. We won the tournament and we have the freshman ruler next to us. This treatment is pretty much normal" Joran said in a mild tone as he looked at the girls present in the class.

"Well, we just have to get used to it" Zayer nodded in approval.

The class which was noisy became absolutely silent as middle aged man walked in.

The teacher had arrived!

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Author Notes:

this update was rather fast. More to come but finals start from tomorrow.

will be back after that.

So, this will be the last chapter.....for now.

Wish me luck!

XD