《Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)》 Chapter 1 The Shadow of Death Deep within an ancient temple on the outpost world of Verotas, four men stood in a circle around a dragon. At their feet was a complicated series of runes, circles, and symbols. A large, resplendent, silvery door of polished starsteel blocked the only apparent entrance and exit to the ritual chamber, and beyond it came the sounds of a vicious battle. Explosions shook the foundations of the building as thousands of battle cries roared in a litany of defiance. "Hurry brothers," said one of the men, "he''s almost upon us!" As if to emphasize his point, the defiant roars turned to agonized wails as something slammed into the building itself like a wave. The starsteel door groaned as dust fell from the ceiling. Silence followed. Broken only by the breathing of the men and the dragon in the room as though there were a dark, empty void beyond the starsteel door. The men picked up their pace as much as was possible. Each of them released a cloud of vibrant, crackling energy that flowed into the complicated inscriptions at their feet. The runes lit up with a bright blue glow and a sphere of energy formed around the dragon in the center. "We''re counting on you, Ming," said one of the men, "We''re sending you to a world with exceptional cultivators. Find one who stands out as a genius even among them. A peerless warrior capable of stopping even Fang Zhuyu''s followers. Return to your home world with them and bring them to join the fight. Everything rests on you, Ming." "I will not fail in my sacred duty, elders," said the dragon as lightning crackled over his dark black scales. Though he hardly seemed to notice. "Then our sacrifice shall not be in vain," said the man, "the sending is almost complete. May the heavens smile upon you." Faint sounds came from beyond the starsteel door. Slow, lethargic footsteps and a chorus of overlapping whispers that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The footsteps stopped. The runes on the starsteel door flickered like a candle in the wind and went out as the shining, polished metal groaned. Splotches of red, gold, and black rust bloomed upon its surface and raced across it as the smooth, silvery metal wore away. The hinges broke apart into dust and the door fell with a tremendous crash, releasing a cloud of rust that swirled in the air like a thick, metallic fog. Ming growled fiercely at the doorway, but the four elders didn''t even turn around and kept their focus on their task as sweat beaded their brows. From the shadows beyond the temple doorway, a dark figure emerged. A skeleton draped in shadow so thick it clung to his bones like clothes. Even in the light of the room, he remained utterly black as though the light refused to touch him. He stepped forward onto the fallen door. The ruined metal seemed to boil with decay beneath his feet, rust rising like steam from every footstep. "I''d heard tales of the mighty lightning dragon cultivators. I''m disappointed with the truth. How can you hope to stop him when you cower before me?" said the man with a dispassionate, hollow voice. The four men said nothing, their focus entirely on their work, and the dragon glared at the shadowy skeleton. "Hmm... a sending? You are desperate. Who could you hope to call to your side? Not that it matters. You were too slow and nothing in the universe has a hope to stop what''s coming," he said. He raised his hand, and a black sphere of roiling shadow appeared in his palm. Darker than the darkest night, it gave off an aura of danger and cold death. He casually threw it at the elder closest to him. The shadow ball smashed into the old master. Darkness stripped flesh from bone, turning it to dust and the bones of the wise, respected, kindly man clattered to the floor. With the circle broken, the three remaining masters forced the sending to complete before it should. Ming rose in the air, surrounded by the bubble of their energy. "No!" he screamed, but he could do nothing. The three elders who remained charged the shadowy skeleton. He waved his hand and a wave of dark energy pulsed outward, stripping them of life in an instant. Their bones fell at his feet. The shadowy skeleton looked up at Ming. The empty sockets where his eyes should be bored into him as though piercing his very soul. "There is no escape. Only death and eternal service," said the skeletal man. His voice sounded tired and apathetic yet it was filled with palpable waves of power. Another orb of purest darkness formed in the palm of his hand. He tossed it at Ming. Ming''s eyes went wide as the dark power soared toward him. The bubble of force around him rippled and glowed. It exploded in a brilliant flash of light, and he disappeared moments before the attack could land. The sphere of shadow crashed into the roof and detonated, blasting a gaping hole in the ceiling. The shadowy man looked at the space where Ming had once been and sighed. "It doesn''t matter. The master will be freed. Nothing you do will stop that," he said. Threads of darkness flowed out from him and across the bones of those he''d slain. Shadow wound around them like snakes, and their skeletons reassembled. The once noble elders rose to their feet, wreathed in shadow. Much like the one who''d slain them. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The skeletal man turned on his heel and walked slowly away and his slaves followed him out and down the long steps of the sacred temple. Shadow poured from the skeletal man as he walked, oozing down the steps and worming its way into the mountains of slain disciples and temple guardians. Each of them rose as horrors in his thrall. Yet, he scarcely seemed to notice them as one haunting whisper overshadowed the rest, speaking to the skeleton of shadow. "Yes, master," he replied, "it shall be as you command." *** Ming fell from the sky and landed in a heap on a foreign world. He shuddered with rage and grief. Thousands of god rank cultivators and the old masters slain like they were nothing... who could possibly stand against such power? He took a deep breath and focused on his mission. He would find the most incredible expert the universe had ever seen, and bring them back to his world. He would make sure that the old masters'' sacrifice and that of his martial brothers wasn''t in vain. He closed his eyes and focused on feeling the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth... of connecting to the energy around him, so he could sense the powerful auras of these peerless experts. Only... he felt nothing. He furrowed his brow and concentrated harder. Still nothing. He tried to cultivate. To absorb the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth and refine it within him, but he could not. There was none. "This... this cannot be!" he snarled. He tried desperately to sense the energy of this foreign world in the vain hope he''d simply missed it. But, it was barren. Lifeless. If it had any Essence of the Heavens and the Earth there was so little that he couldn''t even feel it. He roared. The force of his voice tore through the air. The trees around him flew apart into splinters, and the ground beneath him cracked. He stood among the splintered branches and panted with barely constrained rage. This world had no Essence. Everything here was pitifully weak! Just his voice was enough to destroy the trees in this forest. He didn''t even want to think about what would happen if he released his full power. He coiled up and sat on the ground, his head hung low. The ritual had been ruined. Instead of a world filled with peerless experts that could save his world... he was sent here. A world with no cultivation. No experts. Not even weak ones. It was hopeless. Ming sighed and looked up at the blue sky. So many had given so much for him to be here... to have this chance... he couldn''t give up so easily. Perhaps... perhaps there would be someone... some expert that had managed to cultivate even in this barren world... The thought brought a spark of hope back to his being, and he took off from the ground. He released a fraction of his energy, and a dark blue mist blanketed him. He vanished from the sight of any he did not wish to see him, and shot across the sky like an arrow loosed from a mighty bow in search of one who could cultivate even here... Three weeks later, Ming was going insane. He''d scoured this pitifully small world multiple times in that time and studied the people here closely, but he hadn''t found a single cultivator! Billions of humans! But, their meridians were fragile and never used. One drop of his power and they would shatter! Less than a drop! Pathetic! He had to give these humans credit though... they were weak, but they''d found other ways to make themselves strong. They had technology that was beyond his own world. Horseless carriages made of metal with wheels took them where they wanted to go at a far faster speed than their weak legs could carry them. While strange metal tubes with metal wings soared through the sky. Unfortunately, it was all worse than useless. Even children ran faster than their metal boxes, and any true expert could soar through the sky far quicker than those silly winged tubes! Even their mightiest weapons were no match for his enemies... He sighed and flew through another of these strange cities without walls, filled with buildings shaped like spears that stabbed the sky. He sneered. "How tasteless," he said, "just cramming as many people into as small a space as possible... is everyone in this world to be treated like paupers?" He soared through the sky at a lazy speed. He could return home, but to go back alone... he would have no chance. Maybe he should take back one of these humans? They were weak, but that was in this desolate world... perhaps in his world, they could cultivate. He''d have to strengthen their meridians, so they wouldn''t instantly explode from the atmosphere of energy. Actually, their whole body would need to be remade, so the gravity of his larger world didn''t crush them like insects before they could draw a breath. It would cost him dearly, but it was better than giving up wasn''t it? Better than leaving his world to die, or returning alone? But who to choose? It would require a great sacrifice from him. Who was worthy of such a gamble? Who might pay off? He studied the humans while they were blissfully unaware of his presence. He saw how some strained against metal and pushed their muscles to grow... how they forced their bodies to become stronger. Of course, a child from his world could destroy them... but he admired that they tried at least. Maybe one of them? They trained their bodies in this world... would they have the fortitude of mind, body, and spirit to do what was needed to become strong? He turned his attention to the scholars and scientists of the world... they studied each and every day and bent their minds to solve problems. It was they that had created such incredible contraptions... ways for these puny humans to overcome their lack of Essence... perhaps one of them? How would their minds cope with the Dao? With cultivating endlessly? With the life and death battles that were to come? He looked at the artists of this world... some of them made works that experts from his world would kill for. The storytellers, painters, and all those who exercised their imagination... they already dreamed of worlds beyond their own. Would they be the best chance for him? He sailed through the skies and stared at the humans beneath him. The fate of his world depended on his choice. Who should he choose? They would have to start cultivating from scratch. Maybe a child would be best, but the older ones showed more of who they were, and once they started cultivating their lifespan would increase anyway. How did they cope with such miserably short lives? It was depressing. Suddenly, he was torn from his thoughts when he felt... something. He froze in mid-air and turned to the source. It was the first time he''d felt anything like it in this world. He drew closer... it felt... odd... almost like the aura of an expert, but... different. Had he finally found an expert? Someone who could cultivate even in this world? He flew faster and faster... and as he did, he noticed that the aura spread further than he''d first thought. How had he missed this before? It was massive. Because there was no Essence, or other cultivators and just a general lack of auras and energy in this world, it carried incredibly far. It would never have reached him so easily in his world. He flew closer and as he did so, he picked up more of this strange aura. It felt powerful... incredibly so. Yet, it lacked the distinctive signature of a cultivator''s aura. Lacked the hallmarks that would allow him to sense the rank and power of the one it belonged to. How odd... He flew for miles, and as he did so the aura grew thicker and more oppressive. Like a dark cloud hanging over their pathetic city and permeating it. How could the humans not feel it? How could they not bow down and kowtow before the source? It made even he, a descendant of The Great Lightning Dragon, feel awed. He soared closer to the origin of the overbearing aura. What monster could this belong to? Chapter 2 The Bargain Finally, Ming found the source of this strange aura. He''d flown slower than he could because he was afraid to lose it, but even so, the distance it had traveled was incredible. He hovered outside a hospital, almost choking on the waves of energy coming from it. He''d seen these hospitals before... places of healing, usually. What would this expert be doing here? Were they injured from defending their world? Is this where they went to recover? Were they a healer perhaps? His mind reeled with questions, and he found it hard to focus when this aura choked and clung to him. He slipped inside the building and flowed toward the source. He felt her now. A girl with a powerful soul and determination so strong it came off her in thick waves. The weakling humans must be exceptionally talentless not to sense... this. It should be suffocating them. He''d never felt anything like it. Ming drifted through the sterile white corridors of the hospital and found the girl in her room. She was alone, propped up in a bed with a tube in her arm connected to a bag of fluid. A machine next to her beeped steadily. Another device seemed to breathe for her with more tubes that went down her throat. Ming frowned. Was she part machine? It wasn''t unheard of for an expert to replace parts of themselves with metal. He scanned her gently but found nothing aside from that strange aura. Not even a scrap of cultivation. Yet, he didn''t fall into despair. She was just too... interesting. He glided closer to her until he was just a hair''s width away from her. She didn''t seem to notice, and her eyes remained fixed on a glowing device with what looked like an alien language scrawled on it. Yet, the words changed every so often. He shook his head. Such a strange world. He stared into her eyes and brought one clawed finger to her forehead. He placed the tip of his claw against her pale skin, careful not to hurt her delicate body. A blue light shone from the tip of his claw and into her head. And he scoured her memories, thoughts, and emotions. He saw her happiness with her parents. He felt the smile on her lips when she looked at them. He saw the men who broke into her home and beat her parents to death before her very eyes. He felt the agony as they broke her bones and left her paralyzed. All so they could take a few measly possessions... He stayed in her mind and felt her agony day by day. He felt her helplessness, her thirst for revenge, and the heart-shattering grief that haunted her. He felt hopelessness, and despair like he had never known as she learned from coldly professional doctors that she would stay trapped in her own body for the rest of her life. Dependent and at the mercy of others. Forever. The pain in her heart was so great that even he despaired. Were it not for the one emotion that overpowered all of that... he would''ve been lost inside her mind. But that was what had drawn him to her. Determination. Determination so raw, intense, and powerful that she exuded it from her being. She refused to buckle and bow down, accepting a hopeless fate. The device she looked at contained countless books, and she turned pages by twitching her cheeks... she''d studied at a level far beyond her peers. In a few years, she''d put the scholars he''d looked at to shame. She couldn''t move. Couldn''t breathe without the aid of a machine, and yet she drove on and pushed forward. Ambition and a desire for revenge burned within her. He witnessed her countless daydreams of making the ones who''d taken her family and done this to her pay... He broke the link before he could be drawn any further in. He stared at her. This tiny child... only eight years old, and she had a fierceness about her that dwarfed any other he''d ever known. Her body was broken, but he would have to remake the body of anyone he brought with him from this pitiful world. The sacrifice from him would be extreme, and he may never recover. Was she worth the extra risk? It would take her years to cultivate... no not years... centuries, but maybe just maybe... she could do it. He smiled, and his fangs gleamed under the fluorescent lights. What was he wasting time for? He''d made his choice the moment he sensed that aura. It had to be her. Every human he''d seen on this pitiful world paled in comparison. She was weak, and her body was broken... but he doubted her spirit could ever be. Who better to follow the difficult path of cultivation to become a supreme expert? With this raw determination... perhaps she could reach heights that others only dreamed of. It was a long shot, but long shots were all he had now. He looked at her with cold, calculating eyes. She would have to agree to it... she would have to swear. He needed to know that she would take on his cause and truly embrace it with all her heart. And he knew exactly how to do that... 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Jie twitched her cheek, and the page turned. She felt a bit guilty for taking a break from her studies and enjoying a novel. But if she didn''t, her mind got frazzled. It wasn''t exactly like she could go for a stroll in the park to clear her mind. Besides, she''d studied for the last twelve hours straight. She needed a break. Her forehead tingled, but she ignored it as best she could. If it started itching, she''d go insane. Better to focus on her book. The tingling grew. She blinked and waggled her eyebrows, but it didn''t help. It never did. Suddenly, she found herself thinking of the day her parents were killed... and her life afterward... she tried not to, but it was like something anchored her mind to it, pulling her deeper into more vivid memories... Tears formed in her eyes as she desperately tried to focus on her book. The text was blurry and distorted and she had to blink hard several times to clear the tears from her eyes. Her brain tingled as though fingers were combing through it. The tingling stopped and the memories faded to a dull ache in the back of her mind. She''d have let out a relieved sigh if she could. The screen of her electronic book flickered and went out and she found herself staring at her own crying reflection in the black screen. She frowned. Great. Now she''d have to wait for one of the nurses to come and fix it. And, when they did, they''d find she''d been crying. Wonderful, Jie thought bitterly. The air in front of her shimmered with a faint distortion that turned to a blue crackle of energy like lightning and glowing water, growing into an enormous serpentine form that seemed to take up the entire hospital room. Gradually, the energy receded and as it did so, it revealed onyx black scales in its wake until Jie found herself face to face with a dragon. The dragon was of an eastern style, with a long, serpentine body and four legs... though the front ones could easily have been large, taloned hands... She would have leaped up and run screaming if she could''ve. As it was, she stared at it with wide eyes. The dragon stared back. With massive slitted orbs the size of her head. "Hello, Jie," the dragon said. His voice was like the low rumble of thunder. Jie''s eyes flicked to her IV drip. What the hell had they put in there now? Lightning played over the dragon''s dark black scales and some small rational part in the back of Jie''s mind wondered how it kept itself in the air without any wings... but of course, it was just a hallucination. It''s not like it needed to obey the laws of physics. The dragon frowned. "Ah yes... you can''t talk, can you? Perhaps this would be better," the dragon said within her mind. Jie blinked. "Please let this be the drugs... I don''t want to be insane..." she thought. "Let what be the drugs?" the dragon asked but shook his head, "Whatever... you can talk through the mind link I''ve created. This is good. Makes things easier." Jie''s heart leaped up into her throat. Clearly, she was hallucinating but the dragon looked incredibly real and those jaws were huge! It could bite her head clean off! "Put aside your fears. I''m not here to harm you. I''m here to make a deal. My name is Xie Ming, last descendant of The Great Lightning Dragon. I already know your name, Liu Jie. I also know you would give anything to be free of your injuries... to talk... to run..." he said. Jie frowned. Should she talk back? Was that wise? If she engaged the hallucination... wouldn''t that make it worse somehow? But, it''d been so long since she''d talked with anyone. Even if it wasn''t real... it''d be nice just to... talk. That guy in the movie had that volleyball to talk to when he was alone... maybe this would help her keep it together? "I would very much like that. Dragon Xie Ming," she sent back. The dragon smiled. The smallest of his fangs were bigger than her fingers. "Then, I have a proposition for you," he said. She felt weird talking to something that wasn''t real... but at least it wasn''t like anyone could overhear her. Ming tilted his head. "A proposition means a deal," he said. "I know what it means," Jie said, "what''s your deal then?" Ming smirked. Either that or he was about to eat her. She hoped it was the former. He had really big teeth. Would it hurt if he bit her? It wasn''t real, but she''d read about things like hypnosis and how the mind could create pain for the body... she hoped it wouldn''t bite her. "How would you like to be free? To be healthy? Able to walk, run and move as you wish..." Ming said. She looked to the side. Was her hallucination just going to remind her of her problems? That wouldn''t be much fun... but still, it felt good to talk to someone... or something... or not a thing. Whatever it was, or wasn''t. And how did it hear some of what she thought but not other stuff? Was it hearing everything right now? It should, right? If it was in her brain? She stopped thinking about that before she gave herself a headache. "I''d like that more than anything," she said. "I can give you that. That and so much more. I can take you to a world where you can become more powerful than you can imagine. Not only can I make you healthy again, but you could become strong enough to crush mountains with your fist," Ming said, "what would you say to that?" "That would be amazing," she said, "I go to worlds like that all the time though." The dragon''s eyes widened, and his jaw hung open. "You travel across worlds even as you are now?" he said. "Sure," she said with a mental chuckle, "anyone can do it." "Show me! What power do you possess to travel between worlds with such casual ease? Do all of you possess this incredible gift?" Ming asked. He leaned closer to her, his hot breath washing over her, stirring her hair, clothes, and the hospital blankets that covered her. His mental voice had grown louder. It was like having someone with a megaphone in her brain. "Would you keep it down?" she said. Ming backed away. "My apologies. I lost control of myself, but please tell me of this power," he said. Jie rolled her eyes. "It''s called books, and your imagination silly," she said. The dragon''s enormous face twisted with rage as his lips pulled back into a snarl that exposed far too many long, razor-sharp fangs. "Don''t toy with me!" the dragon roared with such force that the room shuddered as the fluorescent lights flickered between darkness and such bright intensity that several exploded in a shower of sparks. Jie''s ears rang from the sound and the door to her room burst open as a nurse rushed in. "What was that noise? What''s going on here!? Are you okay, miss?" she asked, her eyes passing over the dragon as though he weren''t even there. "Enough of this foolishness," Ming said. He raised one taloned hand and released a wave of blue energy. The nurse crumpled to the floor. "What did you do to her?" Jie screamed over their mental connection. This wasn''t real... no... the hallucination was just growing. She wasn''t sure which was more frightening. "Relax, child," Ming said as he calmed himself and his voice settled to a more soothing rumble. The lights stopped flickering with those that''d survived returning to their normal glow. "I merely put her to sleep," he said, "As if I would belittle myself by slaughtering weaklings. Pah! Back to what I was saying, I can take you to a real world. "Not some fantasy. A real world. A world you can see, taste, touch, smell, and hear. A world where you could walk on the clouds or split the earth. If only you are willing to do what it takes to gain such power. "I can make you whole again Jie of the Liu family. I can make you better than you have ever been, and help you along a path to becoming a goddess. What say you to that?" Chapter 3 Hunter Jie wished she could massage her ears. They still stung. As real as all this felt, she was sure it had to be a hallucination, but it could cause her real pain. Maybe if she went along with it, the dragon wouldn''t get so mad. "I would love that," she said, "but there''s always a catch isn''t there?" The dragon smiled again. "Clever girl," Ming said, "the catch is that you will have to walk through fire and death. You will have to fight for your life every step of the way. You will have to battle against people and creatures more powerful and terrifying than your worst nightmares. I need you to save my world and many others by stopping the followers of Fang Zhuyu. It will not be easy. You may not survive." This was a weird hallucination. Maybe it was from all the stories she read? She was about to agree to whatever it said, but then she paused. What if this was real? Did it matter? If it was real, she would gladly suffer through anything to be free of the hell she was trapped in. What did she have to lose? There was one more thing she wanted though. "In case you''re actually real and not just in my mind... I would agree to this, but I want something else first," she said. Lightning flickered over the dragon''s onyx scales. "Name your price, girl," the dragon said. "The ones who put me here... who did this to me and killed my parents. I want revenge," she said. Ming leaned in closer. His breath washed over her once more, and for once Jie was glad to be paralyzed, or she''d have trembled. "I shall free you from this prison, and help you get your vengeance. In exchange, you will come with me to my world, and push through overwhelming odds to become powerful enough to save everything I hold dear," the dragon said, "do we have an agreement?" That sounded good to her. If this wasn''t all in her head then it would be an amazing bargain as far as she was concerned. "I agree," she said. The dragon smiled. "We shall have to do something more binding when we reach my world, but for now your word will do," he said. Ming looked at the tubes that went down her throat, breathing for her. "Must you be connected to these... things?" he asked. "I have to... I can''t move anything below my shoulders," Jie said. Ming shook his head. "That won''t do," he said. He raised his hand and a green, glowing ball the size of a pea sprouted from one of his talons. He brought it to her chest. A warm tingle ran through her whole body. Numbness gave way to countless feelings and sensations that flooded her mind. It felt incredibly foreign and strange after so long without them. Jie gagged and coughed as the tubes that helped her breathe now suffocated her instead. Ming frowned at Jie as she spasmed and trembled, her heart monitor beeping frantically as she struggled helplessly. She tried to pull out the tubes, but her hands were weak, and she wasn''t even sure that she could anyway... wasn''t it partly in her lungs? Jie panicked and clawed at the tubes. Ming raised his hand again, and an azure mist flowed out from him and down her throat. Using this strange energy, he pulled out all the tubes, the iv drip... everything. It didn''t even hurt. As he removed the last of the tubes, Jie took in a shuddering breath, relief washing over her like a wave. "Thank you," she rasped. It hurt to speak, yet brought tears to her eyes just to be able to do so after so very long... How long had it been since she''d last spoken? She couldn''t even remember. Ming smiled. "Don''t thank me yet. This is just so you don''t die. Believe me, you aren''t going to like what''s coming," he said. Jie looked the dragon straight in the eye. "I don''t care. I''ll do whatever it takes. Thank you," she said. Ming''s smile grew. He raised one clawed hand and lifted her out of her hospital bed as though he were plucking a delicate flower. The dragon cradled her in his claws. "Let us be off," he said, "It''s time for me to enact vengeance in your stead." He shivered as he said the last words and a toothy, predatory grin split his lips. Ming laughed as he surrounded Jie with a crackling shield of blue energy and flew through the sterile halls of the hospital at an insane speed. White and grey walls were a blurry smudge as he somehow managed to slither past doctors and nurses and squeeze through impossible gaps between them. They raced beyond the reception area and Ming tore through the front door in his eagerness, sending it flying over the car park where it smashed against a large statue on a roundabout and spun away, coming to rest on top of several trees. Stolen story; please report. Ming chuckled. "Whoops," he said though he seemed more amused than guilty. He soared upward and the hospital dropped away, shrinking as though that era of her life were vanishing in an instant. Jie couldn''t help but feel relief and excitement wash over her even as she wondered just what she''d got herself into. Ming soared high into the night sky yet his barrier kept the wind from whipping Jie''s hair. He dove into and out of dark, lazy clouds like a dolphin leaping out of the ocean as Jie took in deep, grateful breaths of the cool night air. At the apex of their flight, Ming roared. Lightning flashed over the clouds as they drew together and thickened impossibly fast. Whether by his will or his mere presence, it began to rain. Rivulets of water ran down the energy barrier surrounding Jie as though it were a window. Ming''s dark scales glistened in the rapidly disappearing shafts of moonlight as the sky darkened. Ming''s flight was winding and playful and Jie''s eyes were wide as they flew over the world, the lights of millions of homes twinkling beneath her like stars. Moments ago he''d given her the ability to move once more. Not much, but some at least... and now he gave her the sky... For the first time in what felt like forever, Jie felt free. A feeling she''d fully expected to never experience again. Her heart soared and she found her eyes were wet once more. Yet, for the second time since meeting the dragon, it was not from sadness but from a joy that choked her almost as strongly. Jie looked up at Ming and the joy plain upon his face and his movements. To soar in the skies... how great it must be to be a dragon. Jie thought. No noise from below reached her here. Only the gentle rush of the wind around the protective bubble Ming kept her in. She basked in the freedom she felt. It was the most alive she''d felt in years... That thought snapped her back to reality. This couldn''t be a hallucination. She was certain of that now. She was in control of her own mind, and the drugs they''d given her shouldn''t be strong enough to do this. She''d known that before, but how could she have accepted a dragon appearing out of thin air in her hospital room just like that? Now though... she knew this was real. That meant the deal she''d made was real too. Jie smiled widely. Ming had said she would gain the power to walk on clouds... then maybe she could feel as free as she felt now each and every day. She looked up at Ming. "How are we going to find them?" she asked. The dragon snorted, his breath steaming in the cool night air. "We? I will find them and deliver your revenge. You will just sit back, relax, and enjoy," he said. *** Ming was ecstatic. She had agreed! Just as he''d known she would. Even now as she rested in his hands like a hatchling, he felt the waves of determination pulsing from her. There was no better choice for a savior. Of that he was certain. But, would it be enough? Could she get strong enough to stop Fang Zhuyu''s followers in time? He could only hope... Besides, this was all a gamble. It had been from the start. Even if he''d gone to the world he was supposed to, there was no guarantee he''d have found anyone suitable anyway. Now, all he had to do was exact some quick revenge. The sooner they got back to his world, the sooner she could start training! Finding their quarry shouldn''t even be that hard. Nobody in this world cultivated. He doubted they had any way of masking themselves. He snorted. Everyone in this world was beneath him. Literally, he thought with a smirk as he stared down at their city. He chuckled and flexed his scales. He swooped down to the place where Jie had been attacked. Her home from three years ago. Thanks to her memories, it''d been easy to find. To do this to a five-year-old child... he couldn''t wait to rip them apart. Such degenerates had no place in this or any other world! Except for Hell of course. Ming smiled a vicious, bloodthirsty smile. They would be there soon enough. He flew down to the front door and waved his hand. The door unlocked and creaked open. He made sure to be extra careful after accidentally destroying the one to the hospital. Ming shook his head. Even the doors in this world were sorely lacking. He carried the child inside, and Jie gasped as she looked around her old home. An elderly couple sat in the living room staring intently at a rectangle that showed pictures in quick succession. What were those things called again? Ming wondered. Televisions? The old woman turned around and looked straight at them. The girl''s eyes went wide, and Ming chuckled. "They can''t see us. Don''t worry. We won''t frighten them, and we won''t be long," he said. The girl seemed to relax at that. Ming smiled. She had a good heart. He knew this of course, but it still gave him a warm feeling. "You forgot to close the door again," said the old lady. The old man frowned and rose on shaky legs. "I swear, I closed it. I know I closed it... damn doors open on their own I swear," he muttered as he shuffled across the room and slammed the front door. "There? See? It''s closed! Watch! It''ll open by itself," he said. "Yes, dear," said the old lady without so much as looking at him. Ming set Jie down on the floor, with her back propped against the wall. He''d healed her spine, but she was still so weak... She needed to see this though. The more she witnessed of his power... the hungrier she would be to cultivate when they reached his world. "Watch closely little one. Much of this will not make sense to you just yet, but we''ll get there. Everyone has something called elemental affinities. Most only gain access to them once they open the middle dantian. "One of them is water, and I happen to have that affinity. It is through this affinity that I will track down the men we seek," he said. He moved his hands, and his spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, vessels for energy within his body like arteries and veins were for blood, in the pattern he knew so well. Blue mist spilled out from him and washed over the entire room. "Water is one of the five elements in the universe. It flows at its own rhythm just like the universe. Everything within the universe is part of that rhythm, and we all create ripples as we move. "Our actions move forward in time in ways we can never fully comprehend, brushing against the lives of those we may never even meet. Everything in the universe has meaning and power. Even the smallest ant sends out ripples that change the lives of giants. "It is through my mastery of the element of water that I will look back through the ripples, until the day they came to this place, killed your parents, and broke your body. "From there, I will trace them through the ripples they''ve created since... and we''ll find them," Ming said. Jie nodded and watched intently. Her eyes gleamed in the soft blue light. The blue energy swirled and crackled and Ming closed his eyes as images poured into his mind. He watched Jie''s parents murdered anew and saw her body shattered. Ming gritted his teeth. Such vile wretches... he couldn''t wait to end their pathetic lives. When they were done, the echoes of the three men walked out of the door that fateful night. It was only then that Ming allowed Jie to see the echoes of the men. As much as he wanted her to see his power, he wished to spare her from reliving the experience as best he could. He scooped up Jie and followed the echoes out the door. "The door''s open again," said the old lady, "see? You don''t close it properly." "I slammed it shut! It''s these damn locks I tell you! They don''t make them like they used to! There''s no passion anymore! It''s all just cheap junk!" yelled the old man. Ming chuckled. Love, it seemed, could bloom even on this barren world. Ming felt better than he had in all the months since he''d arrived, and he whistled a cheerful tune from his childhood as he followed the echoes of his prey. Chapter 4 Prey They glided over the city streets faster than a car could move, winding, twisting, and turning behind blue echoes of men who moved as though someone had pressed the fast-forward button multiple times on a movie. And, as they did so, Jie had the growing feeling that Ming was an exceptionally weird dragon. He''d taken her to her old home, released a cloud of energy, and now moments later they were chasing down the men who''d taken everything from her. Could he really track them down just like that? That wasn''t what made her think he was weird though. Using magical energy and doing impossible things seemed like something a dragon should do. Rather, it was the fact he''d started whistling that annoyingly cheerful tune! They were on their way to enact cold and brutal vengeance! This was serious business! And that damn tune was catchy too. It wormed its way into her brain until she found herself humming along to it, desperately trying and failing to fight a smile that tugged at her lips. Revenge was wrong. That was what so many had told her all her life. What books, movies, and stories of all kinds always said. What they were doing was evil... what she had asked for was evil. She should feel anguish and turmoil in her soul... not this damnably infectious cheerfulness like they were out skipping in a field! Finally, she couldn''t take it anymore. "Why on earth are you so happy?" she asked. Ming craned his serpentine neck and looked down at her. "Why shouldn''t I be?" he asked. "Because this isn''t something to be happy about. Revenge is wrong. I still want it... I''m prepared to pay whatever price I must, but it isn''t something to be happy about," she said. The dragon laughed heartily. "What foolish thought is that? Revenge is delightful!" Ming said, "They haven''t even wronged me, and I shall enjoy destroying these slimes on your behalf. "Thieves and murderers. Ha! I would spit upon their graves, but they are unworthy of such dignity. It''s just too bad we can''t spend the appropriate time on it. We have too much to do, I''m afraid. We can''t afford to torture these fools for a hundred years." Jie''s mouth hung open. "But... they say that to kill a murderer makes you just like them... am I not evil for wishing them dead?" she asked. Ming looked at her as though she were insane. "Killing a murderer is viewed the same way as killing two innocent people and crippling their child? What a strange world you live in," he said, "hmm... they frequent that building. Let''s take a closer look. Maybe we can save a bit of time." He flew down to an old warehouse with paint peeling from its walls in a rundown part of town as she chewed over his words. Was Ming right? It hardly seemed fair that she should be deemed evil for asking for the death of evil men... and what had others done? They still walked free, didn''t they? The police had never even caught them! She remembered another quote she''d read somewhere... that all that was necessary for the triumph of evil was for good men to stand by and do nothing. Well, they''d done nothing! She couldn''t wait to see those men suffer. If that made her evil then so be it. Ming flew straight toward one of the warehouse''s many boarded-up windows and smashed through the thick wooden planks as though they weren''t even there. A cloud of splinters followed in his wake as he slithered through the air into the darkness within the building. Graffiti covered the walls and rubbish littered the floor, stirred by Ming''s passing. The whole place stank of urine and despair. The only light came from somewhere further inside, and Ming flew straight for it. The three men Jie hated more than anything in the universe stood around a camping light. Thunder rumbled in the distance as Ming drew closer to them. "Did you hear that?" one of them asked. "Yeah, bits of board falling apart. Probably because of the storm. Stop being so damn jumpy," said another, "as I was saying, these guys are loaded. One trip in there, and we''ll be set for months." "That''s what you said about the last place, and they only had a few bucks," said the third man. The second man smiled. "Yeah, but the girl was a bit of fun at least, eh?" he said. The three laughed. Jie''s stomach tightened. She hated them. She wanted them dead. All thoughts of revenge being wrong vanished. She wanted blood. "It seems my hunch paid off. Are you ready for your vengeance, Jie?" Ming asked. Jie gritted her teeth. "Yes," she said, "do it." The dragon smiled, exposing rows of razor-sharp fangs and he laughed. His laughter was like the crackle of thunder, and it echoed across the empty warehouse. The three men whipped out their guns as they looked around the warehouse frantically, their eyes passing over Ming and Jie as though they weren''t there. "Who''s there? Show yourself!" one of them yelled. "What''s the matter? Can''t you see me?" Ming asked. His voice dripped with malice and killing intent so intense that even the hairs on the back of Jie''s neck stood on end. One of the men pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. A beam of light pierced the darkness and he swept it all around him, even shining it over Ming and Jie and still, he did not see them. "Whoever you are, you''d better run, or we''ll blow you away!" one of them yelled. Ming laughed. "Go ahead then. Try," he said. The swirling energy around Ming and Jie receded, although the protective bubble around Jie remained, and the men looked at them all at once. "What the f--" started one. "It''s a monster! Shoot it!" interrupted the other. Their guns flashed. Gunshots tore through the air and Jie squeezed her eyes shut. Jie''s heart leaped into her throat, waiting for the bullets to land. But, she felt nothing. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She opened one eye and then the other. The three men stood with expressions of shock and horror, and Ming laughed. The shattered remnants of bullets lay scattered upon the floor, warped and twisted into metal mushrooms. Ming drifted closer to them as they held their guns with shaking hands, smoke still drifting from the barrels. The one with the flashlight dropped it as he backed away. It clattered to the floor and rolled, the beam of light seeming so small and fragile in the overwhelming darkness and serving only to lengthen the shadows as Ming slithered through the air. "Is that the best you can do?" Ming asked, his laughter echoing like thunder within the warehouse. The men backed further away and fired again. Their bullets bounced off Ming''s scales without so much as a scratch. A few pinged off the sphere of energy that surrounded Jie as well only to ricochet away into the darkness. Jie''s mouth hung open. What power was this? The men fired over and over. Bullets clattered to the floor like rain until their guns clicked uselessly and nothing but smoke came from their barrels. Ming laughed through it all, the force of his amusement shaking the building as rusted metal supports groaned. "I must say, your weapons are fascinating. Useless, but fascinating," Ming said. "What... what are you?" stuttered one of the men as they all stumbled backward away from Ming''s slow yet inexorable approach. "I am Xie Ming. Last Descendant of the Great Lightning Dragon, but you can think of me simply as your doom," Ming said. One of the men caught Jie''s eye. "Hey... you. I know you. You''re that little girl from a few years back. I thought you were dead," he said. Suddenly his fear drained away, his trembling retreat giving way to an arrogant swagger as he gestured to Ming with his empty gun. "What''s this? A hologram or something? That why our bullets do nothing? Some little revenge scheme? What''s the matter? Do you miss mommy and daddy?" he asked with a twisted smile. He picked up a crowbar and walked up to her with slow, deliberate steps, his eyes burning with cruelty. "Your trick might''ve given us a good scare, but it''s over now. I''m going to enjoy breaking you a second time," he said. Jie met his eyes with a cold, steely gaze. The man swung his crowbar and Ming made no effort to evade, not even flinching as the cold metal clanged dully against his scales with no visible effect. The man''s eyes went wide. He reached out a trembling hand and touched Ming''s snout. The man swallowed hard. Ming snorted. His breath steamed in the cool air. The force of his exhale pushed the man away several inches, making his feet slide back over the smooth concrete. Ming growled. A low rumbling sound from the back of his throat. "Please make him suffer at least a little," Jie said. "Gladly," Ming replied. Ming snatched the man up with one massive clawed hand and lifted him high above the ground. Jie blinked. She hadn''t even seen Ming move! "Be glad that I am pressed for time," Ming said, "I''ve done a lot worse for a lot less." His hand glowed with blue light which formed into a transparent worm bigger than Jie''s arm. It slithered around Ming''s fingers toward the man''s head, its eyeless face opening to expose jaws filled to the brim with glistening, slime-covered teeth. "No! No! What is that thing?! Get it away from me!" screamed the man, his feet kicking uselessly at the air as he struggled in vain. The worm wound its way closer and closer... right up to the man''s face. It pressed the tip of its bulbous form against the man''s nostril and gradually crawled inside, its flesh undulating as it squeezed itself into the small hole. "Aaaah! No! No! Help me!" the man screamed. The flesh of his nose deformed, bulging to accommodate the worm as it burrowed ever deeper... The man''s screams turned to panicked shrieks. Ming laughed, his entire serpentine body shaking from the force of his amusement. "You may wish to save your screams. It hasn''t even started yet," Ming said. He released his grip and the man fell to the ground with a thud. There, the man writhed, screamed, and clawed uselessly at his face, his fingernails biting into his skin as his flesh bulged and pulsed. "It''s a rather useless spiritual art I picked up," Ming said in a cold, detached voice as though he were lecturing Jie, "it only works on cultivators far below my rank. That makes it worthless as an attack, but here... everyone is weaker than I could''ve imagined. "Do you see how it''s burrowing deeper? It''s making for his brain. From there, it will spread all the way through his nervous system. Once it has done so, it will activate all of his pain receptors, essentially locking him in a cycle of the worst pain it''s possible for him to experience... until he dies. "It was created by a demented expert with the water affinity who delighted in torturing others. I''m not sure why I ever even learned it, but I think this is a fitting use for it. Don''t you?" The man''s screams cut off abruptly, a look of horror frozen on his twisted, bulging face. His skin shriveled up like a prune, drawing tight against his bones as his terrified eyes shrank into nothingness. "Oh, I forgot to mention. It also absorbs all the liquid in the body. That''s how it kills," Ming said. The man withered away, and even his skin, flesh, and bones crumbled into a pile of dust. For a moment all was still, and nobody breathed. The dust moved, and the worm slithered out, larger now and as red as blood. Its sightless face reared up and looked from one man to the other as though it couldn''t quite decide between them. "Who''s next?" Ming asked. The other two dropped their guns and ran as fast as they could. "I''m surprised it took them so long to do that," Ming said with a smirk. He extended one scaly hand and released two blasts of deep blue energy. The energy slammed into the men and wrapped around them like a pair of nets. They tumbled across the floor, writhing and straining against the blue energy, but to no avail. "It''s amusing that they think they can escape their fate," Ming said. The worm slithered across the ground toward them, dragging a trail of dust across the cold concrete in its wake. "Please! It wasn''t my idea! I didn''t mean to! It was all them! I tried to stop them! I''m sorry! I''ll never do anything bad again! Please no! I''ve changed!" one of the men begged, the other too frozen in shock and horror to do more than stare at the approaching worm. Some part of Jie actually pitied them, but they''d earned this. They weren''t sorry. She''d heard what they''d said before they noticed her. They were monsters. They would never change. They just didn''t want to die. She forced herself to watch as the disgusting worm crawled into each man, and tortured them as it drained them to death. She didn''t want to see, but she''d asked for this, and this was the result. She refused to let herself hide from that. Finally, the last man crumbled and flaked away into a pile of dust, and the worm wriggled on the floor. "They won''t be hurting anyone again," Ming said. He waved his hand, and the worm burst apart like a water balloon, splattering blood and water across the floor. "Are you ready to go now?" Ming asked. Jie looked at the remains of the men she hated most in the world. She felt sick, yet also relieved. They deserved worse than this. She considered if she was ready to leave... there was nothing for her in this world anymore. Her parents were gone. She had no family and no friends. She swallowed. "I''m ready," she said. "I won''t lie. This will hurt more than anything you''ve ever experienced, and there''s a good chance we will both die," Ming said. "Just the travel from here to there? What do you mean? Won''t you just open a portal or something?" Jie asked. Ming shook his head. "I have a way of returning home, though it isn''t as simple as a portal as you say. The main trouble is that you are too weak. You must understand, my world is nothing like this one. "It''s larger and everything is stronger. Even the ground beneath your feet. If I brought you there as you are now, you would die instantly. I have to remake your body entirely. Into one that can handle living in my world. "You will be stronger, and faster. Though you may not feel it so much because you will weigh much more on my world than on this puny one and even the atmosphere is thicker there," Ming said. "So... what do you mean when you say we might die?" Jie said. "I''ve never remade a body before," Ming said, "and doing so while traveling at the same time... it will be difficult. There''s a chance we won''t make it." "Oh... can''t we remake my body here and then go later?" Jie asked. "No. Putting aside the complications of the lack of Essence here, the energy fluctuations from me making your body would cause unforeseeable destruction on a world as weak as this. Trying it here would only be more troublesome," Ming said. "Couldn''t we move somewhere like a desert where we can''t hurt anyone?" Jie asked. "Allow me to clarify. Your planet may not survive if we attempt it here," Ming said. "Oh," Jie said. "Don''t worry. Preparations were made for my journey home. The travel there will be the easy part. Remaking your body will be difficult for us both, but with great risks come great rewards," Ming said. "Let''s do it then," Jie said. "That''s the spirit! You will walk the path of a cultivator and learn what real power is!" Ming said She looked again at the crushed bullets that lay on the floor. "Will I be bulletproof like you?" she asked. Ming laughed. "You mean these little metal shards? Please. You will quickly be too strong for such weapons to harm you. You should focus your sights on greater heights," Ming said. The way Ming looked down on guns and the weapons of her world excited and terrified her. Just how powerful was he? Yet, he needed her help? How powerful were his enemies? Once again, she wondered what the hell she''d gotten herself into... Chapter 5 The Stranger Blue energy poured out of Ming and surrounded them both. It crackled like lightning but felt like a cool mist. Without warning, Ming rocketed upward. They crashed through the roof of the warehouse, tearing through the metal like tissue paper, and soared high into the sky. Ming flew faster than before, and the world shrank beneath them. Buildings quickly faded from view, replaced by blue oceans and the continents beneath them, lit by the sparkling lights of millions of homes. It looked beautiful, and Jie suddenly felt homesick. She turned her gaze away. She had to be strong. Ming had already made good on his side of the bargain. Now it was her turn. They journeyed beyond the atmosphere, whipped past satellites, and continued into the darkness of space. They picked up speed as they went until Earth itself shrank to a pale blue dot far in the distance... Jie could breathe just fine and didn''t feel any different at all. Crackling energy surrounded her like a cocoon, and she safely soared through the vacuum of space in the dragon''s clutches. "Let''s hope this works. The pain will be unimaginable. But, no matter what, you must hang on to life. Do you understand? If you don''t... your soul will drift into the afterlife. The only way to keep it from doing so is to cling to life through it all regardless of how much it hurts. Of how much you yearn for relief. Don''t even think of giving up," Ming said. "Whatever it takes, Ming. You said I''d have to walk through fire and death. This will be the least of what awaits us, right?" Jie said. Ming smiled. "I was right to choose you, kiddo," he said. When they''d traveled so far into space that Jie saw only the twinkle of countless stars around them, Ming stopped and weaved his hands in a complex series of motions. The mist held her while more of the mysterious energy poured from Ming''s body. An azure sphere formed around them, covered with magical-looking circles and strange symbols. She wanted to ask what he was doing, but his teeth were gnashed into a silent snarl and his brow furrowed. Whatever he was doing, it was more difficult than any miracle he''d shown her so far. The bubble around them glowed brighter and brighter. "I had to get us a bit away from your world before I activated this. It wouldn''t have been quite as bad as remaking your body, but it would''ve decimated a few of your countries at least. "This will connect to the inscriptions the elders prepared for my journey to my home world and carry us back. While it brings us to my home, I will remake your body. Heavens be kind to us..." He finished with a flourish, and the orb glowed brighter and brighter until it exploded into sparks like stars that shot across the universe. