To Walk The Mist

The five stages on the ground shook as it rose up into the sky. As it elevated, one could see small chains dragged up from the earth from all it's sides of the stages into the sky.

"You have one burning incense stick on time to stand on the ground again." the officiating elder said, "How you reach the ground is completely up to you. The winners and those who will be eligible to participate in the meet will be pulled from those on the ground."

most of the contestants immediately understood what the elder's words meant. One of them was Jia Lin. By his side stood Heavenly Rain, his master's daughter. He glanced at her to see if she understood the elder's words, but her cold face held no change.

"You must not hurry to get down." he advised and she sent him a sidelong glance.

She had always held herself above all others. Even though her father wished that she marry Jia Lin and dual cultivate with him, she felt he was beneath her. someone like her could only truly be compatible with a true dragon like the young master of the Heaven alliance, Di Wong.

Her anger towards Jia Lin was more hooked on the fact that he did not see her as anything. Not a true power or true beauty. Rumour has it that met someone more beautiful than she was. While he defiled female disciples of the gate, he dared to say such words.

Looking away from him, she saw that some had directly jumped down. For some reason, the stage that was not much higher than fifty feet, felt much higher when falling. Many panicked at the sudden change, they felt and broke a few bones.

Some tried to use the chains to climb down, but the chains were a trap too. The chains that seemed harmless had strong lightening coursing through it. If one listened well, they could hear the chains slightly buzz.

She suddenly had an understanding. Jumping down normally was impossible. The gravity around the stage was much stronger, making a fifty foot jump more dangerous.

Deciding on her next actions, she gathered her energy on her feet and stepped off the stage. Unlike those that tried this, she did not fall. Her feet settled in the air as though she had walked unto steady ground, allowing her to descend as though walking down a staircase.

The Godhand gate master smiled at this.

"She is combining mental energy with strong mental strength. A mental energy cultivator able to make such stable qi waves to this level, she is wasted on the Heaven alliance." the person that spoke was the Ke clan chief. Everyone knew that the Ke clan were mostly a clan of mental energy cultivators, so his words, no one could dispute.

Seeing her go down that way, someone had an idea to use his flying sword. He stepped on the sword and flew down with ease. Seeing him succeed, many followed suit.

Seeing them, Jia Lin snorted. It was not reaching the ground that mattered, it was how you reached the ground. Taking one last glance at Heavenly Raine, stepping down gracefully, looking like an immortal fairy and causing many to stare, he decided to descend.

Placing his hand behind his back, he stepped off the stage. His body seemed as though a feather in the wind and descended with careless grace. He did not sink to the ground under the gravity as one thought he would, but glided down.

"One with the world!" someone exclaimed.

This was someone from the sword sect. They held great pride in their sword techniques and were unrivalled in the cultivation world for a long time. One day, Tie Nse appeared and created a sword technique that if one practised till the last form, would be able to attain 'one with the world'.

This technique is closely guarded in the heaven alliance sect that the sword sect could only grind their teeth in anger. They trained their eyes on his form descending, not wanting to miss one moment.

Jia Lin expected the eyes of everyone to be one him, bathing him with admiration. He had completely learned the patriarch's own technique. The arena was silent. Making him wonder if they had been shocked too much.

When he looked up at the crowd, he noticed that no one was looking at him any more. Not even his master was giving him a look of approval. His master's face was odd as it looked to be stuck in a shocked expression.

He frowned at this. Who could be possibly more outstanding than him at this moment?

He followed the eyes of the crowd and looked in the direction of their attention. His face could not help to distort, changing to one of utter shock.