Chapter 3: Challenge
The boy was not prepared for this fire.
Fire Crow Clan’s warriors, however, were born with the talent to control fire. The boy, cursed in rage, patted his body and put out the flame; soon, only wisps of smoke were left around his body.
Ji Hao proudly looked at the boy's bald head and loudly said, "Hah, a waste who couldn't even stand a handful of fire, who gave you the guts to clamor around here?"
Ji Xia, with his arms folded across his chest, amusedly looked at Ji Hao, while he remained silent.
Several elderly men who sat around the bonfire, happily nodded and laughed oddly at Ji Hao. These elderly men seemed to be the eldest among the people present.
Amongst a group of muscular men who were sitting in front of Ji Xia, one man stood up. He was not shorter than Ji Xia, but was born with a slim stature. Unlike other warriors, no muscles were to be seen on his body. His skin was white and tender and he didn’t look at all like a tribesman of the southern primitive forest. His long hair was tied into a braid by three jade rings and laid on his back; bright lights flashed through his slender eyes, which made him look like a cunning person.
"Wu, do not humiliate our family." His voice was cold, feminine, and gentle, emanating a gloomy atmosphere.
The boy, whose hair and eyebrows had just burned, shouted and took a big step towards Ji Hao. He moved nearly a hundred feet in a single step, and then threw a punch to Ji Hao’s face. He simultaneously growled, "Bastard! You only dare to attack from behind! I am Ji Wu, son of the powerful Ji Shu!"
The wind brought by Ji Wu’s fists blew across Ji Hao's long hair, straightening every single strand backwards, pulling against his scalp and causing great pain.
So powerful!
Ji Hao immediately realized that Ji Wu was at least three times stronger than himself. Physically speaking, it was impossible for Ji Hao to endure this punch.
Ji Hao’s fingers changed form and locked together; his body flashed, exploding into seven or eight blurred shadows and moved away. Ji Wu's fist thundered in the air without even touching Ji Hao’s shadow.
Ji Hao mumbled a spell and tens of arm-thick, fiery serpents flew from the bonfire and rushed, under Ji Hao’s control, towards Ji Wu.
Ji Xia breathed gently and smiled, looking at those flying, fiery serpents and said, "Honourable Elders, Hao has been learning magic from you all these years; it seems he has already made some achievements."
Several elderly men laughed and nodded triumphantly. An elder whose eyes were shining with a green, fiery light said, "Hao has excellent talent in Maguspriest sorceries. He will most likely become the first Supreme Magus in our Fire Crow Clan in ten thousand years."
Ji Xia and several warriors sitting beside him smiled, while Ji Shu and his followers, who sat in front of them, frowned simultaneously.
Ji Shu, the delicate and beautiful man, growled, "Wu! Ji Hao is a legendary genius, you must be careful!"
In the meantime, Ji Shu threw a glance of discontent towards those elders. These elders were the most respected Maguspriests in the Fire Crow Clan; their bias towards Ji Hao was completely obvious.
Ji Wu let out a growl and a shield-shaped tattoo on his left arm lit up; a metal buckler darted out of his arm along with a stream of fire[1], shielding his upper body from behind. This bronze buckler was exquisitely crafted with a totem inlaid on its surface — a tower with a bloody eye floating above.
"This shield looks so familiar!" Ji Hao gazed at the delicate totem, immediately shocked.
His hands subconsciously locked together, he had only used thirty percent of his power to control the fiery serpents before, but now all of his force erupted at once.
Tens of fiery serpents suddenly expanded, devouring each other. Soon, three hundred-foot-long, fiery dragons appeared and, along with the fierce sound of wind, collided against the shield.
With a loud buzzing noise, twelve fist-sized twisted symbols[2] emerged from the surface of the shield; a three-feet-thick cyan light shot tens of feet away from the shield; the light caused friction and collided with the three fiery dragons, making a muffled, explosive sound. Ji Wu held the shield and resisted the tremendous power of the fiery dragons. His body slightly trembled, but he did not take a single step back.
"Haha, so you are Ji Hao? The legendary child who was able to speak right after birth, learned how to run when you were a day old, and capable of controlling flames when only being a month old?"