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, she and Ming were yanked forward at mind-bending speed. The planets and stars around her stretched and warped, her stomach lurched, and Jie clamped her hand over her mouth. Dizziness washed over her, so fierce she couldn''t tell up from down. It was like when her parents took her to the park, and she spent far too long on the merry-go-round. Only about a million times worse. Still, it wasn''t quite as excruciating as she''d expected. Then she felt it. Pain. Pain like she''d never thought possible. A thousand times more painful than when those men broke her bones and shattered her spine. It felt like a thousand suns burned away every molecule of her body. Jie screamed. "Hold on, child! Whatever you do, no matter how painful it becomes you must cling to life!" Ming yelled. The pain soon became so intense that Jie couldn''t even scream. She wanted to, but no sound came from her lips. No air passed from her lungs. Her entire body locked up, frozen in agony, while they soared through space and Ming tore apart the very fabric of her being. Jie''s blood boiled inside her veins, her heart squeezed like Ming was crushing it with a clawed fist, and her eyes felt like they would explode at any moment. All she knew was agony. From her teeth to her toes. Even her hair hurt. She wouldn''t have thought that was possible. She wanted it to end... she wanted the pain to stop. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she lacked the ability to so much as blink. Please let this end! She cried. With that thought, she felt the pain start to diminish... it felt so good. She felt weightless and free... every second the pain grew less... oh, she wanted this... no more pain, or suffering... just a peaceful-- "No!" Ming roared, "You must fight!" Jie snapped out of it and latched onto life again. Agony washed over her like a tidal wave once more. It was unbearable. It was torture. But, she would endure! She''d made a deal. She couldn''t go anywhere. He''d promised her everything she could ever dream of. He''d already healed her spine and got justice for her parents. She could not fail him! This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Jie''s heart yearned for release, but that was not an unfamiliar sensation. So what if it was infinitely worse now? So what if every second felt like an eternity of torment? So what if every cell of her body begged for the pain to stop? Pain just meant she wasn''t dead yet. That it wasn''t over. She had a reason to hope now where before there''d been none. No matter how terrible the pain got, she would not submit. She focused on each second, determined to make it through to the next. When a second became too much to endure, she focused on the idea of fractions of a second. A moment so small that by the time she''d thought of enduring it, she already had and the next moment had arrived. And with each passing moment, each torturous fraction of a second, she grew just that little bit closer to being remade. The pain was beyond anything she could''ve imagined, but she thought of Ming. Of the power she''d seen the dragon wield. Of his promises that she would become a goddess. To walk upon clouds and split mountains with her fists. He''d slaughtered the men that haunted her nightmares like they were nothing. Bullets had bounced off him with less effect than spitballs. Jie wanted that power. There is no force in this universe that will pry my life from my hands, she thought darkly even as liquid fire bubbled inside her skull. In the years of being trapped in a hospital bed, a prisoner in her own body, she had vowed that she would go through anything to walk again... to be free. She was so close to achieving that now. To achieving the impossible. No amount of pain would ever be enough to stop her. *** Ming panted heavily as he pushed himself to his limits and beyond remaking Jie''s body, but it still wasn''t enough. Damn it! This hadn''t been the plan! He was supposed to go to a world filled with powerful warriors and find one to bring back with him... he wasn''t supposed to remake a body! His gleaming scales rippled with tension, and his breaths came out in wheezing gasps as he tore apart her cells and reformed them, reinforced with his power. He sculpted her dantian and her meridians. He''d made them as wide and strong as he could, and now he was paying the price. He wanted her to have the most incredible body possible so she could ascend into the ranks of the gods with the most outstanding cultivation base the universe had ever seen. But, he''d been too greedy. He had reached too far, and now he wouldn''t be able to finish the job. The girl would die, and so would he. Still, he was stubborn and ferocious, and he pushed forward even in the face of certain defeat. The girl was hanging on to life despite having her body remade while she was still in it! How could he let some mortal, human girl with not even the barest shred of cultivation best him in a show of willpower? No! He was a descendant of the mighty lightning dragon, and if this was to be his end then he would die while giving his all! He roared his defiance to the universe and forced his energies to pour through his meridians. Vessels burst inside him, and blood dripped from his mouth, but he pushed onward. Laughter echoed around him. Even inside his own mind, but he couldn''t sense anyone nearby. "What''s this I see? A dragon making a body for a mortal girl? And a weakling dragon at that," said an alien voice. What now? What new danger must he face? He couldn''t battle in this state, but maybe he could bluff his way out of it. What was it? Bandits? How could anyone see him when they traveled at such a speed thanks to the elders'' formation? "Who''s there?" Ming growled through clenched teeth, "Reveal yourself!" The voice laughed even harder. "Hmm... I see why you chose her. Her mind is sharp like the swords of old, her heart is full of will, and even her soul is impossibly strong. Yes... you''ve chosen wisely, young dragon," said the voice. Still, Ming sensed nobody around them. No aura, or even the faintest trace of power. Ice cold fear ran down his spine like a waterfall. Who or what was this? To read Jie so easily, and yet remain utterly hidden from him... the owner of this voice was likely many times more powerful than he himself. If it wanted a fight, they would die like ants under the glare of a magnifying glass. "Does she know of the sacrifices you''re making, dragon?" asked the voice. More blood dribbled down Ming''s chin, but he forced himself to press on. If whoever this was wanted them dead, there was nothing he could do. Not that it mattered. He''d been overzealous when making her body, and they would die soon anyway. "I sacrifice nothing that cannot be earned back with time," Ming said as respectfully as he could though blood clogged his throat and he spluttered as he spoke. The voice laughed again. "Perhaps you''re right, dragon," it said, "but you will both die unless you stop and give up on the girl." Who was this already? Ming''s pride rankled at being talked to like this, and he needed to focus on making a body for the girl! As if it wasn''t difficult enough without some mystical voice bothering him! "She has the harder task and has not given up yet," Ming growled, "what dragon would ever give in where a little girl would not?" There was a sound like rolling thunder, only a hundred times louder. Ming''s scales vibrated from the sheer force of the stranger''s laughter. "What dragon indeed!" the voice roared, "You''ve amused me, dragon. And the girl is a curious one... I want to see what happens with her. I shall give her and you a gift. Use it wisely." The girl''s body blazed with power and light. A thousand times the energy Ming could produce. It shaped her body and reformed it. It saturated every cell with the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth. It fortified her with qi, surrounded that fortification with spiritual energy, and then finally purified it all with astral energy. It sculpted her dantian to be even larger and more impressive than Ming''s overzealous attempt had been and made even more changes within her body. Most of which Ming couldn''t even begin to follow or understand. Ming''s eyes were wide, and his jaw hung open. What power! A trickle of his blood poured from his open mouth and onto the girl''s forehead. "Hmm? Oh... yes. I think that could be very interesting..." the voice said. The blood flowed into Jie''s eyes and mouth and vanished without a trace. Her whole body blazed with radiant energy, and her already pale skin turned as white as freshly fallen snow. Her lips darkened until they were as red as blood. Her hair grew and flowed down to her hips and transformed from dark black to various shades of blue. The tips were a blue so light as to be almost white and the roots were as dark as the ocean when lit only by gentle moonlight. Even her nails changed, darkening until they were as black as a starless night. Energy slammed into Ming then, gushing into his body and stopping up his wounds. Not healing them, but he wasn''t dying. That was more than he could''ve hoped for. "Take care of her, dragon," said the voice, "I''ll be following your adventures. I''m curious to see what you two do... and especially what becomes of the girl." Ming snapped his jaw shut. His heart thundered in his chest. The body she possessed now was... phenomenal. Whoever or whatever the voice belonged to was clearly of a power greater than any cultivator he''d ever known. Ming bowed his head to the vast emptiness of space. "Thank you for your generous gift. I shall remember your kindness until the end of my days," he said. There was no response. Ming sighed. His internal injuries were staunched, but he was still terribly wounded, and even his cultivation base was severely damaged. But, he was alive, and so was the girl. They''d been unbelievably fortunate to receive such a blessing from this being. Or so he hoped. One could never be sure. Their speed through the universe slowed, and the familiar sight of his world appeared before them. Jie was still asleep, and he shook her gently. The poor thing had fallen unconscious once her soul was bonded to her new body, but she''d held on to life through it all. He''d known many mighty cultivators that couldn''t have done what she had. That strange being was right. He''d made an excellent choice with the girl, but now she should wake up... she should see the world he needed her help to save. He gazed at the splendor of Xiannu, and his heart swelled. Finally, he was home. Chapter 6 Reborn Somebody shook Jie, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Why couldn''t those damn nurses just let her sleep! She felt so weightless and comfy... "Just five more minutes," she mumbled. Wait... what? Since when could she speak!? Her eyes sprang open, revealing the dragon above her. At the sight of him, everything that had happened came rushing back to her. It was all real? It wasn''t a dream? Jie remembered the torture of having her body remade, and she shuddered. It was definitely real. "Turn your gaze ahead of us, little Jie," Ming said. There was something wet and shiny on his lips... was he bleeding? "Worry not about me, child," Ming said, "look there." Jie turned her head to follow where Ming was looking and her mouth hung open. It was stunning. Earth was breathtaking when she''d seen it from space with its blue oceans and the continents stretched out below her, but the toxic clouds of smog leached it of color and life. Whereas, this world radiated energy and vitality. Literally radiated it in palpable waves. It looked so... alive. It had oceans of the most vibrant blues she''d ever seen and the continents contained every color imaginable and then some. Although there was one area that disturbed Jie. A vast expanse of the world that looked sickly and wrong... like a black festering wound in the world itself. Jie found herself hoping they wouldn''t be going anywhere near there. Yet, even with that dark wound, the world was breathtakingly gorgeous. "Beautiful isn''t she?" Ming said, "Welcome to my home. Welcome to Xiannu." They flew closer... and closer... and closer until the planet took up Jie''s entire field of vision and yet it was still so far away... how much bigger than Earth was this place? The planet swelled up before her, dwarfing anything she''d ever seen before, and still, they raced toward it. Finally, they entered the atmosphere and plunged through fluffy, white clouds to the land far, far below. A vibrant jungle rushed up to meet them and Ming slithered through its canopy and down to what looked like an ancient Taoist temple from her world. The temple seemed like it would''ve been grand and full of life at one time, but now it was overgrown and in a clear state of disrepair. As though the world had long forgotten it. They slowed and drifted down into the courtyard like a leaf falling from a tree. Ming placed Jie gently on the ground. He turned away and coughed up blood. "Ming? What''s wrong? What happened to you?" Jie asked. Ming spat a glob of blood onto the dusty courtyard tiles and wiped his mouth with the back of his clawed hand. "Don''t worry about me, kiddo," he said, "remaking your body was tougher than I expected and I suffered some internal injuries as a result... we almost didn''t make it, but someone or... something decided to help us out. I''m not sure what it''ll mean for the future, but we should be grateful for now at least." Jie looked up at him. "I''m sorry you got hurt because of me," she said. "Hey now, don''t look at me like that. There''s nothing to be sorry about, kiddo," he said as he settled onto the dusty tiles beside her. His long, serpentine form coiled up beneath him like a snake. "I''m just glad we made it," Ming said, "and now you have a body more powerful than I could''ve hoped. We got lucky and came out way ahead on this one. Why don''t you get used to moving around again? I need a bit of a breather before I can teach you. You have a lot to learn and even more to do if we''re going to get you into the god rank." Ming closed his eyes and touched his thumbs to his index fingers in a meditative pose like she''d seen monks do on Earth. He breathed deeply and evenly. His breaths sounded like bellows, and each of his exhales released a gust of wind that whipped at her hair. "So I have a new body?" Jie muttered. Jie looked down, but she couldn''t see herself well. She tried to sit up, and her breath caught in her throat when her body actually responded. Ming had healed her paralysis before, but she''d still been too weak to move properly... now though... She pushed off the ground with her arms and sat up. Her lips stretched into a wide smile and tears rolled down her cheeks. After so long... so long of being trapped in her own body and a prisoner in a hospital connected to machines... she was free! Jie took a deep breath and took in as much air as she possibly could. Her lungs expanded more than they had in years... perhaps ever... and the air smelled fresh and filled her with energy like she had never known. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It was intoxicating. Like taking a drink of water after being thirsty for so long, where every sip tasted like the nectar of the gods, and you could never get enough of it. Her body tingled, and she started to feel a bit lightheaded from breathing in so much, but it was just so great! The air here, even with the dusty courtyard tiles, was cleaner than anywhere she''d ever been. Jie lifted up her hand, flexed her fingers, and just watched her fingers move. Oh, it felt so wonderful to move freely, and the pain was gone! The pain, the paralysis, and the numbness... all gone! She frowned. Since when were her fingernails black? Oh, well. It didn''t matter. She couldn''t stop the tears of pure joy from flowing down her cheeks. She giggled as she wriggled her toes. She was still wearing her hospital gown, but she didn''t care. Even her toenails were black, and had her skin always been this pale? Was this from the transformation? She''d have to ask Ming later... but there was something she wanted to do more than anything right now... She slowly shifted her weight onto her legs and pushed off the ground with her legs and her arms together. She stood up for a brief moment and then fell down on her butt with a loud thump. She rubbed her tailbone and giggled. How could she care about the pain right now? She had stood! She hadn''t dared to hope she would ever be able to move again, and yet she could! She stood up again, more carefully this time. She fell forward but caught herself with her arms. "Damn," she said, "it''s been so long since I''ve walked... I guess my body forgot how." She kept trying, over and over again, and used the walls of the temple to help her keep her balance as she walked around the courtyard. The tiles were hard beneath her feet, and the soft dust stuck to her soles, blackening them. She could even feel the grit clinging to her skin. She laughed. This was wonderful! "Come here, kiddo," Ming said. Jie carefully stepped away from the wall and took unsteady steps forward. She''d been practicing walking for hours, and she was quickly getting the hang of it again. She stepped in front of Ming and smiled brightly as she wiped away her tears with the palm of her hand. "Thank you!" she said, "Thank you so much! This is amazing. I can''t believe it''s real it''s so good!" The dragon smiled. "Oh, it''s real. So is all the work you''ll have to do and the dangers you will face... but I''m glad to see you''re happy. You have a wonderful smile, Jie," Ming said. "Are you feeling better now?" Jie asked. "A bit," Ming said, "though I''m not recovering as quickly as I expected. That''s not why I called you over though. I see you''re getting used to your new body... how does it feel?" "It feels great!" Jie said, "I feel even better than I did before I was paralyzed." Ming smiled. "You should," Ming said, "you''re hundreds of times stronger than you were before after all." Jie frowned. "What? I feel good, but not that good!" "Remember what I said before I brought you here? A human from your world would instantly die here. From the dense amount of Essence or the fact the gravity here is many times greater," Ming said, "you''re already stronger than anyone on your home planet. Do you remember those metal shards you were so worried about before?" "You mean the bullets? From the guns?" Jie asked. "Whatever you call them... they would only scratch you now. If that. I''m not entirely sure just what our mysterious helper gave you when he helped remake your body," Ming said. Jie opened and closed her fist. She was that much stronger already? "Don''t let it go to your head though," Ming said, "your old world was pitifully weak, so being the strongest from there is no great accomplishment. You''re in my world now, and despite the gift you''ve received, you''re still among the weakest of the weak. Many cultivators could kill you with just a casual glance in your general direction." A sliver of fear crawled down her spine like a centipede. She''d just got her health back... just become able to walk again. She didn''t want to die! "So, Jie," Ming said, "are you ready for me to train you? To hold up your end of our bargain and help me defend this world and countless others?" Jie bit her lip. She''d been taken away by the magic and wonder of everything Ming had done since meeting him. Was she truly ready to face the dangers and trials he spoke of? Fear mixed with excitement and her heart pounded in her chest. This... all of this was beyond her wildest hopes and dreams. How could she back down now? Ming has already given me so much! It''s time for me to give back to him. I''ll be the best student he could ever hope for! "I''m ready. Please teach me everything you know, Master Ming," Jie said with a slight bow. She would''ve bowed deeper, but she didn''t want to fall over again. The dragon rose up and puffed out his chest proudly at her words and then coughed violently. "Ugh... I really did a number on myself. Alright, first things first, we need to make a Blood Pact," Ming said. "Great! Let''s do it!" Jie said as she felt so taken away with the wonder of everything before pausing and adding, "What''s a Blood Pact and... what do I do?" "It''s just something to make our deal a little more formal and binding. We could''ve done it back in your world, but who knows what side effects there might''ve been in such a pitifully weak place? Likely, it would''ve been fine, but I refuse to wipe out a world of weaklings with a careless mistake. We will each swear to our deal, and should we try to break it... it will act to prevent us from doing so... even if that means killing us," Ming said. "Oh," Jie said. Ming chuckled. "Don''t worry so much, kiddo. You do plan on fulfilling your end of our deal don''t you?" he asked. "I do," Jie said. "Then there shouldn''t be a problem. Are you ready?" Ming asked. "I guess... tell me what to do," Jie said. "First, extend your arm," Ming said. Jie did as she was told and Ming ran one of his claws across her palm. Blood trickled across her pale skin, but she didn''t even flinch. Ming cut his palm then and grasped her tiny hand in his. Their blood dripped onto the dusty tiles. A ribbon of energy poured from Ming and wrapped around their hands. "Normally, both cultivators would use their energy together, but you don''t even have enough for this yet so I''m doing your part for you. Once we get this out of the way, we can focus on other things," Ming said. Jie nodded. "What happens now?" she asked. "Now, we swear," Ming said, "you remember our bargain I trust?" "Of course," Jie said. Ming smiled. "Good. I Xie Ming, last descendant of The Great Lightning Dragon swear under penalty of death that I shall exact the revenge asked of me by Liu Jie and heal her injuries. Both tasks have been completed, let she whom I share this pact with testify to this," Ming said. He paused and looked at Jie. "Now it''s your turn," he said, "this is where you acknowledge I''ve fulfilled my end and add your obligation." "I, Liu Jie of Earth acknowledge and testify that Xie Ming has fulfilled his end of our pact prior to swearing it. As payment, I swear under penalty of death that I shall defeat the followers of Fang Zhuyu or die trying," Jie said. The world shimmered red for a moment before returning to normal. The blood stopped flowing, and Ming released her hand. "Very good. You''re a natural. You sound nothing like a normal child though," he said. Jie shrugged and rubbed the red mark of a skull on her palm. "So, what happens if I try to break it?" Jie asked. "Then your mark will flare with pain. And, should you push through that, you''ll die," Ming said. Jie nodded. Ming smiled. "Now then... It''s time to teach you what being a cultivator means," he said. Chapter 7 Cultivation "Before I can explain what a cultivator is, I need you to close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths in and out," Ming said. Jie did as she was told, closing her eyes as she breathed deeply and slowly. "With each breath you take in your body is nurtured and given life," Ming said, "with each breath out the wasteful air is removed. Do you feel the air within your lungs? The way it makes you feel more alive? More full of energy? If you were to stop breathing, you would pass out and later die. So essential is air to life." Jie kept breathing deeply and evenly as she listened to the dragon''s words. "However, if you turn your attention away from the air. Away from taste, touch, smell, sight, and even what you can hear... if you turn away from those senses and focus your mind and your spirit... and reach out... what do you feel?" Ming asked. Jie furrowed her brows. Sight was easy to shut out as her eyes were closed, but it was hard to ignore the soft breeze against her skin... the birds chirping nearby... One by one she closed herself off from her senses, pushing them out of her mind. When her mind was clear, she tried to do what Ming said. To reach out with her mind and her spirit... to feel through a sixth sense. Something clicked within her. A new sensation filled her mind, pressing on her from every angle. It flowed and moved around her like water. It weighed on her shoulders. It brushed against her hair and her skin. It permeated everything. It was in the tiles beneath her feet and in the earth beneath the tiles. It was in the weeds that grew between the cracks, and the vines on the temple walls. It was in the petals of the flowers around them. Inside the bodies of the birds that chirped. And especially inside Ming. If the world around her was like a lake of energy that pressed on her from every direction, yet somehow allowed her to breathe... Ming was like a maelstrom. A swirling vortex of power so dense it would crush her if even a fraction of it were to release and brush against her. Not just that but the energy inside Ming was infinitely brighter. The entire world around her shone with energy, but Ming made it seem dull and lifeless. Like a blazing star amid the inky black of space. The energy that weighed on her was nothing compared to the power inside him. It hurt her head just to have him close, yet his energy remained tightly controlled within his body. "Wow..." Jie said. "Incredible isn''t it? At first, you were blind, but now you see. Do you begin to understand one of the differences between my world and yours? This energy that you sense all around you is called Essence. "Or rather... the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth. It''s easier to just say Essence though. It''s energy. Most worlds produce this energy naturally, but yours does not. Or if it does, it''s so little that even I could not sense it, and I like to think I''m rather talented," Ming said. "Now that you''ve sensed this energy, it''ll make understanding what cultivating is and what cultivators are much easier. Cultivating is simply the act of absorbing this energy into your dantian. "Your dantian is the spiritual body within you... you will understand more about that later. For now, just remember that cultivating is taking in this energy, refining it within yourself, and making it your own. "In a world like this, and in most worlds in fact, the amount of Essence means that everyone is a cultivator. It doesn''t matter whether they farm, or fight in glorious battles. "They exist and will take in Essence without even thinking about it. However, many cultivators will focus more than this. They will actively meditate and seek to absorb Essence to refine it within their dantian and make it their own. This is much more effective than just letting it accumulate slowly," Ming said. "And what happens when I gather Essence into my body?" Jie asked without opening her eyes. A broad smile was on her lips as she continued to sense the energy all around her. "A good question. I''m glad to see you''re paying attention, kiddo," Ming said, "When you bring the Essence into your body, you will refine it into qi. Once you''ve done so, it will become part of you. "It will stay within your dantian and obey your will and command. With it, you will be able to use martial skills to attack your enemies, defend yourself and do many things that would be called magic in your world." "So I can do magic?" Jie asked. Ming snorted. "Don''t get ahead of yourself. The body you were given is impressive, but you haven''t gathered even a scrap of qi. Frankly, I''m surprised you could walk around as you did... most babies gather some qi naturally before they can walk. "If a cultivator runs out of qi they usually can''t even move. I''ve never met someone who could move without qi. Maybe it''s because you come from a world without using it, or because of something to do with your body that our mysterious helper gave you," Ming said, "but in time, yes. "You will create swords of pure energy. Hurl balls of qi that blast your enemies to dust, and so much more. Qi is just one of three main energies, kiddo," Ming said. "Three? So there are three types of magic?" Jie asked. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ming sighed. "I wish I''d never said that now. It isn''t magic. Magic is something else. I just said that because that seems to be the closest concept your world has to it. "No, these are internal energies, and they aren''t... argh! Now I know why those damn elders always got frustrated when they taught me... "Let me try a different way... you take in the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth and refine it within yourself. This creates qi. The type of qi you cultivate depends on your cultivation technique and natural propensities. Once you''ve built up enough qi you will eventually break through into the middle part of your dantian. There, you will further refine that qi into spiritual energy as well as gain access to your elemental affinities," Ming said. "Elemental affinities? Like you mentioned before and used to track those men and make that... thing?" Jie asked. "Precisely," Ming said, "then once you''ve built up enough spiritual energy and qi you will eventually open your upper dantian. Your upper dantian is where you will refine the third type of energy which is astral energy. Each time you unlock a level of your dantian, what you can do will expand dramatically and you will receive an enormous boost in strength. "But, it will be a very long time before you unlock your middle dantian, and even longer before you''ll unlock your upper dantian." "How long will it be?" Jie asked eagerly. Her heart pounded in her chest at the thought of such wondrous abilities. "You''re a very greedy girl, you know that?" Ming said, "I heal your injuries, help remake your body, and take you to a world of limitless possibility, and already you''re hungry for more?" "Sorry," Jie said. Ming laughed loudly and then coughed into his hand. "Don''t be sorry, kiddo! Being greedy is good! You will have to reach for more than you can imagine if we are to succeed! You will have to gather all the power you can! Greed is wonderful! Just don''t get taken away by it," Ming said. "I won''t," Jie said. She tried to give a serious nod to emphasize her point, but couldn''t restrain her bright smile. "I''m glad you''re so eager to learn," Ming said, "cultivation is separated into stars and ranks. There are nine stars to a rank with the first star being the lowest and the ninth star being the highest. Once you break through beyond the ninth star of a rank, you will reach the first star of the rank above it. And there are three ranks per section of the dantian. The three lower dantian ranks are Disciple, Adept, and Expert. "Once you break beyond the ninth star of the Expert rank, you will unlock the middle dantian. Gaining access to your elemental affinities and spiritual energy. The three ranks of the middle dantian are Elementalist, Spiritualist, and Grand Spiritualist. "And of course breaking beyond the ninth star of the Grand Spiritualist rank will unlock your upper dantian. That is where you''ll be able to use astral energy. The three for the upper dantian are Emperor, Saint, and Angel. Beyond the upper dantian are the divine or god ranks. But, there''s not much point in discussing those as you''re not even the first star of the Disciple rank yet." "Are you in the divine ranks?" Jie asked. "Yes," Ming said. "And you''re not strong enough to fight Fang Zhuyu and his followers?" Jie asked. "I''m afraid not... they are well beyond me. That''s why I''ll need you to train hard," he said. "Wouldn''t it be faster for you to train and get the power to face them?" Jie asked. "I will certainly try. But, advancing becomes exponentially more difficult the higher you reach. And it''s not predictable. I could break through tomorrow. Or it could take me centuries... perhaps never. It''s an insane thing to train you to face them... and yet my instincts tell me that I must. "Besides, it''s not as though I''m going to simply give up. Once I''ve healed my injuries, I''ll resume my training as well. With luck, I may indeed become strong enough and spare you the trouble. Or perhaps we''ll even face them together. Time will tell," Ming said. "I guess that makes sense..." Jie said, "What are the elemental affinities? How many of them are there?" "There are five elemental affinities and when you break through, you''ll have access to at least one of them. A rare few have access to two, and a miraculously tiny number of exceptionally gifted cultivators have three," Ming said "How many do you have?" Jie asked. Ming gave her a toothy smirk. "I have four," he said as he pretended to inspect the back of his claws as though it were of no importance to him. "So you''re the rarest of the rare? Does anyone have all five?" Jie asked. "My ancestor, the Great Lightning Dragon was said to have five... but I don''t know. I''ve never heard of anyone having more than me. I do have a rather exceptional bloodline, you know," he said without a shred of modesty in his voice. "How many will I have? And you still haven''t said what the five are," Jie said. "We''ll only find out how many you''ll have when you break through into the middle dantian," Ming said, "as for which ones there are... you have fire, wood, water, metal, and earth. Each element has its strengths and if you have multiple affinities they can be combined to achieve greater feats. Some professions and skills require combinations of them. Alchemy, for example, requires fire and wood affinities. But, there''s not much sense going too deeply into such things. This is, after all, merely your first introduction to cultivation. Better to get through it quickly and focus on cultivating already," Ming said. "In a minute please..." Jie said, "What are the strengths of the different elements?" Ming sighed. "I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised by your curiosity... I asked many of the same questions myself when I was a hatchling... it''s a deep and complex topic that we''ll not explore in any depth until you''ve broken through into the middle dantian. "Further complicating matters is that different experts are skilled in using their affinities in different ways. So, one earth affinity expert might have incredible defense. Like an unyielding mountain. While another of the very same affinity might have devastating offense like an unstoppable rock slide. "As such, it''s hard for me to say. In general, however, fire affinity is excellent for overwhelmingly powerful attacks capable of precision or devastating an entire area. It''s also useful for seduction, but that''s not something you should be thinking about at this stage. "You likely have some idea of water''s strengths already. It''s excellent for stealth. Both for making yourself invisible, erasing any sign of your presence, and for tracking. It''s also the best for manipulation, mind control, and illusion. It''s excellent for assassination. "Earth is regarded as the best defensive affinity both for protecting oneself and your allies. As such earth affinity bodyguards tend to be highly prized. Earth affinity users also tend to use totems, and gravitational effects, and have increased situational awareness. Not to mention it''s remarkable for building just about anything. "Metal affinity is best for controlling weapons. Either by controlling dozens of your own or manipulating those of your enemies. It''s also excellent for necromancy. A water affinity expert can manipulate someone. A metal affinity expert can kill them and force them to serve in death. It''s also renowned for parasitic attacks." "Metal sounds... evil," Jie said. Ming shook his head. "It has one of the poorer reputations, but it''s not good or evil. None of the affinities are. It''s how we choose to use them that defines who we are. Water affinity for example could be used to turn someone into a slave, or to strike down a tyrant from the shadows," he said. Metal and water both sounded somewhat disturbing to Jie... but what Ming said made sense. And she couldn''t deny that she was curious about how they might be used... "The final affinity is wood. It''s by far the best affinity for healing and as such those with the wood affinity are perhaps the most prized and valued. It''s also excellent for raising and taming beasts, growing crops and cultivation resources, and many other things," Ming said, "but everything I''ve said is only the basics and very general rules. You''ll find that the uses for each element are wide and varied." Jie couldn''t help but wonder which elemental affinities she would get... she hoped it would be more than one, but even just a single affinity of any of the elements sounded incredible... Chapter 8 Dragon Lightning "So, are you ready to learn how to cultivate, kiddo? Most kids start actively cultivating when they''re four or five years old. Some start younger than that and it usually only takes a week to reach the first star of the first rank. So, you''re way behind children your age and we need you to reach impossible heights that dwarf anything they''ll ever accomplish. "And remember what I said about it growing exponentially more difficult to break through as you climb the ranks. The first star takes just a week, but the second star can take months or even a year. The next star takes even more effort and time and so on and so forth... many cultivators live their whole lives without even breaking through to the middle part of their dantian and unlocking their spiritual energy," Ming said. "So it''ll take me decades to get to the middle part of my dantian?" Jie asked. That seemed so far away... she wanted those powers now! "Decades are the least of your worries," Ming said, "for as your cultivation base grows, so you will age slower. And, once you reach the level of a god, you will never have to worry about old age. Not in a million years. While many cultivators cannot break through to their middle dantian, we need you to break through the middle, upper, and beyond. You must transcend every other cultivator and step into the ranks above gods!" Jie smiled at that idea. She was going to become a goddess... more than that in fact. But, she grew troubled by some of what Ming had said... "How am I going to grow so strong if so many don''t even make it to the middle dantian?" Jie asked. Ming puffed out his chest. "Humph! Isn''t it obvious? They didn''t have me as a teacher!" Ming said. Jie giggled. "You''ve gotten used to your body faster than I expected, so I''ll teach you to absorb and refine Essence into qi now. No need to wait. We have too much to do after all!" Ming said, "Close your eyes and reach out with your spirit sense like I taught you earlier. Can you sense the Essence around you?" Jie did as Ming said, and reached out with her spirit sense. It came easily to her this time and she felt that same strange energy that permeated everything around her. "Yes," she said. "Excellent," Ming said, "now most will bring that Essence into their body and refine it to varying degrees according to different techniques. Some will hardly refine it all and end up with a dull and weak qi. "Those who refine this way will rapidly gain quantity and surge through the early ranks extraordinarily quickly, but their power will be greatly lacking. And it will be almost impossible for them to break through into the middle dantian. "Those who take more care to refine a higher quality of qi will have more powerful qi which will lead to far more powerful martial skills and a greater chance of breaking through into the middle dantian. "The purer the qi, the better. So, you will spend much longer refining Essence to get your qi than many others. As such, the first few ranks will be painfully slow for you, but who cares about that? We need you to go far beyond them... and you won''t be refining any old ordinary qi anyway..." "What do you mean I won''t be refining ordinary qi?" Jie asked as she opened her eyes again. Ming smiled widely and puffed out his chest even more. Jie covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. Ming was such a silly dragon. "I am a descendant of the great lightning dragon," Ming said, "the qi I cultivate is the purest form possible, and it has the extra attribute of being dragon lightning qi. "I hadn''t expected to be able to teach you to cultivate it, however, when that mysterious being helped me remake your body, it took some of my blood and put it inside you. I''m not sure what exactly it did with my blood, but I think you may have some kind of affinity for dragon lightning qi because of it. "It''s exceedingly rare for anyone other than a lightning dragon to be able to cultivate this kind of qi, but I think you''ll be able to. If not, we''ll soon find out. Hopefully, it won''t kill you." "Kill me?" Jie asked with wide eyes. "Yes, it would be unfortunate for you to die after coming all this way, but I did warn you that the path of a cultivator is dangerous," Ming said. Jie nodded. Sure, he''d warned her, but since meeting him she''d almost died once already and now just cultivating this qi might kill her? How many times would she have to face death on this journey? Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She squeezed her hand into a fist and released. Did it matter? She had her life back because of him. And, he wouldn''t want her to die after everything he''d done to get her here, would he? This dragon lightning qi must be worth the risk... "I''ll do it," Jie said. "That''s the way, kiddo!" the dragon said with a wide grin, "steel your resolve and charge headfirst!" "Then let''s get you cultivating, shall we? I will sense inside you and guide you through it," Ming said, "close your eyes again. Sense the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth all around you. "Now, take a deep breath in. And, as you do so, reach out with your spirit sense and take in the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth just as your lungs take in air." Jie took in a slow, deep breath and tried to breathe in with her spirit at the same time. The Essence of the Heavens and the Earth streamed into her body just as air flowed into her lungs. It was thick and heady, and her whole body tingled. It was like the cool caress of water and the rough abrasion of rock rubbing her skin raw at the same time. Painful, and exhilarating. It felt like breathing with a pair of lungs she''d never used before. It was painful and strange, yet it felt right. Like something that had always been missing from her life was now finally here. "That''s good," Ming said, "now follow that energy with your awareness into your dantian. Focus on it and hold it there." Jie followed the Essence of the Heavens and the Earth into her body and found herself inside a massive, dark cave with wide tunnels leading in every direction. In the center of this dark cave was a ball of swirling gray light that rippled and pulsed. All of this was inside her? The space seemed so vast! "That''s excellent," Ming said, "now focus on the Essence and refine it within yourself. Rotate it inside your dantian and make it purer. Make it yours. Command it and condense it. Use your greed. Steel your resolve. Once you start to refine it, do not stop." Jie willed the swirling ball to spin. It slowly turned, and she smiled. She pushed it to go faster... and faster... and faster until it swirled like a hurricane. Impurities shot off and out of her dantian while the Essence whirled and grew brighter and whiter. "That''s... very impressive," Ming said, "Ahem... uh... Well done. Keep going until it''s as pure as you can make it." The strain of refining the Essence felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. Each breath took longer and made her lungs ache as she fought against the strange resistance, but she pushed forward as she bent the Essence to her will. It swirled in a howling vortex within her dantian and shrank down until it was just a fraction of its original size. Yet, it gleamed with a bright white light. "That''s good, kiddo," Ming said, "keep it spinning like that. Don''t let it slow down or stop. As you do, I want you to think of lightning. Born of the friction of clouds, it becomes something greater and more powerful than anyone would ever expect. "Chaotic, uncontrollable, swift, and deadly. It commands respect for its overwhelming power! Such is the way of dragon lightning qi!" Sweat beaded Jie''s forehead and trickled down her skin as her chest screamed with every breath, but she forced the rotation to continue. "Spin it faster and faster. Condense it as much as you can," Ming said. Jie clenched her tiny fists and willed the ball of brilliant qi to rotate even faster as she squeezed it into a tight, little ball. Her chest felt like it was being crushed, and her breaths came out in strangled wheezes as she wrestled with the dazzling ball of qi. She pushed as hard as she could and then harder still. Ming had given her so much. She would be the best student he could ever ask for! She would show him that he was right to choose her and free her from the hell that her everyday life had become! The ball spun so fast that its surface was a blur as it began to vibrate violently. The inside crackled and snapped with power and energy, begging for release. It was a painful effort to take in wheezing gasps of air. It felt like she was being crushed from outside and within at the same time. Sweat dripped from her nose and soaked her hospital gown. "Yes! Let it build and condense! Force it! Bend it to your will even when it strains against the edges of your control!" Ming roared. The ball of energy hummed inside her dantian as her shallow gasps were pushed out of her body by the sheer force inside her. Her muscles begged for oxygen, but still, she pressed on. "That''s perfect," Ming said, "now in ten seconds, I want you to make it spin faster than you can control and then force it to stop moving all at once." Jie counted down even as she wheezed for air. After ten seconds she forced it to spin faster, far more rapidly than she could control. The ball distorted and whirled around so fast that it sucked in more Essence from the air around her. The Essence flowed in from the tunnels around the cave of her dantian and collected around the ball. Jie gritted her teeth. Was this supposed to happen? She hoped it wasn''t an issue. She couldn''t spare the energy to deal with it. The new Essence swirled around the ball like a chaotic storm around a planet. The energy rotated so fast that impurities shot off and away instantly, unable to keep up and causing the Essence to refine to the highest degree as fast as it flowed in. Jie could scarcely breathe. She felt lightheaded, and her chest threatened to be crushed by the unseen pressure around and inside her. "Now stop!" Ming commanded. Jie forced the swirling to stop all at once. It was like trying to stop a truck with her bare hands. It slammed against her willpower, and her breath caught in her throat as grinding pain coursed through her body. The ball ground to a halt. It quivered and then exploded. Shockwaves tore through her body as her dantian turned into a series of chaotic flashes and rippling explosions. Sharp, hot agony rocketed through every nerve of Jie''s body all at once, and she screamed. The strands of energy split apart, fractured, twisted, and detonated one after another at a rate too fast for her to follow. Her dantian looked like fireworks going off in the most violent storm she''d ever witnessed. Then, it flashed so brightly it blinded her. She felt like she was soaring through the air even as pain ripped through her. She collapsed on something hard, and her vision went black. But there, in her core was a small, flickering strand of blue lightning that crackled, snapped, and raced around her dantian in random directions at frightening speeds. Chapter 9 Sickness As Jie lay unconscious on the floor, Ming stared at her, his mouth agape. "This child..." he said. He''d kept a keen eye on what was happening within her dantian while she cultivated for the first time. She''d rotated Essence and purified it at a freakishly fast speed and then drawn in even more Essence before stopping the rotation and detonating it to create dragon lightning qi. He saw that qi now, flickering within her dantian. More qi than the most gifted followers of the Great Lightning Dragon had ever made their first time... and she''d survived the explosion too and without any internal injuries! "This kid is monstrous," Ming muttered as his lips split into a smile. He''d chosen well. It would normally take disciples of the lightning dragon a week or more to make the qi she''d created in just an hour. Though she''d been knocked unconscious by it, did that matter? The problem with dragon lightning qi was how painfully slow it was to refine Essence to its purest form and then beyond that into dragon lightning qi. There was no telling how much longer they had before Fang Zhuyu''s followers freed him, but her insane cultivation speed gave him hope. "This kid was born to be a cultivator," he said as he watched her sleeping form. He frowned when he noticed her filthy, sweat-soaked hospital gown. "Hmm... I''ll have to get her some clothes. Can''t have her running around like this. It''s absurd," he said. Ming coughed into his hand and looked at it. More blood. Damn it. The travel here and remaking the girl''s body had taken a hefty toll on him, badly damaging his cultivation, and he was suffering greatly. He''d poured what healing energy he could into his wounds, but for some reason, they were not closing as they should. He''d begun to think that perhaps their mysterious helper had cursed him, but when he scanned those foreign energies, he found them to be doing quite the opposite. They acted like a bandage upon his wounds and without them, he would surely be dead. But, why then was he not healing as he should? He wondered. Ming shook his head. Perhaps he was being overly concerned. Such injuries could take time to heal after all... he activated one of the storage rings upon his taloned fingers and a green sphere appeared between his thumb and forefinger. A healing pill for the god rank. A treasure that those below his rank would kill for. He tossed it into his mouth. The instant it touched his tongue, it melted into waves of soothing, healing energy that flowed all through his body. Some of the pain and discomfort that''d been nagging at him melted away. Yet, his injuries barely seemed to respond at all to the influx of healing energies. He frowned at that. A healing pill of such power should''ve done a great deal more to repair his internal injuries. Is there something I''m missing? Ming wondered as he scanned his body once again, yet still felt nothing that would reveal why he was having such difficulty healing. Just to be safe, he withdrew a pill that burned with a ghostly white light and tossed it back into his mouth as well. Its ghostly fire burned through him, dispelling any curses of the god rank and below. It was hard to tell if it helped at all. Still, despite his concerns, Ming was confident that he would find the answer and heal himself. Hopefully, they wouldn''t encounter any great dangers before he''d undone the damage. And despite the blow to his health and the fact the girl wasn''t what he''d left in search of... he couldn''t help feeling like he was doing the right thing. The deepest parts of his instincts told him that this insane gambit was the right move. He just hoped those instincts were right... *** On a distant planet, a skeletal man wreathed in shadow sat upon a throne with a dark mist swirling around him. A woman with red skin, clad in a black dress that hugged her sensual curves and barely contained her ample breasts strode into the throne room. "Do you have new orders from the master?" she asked. Her voice was sultry and brought with it images of every carnal desire imaginable. The shadowy man remained utterly unaffected by her and waved away the mist that whispered around him in a thousand voices. "No," he said. "Then why have you called me?" asked the woman as her perfect eyebrows creased into a frown. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Someone has come to Xiannu," said the skeletal man. "So? Is that all you interrupted me for? Do you realize I was in the throes of ecstasy with a newlywed couple? Oh, how his wife cried and screamed and begged me to stop... her face hot and wet with delicious tears... and you interrupt me over some vagrant wanderer?!" the red woman snapped. "That world is of importance to the master and a god could disrupt our plans for it. It would be good to keep an eye out for this traveler, and either recruit them to our cause or destroy them," he said. "What does it matter? One little god is hardly something to worry about. Can I go now? Their tears are still fresh..." she said as she licked her full, luscious lips. The shadowy man sighed. "Do as thou wilt, but do not let your carnal desires distract you from our task," the skeletal man said gravely. The red woman waved his words away with a dismissive gesture of her hand as she walked away, her hips swaying seductively with every step. The shadowy man did not watch her leave. Instead, he crooked his head and listened to the whispering voices. "Perhaps she''s right. A single god can do little to stop us," said the skeletal man, "yes... if they cause any disruption to our plans for Xiannu, then they''ll be dealt with." Screams echoed from within the palace, joined by maniacal laughter filled with lust that rang out through the halls as the red woman resumed her twisted game. The voices continued to whisper. "The little lightning dragon? My cursed aura will kill him slowly and painfully regardless. If he''s not already dead. His escape will mean nothing in the end. There are none alive who can stop you, my master," said the skeletal man, "you will be free and when you are, Xiannu will already be yours."
