Cult of the Sacred Runes

Chapter 34 – Butterfly Effect

Ever since the duel was arranged the odds were stacked heavily against Ye Zhong in this five star versus six star Warrior death-match. Even his own family did not have high expectations of him leaving the arena as the victor; they just wanted him to come out alive. But after seeing Ye Zhong performing a forbidden stance, as the spirit sword closes in on Du Han Yue, they felt victory was near.

If Ye Zhong beat Du Han Yue here not only will the the Du family give up on their ancestral land at North Hill Bay they would also stop sabotaging the Ye family’s businesses.

Exceeding the Ye family’s wildest imagination, Triple Plunder Sword had now become a forbidden stance and it might just help them bury their problems!

The audiences’ eyes were popping out and they could not look away. They were at the edge of their seats as they witnessing a possible upset. The details of the last fight where a lower ranked cultivator beat a higher ranked opponent was so monumental that it would be recorded in the history books of Green Moon City! This rare achievement will put Ye Zhong’s name in the hall of fame.

“Forbidden stance! Damn it! Since when do the Ye’s have one of those in their arsenal!?” The whole Du camp was worried except three people who were keeping their cool and looked undaunted.

The Du Patriarch, President Dong, and General Zhou were impressed but they knew Du Han Yue would not go down that easily; the six star Warrior had many ways to deal with this situation!

For Ye Zhong using a forbidden stances was a way to challenge and maybe even topple a six star Warrior, but Du Han Yue was anything but ordinary. Without amazing defense, this genius couldn’t have beaten three six star Warriors single-handedly.

Being a pretty talented fighter himself, even when he was a level below six star, Ye Zhong should be able to defeat many six star Warriors, but he was about to find out just how versatile this opponent was.

“High level Spirit stance, Ivy Armor!”

“High level Spirit stance, Iron Frame!”

The spirit sword was a sizeable threat that concerned Du Han Yue. It was the first time in a long while he looked worried. But he wasn’t startled as he knew exactly how to respond. His will-force came pouring out and with Qi he drew rune after rune which became the two high level Spirit stances.

The large amount of twinkling runes were floating around the duelists. Behind the screen of shining shapes, ivy armor started materializing on Du Han Yue’s body. Underneath the armor his skin gained a metallic luster and all of a sudden his flesh and skin become hard as steel.

Du Han Yue’s lightning reflexes allowed him to react moments before the spirit sword connected, and he finished the two stances in less than a second! The spirit sword did not wait as it tore through the newly formed armor.

“Pop!”

Ye Zhong’s spirit sword pierced right through, but the armor did slow its momentum. When the sword reached Du Han Yue’s skin it was weakened by roughly thirty percent.

“Clang!”

The spirit sword threw sparks as it grazed the glowing skin on Du Han Yue’s cheek. The sharp grinding echoed in the arena.

The sword was deflected as if it crashed into a solid block of steel!

The spirit sword shattered after leaving a shallow red trail. “A forbidden stance… Good. Welldone!” Fresh blood ran down Du Han Yue’s face as he slowly raised his hand and wiped it off. He spoke in an intriguingly calm tone. His stare remained sharp and it was apparent that he was not emotionally affected by Ye Zhong’s ferocious onslaught.

The wicked spirit sword had the intent to kill, but it did next to nothing to Du Han Yue!

“I am proud of you. Seem the Ye family has more than just history after all! But you’re not special! We know forbidden stances too!” Du Han Yue said with a straight face, looking right into Ye Zhong’s eyes. It sounded like he didn’t really care about his opponent’s impressive forbidden technique. He leisurely raised his fingers, will-force was still lingering on them as he skillfully moved his Qi from his dantian to his hands.

With his fingers Du Han Yue transformed his Qi into runes. He drew every rune with great intensity and there was burst of energy for every rune he finished. The energy waves were warm and pressuring.

“Forbidden stance, Butterfly Inferno!” There was an abnormal red flush to his face as he finished the twinkling sequence. The hundred and thirty-six runes were formed within the blink of an eye.

“Buzz!”

Qi flowed vigorously within the sequence of runes then it metamorphosed into a swarm of clear winged butterflies which burned brightly.

Flapping wings from the swarm of butterflies stirred up a blistering tornado. Hundreds of raging butterflies rushed towards Ye Zhong.

Each burning butterfly had the wingspan of only three inches, but their presence exceeded their size! The faces of the Ye family turned pale when they saw the enormous swarm of burning butterflies fill the arena.

“Butterfly Inferno stance! The Du family lets their kids practice forbidden techniques?!” Ye Zheng Qing’s face went pale. Ye Zhong’s performance was way better than the patriarch’s expectations and that gave him a glimmer of hope which had just been shattered by Du Han Yue using a forbidden technique.

Being one of the Big Three, it was natural that Du family had access to forbidden stances, but they were actually against younger family members, especially geniuses like Du Han Yue, using such techniques because of the repercussions they could cause and their harmful side-effects.

Using these dangerous stances can shake one’s foundation therefore it is usually not worth the risk. When Du Han Yue and Ye Zhong showed off their double-edged techniques their families were far from pleased!

“Butterfly Inferno… Is that really necessary? Han Yue seems to be a bit too impulsive. It’s just Ye Zhong, there is no need to use a forbidden technique surely? He’s just a five star Warrior! Yes, he knows a forbidden stance, but Han Yue still has the will-force and Qi advantage!”

“Just wait until Ye Zhong uses up his Qi. A fatigued opponent is an easy opponent that is an obvious and risk-free way to win right?” Seeing Du Han Yue getting carried away, General Zhou and President Dong both shook their heads in disappointment thinking he was too young and hot-headed to judge the situation.

Du Yuan Ming was not angry, but he too was disappointed. The most talented youngster basically just wasted a few months worth of training. It was very possible for Du Han Yue to reach the condensed prime Warrior level before he turned thirty. Ye Zhong was not a worthy opponent, definitely not worth wasting his son’s precious’ future prospects.

“Idiot! Ye Zhong is just a five star Warrior of course he is going to give everything he has including forbidden stances! He’s willing to risk everything for honor and to save his ancestral land! Why the hell would you use a forbidden technique just to match him? You could be looking at breaking through to the seven star level in six months! The recoil is going to set you back so much and now you won’t be able to breakthrough for another year!” These were the words of a mysterious teenager who stood amongst the Du camp. He shook his head with disdain when he saw Ye Zhong and Du Han Yue performing forbidden stances.

A few of the Du family’s talented youngsters frowned when they heard the mysterious youth’s rant, but they didn’t dare verbalise their disagreement.

They didn’t know exactly who he was, but they knew he was related to Lu Feng, and that he was an eighteen year old seven star Warrior! It’s hard to imagine but they do exist. The Du family wouldn’t gain anything if they angered such a person.

“What!? Du Han Yue knows forbidden techniques too! This is the last nail in the coffin for Ye Zhong for sure his opponents cultivation advantage and stances are too much for him to handle!”

“The Ye family is done for!” Seeing the butterflies burying Ye Zhong the audience started to speculate again.

Ye Zhong impressed many by fighting valiantly, but it looked to the audience like the fairytale was coming to an end the moment they saw Du Han Yue performing a forbidden stance.

The butterflies swarmed towards Ye Zhong like a rain of burning arrows. They were closing in on Ye Zhong fast, ready to explode.

“Boom!”

Red hot waves exploded on Ye Zhong. He found himself bathing in a tornado of burning blades, his clothes and skin were ripped and burnt by the stance. His clothes became rags and his skin turned black and green from bruises and burns. It was looking grim for him.