Ji Wu resisted the flames with the shield and growled, "But why’re you so weak? You are too weak, ah, Ji Hao, you couldn't even harm my hair!"
Ji Hao laughed oddly, releasing control of the three rapidly shrinking, fiery dragons, and looked at Ji Wu, "Harm your hair? Do you still have any hair that I can harm? Hey, how does being bald feel like?"
Ji Wu was being provoked by Ji Hao's words. His eyes turned red and his body suddenly lit up; a faint, fiery light erupted outwards from his head.
While laughing, Ji Hao grasped towards the wall; a spear with a flint spearhead and wooden handle darted out from a wooden shelf and fell steadily into Ji Hao’s hands.
With a loud shout, Ji Hao held the long spear, which was two times longer than his height, and twirled it around in his hands. An intense power ran from his palms into the spear; a series of red spell symbols lit up on the spear and a stream of flames erupted from the flint spearhead.
Ji Hao’s spear collided hard with Ji Wu's shield. A large fire appeared around Ji Hao and Ji Wu; the spear appeared to be a dragon within the fire. In an instant, Ji Hao stabbed more than a hundred times; the spear intensely pummeled the shield; blazing flame and cyan light collided against each other and created a loud, piercing noise.
After attacking over a hundred times, Ji Hao stopped and took a deep breath. Ji Wu then pushed the shield forward, the three fiery dragons exploded and a strong force emitted from the shield. A tyrannical power, too powerful for Ji Hao to withstand with his physical strength, was sent to Ji Hao’s body through his arms.
Ji Hao retreated as the spear was knocked into the air by the tremendous force.
Ji Wu silently waved his right arm and an axe tattoo lit up; a dark, metal axe appeared in his hand. Ji Wu waved the axe, relentlessly chopping towards Ji Hao's head.
Ji Hao looked Ji Wu in the eye, he sensed bloodthirst from within Ji Wu's eyes. Was this guy really planning to kill him here?
Fingers crossed, Ji Hao activated multiple magic spells. His body suddenly disappeared. A whirlwind manifested behind Ji Wu and Ji Hao appeared within the whirlwind, catching the spear which was falling from the sky and smashing it onto Ji Wu’s back with all of his strength.
Ji Wu was hit by the spear and slammed into the wall; dozens of weapons fell from the wooden shelf and hit his head.
Ji Hao used all of his strength in this attack. His internal power[3] formed a spot of light, which intensely pulsed between his eyebrows; after which all of his power suddenly erupted.
A gentle yet blazing force invaded Ji Wu’s body through his bones and muscles, intensely shaking his internal organs. Ji Wu felt the blazing force inside, as though a bomb exploded within his chest; blood spurted from his mouth, quickly turning into flames, and burning on the ground.
Ji Wu looked like a bear that was kicked in the ass by someone else. He shouted and stood up, picking up the axe in an attempt to continue the fight.
"Enough!" Ji Xia stood up and growled. "Enough! This is the place for clan meetings, not for you brats to fight."
Ji Shu sniffed coldly and said with a feminine voice, "Big Brother Ji Xia, why not let those brats finish the fight; let us see who’s the winner? The two of us are competing for the position of leader; let our kids compete as well. Just let everyone watch this show!"
Ji Xia took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Everything will be settled according to the rules of our ancestors. In the ancestors’ worship ceremony in two weeks, we will settle everything with our power."
Ji Wu reddened with shame. He dropped the shield and axe on the ground, pointed at Ji Hao, and yelled, "Ji Hao, will you fight me in the worship ceremony, just like a real man? If you lose, you will hide your balls and be a coward for your entire life!"
Ji Hao inhaled coldly, slowly raising his right hand across his neck, accepting the challenge.
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[1] Weapon tattoos: Special magic which allows Magi to fuse with their weapons; the weapons will appear in the form of tattoos on their skin and will materialize in accordance to the Magi’s will.
[2] Spell Symbols: These marks are unique symbols which contain mysterious power, usually connecting to certain magic, and will appear under the Magus’s will.
[3] Internal power: Different from spiritual power, internal power is a force that exists and grows in both the physical body and the spiritual world of a Magus. Can be improved through both internal and external means, and is able to transform into physical force.