"Oooh... my head..." Jie groaned as she came to. Ming chuckled. "So you''re alive after all," he said. She opened her eyes and sat up. Everything hurt. It felt like someone had doused her insides with gasoline and set them on fire. She looked around to see Ming with lightning playing over his scales as usual. One thought sprang to mind before any other. "Did it work? Did I do it?" she asked. "You could say that," he said with a mysterious smile. Jie rubbed her temples. "Ow... that really hurt. Is it always going to be like that?" she asked. "It''ll get easier with time," he said. Well, that was something at least. She closed her eyes and let her awareness drift down into her lower dantian. The cave she''d seen before with the tunnels going off in every direction greeted her. However, this time the cave wasn''t empty. There was a flicker of glowing, blue lightning darting around. It looked tiny compared to the amount of Essence she''d absorbed before. "Is this all?" Jie asked. Ming coughed violently. Jie''s eyes sprang open, and she rushed up to the dragon. She didn''t know what to do to help him, so she just patted his scaly back. "Are you getting any better?" she asked. Ming coughed up more blood and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Not if you say things like that I won''t be," he said. Jie frowned. "Like what?" she asked. "Do you have any idea how hard everyone else has to work to get as much dragon lightning qi as you just did? And on your first time no less!" Ming said. Jie pouted. "It doesn''t look like much," she said. "That was just an hour of cultivation!" Ming said, "that would be decent if you were cultivating normal qi of moderate quality, but for dragon lightning qi, it''s insane. So quit your whining!" "Oh," Jie said, "sorry." She wasn''t sorry, and she didn''t fully understand what he meant. Was cultivation really so slow? "Bloody ungrateful little monster cultivators," Ming grumbled. Jie shifted her weight from one foot to the next. "So... am I going to cultivate some more?" she asked. Then, her belly growled loudly, like a feral beast. Jie''s cheeks flushed bright red, and she hugged her tummy. Ming laughed. "You cultivate a bit more using what I taught you," he said, "I''ll get something to eat. If you cultivate well, I may even let you have some." Jie dropped to the floor and sent her spiritual sense out to greedily gather Essence. She was starving, and if she had to cultivate to eat, then she would cultivate even more than she had last time!
Ming watched as the little girl sucked in Essence like water draining down a sink. "Monster of a girl," he muttered too quietly for her to hear. He checked what she was doing inside her dantian just to make sure she wasn''t trying to rush it and end up with different types of qi or qi of poor quality. But, the girl was refining it as perfectly as she had the time before... only a lot more of it at once. Ming shook his head. This little girl was frightening. He looked up at the starry sky. She would need to be. He took flight and soared over the overgrown temple and into the jungle that surrounded it. She was cultivating well, and he would see to it that she could eat her fill. He could also do with some food to help his recovery... He retracted his aura until not even a wisp escaped his control, and to the creatures of the jungle, he might as well not be there. He could''ve cloaked himself entirely but that seemed pointless. They would only see him when it was too late... He spotted a wild-toothed boar and swept down to meet it. The hulking beast roared at Ming''s sudden appearance, and a red mist billowed out of the gem in its forehead and covered its curved tusks. "Oh? You''re going to fight me, dinner?" Ming said, "That''s cute." The beast pawed at the ground as it snorted angrily. Leaves fluttered around them, drifting down from the canopy above, and the boar charged. Its massive tusks bared down on Ming as it roared furiously. Ming flicked his tail and swatted the creature aside like one of those beach balls he''d seen on Earth. The four-meter-long boar crashed into a rock with a sickening thud and the crack of bone and slumped down, dead. Ming waved his hand and the creature''s corpse disappeared into one of his storage rings. "Hmm, just a few more of these should be enough," he muttered. Ming took his time and didn''t use any of his internal energies to help him slay a few more of the beasts. When he had more than enough safely stored in his storage ring, he slithered through the air, back to the temple where Jie sat, still cultivating. Essence poured into her and then detonated in the final part of the cultivation of dragon lightning qi. She flew back and landed hard on the dusty courtyard tiles. Ming glided over to Jie and checked on her. She breathed deeply and evenly. Three times as much qi as before danced around chaotically inside her lower dantian. He shook his head and smiled. "This girl," he muttered. With a wave of his hand, he brought the boars he''d killed out of his ring and set to work on preparing them. Chapter 10 Feast Jie awoke to the scent of roasted meat. Her stomach growled. Her body felt like a wrung-out dishrag and her bones ached. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. It still felt unbelievable that she could do that now. Ming sat coiled up like a snake, slowly turning a massive boar over a spit. "Evening, sleepyhead," he said, "you hungry?" The flames licked the sizzling meat, and the mouthwatering aroma made Jie''s tummy rumble again. Ming chuckled. "I''ll take that as a yes. Don''t worry, it shouldn''t be long now," he said. He cooked it for a few more minutes before he sliced off a haunch with one of his claws and offered it to her. Jie stared at the enormous haunch with wide eyes. It was bigger than she was! "Oh... wait," Ming said. He cut it into smaller pieces and handed one of them to her. It was still bigger than her head, but at least it looked like it wouldn''t crush her beneath it. She took it, juggling it slightly between her hands as it burned her fingers. The meat was crispy and slightly charred in places, but it smelled delicious. She hadn''t had a proper meal for the last few years and her mouth watered. "Well?" Ming asked, "What are you waiting for? Eat up. You''ll have to train hard if we''re going to get you strong enough in time. You''ll need your strength." Jie took a huge bite. As her teeth sank into the tender meat, the juices squirted out and filled her mouth with flavor. She tore off a chunk like a savage beast and chewed it quickly before swallowing. Then she ripped off another mouthful... and another.... Until she''d devoured it all. Ming handed her another chunk of glistening meat, and the process repeated itself until she lay back with her belly stuffed full of food and grease all over her hands and face. She burped. "That was so good," she said. Ming chuckled and picked up another haunch of meat bigger than she was. He opened his jaw wider than should be possible and bit down, engulfing the entire thing in one bite. He pulled out a long strip of bone, with not a trace of meat remaining. Then, he burped too. Jie giggled. The dragon paid her no mind and started picking his teeth with the enormous bone. Jie patted her belly with one hand. "I think I have a food baby," she said with a giggle. Ming froze. His makeshift toothpick dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor. He turned to her, his eyes filled with horror. "Is that how you reproduce in your world?" he whispered. She burst out laughing. "You''re silly," she said, "I just mean my tummy is so full!" She poked the bulge in her tummy from all the food for emphasis. "Oh," Ming said with a heavy sigh of relief. Jie laughed. "You didn''t actually think that I--?" "Ahem. Anyway, I''m impressed with your progress so far, but we should get you cleaned up a bit and then back to more cultivation for you," Ming said. Jie covered her grin with one greasy hand. He scowled at her. "You should clean up first, and I''ll see if I have a change of clothes for you. Can''t have you running around with your butt showing to the entire world," he said. Ming showed Jie to a stream not far from the overgrown temple they were staying in. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The stream was small and the water was crisp and clear. It sparkled in the moonlight like a million glorious diamonds. Was everything in this world so beautiful? "I''ll protect you while you bathe," Ming said. "Protect me from what?" she asked. "Look around you, kiddo," Ming said, "we''re in the middle of a jungle. It''s filled with magical beasts like those boars I brought back for us to eat. Any one of them would find you to be an easy snack. There could also be bandits, and unsavory sorts who would take advantage of a weak little girl." Jie backed away from the stream and eyed the long shadows beneath the trees all around them. "It''s alright, kiddo," Ming said, "I said I''ll protect you and I will. I''m still suffering from some injuries, but I doubt we''ll find anything nearby that would force me to get serious. Wash up. I have a towel and some clothes for you." She took a step forward, and then another. She stopped at the edge of the stream and froze. "Um... Ming?" Jie said. "Yeah, kiddo?" he asked. "I... uh... need some privacy," she said. "What for?" he asked. "Well, I''m going to be bathing... I''ll be naked," Jie said. "So?" he asked. "I don''t want people seeing me naked," she said. "That''s just silly," Ming said, "but fine. I''ll turn my back. Humans and their fascination with nudity. Humph! As if I have any interest in a little hatchling like yourself! How insulting." Nevertheless, he turned his back. Jie paused. "Uh, Ming...?" she said. Ming sighed. "What now?" he asked. "I don''t want anyone to see me, but I also don''t want to get eaten," she said. "Oh, don''t worry about that. I can sense your aura and the aura of anything nearby. It would take something with enormous skill at hiding their aura to hide from me. I think we should be fine here. Even with my back turned, I can protect you," he said. "Okay," she said. This world was strange, and nothing in it made much sense, but she trusted the dragon. He''d done so much for her already. Her life had been in his hands before, and he''d taken care of her and watched out for her. This time was no different. She took off her hospital robe and tossed it aside. She never wanted to see it ever again. She stuck one toe in the bubbling stream and squeaked. "Jie? Is everything okay?" Ming asked. "Yes!" she said, "The water''s just colder than I expected." Ming chuckled. She slowly sank deeper into the stream. It came up to her chin when she was standing, and the water flowed all around her. It didn''t feel quite so cold now that she was used to it, but it was still a little nippy. Jie let out a sigh. It''d been so long since she could bathe herself... and now here she was washing up in a beautiful stream of crystal clear water in the jungle of another planet. She smiled. Life sure had changed a lot. She submerged herself entirely in the water and marveled at the feeling of it on her face and her scalp... her hair drifted around her in the stream''s gentle current. When had her hair turned blue? She wondered. She finished washing herself off and stepped out of the stream. Ming hovered in the air with his back to her. A pile of neatly folded clothes and a towel lay on a rock behind him. The material felt like silk against her skin, and when she was dry, she put on the clothes. Calling them clothes seemed like an understatement. They were elegant, white robes with blue dragons embroidered on them. The detail was exquisite and the material, she was sure, was silk. Or at least something similar. Was clothing like this common in this world? Back on Earth, she would''ve expected to find this in an expensive shop... though the design looked archaic. Like something someone rich might''ve worn in ancient China. "Do you like them?" Ming asked. "Very much," Jie said, "where did you find them?" "Oh, just something I was carrying around," Ming said. "Carrying around?" Jie asked, "But you don''t have anywhere to put anything." Ming raised an eyebrow and held up his hand, showing off a collection of rings. "I have these," he said, "and this..." He waved his hand and a golden box appeared between two of his enormous fingers. It was about as tall and wide as the length of her pinky finger. "What? But those are rings and that box is tiny. There''s no way you could fit any of this stuff in there!" Jie said. "Hmm... yes, I suppose you wouldn''t have storage treasures in your world," Ming said. "A storage treasure? What''s that?" Jie asked. "Storage treasures are items that can hold vast quantities of other items. Far more than their size would suggest. This..." he said as he gestured to the golden box, "is a storage treasure. As are many of my rings." He flipped the lid of the box open and pulled out another pair of clothes in Jie''s size. "And you just happened to have clothes in my size?" Jie asked. The dragon frowned slightly as though considering something. "I suppose I do tend to hold onto items that come my way a bit more than I should. Sometimes I think I should clear out my storage treasures and organize things a bit better... but then I think about how they might be useful for something at some point. And it looks like I was right... in this case anyway," Ming said, "besides, it''d be wasteful to simply discard items and many of them aren''t worth the hassle of selling them... or are things I wish to keep." Jie eyed the dragon suspiciously. "And just what else have you hoarded in your storage treasures?" Jie asked. "Let''s not concern ourselves with the mundanity of my many treasures and instead get back to cultivating!" Ming said as he put the other pair of clothes back in the box and snapped the lid shut. Somehow, I should''ve known he''d be a hoarder. Typical dragon, Jie thought. Though that thought made Jie wonder how storytellers on Earth knew such things about dragons. Does that mean I''m not the first person from Earth to meet one? She wondered as they returned to the temple. Chapter 11 Disciple The days fell into a pattern after that. Jie cultivated and slept every time the explosions in her dantian knocked her out. And while she did so, Ming hunted and cooked food for the two of them. A week passed like this. Jie sat in the temple courtyard with Ming roasting their dinner over a spit once again, but she thought little of it. She was busy in her dantian with another swirling storm of Essence. Just as she had before, she whirled it faster and faster and then stopped it all at once. It exploded inside her dantian, and she screamed. But, she didn''t pass out this time. Instead, she watched as another strand of flickering dragon lightning qi joined the rest in her dantian. It gathered together into a ball and flashed with a bright blue hue. The sight blinded her spiritual eyes within her dantian, and she shielded her eyes from the dazzling light. Gradually, the intense radiance settled down to a level a little higher than it was before the flash. And there, in her dantian, was a tiny ball of crackling dragon lightning qi hovering in the air and chaotically twirling about. Strength flooded through her body like waves of electricity, making her skin tingle as it washed over her. Her whole body surged with energy. She wanted to run, to climb, to jump, to push herself to her limits and beyond! Every fiber of her being begged to use her newfound power! It felt like an enormous surge compared to the normal increase in energy and strength she felt after cultivating. "Well done!" Ming called out. Jie opened her eyes and looked up at the dragon who towered over her. "You just reached the first star of the Disciple rank! I''m impressed," Ming said, "your cultivation speed is incredible!" "I thought a week was normal?" Jie said. Ming sighed. "Didn''t you listen when I told you before? It would be decent if you were refining qi of reasonable quality, but for dragon lightning qi it''s downright exceptional," he said. Jie smiled and puffed out her chest proudly. Wait... Was she becoming like the arrogant dragon? That was a concerning thought... Ming patted her on the head softly. "Your talent is outstanding," he said. She glowed from the compliments. "So I''m now at the first star of the Disciple rank? That means it''s eight more stars and then the Adept rank, right?" she asked. Ming coiled up like a snake once more, in an almost meditative pose. "Yes, that''s correct. Although, just so you know, the ranks are sometimes called different things by different people. It''s just a name after all. Some worlds have very strange names indeed, but their meaning is the same," he said. "I feel... a lot stronger... is it always like this after breaking through?" Jie asked. "Oh yes. It feels excellent does it not?" Ming said, "And the truth is you are much stronger. Each star is vastly more powerful than the one before it. And, with your extremely high-quality qi, you''ll find that you could defeat cultivators of the second or even third star of the Disciple rank. Once I teach you how to fight and you learn some martial skills of course." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "So, I''m far more powerful than my cultivation would suggest?" Jie asked. "Yes," Ming said, "though of course what I said depends on how well refined their qi is and how skilled they are. There will be a rare few in the universe who''ll be able to match you... though I''m not sure how your new body will affect this... perhaps you''ll be able to face off against those even further beyond you... but I wouldn''t risk it unless you have no other choice. "The difference between each star is massive. That''s why it takes so much longer to reach each one. As such it''s extremely dangerous to face opponents of a higher cultivation level. And the difference between ranks is even greater than the difference between stars! "Someone at the ninth star of the Disciple rank would be badly outmatched against someone at even the first star of the Adept rank. The gap is just too big," Ming said. "Be careful of anyone more than a few stars above me and even more careful of anyone a higher rank than me even if they''re not that far ahead of me in terms of stars. I think I''ve got it," Jie said. Ming nodded. "Of course, it always depends. There will be times when you may not have a choice... or may simply need to challenge yourself. But, in general, it''s best to be cautious when such a disparity is involved," he said. "If the difference between Disciple and Adept is so huge... what''s the difference between someone at the lower dantian and someone at the middle dantian like?" Jie asked. "The middle dantian is a whole other level from the lower dantian. If the gap between ranks is a leap, then the gap between the lower and middle dantian is a chasm! Do not ever fight someone a dantian above you. If one attacks you, then do whatever you can to escape. The gap is simply too large," Ming said. "Is the gap so big because elemental affinities are that important?" Jie asked. "No," Ming said, "elemental affinities are exceptionally powerful and important. But the raw power difference between the lower and middle dantian is massive even without the use of elemental affinities. And each star within the middle dantian takes far longer to reach and grants a greater boost to power than the ranks below it." Jie gnawed thoughtfully on her thumb. "Does that mean the difference between the upper and middle dantian is even bigger?" Jie asked. "Yes," Ming said with a smile, "now you''re catching on. If the difference between the lower and middle dantian is a chasm, then the difference between the middle and upper dantian is an impassable rift. Only those with spiritual energy of exceptional quality can break through into the upper dantian. And most never do. It isn''t easy. Not only will cultivators of such a level be more powerful from their ranks alone, but their quality of cultivation will be vastly higher as well. Making them a force to be reckoned with." "And you''re above even them," Jie said, feeling somehow proud of that. "I am," Ming said, "although my cultivation is badly damaged and I''ve lost a great deal of my strength..." "I''m sorry you suffered so much," she said. "Don''t worry about it, kiddo," Ming said, "the path of a cultivator is filled with obstacles. This was just one of them. I need help to save this world, and I just hope you and I will be strong enough in time." "But if it takes so long to advance and you weren''t strong enough even when you were a god... what hope do I have?" Jie asked. "I was a new god of a low rank," Ming said, "and perhaps we''ll fail and die horribly for our efforts. But what else is there to do? Roll over and accept our fate? Allow Fang Zhuyu and his followers to dominate the universe?" "No," Jie said, "I don''t want that. I won''t do that. It''s just... I feel like I''m not doing enough... I''m trying as hard as I can, and it still took me a week to reach the first star... and I have so much further to go... I just... I can''t help feeling like I need to be doing more than I am, but I don''t know how." Ming nodded. "You and I will have to reach as high as possible and then transcend what is possible to go even higher if we are to succeed. But do not despair. It will take Fang Zhuyu''s followers some time to free him from his prison. It will not be easy, and perhaps we''ll fall short of our goal. But there is hope, kiddo," he said, "Besides, where''s the fun in reaching for what you''re sure you can get? You''ll never stretch yourself that way. And the universe needs our help." Jie stared at the dusty tiles by her feet. There was so far to go... so many stars... so many ranks and each one was harder than the last? How could it ever be possible to get strong enough in time? But a never-ending journey of self-improvement... of always getting stronger... something about that spoke to her soul. "You okay, kiddo?" Ming asked. "Yeah," Jie said, "just thinking. I''ll train hard. I won''t let you down." Ming smiled. "I''m glad to hear it, and tomorrow... I''ll start teaching you how to fight!" he said. Chapter 12 Martial Skills If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 13 The Great Lightning Dragon The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. This must be what heaven is like. Chapter 14 The Jungle If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. am me Chapter 15 The Village "We should have a look,""though I doubt anyone in this village even knows what prestigious means..." "Ming! Help!" "You don''t need it right now. This will be a valuable learning experience for you," "What? I''m about to die! Did you bring me all this way just to get killed in some trashy village?" "Behind you. You may wish to dodge," Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "They''re serious, little one. Defend yourself, and teach them a lesson," "Focus! These are not your friends! Worry not about your actions. Whatever fate you deal them is well earned," "Don''t worry, he''s more than a whole rank above you, I don''t expect you to deal with him. Just try to look... I don''t know... profound?" "What are you going to do?" "You''ll see," "Oooh, I like that! Say something else! Make them cower and grovel for what they''ve done!" "That''s good! Where are you getting all this?" "I read a lot of books in hospital," "You know, they didn''t deserve even what you gave them. The gold in the coin will still have a lot of value. Particularly for a village as poor as theirs," "why did you do it?" Chapter 16 The Road anyone "It''s not uncommon for powerful cultivators to force themselves on weaker people. Male or female... they both do it. He must''ve thought you might be one," "I never said it wasn''t. Only those with no honor or morals would do so, but no world is without such people, and when people gain strength they reveal who they truly are. Do try to speak to me through the link I''ve made. Right now, you seem insane. Though there''s nobody close enough to see you, it''s wise to foster good habits," "People are who they choose to be. It isn''t your fault. And, just as there''s evil, and evil people, so too is there good and good people. It is in the nature of good souls like yourself to despair at the existence of evil, and I urge you to remember that this is not your old world. "You''re not powerless here. And just as strength gives evil the ability to commit greater atrocities, so strength gives good the power to do greater acts of righteousness. In you, is the potential for incredible power, and it will be up to you how to use that power. "One day, you could destroy all evil that you come across and make the universe a better and safer place. You don''t have to be helpless ever again, and you aren''t alone. I saw in your world how criminals are protected by the laws that should be persecuting them. But here, only strength matters. And, you will be the strongest of them all, kiddo," "I just wish people wouldn''t be like that..." "All good souls do. If it makes you feel any better, Hell is real," "You''re joking?" "I''m not. Reincarnation, the Hells, and the Heavens are all real. Who knows, maybe our journey will take us there one day. They''re all real places... well, not reincarnation though you do get reincarnated in a place... but you know what I mean," "You can be really silly sometimes. Thank you," "No problem, kiddo,""Do you want me to go back there and teach them a lesson? I could kill them if you want." "No! No... I don''t want to be responsible for any more deaths. Let''s just keep going... I''m sorry for being so weak and crying like this," "This from the girl that had her body remade while she was still in it. Weak indeed. You just have a big heart is all. I should know, I helped make it," "What about the people I hit... especially that first one... is he going to be okay? I didn''t... kill him did I?" "It''d be his own fault if you did, but no. He was alive when we left. Just in a lot of pain. He was lucky," "You''ll have to kill with your own hands eventually, you know," "I know... and I will, but I don''t want to. I know I''m a hypocrite for already having you kill those men for me... but I just... I want to pretend I''m a good person for a little longer," "You are a good person, kiddo. The laws of your world aren''t about what''s right, they''re just there to keep order. Some people need to be killed. The trouble with not killing bad people is that it just means they''ll be free to do evil things that much longer. I know it''s hard to accept at first, but you''ll get there. You''re a good person, and you''ll stay that way. I believe in you," Alright. Let''s go. I''m here to fulfill a promise, and that''s what I''ll do. Onward to The Crimson Academy!" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Let''s get to the front," "Don''t we have to wait in the queue?" "If you wait, you won''t get in. Just look. Those with the power to push their way through are doing so. Strength is all that matters, kiddo," "It shouldn''t be this way," "Perhaps not, but it is what it is. Now get moving, kiddo. If this school is even halfway decent, they should be able to help your cultivation a lot while I''m recuperating," "To hell with keeping a low profile. Let''s teach this jackass a lesson," nothing "Oh, kiddo. You''re just the best. You have such a flair for the dramatic," "I didn''t do anything, it was all you," "Do you not hear yourself? You sound so sweet until someone starts to annoy you, and then you sound like an ice queen. I think those guards are going to need new robes," Chapter 17 The Crimson Academy "What are they doing?" "They''re testing their cultivation level. It seems they only consider accepting those whose cultivation is at least at the sixth star of the Disciple rank under twelve years of age. You should get through fine," "Go ahead, kiddo,""better you use your name from Earth rather than my name. Try to avoid lying as much as possible, these experts might sense it, and it serves no purpose here." "I''ll say," "I hope this place is worth the trouble. Though, I''m sure you''ll get through the next test with ease,"
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "Better get going, kiddo," "This school better be worth it. I''m losing so much cultivating time for all this," "It should be. Even a mediocre school will have cultivation resources that will greatly aid your cultivation," "What about them?" "I imagine they fail the test and are rejected from this academy," "That seems a bit harsh..." "Humph! You call that harsh? Despite my heritage, I still had to go through the trials to enter The Lightning Academy. For my first test, I was locked in a pit with horned vipers, each at my rank or higher, and made to fight my way out. "And that was just one test of many. This academy is far too gentle. So what if they fall behind? Ninety percent of applicants died in our trials," "That''s horrible! No academy should have tests like that!" "How else do you weed out the wheat from the chaff?" "With normal tests! Tests that don''t kill you!" "You have a lot to learn, kiddo. The universe is a dangerous place, and the trials of my academy were still child''s play compared to what I later faced. And, what you will face in time," "The severity of the crime? And how is killing someone just grounds for disqualification!" "I imagine that it varies depending on accidents, self-defense, whether the one killed is a noble or a commoner, and such things," "I guess some of that makes sense, but to distinguish between nobles and commoners? That''s sick!" "It''s unfair, but keep in mind that The Crimson Academy needs to be careful with what they do too. Imagine if they imprisoned or executed the child of a peerless expert or a powerful noble family? "The consequences could be grand indeed. Strength rules above all. The only way to enforce justice is to be strong enough to do so," Chapter 18 The Trial "Do you have enough money or do I need to get the full fifty cores?" "I have the money, but you should try to get as many cores as you can. Any rewards you could get would be good. It''s also excellent practice for you to battle as many as you can. "Reach out with your spirit sense and find some magical beasts. I''ll be with you, but I doubt you''ll need my help here," "What are you waiting for, kiddo? You''ll have to fight a lot worse than a little ninth-star needlefang gorilla. Get to it," "Here you go, kiddo," "Are you okay, kiddo? You look a little pale," "I''m fine," Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "This will be good for you. I won''t intervene. Take care of him," "Is he trying to kill me? He''s insane!" "It would appear so. Focus and do not let down your guard. Take him out," "I thought he''d be better at taking a hit than this. He''s a star... even a rank above me..." "His qi just isn''t anywhere near as pure as yours. Even though he''s a star above you, it could be said that you were the one to bully him," "Will he be okay?" "He''s bleeding, and the scent may draw beasts to this area. He''ll be unable to defend himself and will quickly succumb if that happens. A just reward for one without honor," "What? He''s just a kid! I''m not going to leave him here to die!" "Why not? He certainly had no qualms about killing and robbing you. He very nearly succeeded because of your hesitance to do what must be done. Leave him to die. You can get away with it. I can sense there are no elders nearby and I could easily hide what traces remain. They will not know who killed him. Besides, he brought this on himself. It would only cause you trouble to save him," "I''m not a murderer," "You need to learn that to show mercy to others is to be merciless to yourself. He''s trash. He tried to rob you. Death is something he should accept as a rightful consequence," "Maybe he does deserve it. But I''m not a killer, and I won''t leave someone to die if I can help it. I don''t care if it causes me trouble. I''ll do the right thing because it''s who I am not because it benefits me," "But you are a killer, Jie. You''ve killed countless beasts and I know you enjoyed dominating them with your superior might," "I did not! I''m only doing this because I must, and I''m not just going to leave him to get eaten alive," "Sometimes your stubbornness is not an asset,""at least take his beast cores. It''s only fair that he learns what it''s like to be robbed." Chapter 19 Beast Cores "Fine," Jie said. She snatched the boy''s pouch and poured the contents into her own. The stream of gleaming beast cores and green healing pills was almost endless. It took nearly a full minute before the final core dropped into her pouch. "How the heck did he get so many more beast cores than me? And how does he have healing pills?" Jie asked. "I suspect he may have been cheating, either that or he succeeded at robbing others. Possibly both. That is a lot of cores," Ming said. "But the elders took everyone''s storage treasures... did anybody even have healing pills?" Jie asked. "Not in this quantity that I could sense," Ming said. "So, the elders are helping him win then?" Jie asked. "Almost certainly," Ming said, "it would seem that his family has some clout in this area. Yet another reason why you should kill him and wash your hands of the trouble he would most assuredly bring you." "I won''t do that," Jie said. Ming sighed heavily. "At least break his other arm and knock him out so he doesn''t try to stab you in the back on your way there," he said, "he already tried to kill you when your guard was down once. If you''ll recall?" Jie chewed on her lip and stared at the boy. He flinched as he met her cold gaze, as though he could sense what she was thinking. He still looked as though he wouldn''t even be able to stand on his own, but she couldn''t deny that Ming was probably right... Jie gritted her teeth. "Fine," she said. The boy''s eyes widened as she approached. His agonized screams lasted only until Jie knocked him out. Once she''d subdued him more fully, Jie dragged the boy across the forest all the way to the elders. They were talking among themselves, but their conversation broke when they saw her. "What is this?" Elder Kanev asked, "What has happened here?" "This boy attacked me. He tried to rob me, and I hit him. I didn''t expect him to be so hurt," Jie said. The elders looked at Jie at the ninth star of the Disciple rank, then the boy of the first star of the Adept rank, and back again. "You did this?" asked one of the elders. His eyebrows were raised so high that if they went any further, they''d leave his head and move up into the clouds. "Yes," Jie said, "I brought him back so he could be healed. I have no wish to see him die." A few elders nodded their heads. Elder Kanev, however, did not. A vein throbbed on his forehead. "How dare you assault another student and claim he''s the one in the wrong! You''re only at the ninth star of the Disciple rank! There''s no way you could do this to him unless you took him by surprise! Clearly, you are the thief!" Elder Kanev shouted. His aura expanded and washed over her. It was oppressive, but Ming''s familiar, comforting aura washed over her and drowned it out. She looked Elder Kanev straight in the eye. "I have no reason to lie. Your rules didn''t forbid robbing other students. I told you the truth. Whether you accept it or not is entirely your choice," Jie said. Elder Kanev stood with his mouth open like she''d just slapped him across the face with a wet fish. Ming chuckled and grinned. "You just humiliated him in front of the other elders. You''ve made yourself an enemy before even getting into the school. I like your style," he said. Jie flicked her hair, dismissing Ming''s words. However, to the elders, it looked as though she were dismissing Elder Kanev and his oppressive aura entirely. The vein in Elder Kanev''s forehead throbbed like it was about to burst. "You dare..." he started. Another elder cleared his throat. "Technically, she''s correct. Whether she robbed him or not is not our concern. The strong reap the rewards and the weak must accept their place. "That she brought him back rather than leaving him to die shows she honors our rules," the elder said, "I for one support her actions. Whatever they may be. Though she could learn some respect." He looked at Jie meaningfully. "But, Elder Gan this is Chen Liang''s son..." Elder Kanev said. Several of the elders shuddered at the mention of the name. "What of it? Not even Chen Liang would dare go against The Crimson Academy. Many others from his family have been accepted, he would be a fool to throw it all away over a single child. Especially one who couldn''t defend himself against someone a star below him. When the boy wakes, he can decide whether he''s able to continue unassisted. If he cannot, he will fail the trial and a healer can tend to him before he returns to his family," Elder Gan said. "I agree," said another elder, "Chen Liang is of little concern to us. This is a trial of strength, and his son has proven himself unworthy. Not only that, but the girl has followed our rules and ensured the safety of Chen Liang''s child. "If he wishes to be angry at anyone it should be his son for being too weak. If the Chen family wants to find trouble with our academy, they''ll be crushed. All those in favor of allowing the girl to continue her trial?" All the elders other than Elder Kanev raised their hands. "It''s decided," Elder Gan said. He turned to Jie. "You may return to your trial. You must still collect your ten cores if you wish to enter our academy," he said. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Jie bowed. "Thank you. I will do so," she said. She turned on her heel and walked away. Elder Kanev stared after her. He ground his teeth and darkness lurked behind his eyes.
Jie killed beast after beast in the forest, extracting their cores between cultivating. Finally, the three days were up, and it was time to return. By this time, Jie had collected over two hundred beast cores. Not counting the ones she''d taken from the kid who''d tried to rob her. She strolled back to where the elders waited, and many others did the same. Some held themselves straight, their chests stuck out proud and arrogant. Others hung their heads dejectedly. Jie walked calmly. She''d collected more than enough cores to be accepted, and as for getting any additional rewards, that depended entirely on what the others had done. Besides, she''d done okay, right? Maybe she could at least place in the top three and get herself a special residence with more Essence. The elders now stood around a stone pedestal, Elder Kanev flicked his wrist, and a gleaming silver bowl appeared on top of the smooth stone. "Form a line!" he said. The children formed a line as they were told. A few pushed their way closer to the front, but Jie didn''t see the point of that and instead stood at the back. "We''ll now see who has the right to enter The Crimson Academy!" Elder Kanev said, and his voice boomed throughout the forest. The first child, a girl with long wavy hair, stepped forward. Everyone in line leaned over to get a closer look at what was going on. The girl handed over her pouch, and Elder Kanev poured its contents into the bowl. "Hmm... eleven cores... not bad... not great, but enough to pass. Wait over there with Elder Gan," he said. Jie frowned. Only eleven cores? Did the girl just collect one over what she needed and then spend the rest of the time cultivating? Jie couldn''t help wishing she''d done the same. The promised rewards probably weren''t even that great, and she could''ve gained so many extra hours of cultivation time... though she''d cultivated a bit as it was. The next youth stepped forward and handed over twenty cores. "Impressive," said Elder Kanev, "you may wait with Elder Gan." The line of children chattered among themselves. "Twenty? How the hell did he get twenty cores?" said one. "I thought I was going to win, but I only have seventeen," said another. The line continued as one by one they handed over their cores. Most barely had more than ten, and almost a third of them had fewer than ten and failed. Some of those that failed cried that it was unfair and that they''d been robbed by other students, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Jie was last in line and soon stopped caring. She didn''t want to waste the time so she sat on the grass and cultivated while she waited. Many of the elders looked at her with disapproval plain on their faces, but Jie didn''t notice. And, if she had, she wouldn''t have cared. The student in front of her, a boy at the peak of the ninth star of the Disciple rank, stepped forward and handed over his red pouch. The elders poured out the contents and counted them. "Thirty-seven cores? We have a new first-place student," Elder Kanev said. There was another round of chatter among the students. "Hey, kiddo. It''s your turn," Ming said. Jie stood up and dusted off her robes, caring little for the way the elders and many of the children looked down on her. After years of being paralyzed and unable to do even the simplest things for herself, it would take a lot more than this to embarrass her. "What''s the number to beat?" she asked Ming as she stepped forward. "I must admit, I''m curious about what would happen if you handed over all your cores, but it''s better we keep a low profile and just place first. Thirty-seven is the number to beat," Ming said. "So little?" Jie said as she unhurriedly reached into the red pouch and drew out a handful of cores. "I keep telling you, you''re a monster, kiddo," Ming said. Jie dropped her handful of cores into the silver bowl. "Just five cores?" Elder Kanev sneered. Many of the students laughed and Elder Gan sighed. Jie ignored them and took out a second handful. The laughter settled down. Elder Gan smiled softly and Elder Kanev''s face looked like he''d just eaten something sour. "It would seem she passes after all," Elder Gan said. "Only barely!" Elder Kanev snapped. Jie drew out another handful... then another... and another... Little by little, the faces of the other students turned increasingly pale and the elders'' mouths fell open wider and wider. She dropped the final core into the silver bowl with a soft plink sound. "That''s thirty-eight cores. I believe the previous record was thirty-seven?" Jie asked. The elders and all the students looked at her, dumbfounded. Elder Kanev was the first to snap out of it. "You clearly cheated," Elder Kanev said. "How did I cheat then? Did you not search me yourself? Do you believe I have the power to deceive your spirit sense?" Jie asked. Each of her words was like a slap to the elder''s face right in front of everyone present. His face turned increasingly red. "Your insolence will not be tolerated," he snarled. "I''m sorry if I offended you, I merely wanted to ask how you could think I cheated?" Jie asked innocently. Ming chuckled. For a moment, she thought they''d heard him, but nobody reacted. Elder Kanev ground his teeth. "If you did not cheat, then why did you not hand over your pouch as the others did," he said. Jie shrugged. "Does your arrogance know no boundaries!" Elder Kanev roared. A young man with olive skin and wearing red robes of a slightly exotic style and far grander than those of the elders appeared with a gust of wind. He carried two scimitars sheathed on either side of his hips. One of his hands was missing, cut off at the wrist, and replaced with a metal one. Though it didn''t seem like it was properly connected to his arm. "Enough," said the man. Though he looked young, his voice sounded far older and weathered in a way that seemed in stark contrast to his appearance. Elder Kanev bowed his head. "Yes, Headmaster," Elder Kanev said. The Headmaster turned to Jie and smirked. "I imagine she didn''t hand over her pouch because she wished to hold on to the rest of her cores," he said. His words sent a cold shiver through the other students. "She handed over thirty-eight cores, Headmaster. Do you believe it''s even possible?" Elder Gan said. His voice held no hostility, only respect, curiosity, and disbelief. The Headmaster''s smile grew. "Let''s find out," he said, "Young miss, you only owe us an additional twelve silver coins or twelve beast cores to cover your full tuition. As you''ve clearly surpassed our trial, would you like to pay your tuition and enter The Crimson Academy?" As he spoke, his metal hand skittered across his body, climbing up his robes until it rested on his shoulder like a friendly metal spider. It then scratched his neck lightly. Ming watched her with a stupid grin on his face. "Go ahead, kiddo. This guy''s already guessed it so you might as well put these weaklings in their place," he said. Jie wanted to roll her eyes at him for finding all this so amusing, but she didn''t want to offend the elders and the Headmaster any more than she already had. She reached into her pouch and pulled out several handfuls one after the other. The crowd sucked in a breath, and when the twelfth core plinked into the bowl, one of the students fainted. "She must have cheated," Elder Kanev snarled. The Headmaster fixed him with a steady glare. "And how would she have done that hmm? Did you not ensure all storage treasures were taken ahead of time? Do you think someone managed to sneak into the testing grounds and help her?" he asked, "Or... do you perhaps believe an elder was aiding an applicant in this test?" Elder Kanev gritted his teeth and bowed deeply. A drop of sweat ran down his forehead. "Of course not, Headmaster," he said. "Mmm... of course not," the Headmaster said, but his eyes were darker than the ocean at midnight. He turned his gaze back to Jie and all traces of his dark expression was gone as though it had never been. "Elders, escort our new students to their dormitories, and send those that failed back to their families," he said. "What of the girl?" Elder Gan asked. The Headmaster smiled. "I will escort her personally," he said. Several of the other students looked at Jie with a mixture of reverence and envy. "As you say," Elder Gan said. He bowed respectfully and left with the other elders and the children, leaving Jie and The Headmaster alone. Well... apart from Ming who could probably eat him whole. Chapter 20 The Crimson Vault "Does everyone in your world make things in such a ridiculous manner? What''s the point of all these stairs? What a waste of time," "Who doesn''t like to impress others hmm? I saw in your world many live in buildings too tall for their weak legs to climb. You''re just a cultivating monster. You should learn to enjoy life," "What is there to enjoy other than developing myself and fulfilling my blood pact?" "Life isn''t so bad, kiddo. You''ve gone through tough times, and they''re far from the last you''ll have, but there''s good too. There''s much to enjoy. "Though, of course, our priority right now is to stop Fang Zhuyu''s followers, this journey is going to take a long time, and we may not survive. You need to learn to enjoy yourself too," "Hmm... it seems this Crimson Academy isn''t quite as simple as I first thought. They have powerful formations woven into the walls and the gate. I pity anyone foolish enough to attempt attacking. Though... it still isn''t nearly enough to stop me," Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "Nothing to enjoy eh, kiddo?" "Hmm... you''d better behave yourself and not steal anything without my help. The statues are a defensive measure that could give even those at the Emperor rank some serious trouble. It''d be a shame if you got greedy and died," Chapter 21 The Silver Stone "What are you looking at this rubbish for?" "Well... I don''t want to die. Wouldn''t a shield be good with how dangerous this world is?" "No. Forget that worthless trash. If you don''t want to die or get hurt then don''t get hit. Lightning is unrestrained, swift, and powerful. Your defense is in destroying your enemies before they can even touch you. "I''ve looked over everything else, and I think you should pick the heavenly moon pills over there. They''ll help your cultivation. None of these weapons or anything will be any good to you for long at the rate you''re progressing. Our end goal is much higher than this," "What are you doing? Let''s get the pills and go," "Kiddo?" "It''s too beautiful. I''m taking it. I want it. I need it," "What? That... that thing? That disgusting little pebble? Why would you want that?" "How dare you! You apologize for that!" "No! It''s putrid! Revolting! I hate it!" "No!" "Jie? Are you okay?" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Are you going to pick the pills already?""I thought you wanted to get back to cultivating as soon as possible? I promise they''re your best choice." "I... uh... yeah... sure," "Did the sight of all these treasures make your brain melt with greed? One day you''ll have much more than this, I promise," "No... it''s just... that was kind of weird before," "What was weird?" "How you and the elder reacted to that stone... it was... scary," "What stone? Are you okay? Maybe you need some sleep... get the pills and let''s go check out your new home, kiddo," Chapter 22 Heavenly Moon Pills Ming wouldn''t stop nagging her about getting some rest, but she finally convinced him it was too early for her to sleep and they were just wasting time. "Why don''t you tell me exactly what these heavenly moon pills do?" Jie asked, holding up the bottle she''d taken from The Crimson Vault. Ming coiled up like a snake as he often did before lecturing her. "They contain a dense amount of Essence. When you take one, you need to focus every fiber of your being on absorbing and cultivating all you can without sacrificing the quality of your qi," he said. Jie opened the bottle of pills. A sweet, tantalizing scent filled the air, and it gave off waves of Essence. She took one of the bright white pills and placed it on her tongue. It melted and poured down her throat like ice-cold water, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. It rushed down her body, through her meridians, and into her dantian. She gasped. So much Essence! She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she set to refining it as fast as she could while not letting her quality slip. Sweat ran down her face, and bright white Essence steamed off her skin. A black ooze bubbled out of her pores as her body shifted, removing impurities. Jie kept her focus on greedily absorbing the pill. Explosions rippled through her dantian as she refined one strand of dragon lightning qi after another. Her bones ached, and her teeth rattled from the raging storm within her dantian, but her cultivation base soared faster than it had since arriving in this world. She sat still and absorbed the pill like a greedy sponge for hours and the lightning qi inside her dantian swelled up until it was half again as big as it was when she started. She felt her strength skyrocket as she broke through beyond the ninth star of the Disciple rank and into the first star of the Adept rank. She finally began to understand what Ming had meant about the gap between the ranks being far larger than the gap between stars, even when the difference between them was a single star. Finally, she absorbed the last shred of Essence and let out a heavy sigh. She felt as though she were bursting with strength despite the pain of her cultivation technique. "Wow! That was amazing! I want another one!" Jie said with a bright smile on her face. Ming smiled. "You''re a natural, kiddo, but now you need to stabilize your cultivation by sparring and practicing your martial skills. If you don''t, you could injure yourself. Cultivation resources are excellent, but overusing them can destabilize your cultivation," he said, "Now, wash that muck off yourself, and let''s see what their Training Hall is like." Jie nodded. "I''ll go do that then!" she said. She leaped to her feet, scrubbed the muck off her skin, and dashed out of her home in a flash. Ming shook his head. "To absorb so much of her very first pill... most Elementalists can''t even do that... what kind of monster did I bring to this world?" he muttered. Jie rushed off through the night and went into The Training Hall. Even at this time of night, it was filled with other students battling each other or facing humanoid constructs made of stone and earth with glowing green eyes and energy suffusing their bodies in one of the many arenas. Some of the sparring arenas were raised above floor level, and others were more like pits that sank into the earth. In them, youths sparred against each other or against the earthen constructs. Some merely chatted among themselves, others watched the other students spar, and a few sat in quiet cultivation. Who or what should she fight? She was practically bursting with energy, but almost everyone on this floor was only at the sixth star of the Disciple rank! Not nearly strong enough to challenge her. Even before she broke through into the first star of the Adept rank. She hated how the people of this world were so savage to another, but Ming insisted that she needed to push herself. And, she had to admit she felt the need to exert herself. A good, friendly sparring session might even be fun! Several youths stopped their training and stared at her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Why were they all looking at her? Was she doing something wrong already? Ming chuckled. "Relax. You''re the first place winner of that pitiful trial, and besides... you look odd for a human," he said. She nodded. Blue hair would attract attention even in her own world... though she didn''t quite understand why it was unusual here when half the students weren''t even human. An arrogant boy about thirteen years old with purple skin strolled toward her with his chest stuck out and four other youths at his sides. She sensed their cultivation was at the peak of the first star of the Adept rank while the young boy who led them had a cultivation of the second star of the Adept rank. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "You''re Jie, right?" said their leader. Jie folded her arms. "Who''s asking?" she said. The boy''s face went red. "How dare you? Don''t you know who I am? That was my brother you sneaked up on in the first trial! Now he can''t get into the academy thanks to you!" he said. Jie shook her head. "He''s the one who attacked me. I merely defended myself. If he can''t get into the academy, then maybe it''ll teach him not to go around trying to steal from people," she said. His face reddened even more. "I''ll make you eat those words," he said. Jie sighed. "You can try," she said. The other youths stopped their battles and watched the drama unfolding before them. "Is she going to fight Chen Wei? Is she mad?" "I can''t wait to see this... she was so arrogant in the trial... now she''ll get what she deserves..." Jie ignored them. What did it matter what they thought? She''d never give in to bullies. No matter what their cultivation was. Besides, she was itching to use some martial skills and let out some of her power. Maybe with a second star Adept, she wouldn''t have to be so damn careful. She leaped into one of the empty sparring arenas with feline grace. "Well? I don''t have all night," she said. Her voice was cold. She hated how violent these people were. All she wanted was a nice, friendly sparring match to help her grow, but it seemed like fate was against her. Chen Wei gritted his teeth and jumped up into the ring with her. "You''ll learn not to mess with my family!" he said. Jie rotated her qi within her dantian. It swirled and crackled inside her. So much power! It was utterly exhilarating! All those years of being trapped in her own body... and now power pulsed inside her. Oh, this was too good! She smiled despite herself. Who cared if she was fighting a bully? She could let out some of the energy that was threatening to burst out of her! He was nearly at the third star of the Adept rank from what she could feel, surely she could finally go all out! Chen Wei smirked sadistically as he glared at her and cycled a technique. Strange ghostly white qi enveloped his body, forming a kind of semi-translucent white armor of bones made out of qi. Ribs of bone qi flowed into a thick bony chest plate and spread up his neck, covering his head and even his jaw. With the armor even going so far as to grow out terrifying-looking teeth over his mouth. The sight could be rather intimidating, Jie supposed, but as it was she just thought it looked interesting and somewhat cool more than anything. Like an elaborate Halloween costume. Her lack of a reaction seemed to take Chen Wei aback slightly, but he quickly recovered, his eyes glaring at her even as they smoldered with the same ghostly white glow as his bone armor. He closed his hands into tight fists at his sides as curved glowing bone grew out of his forearms, curving over his fists and growing out until he had quite an impressive pair of blades made out of what felt like some kind of bone qi. "Let''s see how arrogant you are after this," he said. He ran toward her, rearing his arms up to attack... but to Jie, he may as well have been taking a casual stroll. She pouted. She wasn''t even using her movement technique... He slashed at her, his eyes burning with fury. Jie sidestepped with casual ease and his bone blades swept through empty air. Chen Wei''s eyes went wide. And it took him a moment before he saw where she''d moved to. "How?" he said. "If you''re taking it easy, please don''t. I need to exert myself to stabilize my cultivation," Jie said. "Don''t take it easy? Did she just ask him not to take it easy?" someone in the audience muttered. "Ha! It takes guts to taunt Chen Wei like that," said someone else. What little of Chen Wei''s face Jie could see through his strange armor turned so red she thought he might burst a blood vessel as he swung at her again and again. Each attack seemed to grow in speed, yet no matter how much he attacked, he couldn''t even touch her sleeves. Jie sighed. She''d hoped for enough of a challenge to push herself a little, but perhaps she should''ve known better. Hopefully, there''d be stronger opponents around... Jie''s qi flowed through her meridians in the pattern she knew so well by now and blue orbs formed around her fists. He attacked her again and she stepped inside the swing with perfect timing, slipping past his guard like it wasn''t even there and punching him in the gut. His bone armor shattered like glass, fragments of glowing white qi spraying everywhere as he folded over her fist. All the breath in his body left him in a whoosh. An instant later, the force of her blow sent him flying across the ring like a ragdoll. He smacked against the stone wall of the ring that surrounded them and collapsed to the ground, his body spasming as dragon lightning qi arced over him. The audience drew in a collective breath as he lay there twitching. It took a long moment before he finally began to move, letting out a cough that stirred the sand at his lips as he struggled to rise on shaky arms. "How... how could you...?" he said before coughing up blood and collapsing again. Jie looked at him, and her eyes went soft. "I''m sorry for hurting you so much. I guess I don''t know my own strength yet," she said. "You... how dare... you!" Chen Wei said as he choked out the words in an angry snarl. Jie frowned. "What did I say?" she asked. "You basically just said that he was far too weak to be your opponent despite the fact he''s a full star above you. I think you were trying to be nice, but you may as well have slapped him in the face," Ming said. Jie shook her head. "How silly," she said, "Whatever... do you think I should try the next floor? Do you think they''ll have stronger cultivators for me to spar with?" "They do. From what I can sense, each floor is devoted to a higher star," Ming said, "You may need quite a few floors." Jie jumped out of the arena and went up the stairs without a second glance at anyone else. As she stepped out onto the second floor, a few of the youths looked her over. She reached out with her spirit sense and found they were all around the seventh star of the Disciple rank. "They''re too weak, but they''re stronger than the first floor. I guess I''ll keep climbing?" Jie said. Ming just floated along beside her with a massive grin on his face. She strode straight and headed up the stairs higher and higher up to the sixth floor. The second she stepped out onto the sixth floor everyone there looked at her with smirks on their lips. "Getting a little ahead of yourself don''t you think?" asked a girl several years older than Jie. She was beautiful with a crowd of other girls around her that giggled at her remark. Jie paused for a moment and sensed those on the entire floor. "Hmm... just one star above me? Not high enough," she muttered without thinking. The girl''s gorgeous face twisted in anger and Jie walked right past her and up the stairs. "Go ahead and die you arrogant brat!" snarled the girl behind her. Several others laughed. Jie didn''t even look back. She climbed to the seventh floor. "Everyone here is at least at the third star of the Adept rank. Two stars ahead of me. This should be a good place to start right?" Jie asked. "I don''t think even those at the third star of the Adept rank are your match from what I''ve seen, but you also haven''t fought any tough battles yet. I agree it should help you gauge your strength better, but let''s not linger here too long. Remember, you must be challenged, or you''re just wasting time," Ming said. Chapter 23 Earthen Constructs "I don''t think anyone here will spar with you unless you taunt them first. Would you like some advice on what to say?" "Taunt them? Why would I do that?" "Anyone who fights someone so far beneath their cultivation will lose face win or lose. If they win, they''ll be seen as a bully who can''t fight those at their own strength. If they lose, they''ll be a laughingstock. But, if you give them an excuse many will fight you. Then you can beat them. It''ll be good experience," "What? I''m not going to go around being horrible to people just to get them to spar with me!" "Why not? That''s a big part of why we''re here. So you can spar and improve. So what if you ridicule them? It''ll only make them fight you that much fiercer. It''ll be good for you," "I''m not going to do that," "Fine. I suppose you could try out the construct areas. They look well made, though the design isn''t what I''m used to. I''d still like it if you sparred with other cultivators though. You''d better enter whatever tournaments they have at least. Then, they''ll have to fight you. It''ll be great for you!" "How do I use this thing?" "Hmm... I think you press your keystone on the rune there and pull the lever," "Hmm... it would seem that it takes a while to kick in... and you pull the lever for as many opponents as you want. Interesting," "Consider your positioning when you fight. Especially against more than one enemy and don''t forget your movement technique. You can''t afford to be arrogant here," The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Stop running! You are a dragon! You are lightning! Lightning does not retreat! It strikes and decimates everything it touches! Strike them down!" "Good! Don''t give them time! Attack! Attack! Attack! Strike! Decimate everything that dares to stand in your way! Such is the way of lightning!" Strike! Strike! Strike! "That''s not bad, but you need a lot more practice. You should spar here with the constructs or the other students at least once a day. Once you have some combat experience, you can move up to the next floor," "You''re going to end up just as arrogant as the rest of us," Chapter 24 The Chen Family Hall Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. *** "These pills are amazing,""Why didn''t you give me any before?" "Because the pills I have are far too strong for you. They wouldn''t do you any good and would only risk injuring you. Besides, it isn''t good to rely too heavily on pills and other cultivation resources. Especially in the beginning. It''s very easy to end up with an unbalanced cultivation base, and that''s a lot worse than advancing a bit slower," "That makes sense, I guess,""Still... you were right to tell me to pick these pills. They''re great!" "I''m glad, kiddo. But it''s time for me to focus on my healing now. I''m confident you''ll train hard while I''m busy," "Will you be okay? Is there anything I can do?" "I can''t make any promises, kiddo. I injured myself rather badly bringing you to my world and remaking your body. And for whatever reason, it''s getting worse. It''s not just an injury as I''d previously thought. I think there may be some kind of curse at work. With how pervasive and difficult it is to detect and cure... I have a feeling that the strange energy our mysterious helper put within me is the only reason I''m not already dead. But their help is slowly fading. I need to heal now, or I''ll die," "Can''t we take you to a healer?" "I don''t know of any healers in this world with the strength to heal me, little one," "And I cannot afford to waste time searching for one. This world is my home, but it''s also far from the true centers of power. That''s why the elders chose it. It''s a great place to lie low and train. I''d travel to another world to get a healer, but I do not have the time or the energy to do so and I have no vehicles or formations to transport me. I''ll simply have to heal this myself." "Is there nothing I can do to help?" "If you want to help, you could bring me some food from the cafeteria every so often. It smells delicious. Other than that, there isn''t much you can do. Any healing pills you might get will be far too weak to be of use to me. I have a few lesser ones left that might help me, but even those are so far beyond anything in this pitiful place, I''m sure. "If these injuries were simple, I''d have healed them easily a long time ago... just promise me that if I fail to recover... you will not forget our deal. You must stop Fang Zhuyu''s followers. He cannot be allowed to return," "I promise," "Thank you. I know that my world and the way it works is quite a shock to you, but I promise there''s good here too. And though you''ve met some awful people, no evil anywhere in the universe can compare to Fang Zhuyu. He won''t stop with just mine. No world in the entire universe will be safe. Please. You must become strong enough to stop them from freeing him. No matter what happens. If you don''t do it for my world... for Xiannu... then do it for your own," "We made a blood pact, remember? You just make sure you get better you big old snake!" "You rat! I''m the greatest dragon in the universe. You''re just jealous," "Train hard, kiddo." "Take this," "A storage ring?" "Yes. It''ll adjust to fit you as you grow. It has far more storage than any of the rings these weaklings wear. And much better security. Within it is enough currency for you to purchase whatever you require and enough space to hold vastly more than you''re likely to need for a long while. Use it wisely," "I will," "I won''t let you down. I promise." "I know you won''t," Chapter 25 The Satyr Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Chapter 26 Shrine Of Healing Are the mythologies back on Earth... real? Or at least based in reality? Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. still very sooooo me Chapter 27 Chen Ai Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Chapter 28 Elder Shi You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Chapter 29 The Tournament: Round One Damn. This girl has a frightening presence,
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chapter 30 Outnumbered "The rules are simple!" roared the middle-aged elder above the murmuring crowd, "Do not kill your fellow students. Do not cripple their cultivation. Broken bones, knockouts, and even severed limbs are acceptable. But, killing or the crippling of another''s cultivation is grounds not only for disqualification but for expulsion depending on the circumstances. So take care! Other than that, fight as you must. Survive until the final five and step further into the tournament! And now... begin!" The youths sprang into action like a horde of monsters gone insane. The air filled with flaming spears, ice arrows, glowing fists, acidic kicks, beams of multicolored light, bubbles of force, and strange creatures seemingly made entirely out of qi as the students around her unleashed their attacks upon one another. Within the first instant, several students went down with agonized screams as blood and severed appendages spilled upon the sand. Many of those closest to Jie focused their attacks on her. Two at the seventh star, three at the eighth star, and even the armored one at the ninth star. But she''d grown a lot in her recent battles. She could do the unthinkable now and fight on even ground with someone at the first star of the Expert rank. Jie activated lightning step as they raced toward her and the world around her seemed to slow down as though all the other contestants were caught in a jar of honey. Jie decided to eliminate the lower ranked students as quickly as possible without expending much energy. They were in the way, and she dared not release more than a fraction of her power on anyone below the ninth star by mistake. She moved like a blur up to the two seventh stars who lunged at her and tapped each one on the back of the head. She didn''t use her dragonfist skill for this, relying purely on her physical strength and the insane speed that came with using her lightning step technique. They crumpled like puppets with their strings cut. The three at the eighth star and the one at the ninth looked at her with wide eyes as she moved far faster than they could. She looked at them and gave a mock salute before racing through the arena. "You coward!" roared one of the three eighth stars she''d avoided, but then they watched as one after another all those below the eighth star dropped with seemingly no effort from the blue-haired girl. In seconds, she''d cleared all the lowest-ranked cultivators and only those from the eighth star of the Adept rank and up remained. The fighting turned truly savage then as all the weakest were eliminated at once, leaving only the strongest to duke it out. There would be no easy victories for anyone after what Jie had done. No hiding among weaklings while the numbers dropped. There would only be bitter fighting as each and every cultivator found themselves locked in brutal fights. Some teamed up, forming temporary alliances and battering others down. Many others picked off those who were already busy fighting, but Jie had no time for either tactic. All she cared about was pushing herself to become as strong as possible. If she couldn''t get through this tournament, then did she deserve any of what Ming had done for her? She whirled on the strongest opponent she could find. That student at the ninth star who she''d fled from in the beginning. Qi flowed through her body and formed into two dragonfists, one on each hand. She charged at him like a flash of lightning and threw a punch. He barely noticed her approach in time and hastily raised his shield. Crackling blue lightning qi met gleaming steel qi and detonated with a shockwave of lightning arcing in every direction as the impact reverberated on his shield like a gong. The sound of which sent shivers down the spines of the other contestants. The muttering crowd fell silent as the armored ninth star slid backward over the sand, his shield dented and cracked. Though fresh qi already flowed into it like a liquid racing through the cracks and rapidly repairing his shield to its full strength once more. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Jie started toward him again as her spirit sense screamed of incoming danger. A large flaming dog bounded toward her from her right flank. Its lips pulled back into an angry snarl as lava dripped from its muzzle like drool. It leaped at her, its jaws radiating heat. Jie felt a strange kind of link between it and one of the eighth star Adepts who''d attacked her at the start. Some kind of summoned creature I guess? Jie wondered. Whatever it was, it lacked the speed to be a true threat and Jie easily evaded its snapping jaws as she grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck. Its fiery fur burned her fingers as Jie spun, using the dog''s own momentum to send it toward the other threat her spirit sense warned her about as the second eighth star sent a volley of ice arrows toward her from her left flank. Jie hurled the dog into the barrage of ice arrows. The dog''s snarls turned to whimpers as freezing cold ice qi smashed into it and Jie winced, feeling guilty despite herself. But, she set her feelings aside as best she could and returned her attention to the fight itself. She resumed charging toward the armored ninth star youth who''d taken advantage of her distraction to raise his shield and cycle a new kind of martial skill. Jie''s eyes widened as the demonic face of his shield shot toward her like a missile. Its jaws yawned open, baring razor-sharp teeth as it cackled manically, streaming liquid metal qi in its wake like smoke. Jie dashed to the side, using her lightning step technique to move out of its path. It hurtled past her and slammed into the third eighth star who''d been coming up behind her with green glowing palms ready to strike at her back. Razor sharp metal teeth bit down on his chest as he flew backward with an agonized yelp. Jie continued racing toward the armored ninth star as she charged up a pair of dragonfists, ready to strike. He stabbed at her with his halberd as she approached. Jie side-stepped and caught the flat of his halberd with the back of her crackling fist, parrying the blow. The resultant blast knocked his halberd arm aside and left only his shield in the way. Jie jumped slightly, unwilling to allow him to use the force of her blow to gain as much distance again, and drove her fist down into his shield. Crackling blue energy met shining steel qi once more and exploded, shattering his shield and spraying fragments in every direction as an electric shockwave rumbled through the air. With nowhere to go, and the fact Jie allowed herself to use slightly more of her power than with the first attack, Jie''s strike drove him down to one knee. Yet, even as she drove him down to the ground, his halberd melted and formed into the shape of a dagger. He slashed upward with it at Jie''s side. Jie caught his dagger arm and spun with him using a purely physical technique Elder Shi had taught her and slammed his back hard onto the ground. Before she could follow up on her attack, however, another volley of ice arrows sped her way. Jie wove between them, evading each individual arrow as the archer gritted his teeth, with frozen sweat clinging to his brow. The armored ninth star used the time to roll back to his feet and lengthen his dagger into a sword, lunging at Jie while she was distracted. Jie dropped to the ground, evading both the strike and the arrows as she spun, whirling with her legs and sweeping his feet out from under him. While the armored ninth star was still falling through the air, Jie cycled a dragonfist and sprang upward, uppercutting him in his armored stomach. The force of her strike broke his armor and sent him flying further upward together with Jie and she unleashed a flurry of low-powered dragonfist attacks on him while they were both in midair. Booms rumbled so close together it sounded like rolling thunder and combined with the lightning that crackled and snapped over Jie''s body, it made her look like a cultivator far beyond the lower dantian. Like a goddess had come down from the heavens to bring storms and fury. The rest of the contestants fought with desperate ferocity, struggling all they could to bring the numbers down to end the round before one of the two monsters duking it out emerged from their battle ready to fight more of them. Cold sweat ran down their backs with each boom that sounded out like a gong counting down to their deaths. Fear gripped their hearts in a way many of them had never known as even the air became charged with unbelievable power. The arena grew thick with the scent of ozone like that of a storm. And how long did they have before the storm turned on them? Though many of the crowd were far beyond the cultivation of these youngsters, even some of the strongest among them felt apprehension at the ferocity of Jie''s attacks. Like watching a flame kitten rip a stone gazelle to pieces, it led many to thoughts of how fearsome this kitten would be once she grew up Jie delivered yet another strike as they fell back to the ground together, driving the ninth star hard into the ground as Jie landed lightly on her feet. He groaned in pain as his armor sputtered, leaking qi. He looked at her through his torn faceplate with resignation in his eyes and waited for the final knockout blow. Instead, Jie offered him a hand. "Well, come on then," Jie said, "you''d best get to your feet before someone picks you off." He took her hand, his face plainly showing how confused he was at her sudden mercy. "...Why?" he asked. The girl smirked. "I just wanted a decent fight. Doesn''t mean I think you deserve to be eliminated when you''re one of the strongest here," she said. "I... thank you?" he said as he held his side with one hand. She shrugged as though it were of no concern. "I think this contest has gone on long enough now. I have cultivating to do," she said. With that, she vanished in a blur and a trail of dust. One by one, she reappeared beside one of the other contestants and took them down with casual ease. The ninth star Adept boy watched her, his mind trying and failing to process what the hell just happened. "That kid is a monster," he muttered. Chapter 31 The Tournament: Round 2 Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I guess the Chen family is pretty important here... But so is the Pan family? Chapter 32 Customs did The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter 33 Healing Tent If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Chapter 34 Verdict Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. are Chapter 35 Duthungr Of The Mountain People real The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Chapter 36 Culture Shock If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Chapter 37 Pan Zhanshi vs Chen Huo You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Chapter 38 Ithilix Of The Hive Does everything I say make it happy? So weird. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Chapter 39 The Arena Clinic The way it says this one is kinda irritating... everyone Great. They bully her, him, it... whatever. I need to ask about that at some point, The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. any A girl with a promise to fulfill. Right, mistress means something different here. Mental images. Stop. I''m begging you. Why did I ever indulge my curiosity about adult stuff? that that And myself, Chapter 40 Shadow And Poison Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Chapter 41 Jie vs Chen Huo "And now! The moment we''ve all been waiting for! It''s time to determine who is the best among the younger generation! Who shall stand atop the mountain and declare their strength to all those among us? To a brighter future!" The judge bellowed, "Liu Jie! Chen Huo! Step up!" Jie hopped onto the stage with cool grace. Chen Huo waited a moment and did the same. What had Ithilix said yesterday? It was a sign of disrespect or something? Well, whatever. Chen Huo still had that lopsided smirk on his face as though he knew he would win. Jie regarded him coolly. Then, on a whim, she tilted her head to one side like she''d seen those weird anime characters do back on Earth. Was she doing it right? That kind of head tilt as though bored by the so-called challenge that awaited her. A stir ran through the crowd. "Who does this girl think she is? Does she think she can look down on someone stronger than her?" "Hah! That girl''s asking for a cruel beating." The murmurs died down, but frenzied whispers continued. It was easy to see who supported the Chen family and who didn''t. Those that did were all either angry or laughing about how ''she would be put in her place''. The others looked grim or curious. "Let the match... begin!" the judge said. Jie activated lightning step but didn''t move. "So, who do you think will cry for you?" Chen Huo said. Jie let her lips curl into a smile as she allowed her feelings to flow through her. "You," Jie said. Chen Huo blinked and his smirk faltered a moment before reasserting itself. "Are you sure your Pan friends won''t come crying for you?" Chen Huo said. Jie thought of a retort but held it back. Even if she won the verbal exchange, it would still allow a battle to take place. From what she knew of these people and their customs... there was a very simple way to really get someone mad. To remove all face as they called it. Jie sighed. "If all you''re going to do is talk, just forfeit already. I have stuff to do," she said. The crowd sucked in a breath almost as one. Chen Huo''s left eye twitched. Ah yes... they hated being dismissed as nothing. And, it''d only make what she was going to do hurt even more. "You dare?" Chen Huo said. Jie stretched languidly and yawned as though she''d just climbed out of bed. The Chen family''s supporters burst into angry muttering while the rest turned increasingly curious. This time, she cared what the crowd thought. Not because it mattered to her, but because it mattered to the Chen family. It was her weapon. Something she could use to strike the entire Chen family. Maybe these idiotic customs weren''t so bad after all... as long as you made sure to use them the right way. "I''ll make you regret your arrogance," Chen Huo said as he released the full weight of his second star Expert aura. Judging by how others reacted to similar differences in cultivation, Jie thought his aura ought to feel utterly oppressive. But, as it was, it felt like a summer breeze. Jie felt a fuzzy warmth and gratitude in her chest to Ming for giving her such a powerful cultivation technique that allowed her to face cultivators of higher ranks. Something her breakthrough earlier only added to. Great golden, fiery wings sprouted from Chen Huo''s back. His flawless white hair reflected their light, giving him a kind of halo, which made him look something like an angel. Somehow that only made Jie want to hit him all the more. "Are you just going to stand there trying to look pretty or are you actually going to fight me?" Jie said with as bored a tone of voice as she could manage as she inspected her fingernails. Chen Huo''s brow furrowed as he glared at her before he dashed toward her, his wings adding considerably to his speed. He didn''t bother to draw his sword but lunged toward her with his knee aiming straight for her face. He didn''t even use a martial skill aside from his strange movement technique. It bothered Jie somewhat that they''d both apparently had similar ideas. Jie pushed her lightning step for every drop of speed and his movement seemed sluggish to her. Jie sidestepped, evading his knee strike at the last possible moment then jumped up, reinforced her muscles with her qi, and slapped Chen Huo hard in the face. She twisted her entire body into the blow. His skin rippled like he''d been hit by a sledgehammer as a sound like a thunderclap ripped through the air. The slap drove Chen Huo straight down into the stage with a meaty thud that sent his golden wings sprawling over it like a bird that''d flown into the side of a building. Chen Huo was quick to recover, however, and rolled away and back to his feet. The crowd gasped. A bright red handprint stuck out upon Chen Huo''s purple skin. "What martial skill was that?" asked someone in the crowd. "Such speed!" exclaimed another. "Wait... did she just slap him? I didn''t even see any qi. Did you?" said someone else. Chen Huo clutched his cheek, his eyes wide with disbelief at first and then narrowing with hatred. Jie kept herself utterly expressionless. "If you''re done playing around?" Jie asked. Chen Huo''s face twisted with rage as he finally drew his sword. The long, curved shining metal ignited with golden fire almost immediately as he cycled some kind of martial skill. He lunged toward her and then zigzagged with incredible weightless grace, not unlike his sister Chen Ai. He moved with incredible swiftness only to pause seemingly randomly in the air and change direction with another burst of speed, making him difficult to keep track of or anticipate. The result was both hypnotic and unpredictable at once. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jie leaped back just in time to evade a slash that seemed to come out of nowhere. The slash carved a burning golden line in the stage right in front of her as embers of golden fire flickered and trailed in the wake of his sword. But, he wasn''t the only one who could move unpredictably. While Jie was still in the air and Chen Huo was exposed after his missed attack, Jie formed a lightning step platform behind her and boosted off of it, appearing in front of him before he had a chance to react. Jie reinforced her muscles with qi and slapped the other side of his face even harder than the first time, smashing him into the stage yet again. Chen Huo grunted from the impact as the tiles broke beneath him. But, rather than rolling away as he had before, he immediately slashed up at Jie. Jie caught his sword arm and held it firm with a grip like iron. She slapped him again. Then again... and again... back and forth across his face. He was two stars ahead of her and she wasn''t using a martial technique so Jie let go of her usual restraint. When it came to her raw physical strength at least. Blood splattered from his lips upon the lily-white tiles as each slap rang out with a loud crack like the snap of a whip. Chen Huo''s perfect facial features bulged as they swelled and dark bruises spread out across his skin from Jie''s onslaught. To his credit, he remained focused and cycled another martial skill. Chen Huo''s entire form turned into a dazzlingly bright golden fire that slipped out of her grip and erupted upward like a burning comet only to zigzag in the air much like Chen Huo''s normal movements only vastly faster. The crowd held their breath as one. In an instant Chen Huo was upon her, slashing with his blade with a speed that dwarfed anything he''d shown before. Jie blocked the strike with a dragonfist but Chen Huo''s burning form zipped away then came at her from behind. Jie spun to face him and again she blocked. He rocketed away then came at her from the side and she blocked. A relentless flurry of impossibly fast strikes coming from every direction so fast he left burning afterimages all around her, yet as impressive as his technique was, Jie blocked every single strike. Each of his strikes meeting only the snarling, hungry crackle of Jie''s dragon lightning qi. Jie''s meridians screamed as she pushed more qi into her lightning step skill than ever before just to keep up with the speed of his attacks. But, she kept her face as impassive as possible, trying her best to make it appear effortless. A roaring cheer began to grow within the crowd as Jie blocked each impossibly fast strike until Jie blocked the final one and Chen Huo materialized in front of her. Jie slapped him hard, driving him down into the stage yet again. All without him so much as scratching her. The crowd''s roar was deafening. So loud the air itself seemed to quake as the stage vibrated from the force of their amazed cheer. Their applause and yelling voices merged into a storm of emotion that shook the arena. Chen Huo rose to his feet again, but his legs were shaking and blood dripped from his lips. "Oh?" Jie said, "Did you finally learn to bite your tongue?" There were a few who chuckled among those who opposed the Chen family and grim silence from those that supported the Chen family. "You bitch," Chen Huo said as he spat blood upon the stage, "I''ll gut you like a fish." "If you say so," Jie said in as bored a voice as she could manage while she pretended to inspect something beneath her fingernails. Yet, despite her outwardly casual demeanor, Jie continued cycling lightning step to the best of her ability. He was vastly faster and stronger than any of her previous opponents. One wrong move would ruin not only the embarrassment she was trying to inflict upon him and his family but almost certainly cost her the match as well. Someone among those that supported the Chen family chuckled before covering it with a cough. Chen Huo trembled with rage as he glared at Jie with murderous hatred. He leaped up into the air, gripping his sword with both hands and preparing to cleave her in half. But, his speed was nothing compared to his last attack and his previously excellent technique had given way to sheer unbridled anger. He descended toward her, his blade angled straight for the top of her head and his eyes wild. What would be the most humiliating way to deal with this? Jie wondered. Jie waited until Chen Huo was almost upon her, then moved in, grabbed him by one ankle, and slammed him onto the stage with brute force. He gave a strangled, wordless cry and Jie kept hold of his ankle. He was a higher rank, but he was still weaker than her. And unlike the others she''d faced, Jie felt little desire to be restrained with him. Not after what he''d done. She hefted him like a club and slammed him into the stage again and again, smacking him back and forth as he hung from her grip like a dead fish, his golden wings trailing limply after him. Despite her anger, Jie still measured the strength she used, after all, she didn''t want to kill him or let this end too soon. He had to at least appear to be able to fight. And, if he forfeited? All the better. But that didn''t mean she had to be gentle about it. She lost count of how many times she smashed him into the stage before she finally let him go. Blood flowed like syrup from Chen Huo''s lips and it looked like he was missing a tooth. His armor didn''t look too bad but it was disheveled and dented in places. While her robes remained utterly impeccable. It seemed silly to think of such things, but these people did. So much was about appearances. The contrast between her perfect looks and his sorry state would only increase the humiliation she was giving him. Especially since the Chen family was said to be even more prideful than most. Though Jie wasn''t sure how much longer she could handle the strain of pushing her lightning step technique so hard. Chen Huo pushed himself to his hands and feet. His limbs shaking all the while. He drove his sword down into the stage and used it to lift himself back up to his feet. He gritted his teeth even from that small effort and he looked as though a stiff breeze would knock him back down. Cultivators sure can take one heck of a beating... Jie thought. He glared at her but made no move to attack. His eyes watered, but thus far he''d managed to avoid shedding a single tear. Jie couldn''t imagine that was easy. Getting smacked around looked painful. Well, she hadn''t really expected to make him cry. It''d just be a bonus if she could. She paused. Was what she was doing right? The people on Earth would probably say no... but he''d hurt her friends. And where had those people been when her life had come apart? Where had their precious respect for human life been when her life was in danger? No. To hell with them. To hell with them all. If this made her a monster then so be it. She would be the monster monsters feared. Chen Huo took a staggering step away from her, his eyes wide. Jie took in a deep, calming breath and brought her expression back under control. Jie''s robes fluttered softly in the wind as her cold eyes bored into Chen Huo, but still, she made no move to attack. "If you continue to go on without striking one another, it shall be determined to be a draw," the judge said. Jie wanted to kill that judge. He''d been the one to allow Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi to suffer and now he was protecting Chen Huo? She felt the anger and burning hate bubble up her throat but held it back. No. She''d done so well. She wouldn''t be foiled so easily. Besides, the strain of pushing her lightning step skill so hard was getting to her. This would be an excellent excuse to stop toying with Chen Huo. The damage had been done. It was time to end it before he could gain any face for enduring the torture she would give him or something. Or for her to make a mistake. No. It had to be ended swiftly. "Have it your way then," Jie said with a shrug as though it were of no concern. She darted to Chen Huo, showing him what true speed was as she cycled her qi into a dragonfist. With the others, Jie had been incredibly restrained, but he was stronger and Jie wanted to end it here and now. Jie slammed her electric fist into his jaw and felt the joint break like crumpling tissue paper. A flare of worry surged within her as she feared she might''ve accidentally killed him as blood and fragments of his teeth sprayed across the stage. Chen Huo spun away and collapsed in a heap. Blood pooled on the ground from his shattered jaw as he cried out and sobbed into the tiles. Jie looked at him with disdain, even as she felt secretly grateful and disappointed that she hadn''t killed him. "I told you you''d cry for me," Jie said. She kept her burning hate out of her voice as much as possible which made her voice sound hollow and emotionless. A cold so sharp as to make ice feel warm. The crowd shivered. Even a few experts so far above Jie''s cultivation that they should have nothing to fear. "Chen Huo has been rendered unable to continue fighting. The victor is Liu Jie," the judge said. Chapter 42 Rewards Ceremony Jie scoffed. The judge practically leaped at the chance to save Chen Huo from further pain. If only he''d done the same for Chen Huo''s victims. Anger burned in her heart even as she looked coolly upon Chen Huo''s whimpering form being carried away by healers. She gradually reduced her lightning step skill back to nothing and tried not to let the relief show on her face as she did so. "The top three have been decided! Due to... the events of the final round, we shall wait for Chen Huo to recover enough for the awards ceremony where our headmaster shall present the prizes to the strongest three of the younger generation!" the judge said, "Please, feel free to partake of refreshments. It won''t be long now." Jie hopped off the stage and strode over to where Ithilix sat in the stands. "Most impressive, Princess," Ithilix said. Jie shrugged. "He was weaker than I expected," she said. Ithilix nodded. "This one is very grateful that you held back so much in your fight with this one. If you had not... this one shudders to think of dying so soon," she said. Jie laughed. "I''m not that scary," she said. "Forgiveness, but this one disagrees," Ithilix said with a shiver. "That was quite impressive. Though, one wonders whether you have it in you to survive the consequences of your actions," said a handsome young man who radiated power. Not as much as some of those in the audience, but definitely one of the strongest. He looked human, as did most of those in the stands, but his accent was slightly different. And he smelled like the ocean. Jie gave a respectful bow to the stronger man. "Time will tell," she said. The man chuckled. "Brazen and yet reserved. I think I like you. Perhaps you should think of joining my clan should you survive," he said. "I''m sure it would be an honor," Jie said carefully. It wouldn''t do to make any promises to people she owed nothing to. Besides, her plans would take her far beyond the power of any of these clans. It was success or death. "Wisely answered," said the man, "well, I''d better go gossip with the rest of these so-called experts. Take care of yourself Liu Jie." The man flickered and vanished, but Jie felt his power not far away. No doubt doing exactly what he said. Jie wondered how many offers she''d get after her display. After half an hour, but what felt like a thousand years, the answer became clear. A lot. None of them were willing to offer her anything now though. Everything they said came with the caveat that she get stronger and somehow survive the retribution the Chen family was sure to bring. Perhaps she''d made a mistake making an enemy of a family everyone seemed to fear. "Hey you," Pan Tian said as she pushed through the crowd to Jie, followed by her brother. "Hey back," Jie said. Pan Tian frowned. "Is that all you have to say after what you did? That was super impressive!" she said. "And dangerous," Pan Zhanshi added. Jie shrugged. "What kind of cultivator sits back and does nothing about their friends being hurt like that?" she asked. Pan Tian giggled. "Most of them?" she asked. "Tch," Jie said, "then they''re weak. No matter how high their cultivation." A few elders looked her way as though having heard her, and she returned their gazes evenly before bringing her attention back to Pan Tian. "I only wish I could''ve done more. He deserved to truly suffer," Jie said. Pan Zhanshi shook his head. "The Chen family is prideful to the extreme. I imagine that Chen Huo will be punished in horrifying ways over what you did today," he said, "you''ve made the entire Chen family your enemy for life." Jie shrugged. "I know," she said. The four of them talked a bit more, but soon Chen Huo returned to the arena. He looked healthy and whole, and he''d even taken the time to don a fresh set of armor. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Esteemed guests!" Headmaster Siluvius bellowed from where he stood on the platform in the center of the arena, "Please return to your seats as we give out prizes to these three future experts! As for our top three! Join me and bask in your moment of glorious victory!" "I guess that''s our cue," Jie muttered. She and Ithilix hopped off the stands and onto the arena floor where they leaped up onto the platform. The Headmaster waved his hand and three steps rose up out of the platform, each one at a different height and marked with a number. Three being the lowest step and one being the highest. Jie smiled softly, it reminded her of the Olympics back home. It felt weird to think she was already so much faster and stronger than anyone on Earth. So much so that she would be like a god among insects there. She wondered if a nuclear bomb would kill her. It was hard to tell things like that when everything in this world was so different. From the gravity to the very air she breathed. Would it kill her in an instant or would it be more like a firecracker? Ming didn''t seem very impressed by Earth weapons. That was for sure. By the time she''d pulled herself out of her thoughts, most people seemed to have returned to their seats. Why were all these people here anyway? It seemed silly for such powerful cultivators to take an interest in anyone who wasn''t their children. Jie decided to ask Elder Shi about that later. "And so, our tournament has ended. We''ve witnessed incredible skill and power by many of the younger generations, but these three stand supreme! Ithilix of The Hive has placed third!" The Headmaster said. As he said that, the third step slid across to where Ithilix stood on the platform, submerged into the tiles, and then shot out with Ithilix on top. To Ithilix''s credit, she didn''t even twitch. There was a smattering of begrudged applause. Many of those in the audience looked disgusted and they didn''t care to hide that fact. Jie clenched her fists. How dare they treat her friend this way! But she let out a slow breath. These people cared about strength above all and while they applauded Ithilix''s strength as it was... they would never truly honor her until they were made to cower before her. One day, Jie would make them bow if Ithilix could not. "I think we can all agree that her strength and skill are prodigious even among those of the hive!" The Headmaster continued. There were a few nods at that and a second round of applause followed, more than the first. "For coming in third, Ithilix is awarded ten heavenly moon pills to aid her cultivation as well as a single session in the cultivation chamber!" Headmaster Siluvius said. There were a few greedy eyes among the less powerful cultivators and students in the audience, but it only left Jie wondering what the cultivation chamber was. It hadn''t been mentioned in the tour. The Headmaster waved his hand and the second-place step slid across the platform, dipped under Chen Huo, and shot upward higher than Ithilix. Rings of dazzling fire formed around the column. "Behold! At second place! The second strongest of the younger generation! Destined for a life of greatness! Chen Huo!" Headmaster Siluvius said, his voice carrying over the entire arena. The crowd applauded, but many did so almost mechanically. Even among those who supported the Chen family. His humiliation remained strong in their minds it seemed. Jie felt no small sense of satisfaction about that. Chen Huo held himself proudly but looked as though he were resolutely standing before a death sentence rather than the excitement that came with a prize. "None can deny that Chen Huo is indeed a formidable cultivator among the younger generation. For his impressive strength and skill, he is awarded fifteen heavenly moon pills, two sessions in the cultivation chamber, and this..." the Headmaster said as he held out a scroll. "This martial skill scroll is restricted. Given out only rarely. It relies on the lower dantian, but as to what it does... that shall remain a mystery... unless Chen Huo wishes to share that knowledge with others. The scroll is his and may be taken back to his family should he wish to do so," Headmaster Siluvius said. The Headmaster waved his hand and Jie suddenly felt herself skyrocket upward, standing atop a column so high that it put her just beneath the highest tier of the arena''s stands. "And our champion of the younger generation! Liu Jie!" Headmaster Siluvius said as fire swirled around her in intricate patterns. The applause was deafening. Even some of those who Jie thought supported the Chen family applauded, though a few stopped after someone beside them exchanged a few words with them. Do they applaud because of my strength despite everything? Is it truly what matters most in this world? Jie thought. "Liu Jie is the youngest to win such a tournament, and possesses not only immense strength and speed that surpasses even those of a higher cultivation, but also incredible skill with her martial skills! Truly, she is a genius among geniuses! Destined to reach heights only ever dreamed of by lesser cultivators!" Headmaster Siluvius said. A few of those in the stands eyed her hungrily, many of whom had approached her with offers should she survive the Chen family''s wrath. Suddenly, Jie felt like a piece of meat on display and wished for all the world to simply return to secluded cultivation. But she kept her face expressionless and remained utterly impeccable. A model of perfection. "Strength stands above all! As such, Liu Jie shall receive the horned lion''s share!" Headmaster Siluvius said, "Fifty heavenly moon pills! Six sessions in the cultivation chamber! Three sessions in the conditioning chamber! Two martial skills for the lower dantian! And... a spirit coin!" Even the powerful experts'' eyes gleamed with greed and shock at the mention of a spirit coin. Jie suddenly felt that being awarded that prize might put her in danger... couldn''t they just have quietly handed it to her? Was the Headmaster actively trying to get her killed or was it just to display the Crimson Academy''s wealth? Judging by the way even the most powerful experts'' eyes shone, a spirit coin had to be worth a fortune. Good thing she hadn''t told anyone that Ming had handed her thousands like they were pocket change. "Now, I believe it''s time to allow our young prodigies to celebrate in whatever way they choose. As for the rest of you, I want to thank you all for attending. Especially our delegates from the Spectral Emperor and our southern allies from the Iron Kingdom. A feast has been prepared, and appropriate entertainment has been provided just outside the arena! Thank you all for coming and I bid you have a fantastic time!" said Headmaster Siluvius. Chapter 43 The Cultivation Chamber The column Jie was on sank down slowly and she found herself on the stage once more. Everyone was hurrying off to their next distraction and Jie frowned. Why would anyone go to a feast? That seemed absurd. Why wouldn''t they just cultivate and train? Didn''t they want to get stronger? Jie shook her head and found her own way through a more discrete exit from the arena. "I thought you might come this way," Elder Shi said, "Not a fan of crowds are you?" "Just not used to them," Jie said, "Tell me... why do they waste their time with a feast?" Elder Shi blinked but quickly recovered and smiled. "Not everyone is like us," she said. "Why not? I thought strength was all that mattered in this world?" Jie said. Elder Shi narrowed her eyes. "The way you say this world... are you perhaps from another one?" she asked. Jie kept her face expressionless. "You didn''t answer my question," she said. Elder Shi scoffed. "I could say the same," she said and her eyes lingered on Jie as though probing her for secrets, "still... not everyone is as disciplined as you are. Strength may be all that matters, but many want to take the time to enjoy life. Most people only want the strength to get something. Money, sex, status... many things are valuable to people besides raw power." "That''s just ridiculous," Jie said. "Oh?" Elder Shi said. "None of those things matter as much as power. Without power, everything you have will be taken from you," Jie said. Elder Shi studied Jie for a long moment. "There is truth to your words. But, it''s a harsh lesson few get the chance to learn from," she said, "so what will you do to celebrate your accomplishment?" "I think I''ll return to training," Jie said, "I thought this tournament would put me under severe pressure to improve, but it didn''t. I might study the scrolls later, but I want to know about the Cultivation and Conditioning Chambers. I didn''t hear anything about them during the tour." "You wouldn''t," Elder Shi said, "They''re treasures for those in the Crimson Academy. Using them is one of the perks of being an elder here. Very few students will ever set foot inside them, so talking about them is pointless." "So... are they good?" Jie asked, "What do they do?" Elder Shi smiled. "The Cultivation Chamber gathers Essence using a sophisticated array and channels it into a very small space. The Essence inside the room is so dense it''s like steam. Few can handle such dense Essence. You should be alright though and it will be extremely good for your cultivation. "The Conditioning Chamber puts you in a hostile environment that exerts tremendous pressure on you. It helps to stabilize your cultivation base, remove impurities and toxins from your body, and toughens you up considerably. Some have undergone a massive shift in their entire bodies after sustained usage," she said. Jie nodded. "I think I''ll try the Cultivation Chamber then. My qi feels fine to me, so I don''t see that it could cause an issue," she said. "Perhaps... though your qi always feels both stable and unstable at the same time to me. It''s so... wild," Elder Shi said, "but... I don''t think that''s an issue in your particular case. Follow me, I''ll take you there. You can book when you''d like to use it." Jie pouted. She had to book her time? She couldn''t just go in? That sucked. Jie followed Elder Shi and smiled as the wind whipped her face and her long, blue hair trailed behind her. It felt amazing. This world felt amazing. Even with the weird culture, she couldn''t deny that she''d choose this life a hundred times over in place of her old one. Though they moved so swiftly that many of the students saw nothing more than a blur as they passed, it still took an hour before they finally stopped in front of the building Jie assumed to be the Cultivation Chamber. It looked almost like a massive cylinder. The base sparkled in the afternoon light as though it were made entirely of diamonds, other than that it was featureless. Not even a door. From there, it met with a cylindrical spiral shape that reached up into the clouds high above. Through her spirit sense, Jie felt huge amounts of Essence being sucked toward this building. Not unlike when Ming cultivated. Idly, she wondered why nobody had questioned her about the fact her residence sucked up Essence like a black hole. "Hmm..." Elder Shi said, "I think it''s empty. Let''s go have a look." Elder Shi strode up to the glimmering base of the building and pressed her hand against it. "Elder Shi recognized," said a hollow voice, seeming to originate from the building itself. "The building talks?" Jie asked. "Heavens no!" Elder Shi said with a laugh, "With me is Liu Jie. Will you reveal yourself to her, Guardian?" There was a pause, then a sound like glass rubbing together and a figure emerged from the crystal. It had arms, legs, and a head, but no face. No eyes, ears, or any other features. Just blank, glittering crystal. "This is the one who guards the Cultivation Chamber. I''d suggest not angering him. I''m not sure if he''s stronger than the Headmaster or not. Either way... his word is law when it comes to this chamber. It''s the sole thing he guards, and his only concern," Elder Shi said, "Guardian? When is the Cultivation Chamber ready to be used again?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "It is currently available," said the Guardian, "however, you have used your allotted time already, Elder Shi." "But, Liu Jie has not. Have you been informed yet?" Elder Shi asked. "Yes," said the Guardian, "Headmaster Siluvius granted her permission early this morning." Jie''s eyebrows shot up. This morning? But she hadn''t even won by then! Elder Shi took one look at Jie''s incredulous face and laughed. "What did you expect? Very little happens in this school without him knowing. You''ve been practicing against cultivators that would squash Chen Huo like an insect. Not unlike how you did. Of course, he knew you would win," she said. Jie''s cheeks heated. "So... I can go in?" she asked. "Yes," said The Guardian. "Is there anything I should know?" Jie asked, looking at Elder Shi. "Should you faint, or die while in the chamber, you will be removed and it will count as a full use. Other than that, you may stay in the chamber as long as you wish," said the Guardian. Losing a use on death? Wasn''t that kind of pointless? Well... whatever. "Just make sure not to go longer than you can handle," Elder Shi said. "But, I thought this was just for cultivating? It sounds like you''re talking about the Conditioning Chamber," Jie said. Elder Shi laughed. "It has so much Essence that it''s dangerous. You can easily get overwhelmed by it, create instability in your dantian... even have it explode. I think you''ll be safe though. Remember to book your next session if you want to do it soon after! Good luck!" she said. With that, she vanished in a swirl of purple smoke. Jie grumbled under her breath. She hated how the elders loved to vanish like that. One day she''d be stronger and they''d get to know what it felt like... "I''m ready to enter," Jie said. The Guardian said nothing, but the crystal in the wall of the building retracted until the opening was visible. Although, the doorway shimmered as though an energy barrier barred the way. "Walk through and enter. Should you wish to leave, slap the floor three times in quick succession," the Guardian said. Jie gave the Guardian a respectful bow and entered the building. The energy passed over her as though walking through a silk curtain and the thick Essence hit her like a wall. Every breath filled her with Essence as though drowning in it. Jie coughed and dropped to the floor in a lotus position where she focused her full attention on her cultivation technique. Essence filled her like water gushing from a hundred broken dams and raged within her lower dantian where she spun it faster and faster, refining it as quickly as she could. It took immense effort to rotate it just because of the sheer amount of it and each breath brought more Essence into her, so she couldn''t even get used to it. The only way she could reduce the strain would be to turn it into qi, but of course, she dared not refine it anything less than perfectly or she''d badly damage her cultivation base. If she survived it. Jie sat absolutely still, a frown on her otherwise calm face as she bent all her concentration on her task. In seconds, sweat beaded her brow and trickled down her neck and back, but she paid it no attention. She detonated the Essence in the final stage of her cultivation technique over and over again. She gritted her teeth against the pain. It had become so easy that she could do it without much effort, but the sheer mass of Essence made every explosion tear through her body. And, she couldn''t stop as there was already more Essence along the process of refinement. The pain of each explosion started as a light sting that settled quickly. But it steadily grew until each time she successfully added new dragon lightning qi to her qi pool felt like an angry demon was ripping her apart. But Jie remained seated and soaked up Essence as the hours passed...
Somehow, rumors had spread about Jie entering the Cultivation Chamber. Many excited students, and a few Elders, stopped by to see her when she emerged. Only, she hadn''t emerged. The Guardian said she was indeed still inside, so they hadn''t missed her, but they''d been waiting for hours. With each passing minute, the crowd grew as curious people drifted over to it. Among these people was Elder Shi. An hour ago, she''d begun to wonder if Jie had decided not to train for the rest of the day, but she should''ve known better. She ought to return to her own training, but she gleaned a great deal of enjoyment from watching the muttering crowd. Her disciple was a monster among monsters, and she loved it when that fact gradually dawned on others. Of course, the little genius would probably die early as most geniuses did, but if Jie survived... Elder Shi''s smile grew bloodthirsty... Jie could help her achieve her greatest dreams. "So, how long has your little prodigy been inside?" Headmaster Siluvius asked. Elder Shi didn''t flinch though she hadn''t even sensed the man. It further reinforced how far away her goals truly were... despite how hard she''d worked. "Seven hours now," Elder Shi said. Headmaster Siluvius gave a low whistle. "Most of the elders can''t handle being in there for that long," he said, "are you sure she''s not damaging her cultivation by now?" Elder Shi shook her head. "She wouldn''t do that. She pushes herself hard, but she wouldn''t allow it to damage her cultivation. That would hold her back. That girl hates being held back," she said. Headmaster Siluvius nodded. "She caused quite a stir today. I don''t suppose you had anything to do with that?" he asked. Elder Shi fluttered her eyelashes. "Me?" she asked. The Headmaster''s gaze remained firm. Elder Shi sighed. "You''re turning into such a grouch," she said. Headmaster Siluvius remained silent, his eyes boring into her, demanding an answer. "No," Elder Shi said, "I didn''t. Well... I might''ve given her a little advice here or there, but what she did was all her. She hates the Chen family." "There''s a lot of that going around these days," Headmaster Siluvius said dryly. The hours ticked by and the crowd''s muttering grew with each passing minute. "How can she still be in there? She must be dead!" said one. "The Guardian said she''s still cultivating," said another. "Hey! It was supposed to be my turn! I booked this time! That brat is keeping me from cultivating!" said one of the elders. Finally, the wall of the building opened and Jie stepped out. Her hair and robes clung to her, soaked with Essence and sweat. Arcs of blue lightning crackled and snapped over her body as she gave off the aura of the first star of the Expert rank. Jie let out a heavy sigh and unrefined Essence spilled from her breath like a thick mist. Jie looked at the crowd and blinked. She turned, following the crowd''s gaze only to notice that she was the center of their attention. The elder that had complained earlier rushed up to the entrance only to have it close in front of him. "Hey! It''s my turn!" he said. "The Essence will need some time to recover," The Guardian said. "It... what...?" the elder said, his eyes widening as he looked at Jie like she was an alien, "What are you?" Jie gave a respectful bow. "I apologize for the inconvenience," she said. Elder Shi appeared at her side before the other elder could respond. "What can I say? My little prodigy was busy advancing into the Expert rank. Can''t blame her for taking up a lot of Essence for that now can we?" she said. The crowd gasped. "Didn''t she just break through earlier today? I want to use this thing!" one of the students said. "It probably wouldn''t matter," said another, "nobody can stay in there that long. Not even the elders. This Liu Jie is one of a kind for sure." Jie stretched and her muscles cracked. "Please excuse me," she said. The crowd parted for her and a few students turned pale as Jie walked by, her aura was difficult to restrain after advancing so quickly and she was too mentally exhausted to bother trying. Chapter 44 Training If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 45 New Martial Skills As always, Elder Shi''s torturous routine began with a run. The increased resistance from the vest made Jie feel like she hadn''t made any progress as, if anything, it only felt more difficult than before. But it helped to keep in mind that its current resistance and gravity likely would''ve killed her when she''d started. Then came the thousands of push-ups, squats, and other exercises she still had no name for all while weighed down by more than ten times as much weight as when she''d first started training with the sadistic fox woman. And, as always, Elder Shi had Jie drink disgusting concoctions and consume body conditioning pills between her more arduous exercises. Every movement felt as though Jie were wrestling with a mountain. Her muscles screamed and rippled beneath her skin, but the pain was an agony sweeter than honey. So many years trapped inside her own body and now she could snap the bodybuilders on Earth in half with her pinky finger. The pain only made her feel stronger, to further remind her that she wasn''t just alive... she was living! Living a life she''d only dreamed of in her wildest fantasies! Jie smiled despite herself as sweat ran down her body and she did every movement to her fullest ability. "If you keep smiling like that, I''ll start to feel bad. Like I''m not training you hard enough," Elder Shi said. Jie''s smile grew. "Tch, brat," Elder Shi said as she turned away but not before Jie saw the smile on the elder''s lips. Once her exercises were complete, Elder Shi helped to further condition Jie''s body through calculated torture designed to make her body tougher and more resistant to attacks. To harden her bones and toughen her skin. Hours later, Jie lay sprawled out on the grass, panting, and unable to move. Everything hurt. "Hmm... I suppose that''ll do for today," Elder Shi said, "your body is extremely impressive for your stage of cultivation. You mustn''t neglect it. It may seem strange to do all this training when you grow stronger through cultivation, but the two together are where real strength lies." Jie nodded slightly. It hurt to even do that much. Elder Shi chuckled. "See? This is what happens when you smile like a maniac during torture," she said. Jie giggled. Elder Shi knelt beside Jie, still smiling as she shook her head. "I suppose there''s nothing to be done for it. I can''t let my student lie here all night," she said. She placed her hand on Jie''s chest. It glowed green, vibrant, and filled with life. Jie felt the pain melt away as her muscles relaxed and healed, only even stronger than they''d been before. "There," Elder Shi said, "now, stretch and go study your scrolls. I don''t want to see you doing any more training today. I know you''re hungry for power, but if all you do is cultivate, you''ll be unprepared for a fight and get yourself killed."
Jie returned to her private residence, and after a bath to get the sweat off and a quick check on Ming, went into the private garden once more. Her residence had enchantments that were supposed to obscure her from all but the strongest cultivators. They tended to make the sky shimmer when she entered the garden. But when she entered it now, the sky rippled and distorted heavily as though she''d thrown a large stone into a pond. The effect was rather beautiful in a way, the ripples running through the night sky made it seem as though she could reach up and dip her hand into it. Jie smiled for a moment before turning her attention to more important matters. She sat on the soft grass and pulled the two scrolls she''d won in the tournament out of her storage ring. The scrolls were yellowed with age but unfaded, and they seemed to be reinforced somehow. Though they looked delicate, she wasn''t sure she could destroy them if she tried. Not that she was going to. The first scroll described a skill called finger of light. It was a ranged attack skill, where one shot qi out of their index and middle finger in a beam at whatever they wanted to hit. The damage, range, and speed of the attack were all affected by the user''s strength and the nature of their qi. Jie nodded slowly as she read over it. It seemed perfect for her. She had lightning step for movement and dragonfist for devastating melee damage, but nothing to attack from a distance. That was a weakness that needed to be dealt with. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She set the scroll aside for now and had a look at the second scroll. She raised an eyebrow. Had the Headmaster specifically picked these for her? To make up for what he saw as her weaknesses? The second scroll detailed a martial skill called qi armor. It was a defensive skill, so she couldn''t imagine Ming being happy about her bothering to learn it. What good was it when, as Ming said, she should just not get hit? Still, it was interesting. It weighed nothing and wouldn''t slow her down, and it said that the qi cost of keeping it up was extremely low. Not unlike her movement skill in that regard. But, getting hit would soak up her qi to stop the attack. It reminded her of some of the spells she''d read in books or watched people playing in their playthroughs of games. Sure, it was a different energy, but it seemed similar enough. A low energy cost to have the skill in effect and a much higher cost to absorb damage. So, it shouldn''t drain her too much as long as she didn''t get hit. And, if she got hit... perhaps it would be better to have her qi drained than to lose her life? Like a kind of insurance skill? She rested her chin on her fingers. What would Ming say? Would he say it was a good idea? Or would he laugh at the idea of defending? Still... it didn''t look very complicated. Getting finger of light to work should be a priority, but how long would it take to get this defensive skill to a level that would be useful? Probably not long. Heck, it was made even easier by the fact it was so similar in the way it worked to lightning step. Finger of light would be the tough one. She''d never projected her qi over long distances like that. It was definitely a much more complicated skill than dragonfist was. So, start with that and then possibly learn qi armor. Just in case, and because it didn''t look difficult to do. Maybe it''d save her life one day. Jie headed out of her home in the early hours of the night and went over to the Training Hall. She raced up the stairs too fast for the lesser cultivators to even see and up to the sixteenth floor, meant for Expert ranked cultivators of the third star. The floors on this level had private rooms along the sides for those who wished to train new techniques in privacy, and they seemed like the perfect place to train with her scrolls. She stepped inside one of the rooms and closed the door behind her. Runes lit up, along with characters that she could recognize. It said simply "Room in use. Do not disturb. Protection Active." Jie frowned. What kind of protection did this thing have? It was just a room... but then this was a world where stone was given life. Who knew what the room was capable of? She pursed her lips and pressed them against her fist as she stared at the brightly glowing letters. This enchanting thing, or whatever they called it, seemed pretty useful. Would she get to learn it? There were professions based on elemental affinity... was this one of them? What were the others? What would be the best, if any, for her to pursue? She sighed. Questions for another day. It seemed there was more she needed to learn every time she turned around. Jie returned her attention to the room. A place of bare stone, without even a mat on the floor. Its only decoration was a metal mannequin in the shape of one of the hive. This was the practice dummy? Were they all like this? These people really hated those of the hive... She shook her head. None of that was her concern. It was a training dummy. That was all that mattered. Jie took out the finger of light scroll again and had another look through it. It was far more complicated than anything she''d learned so far, and it seemed like it was referring to something she hadn''t even heard of before. Something called ''projection techniques.'' Was she supposed to learn something else before she learned this? That was annoying. Well, hopefully, she could make it work despite that. Other than these projection techniques the scroll referred to, the scroll made sense after reading through it. Jie thought she might be able to figure out the missing pieces using what she understood from the rest. And, if not, she could always ask Elder Shi about projection techniques tomorrow. Jie took a stance, facing the metal mannequin. She bent her arm with her fingers facing to the side as it showed in the diagrams and closed her eyes. The martial skill had three main parts. Building the energy to be released, shaping it, and then releasing it with control to maintain the shape. She concentrated and cycled her qi according to what the scroll said and felt her dragon lightning qi build in her fingers. Lightning snapped and crackled, but she kept her eyes closed and focused internally. Having her eyes closed in a fight would be ridiculous, but it helped to keep her focus on her internal energies to make sure she was doing it correctly. She built up the power until it was perhaps a tenth of the power she imagined she could put into it, but this was just a test run. A practice of the motion more than anything else. She then moved on to shaping her energy as the scroll had said. This part proved more troublesome, and Jie felt unsure about how to do it. It wasn''t difficult to shape her qi as she had with her dragonfist technique, but this one had to hold its integrity across a distance. How in the hell was that supposed to work? But... this wasn''t just qi. This was her qi. It was part of her... shouldn''t she be able to control it even if it wasn''t in her body? Like an arm or a leg? She swept her arm out until her two fingers pointed at the dummy and released the attack as she opened her eyes, still focusing on her qi. The attack was supposed to look like a beam of light, but hers flashed like a brilliant lightning strike, it arced and twisted through the air and slammed into the metal dummy with a massive boom. The place it had struck on the metal mannequin was scorched and broken, in a thin spot no wider than her fist. As she watched, the metal knitted itself back together like a wound healing in fast motion. Jie frowned. Was that attack successful then? It seemed to be, but Elder Shi would be able to tell better than she had. Still, it seemed a waste to just go home, so she continued training. Thunderous explosions rang out one after another, shaking the entire room, and blasting the mannequin faster than it could heal as Jie learned to unleash her attacks swiftly and with her eyes open the entire time. It still took considerably more concentration than her dragonfist attack though, so she resolved to train more with it every day until she was satisfied. It seemed to be working, but it''d be good to get Elder Shi''s opinion on it anyway. Chapter 46 Inspection not
that seem This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. your Chapter 47 Bodyguard "Look through the house. If you find anything that looks important, take note of it but don''t touch it," The Headmaster said. Vaultmaster Song looked over the enchantments within the residence as the other elders fanned out, each of them moving quietly and slowly and hesitating even to breathe. Headmaster Siluvius stood near Vaultmaster Song and whispered, "Have you found anything?" "The Essence gathering enchantments have been drowned out and rendered inoperable. I could fix them, but they''d simply flood with Essence and stop working again almost instantly in the middle of this maelstrom," Vaultmaster Song said. "Are we in danger?" Headmaster Siluvius asked. Vaultmaster Song shrugged. "Hard to say. Whatever the cause, it has not seen fit to kill us yet. There is little to be done except hope it continues to ignore us," he said. Headmaster Siluvius nodded and checked over the house with the other elders. It didn''t take long for them to look over everything. Especially as most of it was empty. Jie hadn''t bothered to move in anything it seemed. They met back in the room with the empty food platters. That''s where the pull felt strongest. But there was nothing to be seen. "It''s time to go," Elder Shi said, "We''ve violated my student''s privacy enough as it is." Everyone nodded. Not all of them agreed with that statement, but who in their right mind would want to stay here? Headmaster Siluvius stopped Vaultmaster Song as the rest filed out of the residence. "We can''t do anything about something of this level of power. But, if the enchantments continue to fail, it won''t be long before the students start to take note. We could easily have a panic on our hands," Headmaster Siluvius said. "Or have them all gather around it like slack-jawed idiots in the lair of a beast," Vaultmaster Song said, "You''d like for me to repair the privacy enchantments then?" "Can you?" Headmaster Siluvius asked. Vaultmaster Song considered that for a moment then nodded. "It won''t be easy and I''ll have to repair and maintain them frequently," he said, "It would go easier with Elder Shi''s help." "I''ll speak with her privately later," Headmaster Siluvius said, "She''ll help you. Even if only to safeguard her disciple." "They''ve been growing close. Do you think Elder Shi knows more than she lets on?" Vaultmaster Song asked. "Almost certainly," Headmaster Siluvius said, "but she''s playing dumb." "Probably just as well," Vaultmaster Song grumbled, "I''m happy to be as ignorant as the cause for this Essence draw wants me to be. I''ll work on the enchantments later tonight. What do I tell anyone who asks questions?" "Tell them the truth. You''re performing maintenance. If they have any further questions, they''re welcome to speak with me. I''ll tell everyone to keep their mouths shut about what they sensed tonight. The last thing we need is for a bodyguard to be irritated by some moron yapping about their presence here," Headmaster Siluvius said. Vaultmaster Song nodded. "Shall I return the enchantments to their previous levels or alter them so elders can sense fluctuations? It may give us some advanced warning should anything change," he said. "Do so if you think it wise. Though I can''t imagine any amount of advanced warning being enough if something of such power should choose to act against us," Headmaster Siluvius said. It felt strange to talk about what he was certain was Jie''s bodyguard while in the room with that very presence but attempting to hide their plans from them seemed more likely to provoke them. The last thing Headmaster Siluvius wanted was a misunderstanding. At least this way they would hopefully know and understand why they took the actions they were taking and not mistake their behavior for any kind of plot against Jie or her bodyguard. Irritating such a powerful presence would be tantamount to suicide, but the world was never short of fools willing to leap from cliffs. It seemed wise to make it very clear that he and his academy had stronger survival instincts than that. With that, the Headmaster allowed Vaultmaster Song to leave the residence as the others had. He cast one final glance over the empty food platters. "That girl sure can eat," he muttered as he too left Jie''s residence. The elders stood far away from the house as though it were haunted now. "So? What shall we do?" Elder Kanev asked. The Headmaster scratched at his cheek with his disembodied metal hand. "Nothing," he said. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Nothing? She clearly poses a threat to this academy!" Elder Kanev said. "We couldn''t even find the cause, and I wouldn''t be surprised if it was a bodyguard. Perhaps one of many," the Headmaster said, "I wished to see if there was anything that posed a danger to the school. I believe that it does, but do you want to argue with whatever is inside there? Not to mention... can you imagine how powerful her family must be? No. We''ll just have to hope she doesn''t lose her temper and have us all killed." The elders swallowed hard at that last statement. For some reason, Elder Kanev looked particularly pale. *** The next day, Jie arrived right on time for her training with Elder Shi. The older woman smirked. "I thought I told you not to train more last night and to focus on studying the scrolls hmm? So, what were you doing in the Training Hall my disobedient disciple?" she asked. "I was studying my martial skills," Jie said, her face a picture of confusion. "And you needed to visit the Training Hall after studying them for what? An hour? Two?" Elder Shi said. Her tone made it clear she didn''t believe it. "Yes?" Jie said, not sure where this was going. "Then, I suppose you won''t mind showing me just what you had to test there hmm?" Elder Shi said. Jie frowned. "That''s what I planned to do anyway? I''m not sure I''m doing it right. Are you feeling okay today? You''re in a weird mood," she said. "You... have the skills ready to show me?" Elder Shi said, her eyes wide. Jie''s frown deepened. "Yes? Seriously, what''s with you today?" she asked. Elder Shi pressed her fingers to her temples. "Heavens, grant me strength..." she muttered, "please show me your progress with the skills so far." "My first skill was a ranged attack skill. I''m not sure if I''m doing it right though. I haven''t used a skill like this one before. Please let me know if there''s something I need to correct," Jie said. Jie snapped out her hand, two fingers pointing outward, and a bolt of lightning crackled through the air. It smashed into the wall but left only a small scorch mark that rapidly faded. This place was designed for sparring, after all. "Heavens!" Elder Shi said, "Uh... I mean... that was... impressive. Ahem. Yes, well done. What technique did they give you? I''m familiar with most of those available in the academy, and while I know of a few similar to yours... I don''t know of any quite like that." "It''s the finger of light skill. Do you know it?" Jie asked. Elder Shi blinked. "Finger of light? But... that power... that effect... hmm... did you modify it somehow?" she asked. "Not on purpose," Jie said, "I tried to follow the instructions as best I could. I still don''t know what it''s referring to when it talks about projection, but I did my best to figure it out." "You were never taught projection techniques?" Elder Shi asked, "That''s quite basic... it''s just the concept of shaping and directing your qi outside of you. It''s not that difficult, and you''ve obviously figured it out already. But, you mean to tell me this is the scroll you only started studying last night?" "Yes," Jie said, "did I do something wrong?" Elder Shi shook her head and chuckled. "Heavens, if those fools only knew..." she muttered, "no you didn''t do anything wrong. You just surprised me is all. You do know that even geniuses would take a week or so to get the skill to where you have it." "But... why? It''s not that hard," Jie said. Elder Shi''s chuckle grew to a laugh. "You have no idea how many people would cough blood if they heard you say that. Finger of light isn''t a particularly hard technique, but it''s far from the easiest. Even the easiest technique would usually take longer than a few hours to master as you have! You can start using it in sparring already, you little monster!" she said. Jie shrugged. "I''ll take your word for it," she said. Elder Shi took a deep breath. "I swear... even I want to strangle you sometimes. I''m damn good, and you''re making me look bad. Anyway, you''ll study your other skill tonight then?" she said. Jie nodded. "I guess so. I still want to perfect them both," she said. "Perfect...? Please don''t tell me you also got your other skill to the same level?" Elder Shi asked. Jie shook her head and Elder Shi let out a relieved sigh. "Of course not. It''s super easy, so my understanding of it is better," Jie said. Elder Shi gave a strangled cough. "I... see... show me?" she said. Jie focused and easily surrounded herself with the blue hue of her qi armor. Lightning snapped and crackled along her body and through her hair, making her look like a goddess. "It looks... is it defensive or offensive? I want to say defensive, but it has an aggressive feeling to it," Elder Shi said. "It''s qi armor," Jie said, "I think it''s supposed to be defensive. Mine doesn''t react the way it says in the scroll though." "Qi armor? And it looks like this on you? It''s intimidating as hell. You do know your eyes are glowing blue, right?" Elder Shi said. "They are?" Jie asked as she touched her face and blinked. "Don''t worry about that now," Elder Shi said, "just know that you look intimidating like that. It could be useful, but if you use it at the wrong time... just be careful." "I will," Jie said. "So... you were saying it reacts differently?" Elder Shi said. Jie showed her the explosive reaction her qi armor had on contact and how she could control it if she wished. "This is... fascinating. I think you''ve somehow evolved the skills into something else. I imagine it''s a combination of your weird qi, and your own interpretation of the scroll," Elder Shi said. "So... is mine better?" Jie asked. Elder Shi chuckled and covered her face with her hands. "Yes. You managed to improve on work that took ancient masters decades to create in a single night," she said, "where the hell do you come from? Do I have to worry about a hundred little monsters coming here and making me feel bad or just you?" Jie giggled. "You''re so silly," she said, "I don''t think that''ll happen." "Just who is your master? He''s got to be someone incredible," Elder Shi said. Jie nodded. "He is," she said, "he can tell you more if he wants though." "Just... tell me one thing," Elder Shi said, "Is he more powerful than the Headmaster? Do you know?" Jie laughed. "I can''t tell exactly how strong the Headmaster is, but I can say that my master is much stronger," she said. Elder Shi nodded. "I don''t suppose you could arrange an audience with him for me? If... there''s a favor I''d very much like to ask," she said. "Sorry," Jie said, "he''s a bit busy at the moment." Elder Shi sighed. "I suppose he must be. He wouldn''t let me train you if he wasn''t, would he?" she said. Jie frowned. "I... I don''t know. I don''t think so," she said. Suddenly, she felt guilty about learning from Elder Shi, but Ming was focused on healing, and she''d promised to get stronger. Elder Shi was helping her with that. "Alright, I''ll stop asking," Elder Shi said, "For now anyway. I expected us to work on your skills all of today, so I didn''t bother getting anyone to spar with for you. As such, you''ll spar with me. Don''t worry, I''ll take it very easy on you." Jie nodded. "Okay," she said. "Not even a moment of hesitation? Sometimes I wonder why you''re never afraid of our sessions..." Elder Shi said. "Why should I be? As long as it makes me stronger, I''ll do anything," Jie said. Elder Shi narrowed her eyes. "You would, wouldn''t you?" she said as though thinking aloud, "Right then, here I come!" Chapter 48 Overwhelming Power Elder Shi lunged at Jie and slammed a palm into Jie''s stomach. Jie grunted, the blow smacked the air out of her, but she activated her lightning step and qi armor. Elder Shi''s next palm strike was already heading toward her. And, though Elder Shi used no martial skills, she was incredibly fast. Dodging the blow would be impossible. Especially at this range. Jie reinforced her qi armor and braced for impact. Elder Shi''s palm slammed into her stomach again, but this time it didn''t knock the wind out of her. There was a shocking drain on Jie''s qi reserves and her armor reacted to the strike, explosively blasting her away from Elder Shi, just as she''d planned. Jie turned in the air and formed a lightning step platform. She boosted off it and onto the ground where she ran from Elder Shi, using the speed afforded to her by lightning step to its fullest to keep away from Elder Shi as best she could. Elder Shi sped up, however, and Jie was forced to combine lightning step with her qi armor, activating the effect each time her foot slammed into the ground to push her just a bit faster. "Good!" Elder Shi said, "Smart thinking, but you won''t win that way." Jie gritted her teeth. Win? What would count as a win exactly? Elder Shi was far too strong for victory to be possible. She opened her mouth to say as much, but Elder Shi struck and Jie was forced to focus entirely on evading. Her qi reserves were slowly draining though. The drain of using qi armor to move wasn''t massive, but it was enough that she couldn''t do this for much longer. She ducked under another palm strike and pushed off Elder Shi''s arm, activating her qi armor as they touched to squeeze out that extra bit of speed and movement at an impossible angle. "Well done!" Elder Shi said, "But you still can''t win if all you do is dodge." "I can''t beat you anyway," Jie snapped before leaping out of the way of another palm strike. Damn, but Elder Shi was fast. Elder Shi laughed. "I''m holding back, remember? What would you do against an opponent of the strength I display when you can''t run away?" she said. Jie narrowed her eyes and slid under another strike, the breeze of which played over her face. Against an opponent of this strength? Could her attacks harm someone who was so much stronger than her? Not as strong as Elder Shi, but as strong as she was retraining herself to be...? Jie leaped back, and Elder Shi''s palm grazed her qi armor, scraping over it as though the older woman''s hand were made of enchanted iron. Jie''s qi armor protested with a snarl of lightning that sent Jie rocketing away once more. Someone so strong... and Elder Shi probably wasn''t going to let her win based on endurance. A series of strikes just wouldn''t do the damage to someone of such a caliber... it would have to be a big strike. Probably even somewhere they were vulnerable... Such a thing would be dangerous to do in a sparring session, but Jie highly doubted she could even scratch Elder Shi. Another palm snapped out and clipped Jie on her shoulder. Her armor triggered and blasted Jie away, but Elder Shi was already moving in the direction she''d sent Jie. Yes... even a lesser opponent would probably figure that out too. Jie gnashed her teeth as Elder Shi bared down on her. But... she''d taken strikes. Hard strikes. Thanks to her armor. If this was what Elder Shi was pretending to be... she could probably last for less than a second in an up-close battle. But, while that might be almost instantly back on Earth, it was plenty of time in this world, where she moved so fast that time took on new meanings. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Time enough to land a strike of her own... but to have a chance of hitting Elder Shi, even at the level she was holding herself back to, the attack would need to be a surprise. How does one surprise their opponent while being watched so closely? Jie wondered. The answer came to her almost immediately. Misdirection. Jie cycled her qi, quickly creating the most powerful dragonfist she''d ever made on one hand and getting ready to perform finger of light with her other hand. Yet, she hid her finger of light technique as best she could. Keeping her hand near her hip as though it were of no importance. Elder Shi closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and slammed her left palm into Jie''s chest. Jie''s qi armor flickered as it drew heavily on her qi reserves, but Jie suppressed its reactive ability. Jie lashed out with her dragonfist toward Elder Shi''s face. Elder Shi caught it. Bright blue dragon lightning qi arced over the older woman''s fingers in a flash of dazzling blue light. But it failed to move Elder Shi''s fingers which held Jie''s small fist like steel talons. "Nice try but--" Elder Shi began. Jie angled the fingers on her other hand upward and activated finger of light. Lightning qi leaped across the short distance between them, straight toward Elder Shi''s throat. Elder Shi spun impossibly fast, moving like a whirlwind even to Jie''s eyes, and Jie''s finger of light arced through empty air. It slammed into the ceiling, burning a blackened mark upon a wooden beam that rapidly repaired itself. Elder Shi appeared behind Jie in a flicker of movement. Jie tried to turn to face the older woman but was simply too slow. Elder Shi swung with a palm strike that slammed into Jie''s chest with a force that dwarfed anything the older woman had used before. Jie''s qi armor crackled in defiance but lasted only an instant before it shattered. Jie flew backward across the room, trailing wisps of dragon lightning qi, and slammed back first into a wooden pillar with a heavy thud as all the air left her lungs in a whoosh. Jie''s head smacked hard against the pillar and she slumped down to the floor. Pain shot through every nerve in her body, as she lay there, utterly dazed for a long moment before Elder Shi hoisted her up to her feet. Bile rose in Jie''s throat and she swallowed it back down as the room spun wildly around her. She blinked several times as Elder Shi''s face seemed to hover in her vision, occasionally splitting into two before merging back into one. Jie felt relieved that Elder Shi seemed unhurt by her attack before her sluggish thoughts reminded her that she''d failed to actually hit the older woman. "Very clever," Elder Shi said, "most people rely too much on their eyes, I didn''t even see your attack." "So, how did you dodge it?" Jie asked. Her head throbbed with a sharp ache that made it hard to focus. "You have to use your spirit sense at all times. Especially in a fight. I may not have known exactly what you were doing, but I knew enough to dodge. It still caught me by surprise though, and I''ll admit I cheated a little," Elder Shi said. "More than a little," Jie grumbled. "Was that you saying you''re ready for round two?" Elder Shi asked. "Okay," Jie said. "Argh! No! I was teasing! You have a concussion. Cultivate a bit to replenish what you lost, and I''ll heal you. Then we''ll resume. Stupid to train otherwise," Elder Shi said. "But won''t I have to fight like that sometimes anyway?" Jie said. "Yes, and you''ll get plenty of practice at it, I''m sure. But, what we''re doing here is training to do things the correct way. I won''t let you form sloppy habits because your brain is half-scrambled," Elder Shi said, "now cultivate." Jie nodded slowly, as though her head might fall off her shoulders, and sat in the lotus position. Elder Shi felt a bit guilty about that. She''d definitely hit the poor girl far too hard... Elder Shi looked at her hand, the one she''d used to block Jie''s dragonfist, and rubbed away the stinging sensation. Heavens, but that girl was strong. Elder Shi placed her hand atop Jie''s head and flooded her with healing energy. One day that girl will be too strong for me to even touch... Elder Shi thought.
Much later, after sparring with Elder Shi and being repeatedly beaten and healed and then after another round of brutal physical training, Jie walked toward her private residence. Her pace was swift but more reserved than usual as she often simply ran. But, she was lost in thought, running through the various fights in her head and analyzing every action and reaction. That Elder Shi could so easily beat her while holding back so much, and without using any internal energies truly showed the gap between them. Although all these people constantly droned on and on about how martial skills were super important, it seemed to Jie that what truly mattered was strength. Sure, the skills were good for stabilizing cultivation and helping with general survival, but there was no denying that cultivation was the key to true power. Power she desperately needed. Chapter 49 Invitation ever If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. might
Chapter 50 Pan Keai Are the birds rarer in this world or something? Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Why does she irritate me so much already? everyone I was so lucky to have my parents... for the time I did. what What would Elder Shi do? Chapter 51 Heping City
This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Chapter 52 Service If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Chapter 53 Jiang Feng that and It''s not much, but it might be worth checking out... You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. What could he want? Would Elder Shi know? Maybe I could get an audience with him somehow, and at least hear what he has to say... I wanted something closer and more definite but it sounds like this might be my only option... I''ll get you better, you old snake... just hang in there... I hope I don''t get ripped off too much... And how would you talk to me if you didn''t think I had a family of gods watching out for me? Do I even have enough money to pay for anything? I''d better think of something to say if I don''t... Chapter 54 Nine Clouds Healing Pill Would a few hundred of those help Ming at all? Ming gave me more than enough spirit coins to buy a lot of them... if they even help a little... wouldn''t that be worth it? If it''s to save that old snake, I don''t care how much it would cost... but if I go too high that could drain the funds too quickly. There''s no telling if they''ll be honest. But... I still want some leeway. With me buying everything the price will probably go up like that book on economics said... demand and supply.... This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Chapter 55 Practical Vanity What would Ming do? Me? Why I''m already the greatest and best of all dragons and my scales make the ladies melt into quivering puddles with just one look. But why should I not melt them all the more? Yeah, alright you old snake... I''ll do it. But I still think it''s dumb. People are dumb. And shallow. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Chapter 56 The Golden Carp Why does it have to be that way? It shouldn''t be! People shouldn''t just take and abuse and destroy anything that gets in their way. It''s not right... It''ll be good to observe the auction process. See how they act on my behalf... though they might just be well-behaved this one time. I did give him a lot of money after all... This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. too Chapter 57 A Pleasant Evening Their food came and the topics turned away from the Chen family entirely. Jie was served a meat she didn''t recognize covered in blue sauce and speckled with what looked like mushrooms. Or something similar. She took a bite and the food melted in her mouth. She shivered. "Wow," she said, "I think this is the best thing I''ve ever had..." Pan Tian''s face lit up even more. "I''m so glad you like it! I''m a little surprised you haven''t eaten way better food than this though, considering your background," she said. "I had a... strange situation," Jie said. "I bet," Pan Tian said, "you''d better tell me all about it one of these days." Jie smiled softly. Maybe one of these days... she thought. She couldn''t help wondering how Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi would react if they knew... but she wasn''t going to tell them now. No... maybe after she killed Fang Zhuyu. If she succeeded... They had several courses and Jie ate until she felt like she''d explode. She was normally far more restrained, but even though the food at the academy was good, it didn''t compare to the food here. Besides, seeing Pan Tian''s smile each time she tried something new made her feel good. When they could eat no more, they talked and laughed and for a moment Jie felt like a normal girl again. But the sun fell low and the auction would be starting soon, so they finally left the restaurant. They rejoined with their guards outside and strolled back the way they''d come. The previously bustling streets were largely empty now as the day faded into evening twilight and the buildings cast long shadows upon the paved stone. Though the buildings lining the streets in this part of the city were not so tall as to obscure the light entirely and what few streetlights the city had were slowly coming to life. "Thanks for the meal," Jie said, "I really enjoyed it." Pan Zhanshi looked at Jie with horror in his eyes. "Heavens... it can''t be... they''ve kidnapped Jie and replaced her with a doppelganger! I''m not fooled! Jie never sounds so content! Now, tell us what you''ve done with our friend!" he said. Then, he burst out laughing. Jie glared at him, but she couldn''t keep her lips from turning into a smile. Pan Tian giggled. "I''m just glad you--" she broke off into a pain-filled shriek as an arrow of sickening green qi caught her in the side. Jie whirled to face the direction the attack had come from as she activated lightning step and qi armor. Figures had half-emerged from the tops of the rooftops all around them, their faces masked by dark fabric that revealed only their eyes as they rained projectiles down upon Jie and her allies. A smoke qi arrow slammed into Jie''s chest, right where her heart was, and knocked her backward. Jie felt a massive drain on her qi from the armor and her chest stung, but the arrow hadn''t penetrated. Jie regained her footing and pointed two fingers up at the masked attacker on the roof who held a bow of curling smoke qi. A blast of dragon lightning qi erupted from Jie''s fingers and crossed the space between them in the blink of an eye. But the assassin ducked back behind the lip of the roof just in time and Jie''s attack crackled through empty air. More assassins appeared in windows and other roofs all around them and Jie found she had trouble sensing them with her spirit sense even though she could plainly see them. Enemy attacks filled the air, comprised of all kinds of qi from fire and smoke to poison, acid, cold, and types Jie couldn''t immediately recognize. Jie put herself in front of Pan Tian and blocked an arrow that would''ve hit the older girl in the neck with her shoulder. It sent Jie spinning away and massively drained her qi, but at least her friend was alive. The Pan family guards formed up around them and three of them worked together to form a dome of earthy brown energy over the entire group. They grunted and shuddered with every projectile that smashed into the shield. The remaining three guards started channeling some kind of martial skill into the other three with what looked like wind qi. It swirled around the guards maintaining the barrier and made their auras fluctuate and swell with power. Jie used the opportunity the guards provided to grab Pan Tian and grip the qi arrow. The foreign qi burned and hissed against Jie''s qi armor as Jie gripped it and pulled on it hard. Jie had heard that it was better to push arrows through, but she couldn''t imagine it''d be a good idea with something made out of such hostile qi. Pan Tian screamed as Jie ripped the arrow and a chunk of Pan Tian''s flesh free. The arrow had quivering barbs that''d wormed their way through Pan Tian''s torn flesh like tree roots burrowing into soil. Jie tossed the gory sight aside and pressed Pan Tian''s hands to her side to help staunch the blood flow Even so, blood gushed from the wound like a river, spilling between Pan Tian''s fingers as the older girl took shallow breaths through clenched teeth, her face pale. Jie activated her storage ring and withdrew a green pill filled with healing energies. One of the few she''d managed to get the auction house to part with without needing an auction. It was a low-powered one meant for her rather than for Ming and she shoved it into Pan Tian''s mouth. Pan Tian gave a shuddering moan and her torn side took on a green hue and started to knit back together. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "Thanks," Pan Tian said. Her voice was half-choked with pain and her teeth were clenched tight around the word. More arrows slammed into the barrier spreading spiderweb cracks through the shield and the guards holding it up fell to one knee. "We... have to... move..." said one of the guards. "Where do we go? We''re surrounded and they''ll have ambush routes mapped out," said another. Jie frowned. The rooftops aren''t that high up here... Could I reach them...? Jie thought. She peered around the guards and through the barrier. It wasn''t glowing as brightly, which made it easier to see but also meant they didn''t have long. "As soon as the barrier falls, protect our charges. The Pan family and their guest shall not die this night!" said the guard that Jie had assumed was in charge. The barrier shattered into glimmering motes and shards of qi. Jie dashed toward the attackers as fast as she could, using lightning step to its fullest. The wind whipped her hair and lightning from her qi armor crackled over her entire body as fire, acid, and smoke qi struck the paving stones around her. They''d scored some hits when she''d been unprepared, but now she could focus, she wouldn''t give them such easy strikes again. Jie leaped up onto an awning and sprang off it onto the roof of the building where five assassins stared at her with wide eyes. She boosted off a lightning step platform in mid-air and rocketed toward them as they fired qi arrows while running backward away from her. Jie hit the roof and rolled across it as qi arrows screamed through the air around her, passing so close she felt the foreign qi sizzle against her qi armor. As Jie reached her feet, something slammed into her back like a hammer blow concentrated to a singular point. Jie''s qi armor reacted to the strike, blasting her further forward as the assassin that''d materialized out of nowhere was knocked back with a startled grunt. Jie whirled on him even as she continued sailing toward the archers and activated finger of light. Dragon lightning qi lit the twilight like the sun and slammed into the backstabber''s stomach. The explosive lightning blasted him off the roof and smashed him hard into the face of the building across the street with a meaty thud and the scent of burning fabric and charred meat. He was still alive, Jie knew, and she felt irritated with herself for holding back even when he''d just tried to kill her. Annoyed at her inability to do what needed to be done. At her restraint toward those who had none. A spear of yellow lightning struck her in the side and sent her tumbling away from the archers on her roof as the other assassins on the roofs around her focused their fire upon her. Jie evaded as best she could but the attacks were simply too many and she rapidly found herself getting overwhelmed. Then a figure of rich, dark shadow emerged behind one of the attackers on the other roof and drove a blade of night qi through the back of one of Jie''s attackers. Pan Zhanshi''s shadowy form impaled the assassin and lifted their flailing, spasming body into the air with his blade. The others on that roof turned to face Pan Zhanshi but he dropped into the darkness at his feet before they could strike. And their distraction gave Jie the opening she needed to close the distance between her and the assassins on her own roof. Jie reached the closest one, the one who''d hit her with a smoke arrow earlier. He tried to shoot her with another smoke arrow at point-blank range, but Jie side-stepped. The smoke arrow whisked past her as Jie stepped forward, driving her dragonfist into the man''s stomach. He folded over her fist as all the air left him in a strangled whoosh before the force of the blow sent him flying back across the rooftop. Jie ducked under a fire qi arrow and unleashed a finger of light in response as she felt the familiar friendly auras of Pan Tian and her family guards land on the roof around her. The fire qi assassin zipped out of the way with a movement skill that created a line of fire in his wake. The instant he came to a stop, a dense rectangular shield of thick earthy qi slammed into him like a moving wall, courtesy of the Pan family guard captain. One of the guards focused that strange skill Jie had seen earlier upon her, surrounding her with wind qi as she felt the world around her slow further as though using an additional movement skill. She felt lighter too and strength surged within her. "Thanks," Jie said. Pan Tian slashed at the assassins, sending arcs of resplendent moonlight qi at their enemies, forcing them to evade her strikes and opening them up for Jie to pick off with finger of light. Jie did so. Firing off one finger of light after another, the speed boost from the guard allowed her to snap them off so close together that they lit the twilight like a strobe light. Once again she was restrained, focusing only on disabling her targets rather than killing them. She dropped four targets in quick succession but there seemed to be no end to the assassins. Many of the assassins unleashed ranged attacks from the rooftops around them while their melee fighters leaped, climbed, or used a variety of movement skills to engage Jie and her allies. A couple were chasing Pan Zhanshi across the rooftops with similar movement skills to his own, adding to the chaos of the battle. Another invisible attacker materialized behind Jie as he pulled a garrote over her throat. Jie''s qi armor shrieked in protest against the foreign qi and blasted it away as Jie created a lightning step platform and boosted backward off it, driving her entire body into the assassin behind her like a comet. One of the Pan family guards created a qi shield behind the man and Jie smashed the man into it, slamming him between herself and the shield. She felt a couple of his ribs break against her back but as she slipped out from under him, she noted that he only seemed dazed and would soon be able to return to the fight. Jie was about to strike his head with a carefully controlled dragonfist to knock him out when beautiful arcs of white light separated his head from his body, splattering Jie with blood that her qi armor failed to block. Jie''s skin crawled even as she fought down a wave of anger at herself for once again leaving the killing to someone else. But there was no time for wallowing in emotion and Jie turned at once to seek out more of the assassins. Tornadoes had sprung up on some of the other rooftops. No doubt the work of the wind qi guards. The attacks didn''t seem to be particularly lethal but they disrupted the assassins incredibly well, sending them swirling around in a vortex as they struggled to get free. It only made them easier for Jie to disable with carefully restrained finger of light attacks. It was hard to tell as Jie could barely sense their attackers but she felt there''d been around sixty of them at the start. That number had rapidly dropped. As it did so, the battle swung even further in favor of Jie and her allies. Once the assassins'' numbers dropped below half, several of them broke and ran. A moment later, the rest of them followed suit. The battle had been brutal but short. Although it hadn''t felt like it as each moment dragged on forever under the onslaught. Jie panted and ran a hand through her crackling, blue hair. "Be careful," she said, "there might still be more in hiding." Her words seemed largely unnecessary however as everyone remained alert. Chapter 58 Pan Family Mansion "I want those two assassins restrained and taken prisoner! Kill the rest and let''s get out of here. It''s not safe," said the guard captain, "loot the bodies quickly. We can divvy up the spoils once we''re secure." The guards and the Pan siblings hurried to obey his orders, taking the assassins he''d indicated prisoner, killing any survivors, and storing all the bodies in their storage rings. Jie stored a few of those who were already dead in her ring but refrained from finishing anyone. The sight made Jie''s stomach turn even though she''d seen far worse. Buried within her unease was a deep sense of guilt, however. Once again, she''d avoided dirtying her own hands by directly killing. Leaving it for someone else. How long am I going to do this? I can''t get away with it forever... sooner or later I''ll have to take a life with my own hands. Would Ming be disappointed? Maybe... he killed for me... how can I still not consider myself a killer? It didn''t take long and soon, they were back on street level with Jie beside Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi. The guards formed around them, and the entire group moved at a slight run. Not at full speed, but enough that they could still sense their surroundings and move cautiously while also moving toward where more guards and safety should be waiting for them. They were all on alert, eyes alternating between scanning the rooftops and the streets around them. "You shouldn''t have run off like that," Pan Tian said after a long, tense silence. "I wasn''t going to just let them kill us," Jie said. "Still... you should let our guards protect you..." Pan Tian said. "They did," Jie said, "You had to fight too. Don''t forget I''m stronger than you." "I haven''t... I just... never mind..." Pan Tian said. The silence returned. They ran across the city and soon came to the massive Pan family mansion. The guards outside looked them over and hurried them inside. Several more guards took the live captives they''d brought and dragged them away. No doubt for interrogation. Jie tried not to think about it and instead followed the Pan siblings into the mansion. "Nice place," Jie said, hoping to break the silence. "Thanks," Pan Zhanshi said, "it helps to make trips to the city much easier. Doesn''t it sis?" "Yeah..." Pan Tian said. Jie frowned. "Are you still mad at me?" she asked. "Yes... well... no. I get it. I just don''t want you getting hurt. I can''t believe they dared to attack you while you''re under our protection! The nerve of them!" Pan Tian snapped. "Mmm..." Jie said, "I''m guessing they were from the Chen family?" "Who else?" Pan Tian said with an edge to her voice. "Judging by their martial skills, I think they''re probably assassins that the Chen family hired. But even so, I''m surprised they sent so many and attacked you the way they did..." Pan Zhanshi said. "I suppose they don''t get many chances," Pan Tian said as though musing out loud. "You lost me," Pan Zhanshi said. "Well, think about it. Jie never leaves the Crimson Academy and their defenses are impeccable. It would be freakishly hard to try to kill her there compared to the city. Even our elders might not be able to get through the defenses the academy has," Pan Tian said. "Can we go to the city lord about the attack on me?" Jie asked. "Probably not," Pan Zhanshi said, "the Chen family will have made sure this can''t be traced back to them. Our interrogators will see what they can get out of the prisoners though. Sometimes people get clumsy." Pan Tian nodded as though this was normal. Jie pressed a knuckle against her pursed lips. What could she do about this? She balked at the thought of actually killing someone with her own hands and that made a mixture of guilt and self-loathing well up inside her. But, even if she could get over that... there was no way she could actually kill the Chen family. The children and some of their guards, but their experts? They were far too strong. "They''re just going to keep sending assassins until I''m dead, aren''t they?" Jie asked. "Probably," Pan Zhanshi said. Pan Tian shot him a glare. "It''s okay. Better the truth than a comforting lie," Jie said, "but, I don''t know how to deal with this kind of stuff. What would you do?" "Well, I''d make sure I had guards with me at all times. But you''re with us so naturally that''s the case," Pan Tian said. Jie nodded. She hated just waiting to be attacked over and over again. She didn''t regret her actions, but she hated that she should just allow these evil people to do what they wanted. She wished she had the strength to stop them, but also felt her stomach churn at the thought of killing with her own hands, followed by the twisted knot of guilt for not doing so. She tried to push her feelings aside. "Could I hire an assassin to kill them first?" Jie asked. "It would take someone incredibly powerful to perform a task like that. Finding someone that strong might even be impossible. The Chen family head, the headmaster, the city lord, our family head... and a handful of other people are the strongest in this region. "But I can''t think of any that would be willing to be an assassin. Except for the Chen family of course. There are some who would probably jump at the chance to kill the Chen family too, but they have lots of allies as well. A move like that could easily plunge the entire area into war," Pan Zhanshi said. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "So... I guess you''d prefer if I didn''t," Jie said. "Unless you get some strong experts from out of nowhere to tip the scales... if you do then let us know and I''m sure our family would be happy to take your side," Pan Zhanshi said. Jie nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I won''t be in the city much longer anyway," she said, "guess I''ll just have to be careful for now." It felt good to be safer behind the Pan family''s walls and they all withdrew the bodies they''d stored in their rings. It felt unsettling to Jie how emotionlessly the Pan siblings and the guards stripped the various bodies, using strange scrolls on each item before actually touching it. Jie just stood there watching them, feeling both sick at seeing so many corpses and useless for not helping. Still, the guards and the Pan siblings worked with brisk efficiency and they were done in moments and rapidly sorted the treasures into several piles. It was hard for Jie to judge the value of the piles as she had no clue what the worth of the individual items was. But it seemed to her that the Pan family was giving her a slightly larger share with the Pan siblings and guards receiving more equal shares. Jie thanked the Pan siblings and guards and they all stored their respective treasures in their storage rings. In the end, they each gained some weapons that none of them were particularly interested in. A bit of currency, mostly gold, some low level healing pills and cultivation resources, and the enchanted fabric each of the assassins had worn which seemed to help hide their auras. Jie doubted that was all the assassins owned and Pan Tian explained that this was likely all they''d brought with them and their full possessions were likely somewhere secret and safe. Perhaps in their guild hall somewhere or in a bank. Still, even the small number of possessions they''d carried added up to quite a lot given how many bodies there were to loot. "What were those scrolls?" Jie asked finally. Pan Tian looked at Jie like she''d asked what color the sky was. "Scrolls of wisdom," she said, "you know, so we know what each item is and can see if it''s cursed." Jie nodded. That seemed wise. Pan Tian gave her a lingering quizzical look but shrugged it away. "Well, that''s done. Let''s go wash off all the dust and blood and put on fresh robes for the auction tonight. We have to look our best, after all!" Pan Tian said. Her face was lit up with a brilliant smile that made Jie''s lips twitch, infectious as it was. Pan Tian grabbed Jie''s wrist and led her through the mansion to a humid room with large, box-like shelves lining the walls. "You can just leave your clothes here if you like, I''ll make sure one of the servants cleans them for you," Pan Tian said. "Leave... my clothes?" Jie said, stunned. "Well, yeah? You can''t take them into the bath with you, silly!" Pan Tian said, "Oh my gosh! Do you have something to wear for tonight? I forgot to ask before!" "My master gave me plenty of clothes," Jie said, "I''m sure I can throw on a fresh set of robes." "What about something more formal?" Pan Tian asked as she undressed. Jie looked away and didn''t even begin to take off her clothes. After having to be cleaned by someone else in the hospital for so long, she''d hoped that she''d never have to be naked in front of anyone ever again. "Uh... I don''t know," Jie said, "I''ll look, I guess. It''s just an auction though, I''m sure I''ll be fine." "Jie? Why aren''t you getting undressed? Are you shy?" Pan Tian said. "I''d rather wash up alone," Jie said. "Really? But then you might run late," Pan Tian said, "aren''t you used to it from the academy?" "The residence they gave me has a bath," Jie said. "Oh... wow they must''ve given you one of the amazing ones then," Pan Tian said. "I wouldn''t know. Isn''t there another bath I could use?" Jie asked. "Not really..." Pan Tian said, "the mansion has too many people. We have separate ones for servants, guards, and the family. There''s a private one, but my aunt is probably using that and we wouldn''t be allowed to use it anyway." Jie closed her eyes and forced out a slow breath, her jaw clenched. "Is it that big of a deal? How do you manage back home?" Pan Tian asked. "I was... it wasn''t fun," Jie said. "It''s really not that bad..." Pan Tian said, her tone soft and reassuring. "It was more complicated but fine. Let''s just get this over with," Jie said. She took her clothes off quickly, as though rushing through it would somehow make this whole thing go by faster. Then, she stashed her clothes on one of the shelves. Jie wrapped her arms around herself, determined to maintain what little modesty she could. "It''s this way," Pan Tian said, her gaze pointedly averted. She led the way through a sliding door and into a tiled chamber. The floor was wet, and every step came with an accompanying splish. But, there was no bath in sight. Just a bunch of walls with fish heads sticking out. Not unlike shower heads. The walls each had two tiles with runes on them as well. "Are these... showers?" Jie asked. "Yes," Pan Tian said, "we''ll clean off here and then soak for a bit." "Why can''t you just have a bunch of separate rooms with these in them?" Jie asked. "Wow... your family must be incredibly wealthy," Pan Tian said. "Well, you already have the showers, it''s not that big a deal," Jie said. "We''d have to hire runecrafters to do each one separately instead of one big one," Pan Tian said, "it''d cost at least ten times as much. If not more. I still can''t believe the academy gave you a bath. How did you get that?" "They just gave it to me after I placed first in the entrance test," Jie said. "You placed first? No wonder they spoil you," Pan Tian said. The two of them showered under different shower heads and when they were done, Jie followed Pan Tian into the bath where they soaked together. The two of them talked a bit and gradually Jie grew more comfortable. It was nothing like having someone else clean her after all. She wished she could just forget it had ever happened... it''d been utterly humiliating and she''d hated every second of it. Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to leave the bath and dry off. Once dry, they went into yet another room. "So, can I see what clothes you have?" Pan Tian asked, "Oooh! Maybe you should wear some jewelry?" Jie frowned as she thought about how gaudy Pan Keai looked. "No," she said, "I''ll just wear my robes." "Aww!" Pan Tian said, "But why? You can wear some of mine if you like." "Maybe another time," Jie said. "You know I''m not going to forget that," Pan Tian said, "one of these days, I''m going to get you to dress up until you sparkle!" Jie pulled out a set of fresh robes. They were black, so they''d blend in at least a little if they were attacked again tonight. Although, the golden dragons would stand out a little. Ah, well. "Are you sure you don''t want to try wearing a dress and some jewelry?" Pan Tian asked, "You''d look so pretty." "No. I like robes," Jie said. Pan Tian frowned. "But, you might like it. Have you ever even worn a dress?" she asked. "A few times," Jie said, "a very long time ago." Pan Tian pouted. "This is supposed to be fun. You can just be a girl sometimes you know? You don''t always have to be a super serious cultivator," she said. "A dress would just make me uncomfortable," Jie said, "I had fun at the restaurant. But I''m still me. I''m not going to change." Pan Tian sighed. "If you''re sure. I won''t force you, but I still think you''re too reserved," she said. Pan Tian then changed into an elegant, yet slightly girlish dress. It suited her well. It wasn''t childish, but it also wasn''t trying too hard either. It was... pretty. And, she had only a few pieces of jewelry. Each looked like it''d been chosen with care. But Jie had no idea beyond that. She''d never bothered to investigate anything like that on Earth. After all, even if she''d succeeded in achieving something despite being unable to move, it''s not like it would''ve mattered. Her body would still have been broken, and no matter how it glittered or sparkled, she''d never have been able to talk with people normally. No polite dinners. No boys. Nothing. "Jie? Are you okay?" Pan Tian asked. "Just remembering something," Jie said, "shall we go?" "Only if you''re sure I can''t get you into a dress," Pan Tian said with a chuckle. "Next time," Jie said. "Do you mean that?" Pan Tian said. Jie nodded. "I... don''t really know about that stuff... it might be nice though. You look like you have taste at least," she said. Pan Tian giggled. "Don''t worry, I wouldn''t just drown you under a mountain of jewelry. Less is more," she said. Jie smirked but held her tongue. Who knew how far Pan Keai could hear at her level of cultivation? She''d made more than enough enemies to keep busy for a while. There was no sense in making more. Chapter 59 The Auction As their carriage rolled along the streets, lit only by the occasional street lamp, Jie found herself waiting for another attack to hit. The Pan siblings sat rigidly, but Jie thought that had more to do with Pan Keai than anything else. Of course, if anyone did attack it would probably be suicide for them given that Pan Keai was in the carriage and dozens of guards surrounded them. But, despite their apparent safety, Jie remained alert. She kept her spirit sense active, constantly sweeping their surroundings as far as she could. But, despite her feelings, they rolled in front of the auction house without so much as having to slow down. The streets were almost entirely empty even though it wasn''t all that late. But, Pan Tian explained that most people couldn''t afford much in the way of light sources. As such, the majority of people rose and slept with the sun. Besides, the streets became an incredibly dangerous place after dark. Especially for those who couldn''t afford guards or lacked their own strength. So even those who were not yet asleep were likely cultivating or relaxing somewhere indoors. The carriage doors swung open, revealing a velvet carpet and the noise of countless chattering voices. Jie followed the Pan siblings out and Pan Keai exited behind them. The golden pearl atop the Onyx Pavilion now lit the area with its golden light, making it seem as though the sky had an extra moon this night. And the many glittering gems adorning the pillars sparkled like stars. Throngs of people lined either side of the carpet, kept back by the auction house''s guards. Many in the crowd had glowing orbs suspended in the air above their hands as they chattered endlessly, their eyes like ravenous vultures. "Liu Jie, how does it feel to be the winner of the younger generation tournament?" "Pan Zhanshi, what do you have to say about your loss to Chen Huo?" "Lady Pan Keai, how would you respond to rumors your family is losing influence?" "Liu Jie tell us about your mysterious family?" "Lady Pan Keai, what do you have to say about the Chen family''s growing power?" "Liu Jie, what relationship do you have with the Pan family?" "Pan Tian, how do you respond to Chen Liang''s comments about you and your family?" The crowd rushed to talk over one another in a rabid feeding frenzy, the press of their bodies held back only by the guards. The Pan family wore smiles like masks from the moment they stepped outside. Jie doubted her ability to fake such a smile and opted to keep her face as expressionless as possible instead. Jie kept her pace measured in line with the Pan siblings at her sides. They and their aunt held themselves like royalty far more than on their previous visit. Jie hated every second of the short walk to the auction house under the dazzling glare of so much attention. They stepped inside the auction house, and the noise died away with each step further inside. In fact, it died down faster than it really should have. Must be another of those formations or enchantments or something. Jie thought. Jie leaned close to Pan Tian. "Why were all those people there?" she whispered, "Did something happen?" "People?" Pan Tian asked, "You mean the reporters? They''re here for the auction, silly." Jie frowned. "I thought it happened regularly?" she asked. "It does, but not just anyone can enter. They lurk outside to find out who went in, and they''ll stay there and try to find out what each person or family bought," Pan Tian said. Jie nodded, her frown returning. Hopefully, they wouldn''t find out about her arrangement with the auction house... The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "This way please, members of the honorable Pan family," said a woman in the dark robes of The Onyx Pavilion. She led them through a different section of the massive auction house, and up several sets of stairs. She stopped in front of a set of double doors. "Here''s your balcony. Please, feel free to enjoy the refreshments we''ve provided. Should you need anything, simply use the contact orb. The auction will start shortly," said the woman. She opened the double doors and bowed as they entered. She closed the doors behind them and the Pan siblings collapsed on a sofa with far too many cushions. "So, will you bid on anything?" Pan Tian asked. Jie shrugged. "It''s possible, but I''m not too concerned. I managed to get a few resources anyway. I''m mainly just looking forward to seeing what happens," she said. "Have you never been to an auction before?" Pan Tian asked. "No," Jie said, "I''ve seen them, but I''ve never been." "Wow, you must have some high-end viewing devices back home!" Pan Zhanshi said. Jie smiled. "Something like that," she said. She moved a few cushions out of the way so she had somewhere to sit and sat with her friends. Her smile grew at that thought. Her friends. They really were her friends, weren''t they? She had friends... All those years... she''d given up hope of ever having something like that. The balcony had thick, shimmering curtains that covered the entire view. They still allowed Jie to see the crowd below just fine, barely making a noticeable difference to her sight. But, when she looked at the other balconies, she found she couldn''t see who was there. Just impenetrable black curtains. "Are these things one way?" Jie asked, gesturing to the curtains. "One way?" Pan Tian asked as though she didn''t understand the phrase. "Yes," Pan Keai said, "we can see out, but others cannot see us. You are free to relax." Jie nodded. "Thanks," she said. Jie watched people file in down below until the floor of the massive hall was utterly packed with people. And that wasn''t even counting the rows of balconies that rose far higher than the one they were in. Given how things worked in her last visit, she assumed that people in higher balconies were considered to have greater status than those below. Jie turned back to Pan Keai. "How will they know if you want to bid?" she asked. Pan Keai gestured to the blue orb in the center of the table. "Simply put your hand on the orb and say the amount you wish to bid. It will flash a light on our balcony and our bid will be taken," she said, "feel free to use it if something catches your interest." Jie nodded and she wondered if Pan Keai was offering to buy things for her just like that. Not that it mattered. After all, she should be getting anything she had an interest in anyway. The number of people filing in slowed to a trickle and then stopped entirely. Heavy doors swung shut and a murmur rippled through the crowd. Jiang Feng stepped out onto the stage. "Greetings, honored cultivators! Noble families! And welcome to tonight''s auction!" he said, "Now... as my being here no doubt tells you... tonight is something rather special. You see, we have some incredible items for sale tonight, and we''re blessed with the presence of an esteemed cultivator." Jie''s eyes went wide, but Jiang Feng gestured to a much higher section of balconies on the opposite side from where Jie and her friends were. More murmurs went through the crowd. "They wish to remain anonymous, but you''ll no doubt see them bidding on some of the incredible items we have for sale tonight," Jiang Feng said, "so without further ado... let''s get this auction started!" His voice carried easily even to where Jie sat, and it seemed perfectly natural somehow. Something Jie didn''t believe for a second. But his technique was incredibly smooth. "So, let''s start tonight off with a pair of incredible weapons for those in the lower dantian!" Jiang Feng said. As he spoke, a woman wheeled a cart with a pair of daggers hovering over it. They gleamed in the low light of the auction house. But they weren''t something Jie was interested in, so she largely tuned out what Jiang Feng was saying. "So, what do you plan on getting tonight?" Jie asked. "Maybe some cultivation resources. A martial skill might be nice too. Or maybe a weapon," Pan Tian said. She sounded distracted and her voice was subdued enough to still easily pick up on what Jiang Feng was saying. Jie frowned as she noticed that both of the Pan siblings were listening intently. She wanted to ask why, but the bidding had started and Jie didn''t want to distract them with questions. Instead, she turned to Pan Keai. "Why is everyone so interested in those weapons?" Jie asked, her tone hushed. Pan Keai smiled softly. "Aren''t you?" she asked. Jie''s frown deepened. "Not at all. Am I missing something?" she asked. The bidding continued as the price soared. Still nothing compared to what Jie had put down, but she didn''t see them as being worth much of anything and it confused her. "Well, good weapons can ramp up your power in battle," Pan Keai said. "But, these are just for the lower dantian. They''ll be replaced so quickly. Would it even matter?" Jie asked. "I understand you cultivate prodigiously fast," Pan Keai said, "But for many... those blades could be life-saving treasures for decades to come. And, once they''re no longer useful, they could be given to children. Our family has collected many such treasures." Jie tilted her head. "Decades huh?" she asked, "I can''t imagine Pan Tian or Pan Zhanshi taking that long." "Course not," Pan Zhanshi said, "we''re geniuses of the younger generation." "So... these blades... do you want them?" Jie asked. "Mmm... sort of. I could probably adapt my night blade to empower them instead," Pan Zhanshi said, "I would''ve picked them up, but the price has gone beyond what they''re worth, I think. Our family has better treasures." Jie nodded. Suddenly, she felt a bit guilty that she hadn''t thought to get her friends anything. Especially after they''d taken her out for such a nice meal earlier. Chapter 60 Dark Moon Blade "Well, there are nicer weapons coming up anyway," Jie said. They all looked at her. "What?" Pan Keai said. Jie met their gaze, confused. "There are nicer weapons coming up?" she said again, their reaction making her feel uncertain. "How do you know that?" Pan Keai asked. "Is it not normal to know?" Jie asked. She suddenly felt incredibly stupid. "No. It''s not. Not even I know. I suggest you not say anything... I don''t know how the auction house would react to you knowing what you do," Pan Keai said. Jie shrugged. "It won''t be too bad. They''re the ones that told me," she said. "They did?" Pan Keai said. She looked stunned. "Surely it isn''t that rare," Jie said. Pan Keai blinked a few times as though coming back to herself. "They must''ve made an exception for you. Well, in that case, I suppose it is quite alright," she said. "So what weapons are coming up?" Pan Tian asked. "Uh... I don''t know. I only listened to the one. I wasn''t very interested," Jie said. "Well, what was the one you heard about?" Pan Tian asked. Jie stared at the ceiling as she searched her memory. "It was a sword... a uh... black moon? No... that''s not quite right..." she said. "A dark moon blade?" Pan Zhanshi suggested with wide eyes. "Yeah," Jie said, "that sounds right." Pan Zhanshi swallowed. "Wow... Only the highest in our family could use it," he said. "He said it was for lower dantian cultivators," Jie said. "Lower dantian cultivators? A dark moon blade for the lower dantian? Wow... it can''t be as powerful, but it must still be amazing," Pan Zhanshi said. "You''d like it?" Jie asked. "Are you kidding? Who wouldn''t? That would suit my style perfectly. And rather than focusing my energy on creating a night blade I could simply empower the weapon for greater damage. I''ve even been practicing using night blade as a weapon empowerment skill. But I haven''t found anything that fits my qi and fighting style yet," Pan Zhanshi said. Jie nodded thoughtfully. "And you didn''t hear anything about any other weapons?" Pan Tian asked. Jie shrugged. "I wasn''t interested. If I''d known you guys were, I''d have listened," she said. Pan Tian let out a frustrated sigh. "It''s fine," she said. "Well, they''ll bring them out anyway," Jie said. "Yes, but I won''t know if I get the best... they might have something even better..." Pan Tian muttered. "I am so bidding on that dark moon blade when it comes up," Pan Zhanshi said. Pan Keai smiled though her eyes remained fixed on Jie. "Just make sure not to get carried away," she said. Jie leaned back in the sofa as the auction continued. They went through weapon after weapon. They seemed to increase in quality with each sale. "I hope that mysterious cultivator doesn''t bid on the dark moon blade," Pan Zhanshi said suddenly. "I doubt it," Jie said. They all looked to her again and she blinked. I really need to get better at dealing with people. She thought. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "Do you know something about that person?" Pan Keai asked. Jie shook her head. "No, just simple logic. If they''re such an esteemed cultivator, why would they bid on an item for the lower dantian?" she said. "That''s true," Pan Tian said. "But dark moon blades are rare. What if this person is a collector?" Pan Zhanshi said. "Well, then I have no idea," Jie said. The Pan family nodded and Jie held back a relieved sigh. Pan Tian''s eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! That would be amazing for me!" she said. Jie blinked. What had Jiang Feng said? She had a look at the object on display. It was a pair of metal gauntlets with long, retractable claws made of glass. Or perhaps some kind of crystal. The sharp claws glistened and refracted the light, making them look both beautiful and deadly. "Ten qi coins!" shouted someone in the crowd below. "Eleven!" "Twelve!" came a voice from one of the booths. Pan Tian pressed her hand onto the orb. "Twenty-five qi coins," she said. The hall went silent. "Wow, you must really want that," Jie said. "Yes," Pan Tian said, though she looked a bit pale, "if you don''t shock them with a high bid... this could go higher..." "The claws of light going once!" Jiang Feng said. "Thirty qi coins," said someone in another booth. Pan Tian gnashed her teeth. "That bastard..." she said. "What?" Jie asked. "That''s the Chen family. I''d recognize that snobbish tone anywhere. I doubt they even want it that much. They just love to try and make us spend more or take the things we want. Every time," Pan Tian said. "But I thought this was all anonymous?" Jie asked. Pan Tian shook her head. "No," she said, "the curtain just lets us have some privacy. People still know who''s in the booths. Especially since the auction house has us use the same booths each time. Unless our status has changed somehow. Only that new cultivator is anonymous, and I guarantee people will be trying to catch a glimpse of them leaving." "The claws of light! For thirty qi coins! Going once!" Jiang Feng said. "You really wanted that didn''t you?" Jie asked. Pan Tian smiled bitterly. "Ah well... there''ll be other weapons another night..." she said. "Going twice!" Jiang Feng said. "I suppose there''s some kind of face involved in this too?" Jie asked. "Yes," Pan Tian said, "the Chen family is trying to show that they''re wealthier than us. They''re trying hard to tear us down lately..." "Going three times!" Jiang Feng said, "And s--" Jie pressed her hand against the orb. "I bid fifty qi coins," she said. Her voice rang out crisp, clear, cool, and utterly unfeeling. The audience gasped and even the Pan siblings and their aunt''s eyes went wide. "Are you insane?" Pan Tian hissed. "Maybe," Jie said, "don''t worry. I can afford it. Consider it a thank you for your hospitality and our meal earlier. That has to be the best food I''ve ever had." "Uh... you know you don''t have to do that, right?" Pan Tian said, "That''s... a lot of money..." "You''re a friend. I kinda feel bad that I didn''t find out about the weapons for you earlier," Jie said. Jiang Feng resumed counting, but the auction house was dead silent. "And sold!" Jiang Feng said with a dazzling smile on his face. Jie turned back to her friend. "So do you have martial skills for those claws?" she asked. "They should perfectly fit my fighting style and qi type so I won''t even need new skills. It''ll take some getting used to though," Pan Tian said. Jie nodded. "Well, I''m sure you''ll pick it up quickly. I want to see what they look like by the way, so you''d better show me," she said. Pan Tian let out a giggle. "Didn''t you see when they took it out?" she asked. Jie shrugged. "Only from a distance. Besides, I bet they''ll look way cooler when you''re wearing them. Otherwise, they''re just paperweights," she said. Pan Tian shook her head and let out a combination of a sigh and a chuckle. "You''ve got to be the weirdest person I''ve ever met. But... thank you," she said. Jie smiled. It felt good to spoil a friend. Though, part of her worried that she might end up with friends that just wanted to be around her for what she could do for them... But Pan Tian wasn''t like that and neither was Pan Zhanshi she was fairly sure. Not certain, but fairly sure. She frowned... why did she have to ruin this feeling with such thoughts? "That''s strange," Pan Keai said after some time. "What is, Auntie?" Pan Tian said. "Nobody has come for Jie''s payment," Pan Keai said. "Why would they? The auction is still going on," Jie said. "Ordinarily, they would still require payment by now... but I suppose they''re giving you special treatment," Pan Keai said. She plucked a golden apple off the table and took a bite. "That mysterious expert still hasn''t bid. What do you think they''ll bid on?" Pan Zhanshi said. Jie chuckled. "You''re just nervous they''ll snaffle your dark moon blade," she said. Pan Zhanshi spread his hands. "I''d be crazy not to be," he said, "at least a little... they are so rare after all." They passed the time chatting while weapon after weapon was brought out. Many of them sold for high prices, but nothing came near what Jie had paid. "And now... an item few will ever see and live to tell the tale... a dark moon blade!" Jiang Feng said. Pan Zhanshi''s eyes lit up and his excitement grew as Jiang Feng spoke of the rarity, power, and unique features of the blade. Most notably that it was for lower dantian cultivators. He then began extolling the skill and mysterious reputation of the secretive dark moon sect. Jie had to admit, it was a beautiful weapon. It was made of a purple-black metal with a smoke-like finish and, every edge, curve, and detail was simple yet elegant. It looked at once like the process had taken years of painstaking care to produce and like it had been no challenge at all for what had to be a master craftsman. "How high will you go?" Pan Tian asked. "Well... I''ve been saving for a weapon for a while. And... for a dark moon blade... I''ll go fairly high if I have to," Pan Zhanshi said. Chapter 61 Creating Ties The bidding exploded at first but quickly slowed around the thirty qi coin mark. "Thirty-one!" said one booth. "Thirty-two!" said another. "Thirty-three!" Pan Zhanshi said. He wrung his hands and took short, nervous breaths. "Thirty-four!" said the booth Jie remembered as the Chen family''s. Pan Zhanshi let out a slow breath and pressed his hand to the orb. "Thirty-five," he said. "Wow," Pan Tian said, "you have been saving." Pan Zhanshi gave her a pained smile. "Thirty-seven," said the Chen family booth. "Thirty-eight," Pan Zhanshi said, but he looked strained. "Forty," said the Chen family booth with smug ease. Pan Zhanshi shook his head and sank back into the cushions. "That''s it. I can''t go higher. Well, at least I made them pay more," he said. "Could you really have afforded thirty-eight qi coins? For a sword?" Jie asked. "Well... yeah... but not more than that," Pan Zhanshi said, "I should''ve gone for one of the lower-end swords that fit my cultivation. Getting greedy was stupid. But there''s always next time." "Going once," Jiang Feng said. "Well, you know I could give you up to fifty qi coins toward it," Jie said. "It''d take me ages to pay you back," Pan Zhanshi said. "Don''t be stupid," Jie said, "you can have it as a gift. So, spend whatever you can afford plus fifty qi coins." "Going twice," Jiang Feng said. "Are you sure?" Pan Zhanshi said. "Yes, now hurry up or you''ll lose it," Jie said. Pan Zhanshi nodded. "Thanks, Jie," he said. He pressed his hand against the orb. "forty-five," he said. "We have forty-five qi coins for the rare dark moon blade! Do I hear more?" Jiang Feng asked. "Fifty," said the Chen family booth. Pan Zhanshi looked nervous. "Don''t worry," Jie said, "I don''t mind if you spend all fifty coins. Now stop delaying and raise the bid by more. This obsession with face is stupid, but the Chen family seems to care about it a lot so... slap them." Pan Zhanshi smiled and looked relieved though still a bit conflicted. It made Jie feel good. He didn''t seem like he wanted to take advantage of her generosity. He pressed his hand against the orb. "fifty-five," he said. "Fifty-five qi coins! I have fifty-five qi coins. Do I hear sixty?" Jiang Feng asked. "Ninety," said the Chen family booth. Exclaimed murmurs rippled through the crowd at the massively higher bid. "How can they be so stubborn?! Who pays ninety qi coins for a lower dantian weapon?!" Pan Zhanshi said. "Hey... I could use the money I was going to spend for the claws to help you," Pan Tian said, "Make it a spirit coin and fifteen qi coins... I can just barely do twenty-seven if I stretch a bit." Pan Zhanshi pressed his hand against the orb. "One spirit coin and fifteen qi coins," he said smoothly. He looked a bit embarrassed but also excited and kind of... happy? Jie wasn''t sure. Reading emotions wasn''t always easy. "How high do you suppose they''ll go?" Jie asked. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Pan Zhanshi chuckled. "No idea. If they go higher though... I think we should just let them have it. I want it, but if it gets much higher it''ll be so expensive that it''ll strain even their finances," he said, "After all... it''s still a lower dantian treasure and I bet they''ll be spending much more tonight." Jie nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. Is the Chen family richer?" she asked. "I''m not sure... maybe? It''s not like they''d ever tell us the truth. They''ve been spending a lot more recently though..." Pan Zhanshi said. "The dark moon blade for the lower dantian going once at one fifteen qi coins! Do I hear one twenty? One twenty?" Jiang Feng asked, "Going twice! Going three times! And sold! The dark moon blade for one spirit coin and fifteen qi coins!" Pan Zhanshi let out a long sigh. "Wow... I almost can''t believe it. Thanks, Jie. That was extremely kind of you. And, sis? Since when did you get so generous?" he said. Pan Tian scoffed. "As though I''d allow those Chen family slugs to get their way," she said. Though her eyes sparkled when she looked at her brother. Several more weapons were brought on stage but none of them stirred the interest of any of the three. Until a pair of beautiful women wheeled on a display of a double-sided spear with a golden shaft and blades that gleamed in the light. "I have yet another treat for those of the lower dantian," Jiang Feng said, "this is a remorseless stinger spear. Crafted by the artisans of the renowned Serpent''s Fang order of assassins. Note the remarkable quality and attention to detail. This weapon is designed to work with a wide variety of qi types but is best suited to poison and venom qi types and highly aggressive fighting styles that mirror those of the Serpent''s Fang order. Crafted by those who truly understand the art of murder, this weapon is utterly devastating in the right hands. Bidding starts at ten qi coins," Jiang Feng said. "Ten qi coins!" someone yelled but they were immediately drowned out by others as the price rapidly skyrocketed. "Hmm..." Jie said, "Do you think that would be useful for Ithilix?" "It would likely fit her qi quite well and the reach and versatility of it would suit her fighting style," Pan Zhanshi said. The price had already reached twenty qi coins and was still climbing. "Ithilix?" Pan Keai asked, "That sounds like a hive name. Don''t tell me you''re thinking of gifting a weapon to a hive creature?" Her tone and words grated on Jie though she tried her best not to show any visible reaction. Before Jie could say something she knew she probably shouldn''t, Pan Tian spoke up. "I''ve spoken with Ithilix, Auntie. Their hive has excellent craftsmen and gathering abilities. A trade agreement with them would greatly benefit our family at very little cost. Others in the region allow their personal feelings to get in the way of such a lucrative opportunity," Pan Tian said. Pan Keai nodded as she considered this. "An interesting perspective... I''d wondered why you three had treated that hive girl at the tournament so well... I presume that is this... Ithilix you speak of? Most cunning to win her friendship and create ties. "I should''ve expected no less from my niece and nephew. And of course, with your illustrious background, I should''ve known right away, Jie of the Liu family... I will take this proposal to the family head. Provided of course that the Liu family is willing to share such a valuable contact?" she asked. Jie nodded, keeping her face as blank a mask as she could. "I can''t claim to speak for my family," Jie said, "but I''m sure they would approve of being generous with you in this instance." The words sounded insane coming out of her mouth but Pan Keai nodded seriously. "Very well. Then it''s my suggestion we each bid together and make this weapon a gift from both our respective families," Pan Keai said. Jie nodded. The rapid switch from scornful to scheming had left Jie''s head spinning though she did her best to hide that fact. The price rapidly climbed up to seventy qi coins as the Chen family once again competed to push the price up the instant the Pan family started bidding. But, with Jie and Pan Keai each willing to pay half, the strain was acceptable and they won the bid for eighty-five qi coins. Far more than it was worth, but it seemed the Pan and Chen families were in a constant state of rivalry over every item. Jie was glad to see the Pan family force the Chen family to pay more for their items in turn. She hoped that Ithilix would like the gift and found herself wishing the hive girl were here... although with the way people reacted to anything to do with the hive that was likely a terrible idea... The auction continued, but it wasn''t long before there was a knock at the door and a woman in black robes stepped inside. Three others came in after her, carrying the weapons for Pan Tian, Pan Zhanshi, and Ithilix on opulent pillows. The one with the claws of light on a dark pillow approached Jie, but she pointed to Pan Tian. "You can give it to Pan Tian," Jie said. The woman bowed. "As you wish, milady," she said. She handed the claws of light, pillow and all, to Pan Tian. Pan Tian''s eyes lit up and she squealed with delight. She immediately slipped the gleaming gauntlets onto her hands and extended the glistening claws. Pan Tian cycled a martial skill and the claws lit up with a resplendent, silvery-white glow. Jie had to admit, they suited her. Pan Zhanshi was given his sword, which he held reverently and studied with care, while another attendant handed Jie Ithilix''s spear. I guess the device checks who''s placing the bid and they assume the item belongs to that person? Jie wondered. "Milady Jie is free to pay whenever she wishes," the woman leading the group said smoothly. Whether they expected her to pay in addition to the amount she''d already handed over for the secret bidding or if they were just going out of their way to hide that fact, Jie wasn''t sure. "Esteemed of the Pan family, we do require payment from you now, however," the woman said. "Of course," Pan Zhanshi said. He waved his hand and neat stacks of qi coins appeared on the table. Jie smiled softly, this world was so cool. Pan Tian and Pan Keai did the same, and Jie followed suit. The woman waved her hand and the coins vanished into her ring. "Thank you," she said with a smooth bow, "please, enjoy your items and the rest of the auction." The auction continued, but Jie spent most of her time just chatting with her friends and only half-paying attention to the actual auction. Chapter 62 Proxy The person standing in for Jie bid on the cultivation resources Jie had said she wanted before. It caused a bit of a stir for a supposedly high-ranking cultivator to bid on such low-ranked resources. But there were more than enough low-ranked resources to meet her needs and still have enough left over for others to bid on, so people seemed to largely shrug it off. Jie bid on them as herself a few times as well. Just to make sure her friends didn''t get too suspicious. "Why do you think that cultivator wants such low-end cultivation resources?" Pan Zhanshi asked. That same question was repeated among the crowd, and Jie paid it little heed. Jie shrugged. "Who knows," she said. "I bet they have a disciple or something. Ooh is it Jie''s mysterious master maybe?" Pan Tian asked. Jie laughed, but fear ran down her spine. Would it truly be so easy for them all to figure out it was linked to her? Even if their thinking was mistaken... "Nah, Jie could just buy it all herself. It''d be a waste of their time. They must be someone else," Pan Zhanshi said. Jie smiled and hoped others would follow that same line of thought. "And now, before we get into our special, high-end pills that I know you''ve all been dying to see... The Onyx Pavilion has something truly special in store for you," Jiang Feng said. As he spoke, a new cart was wheeled across the stage, though this one didn''t have any items displayed on elegant pillows. Instead, it carried a cage and a sad-looking cat. The same spirit tiger cub that Jiang Feng had shown her before. Jie clenched her teeth and an amazed murmur went through the crowd. "Tonight, we have a--" Jiang Feng said, but his words faded into nothingness for Jie as she watched the cat. It looked up and their eyes met. Although, she was sure it couldn''t see her due to the curtain. Her heart squeezed in her chest. Jie was dimly aware that her friends were talking and the bidding had begun. But she couldn''t bring herself to focus on anything that was said as rage, hurt, and liquid sadness screamed through her veins. She stood robotically. "I need a break," Jie said, "I''ll be back in a bit." Each word was harder to say than the last and she didn''t truly hear her friends'' responses as she strode out of their room and into the hallway beyond, holding back tears the whole way. She closed the doors behind her without looking, afraid to show the tears welling up in her eyes. Afraid that someone might ask why she was acting this way when even she wasn''t sure. She just knew it hurt. Deep down. A sadness and anger that burrowed through her bones like a thousand maggots. She looked up at the ceiling and blinked carefully so that not a single tear escaped and betrayed her emotions. She took deep, slow breaths. Her chest felt heavy like some great weight was resting on it, but she refused to give in and start to sob. If she did, she knew the tears would fall. How could they just sell off a cub like that? How could they murder its parents and then stuff it in a cage? Why were people so cruel? For money? She tried not to think about it. Not even allowing herself to wonder why it bothered her so much. I can''t let myself cry over a cat. This world is harsh. I have to be strong. Jie thought. A familiar aura neared Jie, making Jie wish that she''d hidden somewhere further away. "Jie...? Are you okay?" Pan Tian asked as she approached, the concern in her voice made it all the harder for Jie to keep her emotions in check. Jie blinked carefully. She''d managed to fight back the tears and they weren''t welling up as much as before, but blinking too hard would still cause a few to fall. "I''m fine," Jie said, "I just needed a moment to myself. That''s all." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Pan Tian looked doubtful. "Are you ready to come back or do you need something? It''s not anything I did is it?" she asked. "I''m fine, we can go back," Jie said, "and of course it''s nothing you did. I just needed some air." Pan Tian looked along the enclosed, windowless hallway. "Right..." she said, "well, you missed a lot of excitement." Oh god, I don''t want to know! Jie thought. "Really?" she said with as neutral a tone of voice as she could manufacture. "Yes... it rather strange. The auction master outbid everyone on the spirit tiger," Pan Tian said. "Really? I guess he wanted it pretty badly to do that," Jie said. Pan Tian paused outside the door to their balcony. "I suppose so... it went for an incredibly high price too. But, that''s to be expected, I think. Are you sure you''re okay?" Pan Tian asked, "It''s not about the gifts you bought us is it? You know we can always--" "No. It''s nothing to do with that. Really. I''m fine. I promise," Jie said. Pan Tian still looked dubious. Jie rolled her eyes. "Do I have to punch it into your head?" she said. Pan Tian''s lips quirked into a smile. "I''d rather you didn''t," she said. She opened the doors and the two strode back into their balcony. "See? I told you she was fine," Pan Zhanshi said. "Yeah, yeah. At least I care," Pan Tian said as she plopped down among the pillows. "Hey, I care too," Pan Zhanshi said. Jie settled down on the couch while Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi continued their bickering. She smiled softly and the weight on her chest eased. "Now that that''s done, our next item... something I know you''ve all been waiting for... a nine cloud''s healing pill!" Jiang Feng said, "Made by the most skilled of alchemists among the Saint rank with tender care and devoted attention using only the finest ingredients. "They heal any wound on a cultivator of the Saint rank or lower in mere moments and can even help to heal the wounds of higher-ranked cultivators. Saint ranked alchemists are exceedingly rare! This is your chance to get a life-saving treasure! A chance to recover from even mortal wounds and live where you would otherwise perish! We''ll be selling five of these items tonight! Bidding starts at one spirit coin! And increases will be in minimum increments of twenty-five qi coins." A light came on in the highest balcony. "One spirit coin," said a bored, arrogant voice. Jie suppressed a smile. Whoever they were using as her proxy even sounded like an esteemed expert. "One and a half spirit coins!" said a haughty male voice from the Chen family. "Two," said Jie''s proxy. "Four spirit coins!" said a voice from a booth Jie didn''t recognize. "Five," said Jie''s proxy, sounding as though they were inspecting dirt beneath their fingernails for all the price concerned them. It bothered Jie somewhat how they weren''t bidding by the minimum increment. She decided she might need to speak with Jiang Feng about that later... "Six spirit coins," said the Chen family though the person speaking sounded irritated. "Seven," said Jie''s proxy without hesitation. "Eight spirit coins..." said the Chen family. His voice was a bit strained however and the eyes of everyone in the audience looked back and forth between the balconies, their eyes wide. "Nine," said Jie''s proxy, once again without hesitation. Silence reigned. "We have nine spirit coins for the Nine Cloud''s Healing Pill! Do I hear ten?" Jiang Feng said. The hall remained silent. "The Nine Cloud''s Healing Pill going once! Going twice! And sold for nine spirit coins!" Jiang Feng said. The hall gave a collective sigh. "Heavens... that expert must be exceedingly rich," Pan Tian said. "What I want to know is how the Chen family could afford to go as high as eight... normally we all have to scrounge for four. Auntie? Will we be bidding?" Pan Zhanshi asked. "If we can get it for four or less, yes," Pan Keai said, "but I have a feeling that won''t happen tonight." The process repeated again and again. Jie was slightly annoyed she kept having to go so close to the limit she''d set and decided she definitely needed to talk to Jiang Feng before they left. "I can''t believe it... they bought all of them," Pan Tian said, "what do you think they need them for?" Pan Zhanshi chuckled. "If they can spend that much, maybe they just eat them like candy. I''ve never had one. Do they taste good?" he asked. "Don''t even joke about that," Pan Tian said. "I bet they have a bowl of them. Like little lozenges," Pan Zhanshi said with a laugh, "they''re probably just mad they can''t buy them in bulk." Jie tried to hide the smile threatening to form on her lips given that she was actually rather annoyed at not being able to purchase more at a time. "Do you think they''ll get angry at the Chen family for making them bid more?" Pan Tian asked with a ruthless grin. "If only," Pan Zhanshi said. They chatted for hours as the auction continued. Pan Keai bid on a few items including some middle dantian cultivation resources and so did Jie''s proxy. It would take some time before she reached the middle dantian, Jie knew. But the last thing she wanted was to break through only to have a shortage of resources or for the price to have massively inflated for whatever reason. It seemed wise to be prepared to at least some degree. They lingered after the auction and Jie was able to increase the threshold for the healing pills in future and requested bids be raised by the minimum amount. As well as setting up a contingency so if the Chen family, or anyone for that matter, repeatedly pushed the price too high they would be left to purchase it themselves at an inflated price. She hoped that catching them out occasionally would encourage them not to push the price too high all the time. After that, they returned to the Pan family mansion. Jie sat in the room she''d been given and cultivated with a smile on her lips. It felt good to have friends. Chapter 63 Familys Future wasn''t This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. your Chapter 64 Deliveries No point in disturbing him further. This looks like all of it... what the hell is in the other boxes? I hope they didn''t bid on something without my permission! Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Dear Liu Jie, I noticed you seemed extremely interested in the spirit tiger cub when I first showed him to you. But, for some reason, you wouldn''t bid. I thought perhaps your family might have set strict limits on what you could buy, but surely they''d have no problem with a gift? I bought this cub for you at auction and caused quite a stir as you probably noticed. He is my gift to you. In case you don''t know how to bind a magical beast to you, I''ve included notes on a separate page, so check inside the envelope for them. I look forward to doing business with you in the future. Yours sincerely Jiang Feng PS: This little rascal eats damn near anything as long as it has meat in it, but just in case I included a selection of tasty treats in another package. As well as everything required to bind him to your service. Oh, and name him whatever you wish. He doesn''t have one just yet. Should I take him back? I... I want no part in this and I need to focus on my cultivation. I can''t look after a pet! Who am I kidding? I can''t take him back... what if he went somewhere horrible? her very Chapter 65 Binding The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Good luck to anyone who tries this with a strong magical beast trying to eat them, everything Xue? Is that you?" Chapter 66 Conditioning Chamber If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 67 Discussion This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Chapter 68 Bracelet The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Chapter 69 Finely Tuned Charisma You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
How do I get the Headmaster to speak about that if he never does? They''d hate me for what I''ve already done... how can I kill anyone? Maybe I am a coward and a fool... Chapter 70 Cloak And Dagger This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. I''m surrounded by idiots. How is it possible for people to be so useless?
Chapter 71 Grouping Up "This is incredible. They must be incredibly skilled with their affinities?" Jie asked. "Well, you have to train them constantly, and some people get bored with just using attacks all the time," Pan Tian said, "At the rate you''re going, it won''t be that long before you break into the Elementalist rank. I wonder what your affinities will be?" A red and green flaming missile rocketed high into the sky and exploded into a massive dragon. The dragon roared and spread his hands as the fire that made up his massive body flowed into a globe of the world... then drifted down, falling like snowflakes. Jie dodged the flecks of fire, but there were so many that despite being slow, she doubted she could evade them all. "Relax, Jie," Pan Tian said as she spread her arms and Ithilix did the same. Bits of the red and green fire touched their skin and pulsed into them harmlessly. Where the flecks touched the ground, grass and small plants sprouted. "It''s a time of creation now," Pan Tian said, "they mix wood and fire affinities for the fireworks." "So... healing fireworks?" Jie asked. "Well... yes," Pan Tian said, "though they''re weak for actual healing, the idea is to give some of our energy back to the world. Do you see how the flakes of power drift on the wind? They say that Xiannu will carry them on the wind to wherever the energy is needed most. But... most people think that''s just a silly superstition." They continued on and into a hall with a short queue in front of a row of desks manned by elders. Jie tried to keep her face impassive as she saw Elder Kanev. They waited in the queue before being called up to a desk manned by an elder with blue skin and tendrils coming off his face in place of a beard. "Names?" he asked without looking up. "Second star Expert Pan Tian, third star Expert Ithilix of the Hive, and eighth star Expert Liu Jie for the Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt," Pan Tian said. The elder frowned and looked up from his forms. "That''s only three," he said. "We only need three," Pan Tian said. The elder shook his head. "The rules state four," he said. "We couldn''t find a fourth, and we don''t need one, anyway. We''re strong enough by ourselves. Liu Jie could probably do the whole treasure hunt by herself and win," Pan Tian said. The elder looked Jie over doubtfully. "Well, gathering allies is a useful skill for cultivators and if you couldn''t gather four, then you''ve failed the very first challenge. I can''t let you enter," he said. "I suppose we could find someone weaker? It''s annoying to give them a share but nobody would pass that up," Pan Tian said with a look at Ithilix and Jie as though asking for their approval. "Wait," said the elder, "is that your spirit tiger?" "Yes," Jie said. "Why don''t you just take him as your fourth?" he asked. Jie opened her mouth, about to say that she didn''t think he would''ve counted but then snapped her mouth shut. "I''ll do that then, thank you elder," Jie said. "What''s his name and rank?" asked the elder as he reached into a box containing transparent stones and withdrew four of them, placing them beside his forms. "His name is Xue," Jie said, "he''s at the second star of the Expert rank." This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The elder filled in the forms and touched each of the stones to a shimmering metal plaque. Elder Kanev strode to the tendril-faced elder and leaned over him with one hand on his shoulder. "We''re running low on stones, I''m going to grab a fresh box," Elder Kanev said. The tendril-faced elder looked confused and surprised for a moment before he smiled. "Thank you," he said. "Don''t mention it," Elder Kanev said as he patted the man''s shoulder. His eyes met Jie''s and he smiled. Jie watched him go, feeling suspicious. The tendril-faced elder returned his attention to Jie and her friends as he handed them each a transparent stone. "This will record everything you gather and everywhere you go within the valley and the dungeon. Make sure you keep it with you so it can keep track of what you gather and your exploits. The elders will review them for the competition," he said. "Competition?" Jie asked. "Ask your friends," the elder said, "Next!" Jie and her friends left with a bow. "So, what''s this competition?" Jie asked. "Well, this whole event is supposed to prepare us as cultivators. So, they record what resources and treasures you gather, how you work with your team, and what obstacles you overcome. Then, they judge a winning team based on all of that and hand out additional prizes," Pan Tian said. "So... we get rewards for picking up stuff?" Jie asked, "Do we just grab as much as we can then?" "No way," Pan Tian said, "there''s far too much to gather everything in the valley and not everything is of equal value. The idea is to train you to identify what to take and what not to take. There are cursed items and traps too. It''s all about being able to identify what''s worthwhile and what''s not. Imagine you''re adventuring in the wilds one day, and you just pass by some incredible treasure because you thought it was trash or wasted your time gathering useless things." "That makes sense," Jie said, "though... I have no idea what''s valuable and what''s not. Is there a guidebook or something?" "This one does not believe it''s necessary. This one was trained by gatherers of the Hive and is confident in her abilities," Ithilix said. "I went through similar training with my family too and I bet that Xue has incredible magical beast senses," Pan Tian said, "so see? Teamwork. We''re not just dead weight after all." "I never called you dead weight," Jie said, "did someone say that?" "No," Pan Tian said, "it''s just that you''re stronger than we are... I don''t want you to feel like we''re using you or holding you back or something." "I wouldn''t even know about any of this if you hadn''t told me and I have no idea what''s valuable and what''s not," Jie said. "You could always use your spirit sense, but I suppose if you''re not used to using it in that way, it can be hard to know. And cursed items can be extremely tricky to identify... so perhaps it''s just as well we''re going together," Pan Tian said. "It sounds like fun," Jie said, "when does it start?" "It starts at midnight. The first second of World Creation Day and the new year," Pan Tian said, "everyone''s going to count down and then we''ll be off." Jie nodded. "We have something similar back home," she said. "Great! So, it''s not all new to you then?" Pan Tian asked. "No, it''s still all new. We... have different customs. I''m so glad I have your help for this, or I''d probably do really badly," Jie said. Pan Tian nodded. "Don''t worry, we''ll make sure you don''t get killed by any cursed treasures," she said. "Wait a minute, killed? I thought this was supposed to be a test for students!" Jie said. "It is," Pan Tian said, looking puzzled. "So, it''s a test that kills you if you get it wrong?" Jie asked. "Well... it depends on the treasure and what happens, I suppose. But, yes," Pan Tian said, "how would you learn anything otherwise?" "How do you learn anything if you die after making a mistake?" Jie asked. Though part of her felt she shouldn''t even be surprised by such things anymore... Pan Tian frowned. "That''s a good point. How do they do it where you''re from?" she asked. "Well, we typically have tests that don''t kill you," Jie said, "Students getting eviscerated is generally frowned upon." "Really? How strange..." Pan Tian said, "how do you celebrate World Creation Day if there''s no danger?" "Mostly people just party and have fun. And there''s a whole thing about kissing someone I think? And lots of alcohol," Jie said. "Wow! Your people sound like they know how to party," Pan Tian, "What happened to you to make you such a grouch if they''re all so fun-loving?" "It''s... complicated. And, it''s not all as fun as it sounds. It''s supposed to be a time of celebration, but it''s also the time when the most people kill themselves," Jie said. "What? Why? That''s so... bleak," Pan Tian said, "Is World Creation Day not a good thing where you come from?" "It''s supposed to be, but I guess it''s not a happy time for everyone," Jie said. "This one thinks it is better to focus on enjoying oneself than on dark thoughts now," Ithilix said. "You''re probably right," Jie said, "since it''s at midnight I should probably--" "If you say train I swear I''m going to make sure you pick up every cursed item in the valley," Pan Tian said. "I''ll... go for a leisurely walk by myself then," Jie said. "You never go for leisurely... oh. You''re hilarious," Pan Tian said, "Ugh... Fine. You know, one of these days, you''ll have to tell me why it''s so important you train that you can''t even take Creation Eve to relax and celebrate. We''re in a festival you know." "Some day, I''ll tell you all about it," Jie said, "I''ll see you before midnight?" Chapter 72 The Crimson Valley "We''ll come and get you from your residence early. You can celebrate with us for at least a little bit and then we can go to the entrance," Pan Tian said, "I used to think I worked hard before I met you... now I just feel lazy." "Your cultivation has improved massively though," Jie said. "Only because I end up training twice as hard as I used to just to keep up with you," Pan Tian said, "Not that I can... I''ve never even heard of anyone cultivating at the speed you do. At this rate, you could probably become the youngest Crimson Academy elder in history. You could take it easy and you''d still be one of the strongest in the region before long... I hope you won''t forget us when you''re obliterating mountains with a single punch." "I''d never forget my friends," Jie said, "I''ll see you guys tonight."
As promised, Ithilix and Pan Tian collected Jie from her residence. The three of them and Xue headed out together. It was night, but it was bright outside with all the lanterns and fireworks. Each with incredible effects like dancing people in the sky, dragons, planets, and at one point a flaming ship with singing pirates for some reason. All of which showered the air with that strange healing fire. Jie couldn''t get rid of the massive grin on her face. This world was amazing. "So, how long is this event?" Jie asked. "Only ten days," Pan Tian said, "so we want to get entry to the dungeon as quickly as possible. That way we''ll have the most time to explore it, and we want to get first shot at the loot as well." "Ten days?" Jie said, "But, I don''t have enough supplies for that long." If she''d known, Jie would''ve ordered a larger batch of prepared meals and resources. As it was, she only had eight days'' supply remaining with the next delivery still a few days away. Jie cursed herself for her foolishness and the fact that not only had she not replenished her stock but that she hadn''t even thought to check what she''d need for the treasure hunt. I should''ve ordered more in advance and kept a larger stockpile just in case anything happened. It''s not like I need to worry about them going bad. How could I be so stupid!? Jie thought. "What do you mean you don''t? How can you not be prepared? Everything is ruined. We''ll never possibly do it now!" Pan Tian said. Though her voice sounded suspiciously lacking in any real anguish. "You knew I wouldn''t know to bring supplies, didn''t you?" Jie asked. "Of course. And I bet you didn''t even think to bring utility potions, scrolls, and pills. You''re great at cultivating and fighting, but you''re terrible at everything else. I had a feeling you might not prepare properly. No offense. You didn''t even know the treasure hunt existed until my brother and I told you. I brought more than enough for all four of us," Pan Tian said, "in the future, you should think about things like that for yourself though." "I''m sorry. I will. Thank you. But, if I did, you wouldn''t get to make fun of me as much. The more I get to know you, the more I see that you''re like your brother. How can you both be so mischievous in such an overbearing family?" Jie asked. "If you think our family is overbearing, you really have led a sheltered life. And, you should always have supplies with you. What if the school is attacked by a powerful expert and we all have to flee into the wilds for forty years? You need to think of these things. This kind of stuff is exactly why you can''t just cultivate all the time," Pan Tian said. "I guess you have a point... I''ll have to make sure I get supplies in future," Jie said, "Will you teach me?" "Of course," Pan Tian said, "it''ll be my pleasure to help you. I kind of feel like your big sister now. And I bet Ithilix could teach us both a lot." "This one isn''t sure," Ithilix said, "your preparations are quite thorough." Pan Tian rolled her eyes. "The Hive has incredible gathering abilities. So, I hope you''ll instruct us when we go inside," she said. They worked their way through the crowded grounds, filled with students, and elders. "I had no idea there were so many people here," Jie said. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Not everyone comes out for the tournaments, but who doesn''t love World Creation Day? Of course, everyone is here along with their families and a bunch of guests of the school," Pan Tian said. "All these people are going into the valley?" Jie asked. "No way. This hunt is only for outer court disciples and even then only the strongest of us go into the Crimson Valley. Though if you''re smart you can do it when you''re weaker but it''s pretty tough and most people would just die so they don''t bother. Even the elders have to be careful and avoid some areas in there," Pan Tian said. "If elders have to be careful, how will we survive?" Jie asked. "We''ll just avoid the most dangerous areas, obviously," Pan Tian said, "Don''t worry so much. I''ve been there before, and so has my brother. And that was when we were much weaker than we are now. I can''t imagine how much easier it''ll be with you in our group. I bought maps and information from other students so I know it well enough to keep us from going anywhere too dangerous. We''ll still have to be careful, but we can hopefully avoid getting instantly killed. And the elders do a good job of keeping the more dangerous areas contained. We should be fine. Risk and reward go hand in hand." "I''ll rely on you to guide us then... but do you have any maps I could study?" Jie asked. "Worried we''ll get separated?" Pan Tian asked. "Or that you get knocked out or something," Jie said. Pan Tian nodded. "See? Now you''re thinking ahead. Here you go. And for you too Ithilix," she said as she handed them both copies of hand-drawn maps, "Just remember that it''s not totally accurate and it changes every year so some things... well... just use your own instincts as well. It''s a rough guide at best." Jie glanced over one of the maps as they walked before storing it in her storage ring. She frowned slightly as either the map was extraordinarily detailed or this valley was bigger than she''d expected. Especially as she''d only looked at one of several maps. But, she set such thoughts aside for now and focused on enjoying the festival with her friends. They had a couple of hours before midnight, so they visited some of the stalls, bought some snacks, watched a short play, and listened to beautiful music. What Jie enjoyed most were the Elementalist performers. They wove their elemental affinities into beautiful, choreographed dances together. Earth, fire, metal, water, and wood elements all intertwined in an artistic display of skillful control with not a single drop of power out of place. Jie watched them with rapt fascination, excited that one day soon she may be able to do something like that. Finally, the beginning of the Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt neared, and Jie made her way with her friends to a beautiful plaza with towering statues of Xiannu and the Great Lightning Dragon. Jie couldn''t help wishing that Ming could see all of this... Beyond the plaza was a giant archway with statues of the usual stern-looking woman built onto the pillars supporting it. The stone was a deep, rich red like blood and the eyes of the statues gleamed like gems. The detail was so fine that her clothes looked as though they ought to rustle in the wind and that she might suddenly move. She looked fierce. Unbreakable. Indomitable. On either side of the statues was a stone wall with people''s names grouped together with the number zero below all of them. Jie saw her name together with Pan Tian''s, Ithilix''s, and Xue''s all on the same shimmering metal plaque. Headmaster Siluvius walked up to the foot of the massive archway at the top of a staircase lined with flaming braziers, elders flanked his sides. Without a word, he spread his arms and behind him, countless fireworks launched into the sky. The burning lights rocketed up and then hung suspended for a moment, forming the number ten in the air. Right after, more fireworks launched forming the number nine... and so they counted down, with the crowd counting down together with the fireworks, yelling to be heard over the crackle and pop of the explosions. The countdown reached one and more fireworks launched, of myriad colors and all spiraling in complex patterns until it formed a massive dragon in the sky. The dragon was so huge he looked as though he were holding them and all of the world in his mighty claws as blue fireworks raced and exploded over his scales like lightning. The roar of the fireworks drowned out people''s voices as they all screamed "Happy World Creation Day!" together. Jie couldn''t keep the smile off her face as her friends embraced her and even Xue seemed enthralled by the beautiful display in the sky. Utterly unafraid of the noise. More fireworks followed after the dragon dissipated. Motes of healing flames drifted through the air like a glowing fog as the sky lit up like it was on fire. Xue stared at the motes as they drifted toward the ground, and as some neared him, he batted them out of the air with a paw. Eventually, the fireworks wound down and the roaring crowd settled. Jie frowned as a massive dark shape approached in the distance. It looked like a mountain in the sky above. "We are fortunate, all of us, to have the gift of this world from the mighty Lightning Dragon. Every World Creation Day is a time to be grateful for all the things we''ve gained over the last year. The friends we''ve made. The progress in our cultivation and martial skills. But, it''s also a time to consider how to move forward and what we want to achieve by the next World Creation Day. "This is a time for gratitude, renewal, reflection, and rebirth. Some of you have worked incredibly hard and made extraordinary progress. Others have wasted their time here. Now is a time to reflect and to move into this new beginning to become who you want to be," Headmaster Siluvius said as the enormous shape in the sky drew closer and seemed to block out the stars, "And as part of the new beginning... it''s time for the Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt!" The dark shape flickered, and a barrier melted away, allowing moonlight to reach it. The silver light revealed an enormous collection of connected floating islands. Each capable of housing entire cities with room to spare. The crowd applauded and cheered. "What''s that?" Jie asked Pan Tian. "That''s the Crimson Valley," Pan Tian said. "That''s... a valley?" Jie asked. "Well, it does have valleys," Pan Tian said a little defensively. End of book 1. Continued in Path of the Dragon Book 2... Chapter 73 Frost Queens Why do they get a head start? First, I''m too cold and domineering. Now I''m too light and fluffy and somehow that''s more horrifying. Is there no winning? The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Chapter 74 The Fate Of Dreams "You want me to kill them?" Jie asked. "Is that a problem?" Pan Tian asked. Jie looked at the placid-looking bird creatures and swallowed hard as her palms started to sweat. She''d killed magical beasts before as part of the exam, she reminded herself. "No problem," Jie said stiffly. She clenched her hands into fists and used more of her speed. She zipped ahead of Pan Tian and slammed her fist into the neck of one of the Vruthka. She didn''t waste her qi on a dragonfist, and instead relied on raw physical strength. Its neck shattered under the force of her knuckles and with a wave of her hand it vanished into her storage ring before it even hit the floor. Then, she moved on to the next Vruthka and the next. It made her feel sick to kill like this, but she told herself that every part of the magical beast would be used. So could she really object to it and yet still consume them herself for food? She focused on killing each one as quickly and painlessly as she could and tried to ignore the flecks of blood that splattered her face and robes. Pan Tian and Ithilix picked up their pace, but it was easy enough to slaughter the relatively weak vruthka and collect them in her rings while staying ahead of her friends. A few were vastly stronger. Even a couple at the Expert rank, but she still didn''t even have to use her qi for them. It didn''t take long for the vruthka to notice her and scatter in every direction. But, between Jie''s higher cultivation and her lightning step skill, she chased down and killed them with little effort. As she did so, she kept an eye on her friends, ensuring she was always close enough to assist them if needed. "Woah! You''re even stronger than I thought," Pan Tian said. Jie didn''t keep track of how many magical beasts she killed, but as they approached the tower, the vruthka scattered further and further. Until Jie would have to venture too far to chase them down. So, she fell back to Pan Tian and returned to her place in their formation rather than getting distracted chasing the beasts. In truth, Jie was somewhat relieved at the excuse to stop killing the creatures. "Good job," Pan Tian said, "they''re not all that valuable, but you got so many and we didn''t even slow down. At this rate, we''ll catch up in no time. Some of those you killed would''ve given the rest of us trouble even working together. You''re almost as strong as an elder, Jie. This is going to be the best Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt I''ve ever had. My brother is going to be so jealous that he couldn''t come with us." "Thanks," Jie said, "do you want to divide them up?" "No sense in wasting time with that. The treasure is counted for our entire team, and speed is what matters. We can always divide the treasures up after the event is done. I trust you," Pan Tian said, "now stay close and be alert. There could be other students waiting to ambush us. Though it seems like Chen Huo couldn''t get out of there fast enough when he saw you, Jie." "This one thinks he does not wish for more broken bones," Ithilix said. Jie almost felt guilty, but the images of what Chen Huo had done to Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi were burned into her brain. No. He deserved what he''d got. A thousand times over. The base of the tower had low, broken walls around it that might once have been houses or other buildings. Most of which were overgrown with vegetation and chunks of broken stone that looked like they could fit into one of the massive, floating rings above them. Jie sent wary glances upward after seeing those. They spread into a looser formation and searched the area around the base of the tower but found nothing. "Keep looking," Pan Tian instructed, "there''s almost always something near the tower and I don''t want us to have to backtrack later." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "You asked this one to say if this one found something strange?" Ithilix asked. "What did you sense?" Pan Tian asked. Ithilix pointed at an overgrown portion of the tower, thick with vines. "There''s something with energy there... but it''s shrouded somehow," Ithilix said, "this one can only barely feel the subtlest signature from it." Jie focused on what Ithilix was pointing at but sensed nothing unusual. "Alright," Pan Tian said, "I''ll investigate. Jie, watch me. It could be a magical beast." "But if it is, won''t you be the most vulnerable?" Jie asked. "Yes, which is why I hope you''ll kill it before it chews my face off," Pan Tian said. Pan Tian crept closer to the overgrown tower and Jie kept close by, lightning step, qi armor, and dragonfist already activated and ready for a fight. Pan Tian''s claws of light extended like a cat''s. The sharp glass-like blades took on a white glow as the older girl cycled her martial skill and slashed the thick vines. The vines came apart, revealing an engraving in the stone covered by a hazy bubble of power. It was impossible to tell what it said through the strange fog covering it and nothing else. "They used a concealment scroll? Jerks. No wonder it took so long to find it. I hope you break Chen Huo''s fingers when we next catch him," Pan Tian said. Pan Tian''s storage ring gleamed and a blue stone with intricate lines of gleaming golden metal surrounding it appeared in her hand with a golden eye atop the stone itself. She pressed it against the bubble and the stone glowed. Jie felt a sudden shift in her spirit sense as the fog popped like a bubble and the tablet appeared in her spirit sense. Pan Tian stored the stone with an irritated wave of her hand and grumbled under her breath. "Heavens, I hate that family," she said. With the haze covering the stone gone, it was easy to make out what it said. "When I was a girl, I dreamed of becoming a princess. Climb and learn the fate of dreams," Pan Tian read aloud, "climb what?" Something new filled Jie''s spirit sense. Shapes jutting out of the side of the tower. Though she couldn''t see them with her eyes. "Do you feel that?" Jie asked. "Oh... well... that''s our way up then," Pan Tian said, "let''s go." She leaped up and landed atop an invisible shape sticking out the side of the tower and raced upward. Jie followed her with Ithilix and Xue not far behind. They climbed higher and higher, atop the invisible staircase. If one could call the platforms with massive gaps between them stairs. The ground rapidly shrank below them as they climbed ever higher... the invisible stairs doing nothing to hide the deadly drop below them as the chill, howling, night wind whipped them. The wind seemed stronger than it should''ve been, especially as it''d been calm on the ground. And Jie sensed faint wisps of power within it as though it were enhanced somehow. Jie''s blue hair constantly got in her face, and she was forced to secure it with a hairpin from her storage ring while racing up the invisible stairs. The higher they climbed, the further apart the invisible platforms became, and the curved outer surface of the tower made the jumps harder. But their cultivation was high enough that they still made the impossible jumps between platforms. When they were more than halfway up, Pan Tian leaped for the next platform and Jie felt it simply vanish from her spirit sense a moment before Pan Tian landed on it. "Tian!" Jie cried as the older girl yelped and plummeted through the air where the invisible platform had once been. Without thinking, Jie dived off the platform she was on and hurtled through the air toward Pan Tian as she cycled her qi and used lightning step. Jie caught up to Pan Tian before she''d fallen far, grabbed the back of the older girl''s robes and then kicked the air as she formed a lightning step platform in mid-air. Jie jumped off the crackling disk of dragon lightning qi, rocketing them back up and onto the side of the tower where Jie grabbed a handhold upon the worn stone. Not far below where they''d originally been. "Oh my gosh! Thanks, Jie! Disappearing, invisible stairs? The Crimson Valley is way too sadistic this year!" Pan Tian said as she clung to Jie for dear life. Jie felt the stair reappear. "It looks like they''re only there for a short time and then they vanish," she said, "we''ll have to time it well. We should all move together. If they vanish, I can collect you guys and use my lightning step to go back up. You''re all way too light to weigh me down. Just don''t move or throw off my balance." "We''ll do that then," Pan Tian said, "can you throw me back up to the one Ithilix is on?" Jie eyed the distance and kept part of her focus on her spirit sense, so she didn''t accidentally throw Pan Tian into the invisible stair itself and crack open her skull or something stupid. Jie swung Pan Tian upward, using her incredible strength to send the older girl shooting upward and onto the platform with Ithilix. Jie tensed and using her handhold, she sprang up and onto the platform with everyone else. "That was... so scary," Pan Tian said, "I hate this tower. I miss the ground." "It wasn''t like this before?" Jie asked. "No," Pan Tian said, "it''s different every year... it looks like the Crimson Valley is in a dark mood this year." "How can a place have moods?" Jie asked. "Shh!" Pan Tian hissed, "it''ll hear you." Jie kept her mouth shut. This world is so freaking weird. She thought. The invisible platform ahead of them vanished again. "Alright, everyone go as soon as it reappears and stay close to Jie," Pan Tian said. Chapter 75 Ethereal Past The invisible platform appeared, and they all jumped together. Landing on the smooth, invisible surface as the cold winds howled around them. Another invisible stair appeared above them. "Go! Go! Go!" Pan Tian ordered, and they jumped. They continued upward, moving as quickly as possible and only waiting occasionally for new platforms to appear or for them to fade and return lest they suffer Pan Tian''s earlier fate. Finally, they made it to the top and entered a hole in the side of the tower that led into a room with a burnished metal floor with an eight-pointed star embossed on it. The star looked like the directions of a compass and a ring with marked indentations linked the points. Braziers sparked to life with dull green flames as they stepped into the room and out of the howling winds. On the opposite end of the room, atop a raised dais was a statue of the same severe-looking woman that decorated the school. At her feet was a plaque of blood red metal that gleamed in the green light of the fires. "Alright, nobody move," Pan Tian said, "Ithilix, can you help me check for traps?" Ithilix nodded and her antennae quivered as she slowly crept along the room. "There''s something here... only one thing that this one can tell. But it permeates the whole room and this one doesn''t know what triggers it or what it does," Ithilix said. "I sense it too. That''s probably the plaque," Pan Tian said, "it looks like we''ve found the first test." Pan Tian led the way up to the raised dais and read the inscription aloud. "My village was poor, but that didn''t stop the bandits from coming to take what little we had. I hid, ran, and was spared their atrocities. They shattered my childish dreams. But I found new ones on the Path of Blood. Only much later did I possess the strength to enact my vengeance. Do you have the strength to stand against the darkness? The cunning to hide? Or will you be slaughtered and used like everyone else?" Pan Tian said. "Does anyone else feel like this shouldn''t be a test for children?" Jie asked. The others returned confused looks. "Nope. Just me... Awesome," Jie muttered. The green flames in the braziers flared and swirled high into the air before crashing down onto the metal floor where they took the form of semi-transparent mostly human figures comprised of shimmering green energy. The figures surrounded the room and blocked the only way out. They flickered in and out of existence like ethereal nightmares. Some carried ghostly images of weapons while others carried corporeal ones that gleamed in the dancing green firelight cast by the braziers. Their faces were a mixture of depravity, hopelessness, and agony. Those that had enough skin on their face to form an expression at least. A translucent image of a blood red woman formed out of the floor opposite the green ghosts, wielding wicked sickles in each hand. The same woman as the statues. "Remember me? No... how could you when you''ve never seen me? But finally, I can exact my revenge," said the red woman. "What do we do?" Jie whispered. "We pass the trial," Pan Tian whispered back. "This village is ours. You''re arrogant indeed if you think you can take it from us," said one of the stronger bandits, who even as an echo of a memory radiated the aura of a late Expert stage cultivator. Jie thought he might be the eighth or ninth star, but it was hard to tell as his aura flickered in and out as he did. "Enough words," said the red woman, "my name is An Shen. Now scream for me, pigs." Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. An Shen melted and vanished and all the ghosts or whatever they were snapped their attention to Jie and her friends. "To the center of the room. Otherwise, they''ll just phase through the walls and attack us. Watch under you in case they try to do that from below. Same from above," Pan Tian called as she charged to the center. Jie used lightning step as qi armor surrounded her and she launched herself at the strongest ghost. Dragonfists formed around her fists, crackling with the intense power of her lightning dragon qi. He raised a rusty shield covered in runes and her fist slammed into it with a thunderous boom that reverberated through the room and sent him flying backward. He flickered, vanished, and reappeared behind Jie. "They can teleport!" Jie yelled as she spun around his shimmering blade that trailed wisps of green-black deathly power like smoke. She lashed out with another dragonfist. He raised his shield too slowly and she hit him in the chest at full power. Lightning qi pulsed through him, lighting him up from within like a green stormcloud. But it was like punching cobwebs. Her fist sank deep inside his chest with an unpleasant sensation that made her skin tingle, but her strike barely knocked him back and didn''t seem to hurt him much if at all. He flickered and vanished. Then reappeared behind Pan Tian and Ithilix, his sword raised. "Look out! Behind you!" Jie cried as he brought his blade down toward them. An instant before his blade hit them, a crackling roar filled the air with a screaming rip. Lightning snapped over the ghost''s form and he staggered forward, spinning around to confront his attacker and revealing long claw marks on his back that''d shredded his cloak. He flickered away and Xue roared as the semi-translucent ethereal white glow that covered him brightened. "I guess the stories are true," Pan Tian said as she parried an attack from another ghost using her claws of light, "Spirit tigers really can-- Jie!" Jie felt the powerful ghost reappear behind her. Jie whirled to face him and blocked his rusty sword with her dragonfist. The dark, deathly qi of his sword met her lightning dragon qi and exploded, knocking his sword arm away. Jie grabbed his shield and pulled it aside as she hit him in the face with another dragonfist. But, once again, it felt like punching cobwebs. The ghost''s snarls made her feel like she was doing some damage. But it was nothing compared to the claw marks Xue had left on the ghost''s back even though his cultivation was well below her own. Jie struck out again and again, keeping hold of the ghost''s physical shield to try and keep him from teleporting away and attacking one of her friends. But none of her attacks seemed to connect properly with the insubstantial ghost. More ghosts attacked her. But they were weaker and she avoided them between lashing out with fingers of light to keep them at bay as she pummeled the strongest ghost in the room with one dragonfist after another. Jie felt a jolt through the bond she shared with Xue and then another one. She focused on it and got the feeling he was screaming something at her. Then, something clicked inside her and she turned semi-translucent with the same ethereal white glow as Xue. She punched the ghost in the jaw with another dragonfist and felt his ghostly jawbone shatter from the impact. He gave an otherworldly shriek and swung his sword at her, but she caught his ghostly arm. He flickered in her grip but remained held as she kicked his knee, shattering his smoky green leg into green ichor and hissing deathly energy. He cried out as he collapsed. Jie formed a dragonfist on her knee and drove it up into his face with a sickening crunch as he fell. He flew back through the air as his weapons slipped from his grip before he dissipated into green smoke and vanished. Jie then sent out one finger of light after another at the other ghosts around the room. The bolts of lightning hit the slower, weaker ghosts with ease. Each one seized up like they were still alive and being electrocuted as they smoked, screamed, and crumbled into nothingness. Their cries echoed long after their forms broke apart and anything physical they carried dropped to the floor as they were destroyed. Jie worked with Xue to clean up the rest and Pan Tian and Ithilix did their best to defend themselves. The last ghost exploded with the blue crackling roar of dragon lightning qi and they all gave a relieved sigh. "These tests are a lot harder than last time," Pan Tian said around panting breaths. "How did the Chen family do this?" Jie asked, "those ghosts were incredibly strong. And if Xue didn''t have that ability you both would''ve died." "The tests aren''t always the same for every group. I was much weaker when I went into the valley last year. But the group I was with just avoided anything that seemed too strong for us and the trials were difficult for our level but not impossible like this would''ve been. It might''ve given the ghosts less power against the Chen family. Or made them easier to hit. Or they might''ve done a completely different test," Pan Tian said, "spirit tigers are amazing against ethereal enemies... but how did you do that? Are you secretly a spirit tiger in human form? It''d explain a lot." "No, I''m not," Jie said, "I think Xue gave it to me." "What? How did Xue give you a magical beast trait?" Pan Tian said. "Just a quirk of our bond, I guess," Jie said, "can we go? I don''t want to be here if those things come back." The plaque glowed and sent out four red orbs that zipped straight to them. Jie tried to evade it, but it homed in on her and hit her in the chest. Red energy swirled around her and her skin started to itch... "That''s the first plaque done," Pan Tian said, "let''s collect their things and then we can go. Don''t touch them though. They could be cursed." Chapter 76 Grove Guardians If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. What if I accidentally electrocute one of my friends? no... it''s still my qi. It won''t react like normal lightning... Chapter 77 The Grove With their position known, Jie and her friends picked up the pace despite the waist-high water. Jie felt more auras with her spirit sense. Countless numbers of them of a variety of strengths ranging from low Disciple to high Expert ranks. Grove guardians rushed to meet them, but they couldn''t take even a single hit from Jie. A snake-like plant with huge jaws and a thick, thorny vine for a body exploded out of the swamp water at Ithilix. Ithilix wedged her spear between the plant snake''s massive jaws as it hissed and snarled and drove her down into the stagnant water with a splash. Jie rushed to aid her friend, feeling through her spirit sense as the dark water obscured the monster. Jie''s eyes widened as the creature radiated the aura of an Expert ranked cultivator of the peak ninth star. It had to be close to breaking through into the Elementalist rank! Ithilix couldn''t hope to last against it! It burst out of the water again, shooting upward with Ithilix clinging to her spear for dear life and desperately trying to keep the massive jaws from closing around her. The plant snake roared as it bit down harder and harder, puncturing the top and bottom of its jaws with Ithilix''s spear as it did so. "Princess! Help!" Ithilix cried. Jie used lightning step and the water around her blew away as she formed a dragonfist around her left hand and slammed it into the plant snake''s body, between two thorns. The boom rang out like thunder and sent arcs of lightning over the monster''s hide. The force of Jie''s strike knocked Ithilix out of its jaws as Jie followed up with another four dragonfists, each at full power and blasting chunks of green mucus and fleshy vegetation away. The plant snake slid sideways through the water and crashed through a tree in a spray of water and shattered bark before coming to a stop. It lay still. Its horrid eyes lifeless as sap leaked from its massive wounds. And the fetid swamp water half-swallowed it once more. "Thank you, Princess. That was scary," Ithilix said as she wiped swamp water off her face. "I told you, I''m not a princess. Where''s this thing''s heart? It sure was weak for a peak ninth star Expert," Jie said. "I didn''t see one. Not all of them have hearts. At least not easily harvest-able ones. Stick it in your storage ring and worry about it later," Pan Tian said. Jie waved her hand over it, activating her storage ring, but it didn''t go in. "Weird. Leave it and let''s keep going. The grove isn''t far now and don''t forget we still have trials to get to," Pan Tian said. They rushed through the water, cutting down any grove guardians that got in their way. There were a lot of them, but they arrived in small groups and even several groups together were hardly a match for Jie alone. With Jie''s friends assisting her, the plant creatures stood no chance. Though there were a lot more of them rushing for the grove. Jie expected they''d have to fight at least twenty of them at once, which could get a little tricky. So far, the plant monsters had all died before they''d had a chance to do anything troublesome. As Jie and her friends wove through the trees, they caught sight of more glimmering lights ahead until they waded out into what had to be the heart of the grove. Lily pads with beautiful glowing flowers and shining lotuses floated on the still, glistening water. Each lotus radiated power and there were hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. And, in the center of the grove, was a massive, luminous bulb that pulsed with turquoise light, illuminating the grove and giving everything an otherworldly appearance. It radiated the aura of an Expert ranked spiritual medicine of the peak ninth star. "It''s beautiful," Jie said. "Wow..." Pan Tian said, "grove lotuses and lilies... and so many of them. The weakest of them is at the sixth star of the Disciple rank and some of them reach the third star Expert rank... this is an incredible find and on day one before we''ve even opened the dungeon. This is the best Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt ever! My brother is going to be so jealous." Jie reached for one of the glowing lilies and the lily pad rose up, exposing rows of needle-sharp teeth and a mouth like a Venus flytrap. Jie punched it in the mouth and its head exploded into green goo and bits of plant matter. She stored the lily in her storage ring as countless other lily pads and lotuses lifted up out of the water, exposing an army of monsters with that terrifying mouth and long, thorny tentacles extending from their bodies. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "This one thinks you spoke too soon," Ithilix said. Pan Tian raised her claws and eyed the horde of spiritual medicine. "It''s still not that bad. They''re weaker than us. Jie can take out the stronger ones and I''ll use my moon claws to deal with the smaller masses. It''ll be fine," Pan Tian said. The bulb in the center of the grove shifted and rose up as the water around it bubbled and churned and hundreds of long tentacles emerged. Each of which ended in the huge jaws and beady eyes that Jie had thought was some kind of plant snake only moments ago. The tentacles growled as venom and swamp water drooled from their fangs. "I''ll shut up now," Pan Tian said. "This one thinks that would be best," Ithilix said. "That explains why it was so weak and why it had nothing I could harvest at least," Jie said, "I''ll focus on it while you guys focus on the rest. Xue, I know the water is gross, but we need you for this." Xue gave a hissing yowl and leaped out of the canopy. His fur crackled with dragon lightning qi as he destroyed one of the closest grove lily monsters. The forest of snake vines streaked through the air, heading for them with snarling jaws open wide. Jie used finger of light from each hand, blasting the heads of the tentacles, knocking them away, and exploding huge chunks of them into smoking ruins. She was grateful for Elder Shi''s constant, brutal training sessions as she didn''t hold herself back at all against the monster. Every lightning bolt was delivered with enormous power and though the massive plant monster outranked her, her dragon lightning qi gave her power far beyond ordinary cultivators. Ithilix, Xue, and Pan Tian worked together to fight off the horde of plant monsters around them as martial skills flew through the air. Auras and Essence fluctuated wildly as energies clashed and swamp water sloshed in a chaotic maelstrom all around them. Jie gritted her teeth as she unleashed an endless staccato of finger of light attacks that lit the grove like a strobe light. Yet, even with lightning step to help her attack faster, she struggled to keep up with the sheer number of snake vines lashing out toward them. Jie couldn''t even finish off any of the vines as the instant she struck one, two more were already heading toward her and her friends with jaws yawning wide. One small slip up and she and her friends would die. Jie wracked her brain for a way to deal with it better as a pulse of energy came from the enormous bulb and thirty burning balls of turquoise light filled the air around it. Then, it launched them all toward her and her friends. Jie could evade them if she moved now. But her friends would be too slow and an attack like this from an Expert ranked creature at the peak of the ninth star was something they could never survive. A feral growl like the rumble of thunder filled the grove, and for a moment Jie thought that Ming had come... only to realize the growl was coming from her. The countless wisps of energy raced toward them and out of desperation, Jie twisted her finger of light technique and pushed far more power into it. Dragon lightning qi crackled around her, spiraling around her arms and fingers like the coils of a dragon, and then exploded out from her fingertips. Each bolt was far thicker than before as she channeled so much qi into the attacks that her meridians screamed from the strain. The bolts of dragon lightning qi slammed into two snake vines that''d been just about to reach them and blasted them away. But Jie continued channeling her qi into the attack and maintained her link and her control over her qi for longer than she normally did as she forced it to jump. The lightning arced from the snake vines and into the turquoise wisps, jumping from one to the next like one of the chain lightning spells she''d seen people use in the games they played back on Earth. The wisps and the lightning wrestled for the smallest of moments and then ripped the air apart in a massive series of explosions that engulfed the smaller plant monsters, ripping them to pieces even as bright blue fire consumed them. A mixture of steam and smoke filled the air as plant flesh and sap rained down all over the grove. A huge wave of swamp water crashed into Jie, her friends, and the countless plant monsters surrounding them. The wave of fetid water washed over Jie, sweeping her legs out from under her and sloshing her back twenty steps as her friends and writhing plant monsters swirled in the dark water around her. Jie held her breath as murky water carried her backward. Her long hair flowed in her wake, the countless strands crackling with the blue light of her qi armor which lit the dark water around her. Though the glow didn''t penetrate far into the green liquid. She created a lightning step platform inside the water and boosted off it. Jie rocketed up out of the churning water in a geyser spray of swamp water as the discharge of her lightning step platform blasted water away in every direction. She grabbed hold of a gnarled branch in the canopy above and took in the grove as water, mud, and plant matter dripped from her, leaving her wishing her qi armor would protect her against it. "Pan Tian? Ithilix? Xue?" Jie called frantically as she scanned the roiling water but didn''t see them. The biggest plant monster screeched and writhed sluggishly as though badly hurt and stunned. Its snake vines were blackened and bleeding sap from thousands of wounds, but there were still enough of them left to be more than dangerous. Chapter 78 Grove Lord Taking out your vines doesn''t seem to stop you, so let''s see if you survive this. never If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Probably just a side effect of such rapid advancement. Chapter 79 Choices Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Chapter 80 The Sword The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter 81 Trial Of Greed They went down that pathway. Jie half-expected to find a bunch of smaller ''swords'' sticking up out of the snow. But instead, they stepped into a clearing with four large, red metal chests arrayed in a square pattern. Each of which was decorated with gold and precious gems. In the center of the clearing, and the group of four chests, was a pedestal with a swirling orb of what looked like blood. It shifted and morphed into the figure of a beautiful woman as they approached. The same woman as the statues depicted, only this one had long tendrils of blood coming out of her, like tentacles. The aura the blood-woman gave off felt like it was on par with Elder Shi, though it felt... off somehow. Like it wasn''t a whole awareness. It was still powerful enough to kill all of them instantly. Bubbles of red energy sprang up around the chests like forcefields. "Welcome to a trial of greed. Three of these four chests contain a treasure. Which do you choose?" said the blood woman. Though her words didn''t match the movement of her lips. "So... which do we choose? Ithilix?" Pan Tian asked. "Their auras are obscured from this one. This one cannot sense which has the treasure," Ithilix said, "Maybe the princ-- Jie knows?" "I have no idea," Jie said, "this is basically just gambling. I don''t see the point." "Well... which one do you think we should pick?" Pan Tian asked. "I... don''t have the greatest luck. I''m not sure it''s a good idea for me to pick," Jie said. "You''re the strongest. And your luck can''t be all that bad if you''ve advanced so much so fast and have an esteemed master teaching you. And Elder Shi too! Besides, if a monster pops out and tries to eat us, I think it should be all your fault this time," Pan Tian said. "Thanks. You''re such a good friend, Tian. Ugh... I guess... the top right one?" Jie said. Nothing happened and her friends looked at her expectantly. "The top right one. From my perspective," Jie said firmly. The forcefield around the top right chest vanished and the lid sprang open. Cultivation resources that gave off a heady aroma burst out from it in such an amount that could never possibly fit inside even the large chest. They raced through the air and then went back inside the chest. It slammed shut and a forcefield formed around it again. "Two of the four chests contain all that you have gained and weapons for the lower dantian. You may choose to leave with what you have gained or risk it in a gamble for more. Choose a chest," said the blood woman. "I love this trial," Pan Tian said with a giggle, "I want to pick this time!" "Wait," Jie said, "don''t you think we should rather walk away with what we got? We risked nothing the first time and had a good chance to win... now our chances are lower and we risk all those resources." "Well... yeah, but it''s still fifty-fifty and who knows what we get the second time around?" Pan Tian asked. "Okay," Jie said, "I''ll leave it up to you. Just so you know it''s all your fault if we lose everything." "Oh, you!" Pan Tian said, "well that''s fine. At least I''m not afraid to take a risk. I choose... the bottom right one." The lid of the bottom right chest sprang open as the bubble surrounding it vanished and cultivation resources spilled out along with a collection of blood red weapons that gave off mysterious auras. "See, Jie? That''s why you take risks!" Pan Tian said with a delighted squeal as the treasures flew through the air, sparkling like stars... then flowed back into the chest which snapped shut and a bubble of energy covered it again. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "I''m glad you were right," Jie said. I will never understand why people are so obsessed with weapons that they''d only have to replace when martial skills don''t even need them to be effective. She thought. "One of the four chests contains all that you have gained and ten spirit coins. You may risk it all chasing greater heights, or leave with what you have gained. What chest do you choose?" asked the figure. "Awesome! It''s Ithilix''s turn now," Pan Tian said. "Wait! Seriously, the odds are terrible now," Jie said. "But, we''re on a roll!" Pan Tian said. "There''s no such thing. The odds are getting worse and what we risk increases. This whole trial is about choices. Walking away now is the better choice," Jie said. "Not if we get those spirit coins it isn''t," Pan Tian said. "The more risks we take, the greater our chance of losing. Even if the odds weren''t getting worse and they are," Jie said, "it''s better to walk away while we''re ahead and go look at the other path." "Oh come on, Jie! You''re no fun. Besides, Ithilix should have a turn," Pan Tian said. "This one agrees with the... Jie," Ithilix said. "What? Why?" Pan Tian said. "Because we have a terrible chance of winning that''s why," Jie said. "...except..." Ithilix said. "See, she still wants to try," Pan Tian said with a smug look on her face. "Only because this one believes that this one has learned to detect which chests contain the prize," Ithilix said. "You what!?" Jie and Pan Tian said in unison. "At first... this one was completely lost... but when it opened the chests to show off the winnings, this one studied the signature. This one wasn''t sure... but after the second time... this one is reasonably confident," Ithilix said. "What does it feel like?" Jie asked. Ithilix pointed at the top right chest. "It feels like that one has the barest of signatures. The bubble suppresses it somewhat, but this one has sensed without the bubble and with the bubble... so it is no longer an effective barrier," Ithilix said, "though it is faint... and this one isn''t completely sure..." "I vote we try it then, I have faith in you, Ithilix. What about you, Jie? Don''t you believe in her?" Pan Tian said. "I think that it''s worth the risk if she thinks she can do it," Jie said, "why are you acting like I''m your enemy?" "Enemy? No! I was just teasing!" Pan Tian said and stuck out her tongue. "Sometimes you''re so immature I forget that you''re older than me," Jie said. "Wow, that''s mean!" Pan Tian said. "Only teasing," Jie said and stuck out her tongue. "Not without truth," Ithilix said. "Not you too!" Pan Tian said. "You have sixty seconds left to decide," said the blood woman. "Top right chest," Ithilix said. The bubble vanished and their growing treasure pile appeared with ten glowing spirit coins before flowing back into the chest. Then, the chests glowed red. Blood flowed out from each of them... forming an identical series of chests. "One of the eight chests contains all that you have gained so far and plans for creating a set of crimson shard armor. You may risk everything chasing greater heights, or leave with what you have gained. What chest do you choose?" asked the figure. "Ithilix can you--?" Jie began. "That one," Ithilix said pointing at one of the chests on the left. As before, the figure showed off their growing hoard before returning it to the chest. Then, the number of chests doubled once again. Ithilix continued to choose the correct chest repeatedly, her antennae quivering furiously. Though it took her longer with every doubling, she also seemed to be getting better at it. By the fifth doubling, the area was filled with over a hundred chests, and Ithilix was working feverishly to find the right one. Their treasure hoard had grown massive and Jie stood silently next to Pan Tian. Both of them with giant smiles on their faces. But they remained utterly silent as they didn''t want to distract their friend. At the eighth doubling, there were over a thousand chests that filled the area so completely that Jie and Pan Tian had to step back into the pathway or stand on chests. "You have three seconds remaining," said the blood woman as Ithilix raced across the chests. "This one!" Ithilix said. It sprang open and more treasure than could ever fit inside a chest that size rose up into the air as all the chests melted and flowed into the blood woman and the treasures lowered to the floor. "This trial was meant to teach you not to lose yourself to greed, but either you are extraordinarily lucky, or have found a way to cheat. Both are useful upon the difficult road of cultivation," said the blood woman. Then, she flowed into the pedestal and was gone. "That was fun!" Ithilix said. Jie and Pan Tian stared at the pile of treasure with wide eyes. "I think we might win this year," Pan Tian said. She sounded stunned as though watching Ithilix race from correct treasure to correct treasure had sucked out her soul. "Probably... but we should check the last path and then go find the next plaque so we get into the dungeon. Why risk it, right?" Jie said with a wink. "I''m surrounded by a cultivation monster and a treasure-finding monster," Pan Tian said, "why am I even here?" "You''re our general treasure-hunting strategist, route planner, administrator, and manager, obviously," Jie said. That seemed to return some of Pan Tian''s life back to her. "And what''s Xue''s role?" she asked with a chuckle. "Bodyguard, mascot, and the great overlord of cuteness spreading his majesty wherever we go," Jie said. Xue looked up at them like they were all insane and resumed licking his fur. The girls giggled. Chapter 82 The Garden Of Ice This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Perhaps some kind of invisibility? If I grab Pan Tian and run backward... could we make it out? No... this woman would catch us so easily... what if I distract her somehow? Chapter 83 The Woman In White Ithilix stepped forward and handed the woman in white her spear. "Ah... another gift from treasured friends. Fine," said the woman. Xue padded forward, stared directly into the woman in white''s gray eyes, lifted one leg, and peed in the snow. Just barely missing the woman''s shoes. Then, he turned around, kicked up some snow in her general direction, and walked back. Pan Tian giggled and covered it with a cough. "Yeah, you have no possessions you little hobo beast," said the woman in white, "Just be glad you missed my shoes or I''d be wearing your skin." All eyes turned to Jie then and the woman in white smiled wider than she had before. A bloodthirsty, manic smile as though she were certain Jie would fail. Jie swallowed hard. There were many things she had that she did not wish to part with... but there was one that stood above all the others. The thought of giving it away made a cold sweat break out over her body. She felt herself start shaking as she struggled to make herself take out the stone. But her hands would not respond. "Jie? What''s going on?" Pan Tian asked. "Princess?" Ithilix asked, sounding equally worried. Even Xue seemed concerned. "It seems your friend has betrayed you," said the woman in white. "I haven''t," Jie said. Each word was a struggle to get out. "It''s just... difficult," she said. She raised her trembling hand and something wet ran down her face. Crying over a stone... what''s... wrong with me... she thought as she struggled to raise her hand. Her friends looked at her, horrified. It hurt her heart almost as much as it ached to force herself to part from the stone. "Jie... your eyes are bleeding," Pan Tian said. Jie touched her face with her other hand and pulled it away... her porcelain fingers were stained red. Just like the snow when she''d killed the monster earlier. But, as easy as it was to touch her face... it felt like she was wrestling against chains as soon as she tried to use that hand to help the one she was trying to activate her storage ring with. Just a stone. Just a stone. Just a stone. Just a stone. Just a stone... Jie repeated to herself. She didn''t believe a single syllable, but it gave her something to focus on other than the gut-wrenching agony. Finally, her storage ring shimmered and the silver stone appeared in her grasp. She gripped it tight, like a vice, and pushed her hand forward to present it to the woman in white. Her friends shrieked and the woman in white recoiled. "Get it away! Get it away!" screamed the woman. "You''ll kill my friends if I do that," Jie snarled. Every word felt like metal shards cutting her throat and lips to force out. Jie took a step toward the woman in white. "No! I swear! Please! Get it away! Away! Far away!" screamed the woman in white. She stepped backward, her gray eyes wide with terror as she stared at the stone. But red energy snapped and crackled around her and sent her to her knees. She struggled against it, but couldn''t leave the clearing. "Your task is underway!" Roared a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Please... please no... please..." said the woman in white, "I... I can''t... please... please no..." "Make a blood oath! Swear you won''t harm me and my friends and I''ll put it away!" Jie said. The words were a relief to say, though she still strained to hold out the stone in front of her, offering it to the woman. The woman cut the palm of her hand without a moment''s hesitation. "I, Lady Liandra swear on my life to never harm these four in any way as long as she gets that damned horror away from me!" she screamed. The frozen garden turned red for a moment before returning to normal. Jie stored the stone in her storage ring with a flick of her hand. Everyone stared at her. "Jie! Your eyes are bleeding! What did you do to her!?" Pan Tian yelled as long claws of bright white qi formed from her nails. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "No!" Jie said, "it''s not her. It''s fine. We can go now." "Go?" said Lady Liandra as she smirked, "aren''t you forgetting something?" "No," Jie said, "I''m not. But, you might be, Lady Liandra. If I were you... I''d return my friends'' things and let it be. Tell whatever is keeping you here that we gave you the right items. Because we did. Or tried to anyway." "Jie no! Please, I''ll get you a new one! Whatever it is! She''ll freeze us!" Pan Tian said. "No," Jie said, "she won''t." "Cocky brat. You failed the test. I don''t know what you thought you''d achieve by using my name. But, we can talk about that... forever," Lady Liandra said Her aura fluctuated, bearing down on the clearing in an increasingly oppressive manner as Lady Liandra smiled sadistically and the temperature began to drop. Only to abruptly stop as Lady Liandra grasped the hand she''d cut to make the oath and stared at it incredulously. "I told you," Jie said, "you made a blood oath. Just let us leave. It doesn''t have to end this way." "Don''t try to trick me, little girl. If I''d made a blood oath, I''d know about it. I don''t know what treasure you''re using to do this to me, but I''ll find out after I freeze you. Smile and make it a good one. You''re going to be stuck with it forever," Lady Liandra said. Power gathered around Lady Liandra once more as she gritted her teeth, her face twisted with agony. She coughed and blood spilled from her lips, spraying onto the white snow. Power continued to gather and she fell to her hands and knees. "Please, don''t do this," Jie said. Lady Liandra glared defiantly at Jie as the temperature plummeted... the woman coughed violently, spewing out blood like vomit. Then, fell face-first into the blood-stained snow and lay still. I really need to make sure I stick to my blood pact... Jie thought with a cold shiver. "Wha... what?" Pan Tian said. "This one does not understand either," Ithilix said. Jie swallowed hard and her stomach turned. Her skin felt clammy and the world felt like it wasn''t quite real as she stared at the woman... she''d tried to keep this from happening and if she hadn''t made Liandra take that oath, they''d all be ice sculptures now... but it still made her feel sick. Jie suddenly found herself aching for a shower so she could scrub her skin clean even more than when they''d fought the plant monsters in the swamp. "Jie... are you okay?" Pan Tian asked, "you look like you''re going to hurl." "I''m," Jie began, only to wrestle with a wave of nausea, "I''m okay. I''m fine. Can we... can we just go?" "Sure..." Pan Tian said, "I''ll just... search her body first. She''s way more powerful than we are, so she might have some nice items. Maybe you should sit down for a moment?" Jie sat on a garden bench in front of a beautifully trimmed hedge with a winged magical beast frozen on top of a pedestal. When they''d first entered the garden, she would''ve found it beautiful. Now, it only made her skin crawl all the more. "We should probably hurry," Jie muttered, "I don''t want to be here when these things start melting." "This one agrees. Should we try to save the ones you saw, Pan Tian?" Ithilix asked. "I''m... not sure. One of them is from the Chen family," Pan Tian said, "but... he wasn''t that bad. Probably the nicest person in that entire, twisted family." "So, we should try to save them then?" Jie asked. She kept looking away from the woman in white. She hadn''t felt like this when Ming had killed those men for her... but she felt more directly responsible this time... and cursed herself for how sick it made her feel. "If we can," Pan Tian said, "they''re probably dead anyway." "Then we can return their bodies and take their items," Ithilix said cheerfully. Jie clamped one hand over her mouth to keep from retching. "Sorry, pr--Jie," Ithilix said. Pan Tian found a storage treasure and some other items that she said they could go through later. Jie trusted her and was glad to get away from the woman''s body. Then, Pan Tian stored the woman''s body in one of her storage rings. Apparently even the body parts of cultivators could be used for some items and arts. That sent fresh waves of nausea rushing through Jie. Jie was all too glad to leave the small clearing within the garden and even more so that the entrance was getting closer. They found the students Pan Tian had identified before they''d tried to escape and studied them. "Do we light a fire?" Jie asked. "In here? What if it melted one of those magical beasts? And, I want to get out of here as soon as possible," Pan Tian said, "we''ll store them in our rings and try and thaw them near the plaque or something." They did exactly that and raced out of the garden and along the pathway they''d come down before entering the area with the statue and plaque. They approached the statue and the stone head turned to regard them. "Thrice you chose greed and thrice you emerged victorious. Even going so far as to kill my guardian," said the statue, "whether by luck or skill, clearly you''re able to make good choices. Nurture this advantage on your path." The plaque at the base of the statue pulsed with red light and four red orbs shot out into them. Once again, Jie''s skin itched. "That''s the second plaque done," Pan Tian said, "it''s getting late. We should see if we can thaw the students from the garden and then find somewhere to cultivate to replenish our energy before continuing to the third plaque. We''re making incredibly good time and have insane treasures, but I still want us to be the first to reach the dungeon... and what did you do to that woman, Jie?" "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you," Jie said. Her friends looked at her expectantly while Xue licked his fur. Jie sighed. "I showed her what I carry that I value most... that''s what made my eyes bleed. And, it freaked her out so much she took a blood oath to keep it away... but it erases people''s memory when they aren''t looking at it," she said, "so... you and she forgot... and... I guess that killed her..." Saying it made her head spin as bile threatened to work its way further up her throat. "Um... well... I suppose that''s not much weirder than anything else about you. It sounds like a scary treasure... I won''t tell anyone about it. I promise," Pan Tian said. "Neither will this one," Ithilix said, "though... this one would rather not take a blood oath for that right this moment..." "I''d rather you don''t," Jie said. Ithilix looked relieved. They took the frozen students out of their storage rings and studied them. "So... how do we thaw them?" Jie asked. Chapter 84 Chen Jingren "Well... I have an idea," Pan Tian said. She took out a fireblood pill and placed it in the mouth of one of the male students. He was muscular and his face was twisted with anger with his mouth partly open as though hurling some vicious insult and his finger accusing someone. The fireblood pill melted in his frozen mouth and the ice covering him grew wet and started to drip and melt off his body. The ice covering him melted away, but he remained unmoving. "Well... I guess that''s that. It was worth a try," Pan Tian said, "not that I''m that upset... he''s from the Chen family." "I thought you said he was the nicest of them?" Jie said. "Well... yeah... but he''s still part of the Chen family," Pan Tian said. The boy suddenly thrust out his finger. "--ought you could trick her? Are you an idiot? Wait... what the... where am I?" he asked. Pan Tian looked disappointed. "You got yourself frozen and we saved you. Even though you''re from the Chen family, Chen Jingren," she said. Chen Jingren stood up and dusted himself off. "Wait... I know you... you''re Pan Tian... but you''re... oh no... how long was I frozen?" he asked. He shivered and his teeth chattered as he spoke. "Your group went missing two years ago," Pan Tian said. "Oh... well... things could be worse, I guess," Chen Jingren said. He gave a respectful bow to them, even though he was shivering badly. "Thank you. All of you," he said. "Are you sure he''s from the Chen family? Maybe he was adopted?" Jie suggested. The boy looked at her with a confused expression. "I don''t know you," he said. "I''m Liu Jie," Jie said. "Nice to meet you," Chen Jingren said, "thank you again for freeing me. Could you please help my friends?" "Why couldn''t you be like the rest of your family so I could leave you for dead," Pan Tian muttered as she placed a fireblood pill into the mouths of the other three. "Come now, I know our families have had disagreements in the past, but that doesn''t mean we have to be enemies," Chen Jingren said. "Your family tried to kill us," Pan Tian said. "It seems that... things have worsened while I''ve been gone. I''m sorry. I obviously had no part in any of that," Chen Jingren said. "Whatever. Just stop talking, okay?" Pan Tian snapped. Chen Jingren looked equally confused and offended, but he nodded and kept his lips sealed as he watched his friends thaw with nervousness in his eyes. The two other boys were the first to defrost and they both came to life almost at the same time. Each of them yelling about how anyone could be so selfish and stupid before realizing they were somewhere completely different. Chen Jingren took them aside and explained what he knew to them and they embraced one another. Jie shared a look with Pan Tian and Ithilix at how different Chen Jingren was from everyone else she''d ever met from the Chen family. "We should leave her for dead," said one of the boys as he glared at the girl in their group. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Or kill her ourselves," said the other. "Nobody is killing anyone," Chen Jingren said, "but we won''t take her with us." The girl thawed and dusted flakes of ice off herself. She looked at everyone around her and smiled innocently. "See? It wasn''t a big deal anyway," she said. "You got us frozen for two years," said one of the boys, "we could''ve been stuck like that forever if they hadn''t helped us." He then took a step forward as qi gathered into a sword in his hand, only for Chen Jingren to hold his shoulder. "We''re still students. If you kill her, you''ll be expelled. She''s cost us two years, but it could''ve been worse. Let''s just go. We have catching up to do," he said. Though his teeth were still chattering. "Yeah," said the girl, "don''t even worry about it. Let''s go." "You''re not coming with us," Chen Jingren said. He bowed to Jie and her friends once more, as did his friends, and then walked away... still shivering. The girl looked angry with them as though she''d somehow been the one that''d been betrayed and looked at Jie and her friends expectantly. "You''re not coming with us either," Pan Tian said, "nobody wants a greedy idiot like you betraying everyone over some little bauble." "It wasn''t some bauble!" said the girl, "it''s a priceless treasure. And, I bet we would''ve been frozen even if I''d handed it over." "Nobody else was that year," Pan Tian said, "now get lost." "Don''t act like any of you are better than me. Come, let me join your girls team," said the girl. "We''re not an all girls team. We have Xue," Pan Tian said bitterly, "and what part of we don''t want you in our group don''t you get? Be grateful we saved you and get the hell out of our sight. You were in a group with someone from the Chen family and managed to be the worst person in it. That''s just... bad." The girl snorted and looked at the others. "So you just let her talk for you, is that it?" she asked. "This one thinks she is right. Someone like you is too selfish and dangerous to any group," said Ithilix. "You''re also a massive bitch," Jie said. The woman gasped like she''d been slapped and stomped her foot like she was about to have a tantrum. Xue gave an exaggerated yawn and stretched. "You''ll regret this. I''m part of the Irontree family and we--" the girl began. "The Irontree family was wiped out six months ago," Pan Tian said. The girl''s eyes widened and her mouth moved up and down but no sound came out of it. "The Chen family head hired a seer who said it was your fault his son didn''t return and they killed your entire family. I thought it was just another one of their lies, but it turns out he was telling the truth for once," Pan Tian said. "My family is... dead?" said the girl. "Yup, and it''s your fault," Pan Tian said. "But... I..." said the girl. "We have things to do... bye. Try not to die or betray anyone else. Maybe all this will teach you a lesson," Pan Tian said. With that, she led Jie and the others away as they fell back into their formation, leaving the girl standing in the clearing with a look of blank horror on her face. "Did the Chen family really kill her whole family over that?" Jie asked. "Oh, no I don''t think it was because of that. If a seer had found out what happened, the Chen family could''ve got someone to come here and save him. The Irontree family had resources that the Chen family had been after for ages. I''m pretty sure the Chen family head lied. But, if she hadn''t stabbed her group in the back, it might not have happened. It doesn''t really matter if it was her fault or not though. She needed her eyes opened," Pan Tian said. "I''m kind of surprised you were so angry with her... you hate the Chen family so much you didn''t even want to save him," Jie said. "I do... but Chen Jingren is... ugh... I hate to say it, but he''s a really sweet guy. He couldn''t be more different from everyone else in his family. He didn''t deserve to be stuck like that and the girl was an idiot anyway. And a backstabber. I hate people like that," Pan Tian said. "I hope you don''t hate me... I... it was hard for me to hand over my treasure," Jie said. "You mean the treasure that made you bleed from the eyeballs when you tried to give it up, wipes people''s memories, and terrified that woman so much she took a blood oath even though she was stronger than you? That you still tried to hand over, so we could all get out of there alive?" Pan Tian asked, "Was that the treasure you meant?" "Well... yeah..." Jie said, "I still can''t believe how hard it was to hand over..." "Sometimes I don''t know whether to hug you or strangle you," Pan Tian said, "This is one of those times. It was hard enough handing over my weapons. I don''t know how many people could hand over a treasure with mental power like that... that it made you bleed from your eyes... I can''t imagine how difficult that was. Though... it''s a little creepy not to remember... you know if you''re secretly a hidden expert and you killed her yourself, you could tell me." "I''m not a hidden expert," Jie said. Chapter 85 Chance Meeting Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Chapter 86 Camp Even despite the superhuman endurance granted her by her cultivation, Jie felt exhausted, and the others looked it too. But they carried on following the frozen river in the moonlit night until Pan Tian at last called a halt. "We should all rest. This is a long race and if we let ourselves get too tired, we''ll make stupid mistakes that''ll cost us time or get us killed. We''ll camp in the trees over there. Unless anyone has any objections?" Pan Tian asked. Ithilix and Jie looked at each other. Xue yawned. "Alright then," Pan Tian said and led the way into the loose cluster of trees. Once they were some distance away from the riverbank, Pan Tian waved her hand, activating her storage ring. A strange material and stakes appeared on the frozen ground. All of which were covered in runes Jie didn''t understand. It didn''t look like enough material for the four of them and Jie wondered if she''d be sleeping outside as a result of her failure to prepare. Or, if perhaps Pan Tian had spare tents for the rest of them. Pan Tian rapidly set up the tent with practiced ease. The result was a short structure only slightly longer than Jie was tall. It barely came above her waist. Pan Tian then withdrew a smooth stone with a runed engraving from her storage ring and pressed it against the tent fabric. That seemed to activate it somehow and the tent shimmered and took on the appearance of its surroundings until it looked nearly invisible. So much so that Jie might''ve missed it even as close as she stood to it if she didn''t know it was there. She couldn''t even sense the material with her spirit sense. Pan Tian stepped inside and suddenly vanished from Jie''s spirit sense. "Huh... neat trick," Jie muttered to herself. A moment later, Pan Tian stuck her head outside. "Well? Don''t just stand there. Come in," Pan Tian said. Jie did so, though she couldn''t imagine it was going to be particularly comfortable with the four of them packed so tightly together. If they could even fit. The instant Jie stepped beyond the threshold of the tent flap, she sensed Pan Tian again as well as the many other items within. The ceiling, which Jie had to squat to slip under was now over two meters high, with curtains dividing the house-sized interior into multiple rooms. Including what appeared to be a bathroom of some kind. Complete with a bathtub Jie couldn''t wait to use. The chance to scrape off plant muck and mud suddenly felt irresistible. Jie couldn''t help smiling. I love this world. She thought. Ithilix and Xue followed her inside the tent, though neither of them seemed as impressed by it as Jie felt. "We''ll rest here for the night and head toward the Lake Temple at first light tomorrow. These stones will key you to the tent so you can sense where it is and avoid getting lost outside," Pan Tian said as she handed a runed stone to Ithilix and Jie. "I''m reasonably confident that this is a safe place for us to rest. Well... as safe as anything is in the valley. But, even so, we should be cautious. So, Ithilix do you mind getting started on identifying what we''ve collected so far while Jie and I double-check the area around our camp and hide our tracks?" Pan Tian asked. "This one would suggest that this one should go with Jie as this one''s hive senses are better suited for scouting," Ithilix said. "I agree, but I thought you both might think I was trying to get time alone with the loot to take more than my fair share," Pan Tian said. Ithilix shook her head. "This one trusts you," she said. "So do I," Jie said. Pan Tian smiled. "Well, okay then. I''ll get to work identifying it. Just dump it around that table over there. Only the items and the spiritual medicine we''ve collected. I don''t want my tent filled with magical beast corpses. I''ll make a note of what we got from the droguth though, since I still remember it. Xue, you can get some rest if you like," she said. Xue yawned and curled up on the spot, seeming unwilling to bother moving more than he had to. Jie didn''t blame him. It wasn''t just the physical exhaustion from traveling all day or the fights themselves. It was the emotional drain of constantly being on alert, the life and death battles, fearing for her friends and herself. It left her feeling wrung out to the point her bones ached and all she wanted was a moment to sit down and feel safe, warm, and comfortable. Maybe even to sleep. But Jie pushed that feeling away as best she could. She could rest soon enough. For now, her friends needed her help to ensure they were safe to do so, and she wasn''t going to let them down. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Jie stepped back outside the tent with Ithilix. When she did so, she still sensed Pan Tian and the tent thanks to the runed stone Pan Tian had given her. Jie walked beside Ithilix as the two of them scouted their surroundings again. It was quiet. The crunch of snow beneath their feet, the bitterly cold wind whistling through the thin trees that surrounded them, and their breathing were the only sounds to be heard. Despite the danger of the valley and their exhaustion, Jie and Ithilix both took a moment to appreciate their surroundings by some unspoken agreement. It was beautiful in a brutal, yet serene way. Peaceful and so utterly quiet that Jie found herself breathing deeper of the cold air as she relaxed beside her friend. The stillness of their surroundings brought a kind of stillness to her mind. And that gave her a strange feeling of connection to the land around her. Almost as though, if she could somehow quiet herself further, she would connect to the land in some mystical way. Yet, it always felt just out of reach. After what could''ve been an hour or just a few minutes, Jie and Ithilix resumed their work. Ithilix taught Jie a bit about hiding their tracks and Jie helped as best she could. Though, Ithilix was vastly better at it and did almost all of it herself. When they were done, they returned to the tent where Pan Tian sat with several piles of treasure laid out before her and a stack of scrolls at her side. "Are we in any danger?" Pan Tian asked. "Not that we could find," Jie said, "it''s really beautiful here." Pan Tian nodded. "Good. I''ll have everything identified soon," she said, "if you want to bathe, do it now. There''s scentless soap if you need it. Don''t use anything with a fragrance. The last thing we need is to make it easier to sniff us out." Jie leaped at the chance, though she washed Xue first. The cat''s fur was filthy, and Xue gave her grateful nuzzles as she removed clumps of muck and returned his fur to pristine condition. Jie thought cats were supposed to hate any bath other than those they gave themselves but Xue seemed to enjoy it if anything. Though that might''ve been because he was glad to be rid of the muck tangled in his fur. Jie then did the same for herself. By then, Pan Tian and Ithilix were finishing up with identifying and they called Jie over as she wrapped a towel around her hair. "Ithilix and I have identified everything. I think we should quickly go over some of what we''ve got and then divide up the loot between us. We can split the spoils better at the end of our run. But it''s good to have things somewhat divided in advance. Otherwise, if someone gets killed or betrays the others, we might lose out," Pan Tian said. It made a practical kind of sense to Jie, but the casual way Pan Tian spoke of betrayal or accounted for someone getting killed bothered Jie slightly. She was sure Pan Tian cared about them, but it still bothered her... perhaps because it felt wrong to even think of protecting their loot against somebody dying. Or maybe because she didn''t want to think about such a thing happening. Jie kept her mouth shut, however, as she knew Pan Tian was simply being practical and not heartless. "Aside from the magical beasts which we all stored in various quantities, we''ve got quite a bit of loot to go over. We have a total of twenty-three spirit coins from the chests and the lady in white. I''ve divided them up as best I can. Jie, you can carry your share and Xue''s," Pan Tian said as she slid twelve coins toward Jie then stored five herself with Ithilix getting six. "The ghosts in the tower gave us a shield of indomitable will, a rusted sword, a dagger of corruption, a mace of bloodletting, and a cursed club of stupidity," Pan Tian said. "Wait the club makes you stupid? We''re not cursed are we?" Jie asked, suddenly feeling worried. Pan Tian shook her head. "It lowers the intelligence of the wielder, not anyone else, and we didn''t touch them," she said. "Why would anyone make something like that?" Jie asked. "Revenge, a joke, to trick a rival... there are lots of reasons," Pan Tian said, "we''ll split the weapons fairly evenly among us. After we finish up in the valley we can take them all to auction and split the earnings if that sounds good to everyone?" Jie and Ithilix nodded. Xue seemed content to remain curled up in a ball, either asleep or trying to be. "The desert ruins weren''t a bad haul for us either," Pan Tian said, "we got twelve ninth star Expert ranked spirits of the desert, eighteen relentless endurance body conditioning pills, fourteen desert rubies, six dewdrop cacti spiritual medicine at the seventh star Expert rank, and three healing spring water potions effective for the ninth star Expert rank. "I think we should consume the spirits of the desert, dewdrop cacti, and the body conditioning pills ourselves and keep the healing spring water. We can sell the rubies later though." Again, Pan Tian looked to Ithilix and Jie and again what she proposed seemed fair and reasonable so they both nodded. "The dead students we found are... more complicated. One of them was carrying a signet ring for the Ashcrow family. I don''t know if he had permission from his family or if he took it for some other reason. It should be worth quite a bit of coin given it could be used to impersonate the Ashcrow family... but I think we should try to sell it back to the Ashcrow family instead. They should understand the significance of keeping it under their control, so we might even earn a little goodwill from them at the same time. And I''d like to avoid creating issues on that kind of scale even if we could probably get more for it from other groups," Pan Tian said. "This one agrees. Selling it to others would make us the target of the Ashcrow family''s wrath. Better to make money without creating needless enemies," Ithilix said. "I agree," Jie said. Though in truth she felt they should just give the ring back to the family... but selling it back to them rather than to their enemies seemed like a good middle ground. Pan Tian nodded at their words. "I''m glad we all agree on that," she said, "they had other items too. Twelve heavenly moon pills, a golden saber for the lower dantian, fourteen seventh star Expert rank dewdrop cacti, fifteen healing pills best for the eighth star of the Expert rank, and two hundred and fourteen scrolls of wisdom. They''re at a variety of strengths but generally around the sixth star Elementalist rank. Nothing special for a scroll other than a handful. They had fourteen elixirs of hidden prey--" "What are those?" Jie asked. Pan Tian pointed to one of the familiar blue potions that pulsed with a white glow. "Same thing I gave you at the start of the valley. They help hide us from stronger cultivators," she explained. Jie blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed for not knowing even simple things. "Oh... thank you," Jie said. Chapter 87 Loot If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 88 Bloodfruit "These next few items seem to be the woman in white''s personal items... and... well... I''m not sure if I should even bother going over some of these..." Pan Tian said. "This one thought they were interesting," Ithilix said. "I suppose that''s true..." Pan Tian said. "Well now I have to know, so just spill it already," Jie said. "There''s what seems to be her personal journal. I didn''t read much of it, but it''s mostly semi-coherent ranting about being trapped here and forced to serve in the garden. She even wrote over parts she''s already written... I imagine she ran out of space and wanted to keep going. And there''s a letter from a man telling her he loves her but that he''s marrying a richer, stronger woman so his children will have a better life... there are tear stains on the letter..." Pan Tian said. Great... as if I wasn''t feeling guilty enough already, Jie thought. "Well... that''s depressing," Jie said. Pan Tian shrugged. "That''s life," she said. "This one thought the letter was romantic," Ithilix said, "he said he would always love her." "That just makes it more tragic," Jie said. "Yes," Ithilix said with an almost dreamlike note in her voice. Jie shook her head. I''ll never understand why people like tragedies so much, she thought. "Anyway," Pan Tian said, "she also had some useful treasures. Those five icy spheres are essences of frost. Each one is at the sixth star of the Elementalist rank. These are... incredibly valuable. We can''t cultivate them yet, but I say we keep them for ourselves and use them when we can. Jie, since you''re so close to breaking through, Ithilix and I thought the three of us would take one and you''d get two. We can''t split them effectively and you''ll be able to use them long before us." "Are you sure we can''t split them at all? Or maybe I''ll take a lower share of the overall treasure?" Jie said. "This one and Pan Tian discussed it already. We are happy for you to have two spheres and one for Xue of course. This one recommends you ''shush and enjoy it,''" Ithilix said with a smirk. "Using my own words against me? What happened to the sweet Ithilix I knew only a minute ago?" Jie asked. "This one is learning from you, Pr... Jie," Ithilix said, "so take the spheres." Jie chuckled. "Alright. Thank you," Jie said as she stored her two spheres and Xue''s in her storage ring. "Oh, I should mention that they''re especially good for people with water affinity. I don''t know what affinities you''ll have and they''re still good regardless, but just so you know," Pan Tian said. Jie nodded. "And, finally, we have another thirty seven bloodfruit at the ninth star of the Expert rank," Pan Tian said. They divided the loot between them as best as they were able with Jie holding onto Xue''s share of the loot. Despite Pan Tian saying she wanted them to split things more evenly, it seemed to Jie that both the other girls viewed her as the least likely to die given her strength, and were happy to have her hold onto a larger percentage of the loot. Ithilix and Pan Tian quickly bathed, and Jie decided to cultivate and consume a few of the new body conditioning resources while she waited. She was curious what the rarer, more powerful body conditioning resources Pan Tian had been so excited about would be like. So, she made a note of what she was using, then did exactly that. Jie consumed an iron orb, a dose of dune cat bone powder, one container of mindworm jelly, and a Yang Asha''s blessing pill as well as a tireless endurance pill. Consuming all of the resources at the same time made Jie sweat and grit her teeth against the twisting agony in her body. Her bones and muscles suddenly felt like they were being shredded and burnt while her skin prickled and her organs felt like they were liquifying. But she endured the effects as best she could. Even with her muscles twitching and spasming. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Once she felt the strain was at a tolerable level, Jie took out a ninth star Expert ranked bloodfruit. It was about the size and shape of a human heart with veins of dark red energy pulsing through it. Jie took a bite. It tasted sweet, with a tang that made her tongue tingle and throb. Her teeth sank easily into the dark red tissue as thick, blood red juice trickled down her chin and crimson energy flowed into her. The energy streamed into her dantian where she began the process of refining it into dragon lightning qi. As when she''d cultivated the fleshy bulb, the process quickly became painful. With a sharp spike of pain digging its way through her as though she were being stabbed from the inside out. Jie endured, however, cultivating the blood red energy of the bloodfruit until it was entirely converted to dragon lightning qi. It came as a relief when she''d fully consumed the bloodfruit''s energies. Her dantian continued to ache but Jie directed her attention to her friends who had now finished cleaning up. Pan Tian beckoned them over to the table they''d used earlier as she waved her hand and brought out half a dozen large plates and bowls, and three sets of utensils with another even larger bowl that Pan Tian slid toward Jie. "That should be suitable for Xue, right?" Pan Tian asked. Then, without waiting for a response, Pan Tian brought out a large cylindrical container which she placed in the center of the table. Pan Tian then twisted a mechanism at the top of the cylinder and it opened with a click into two half cylinders with trays of food like shelves on the walls of the cylinder. The base plate held a large platter with a fruit that looked something like a cross between a mango, a pineapple, and an orange. Multiple long skewers with delicious-looking meat and what looked like alien caramelized onions were impaled into the peculiar fruit, using it like a stand to hold the skewers up. The tent filled with the scent of delicious food and Xue appeared beside Jie as though summoned by magic. Aside from the meat skewers with meat and vegetable juices trickling down onto the strange fruit at the base, there were many other incredible dishes. Dumplings filled with meat and a strange yellow sauce. A stack of omelets, a large lobster-like creature steaming on a silver dish. A vegetable stew, some kind of fruit salad. Bright blue, jiggling, flavored gelatin, toffee apples, and seared steaks with eggs sizzling on top of them. As well as fruit and vegetable salads. There were even several jugs of water and fruit juice. "I hope you like it," Pan Tian said. "It looks amazing," Jie said as her mouth watered, "thank you." "This one must concur," Ithilix said. Xue nuzzled Jie''s hand then rose up on his hind legs, placed his paws on the table, and nuzzled the bowl Pan Tian had given Jie for him. He meowed. Jie laughed. "Alright, I''ll take care of you first," she said, "which do you want? Nod for yes, shake your head for no." Jie pointed at each of the dishes in turn. Unsurprisingly, a meat skewer, and one of the sizzling steaks with an egg on top both got a nod. Jie then added some raw meat, bones, and a cube filled with vitamins and minerals made by alchemists to ensure that Xue got everything his body needed. His large bowl was almost overflowing with food when Jie placed it in front of him. He dived into it face first and began wolfing it all down. Jie then dished up for herself alongside her friends as they talked and laughed together. The experience was bittersweet in a way as for some reason it reminded Jie of her meals with Ming when she first arrived on this world. But, she did her best to enjoy it. The food was succulent, juicy, and fresh and every bite tasted like heaven. Particularly after the incredibly long day filled with keeping her friends an inch away from death. Jie found herself relaxing and as she did so, it was like another layer of exhaustion caught up with her. But, she did her best to stave off her weariness as she wanted to enjoy this moment with her friends. As she did so, she felt the tension in her body slowly uncoil, making her feel as though she were melting into her chair. Jie enjoyed talking with her friends as they discussed the valley. Pan Tian praised them all and Jie and Ithilix returned that praise. Jie was glad to have the older satyr girl leading them as she was certain that without her it would be all too easy to blunder into something deadly. And, so far, the valley had indeed been incredibly beneficial for her cultivation. Even if she had this strange blockage preventing her from breaking through... Soon, the conversation turned to more personal matters. "Oh, come on," Pan Tian said, "you never share anything about your life. You can''t tell us anything about your family? What it was like with them? Not even a little detail?" "This one is curious too," Ithilix said. "I just... I don''t like talking about myself," Jie said. "So, tell us something small. It doesn''t have to be a big secret... like... what are your parents like? I don''t know... just something. You don''t have to be so secretive..." Pan Tian pressed. Jie gnawed on her lip softly as she considered that. Perhaps I should tell them something... but what can I say without giving away secrets I need to keep to myself? Jie thought. Pan Tian sighed and looked to Ithilix as though she''d given up on trying to pry anything out of Jie. "I... my parents were killed," Jie said. Pan Tian and Ithilix turned to Jie then. "Oh... I''m sorry, Jie. I didn''t know. What happened?" Pan Tian asked. "They were murdered for their... their treasures," Jie said, "and the men who did it they... cursed me. My master cured my curse. It''s a debt I''m determined to repay." "Wow... no wonder you revere him so much," Pan Tian said, "and what about your clan? Your family? What were they like? And your master?" "That''s a lot of questions," Jie said. "It''s rare to get you to talk about your life, I won''t let the chance go to waste," Pan Tian said with a smile. Chapter 89 The Lake Temple Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Oh god... did Pan Tian just poison me? Chapter 90 The Third Plaque
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Friends come and go, and many wear the word as a mask for their true intentions. Many times have I been betrayed. In this world, the only one you can ever truly count on... is yourself. How long can you survive alone in the dark?" Chapter 91 Darkness Jie spiraled down into darkness as light faded and she lost sight of her friends while water rushed in a chaotic swirl all around her. A moment later, the spiraling vortex spat Jie out into a dark room. The room looked much like the one she was just in... only there was no sign of her friends and the orange-red glow of the magma tubes below her was muted somehow... giving only the faintest light to see by as long, impenetrable shadows danced around her... even though nothing was moving. Even the color of the magma itself was muted. The bright orange glow seemed distant, closer to a light gray as darkness hung like a swirling fog in the water around Jie. She cycled her qi and scanned the area with her spirit sense. Even that felt oddly muted too. Like she could sense only a fraction as far as she normally could. And, what little she could sense felt cold and dead. The water itself felt colder against her skin even though the magma tubes were right below her, their vents still shimmering slightly with heat. It should be hot. Oppressively so. The only reason it hadn''t killed her in the previous room was because she was a cultivator. But, the vents were like candles now compared to the incinerators they''d been only moments ago and the water was icy cold. Jie heard a whisper right next to her ear. She spun around to face it, but there was nothing there. Then, another whisper. Again, she whirled to confront the source but saw nothing. And still no sign of her friends. She thought of using her qi armor just in case. But she worried that the bright blue, electric glow would make her stand out in this dark place. There was no sign of anything around her just yet... despite the odd whispering noise. It sounded like words, but she couldn''t understand them. Maybe it''s just a trick of this trial. To freak me out... Jie thought. Though she didn''t quite believe that. There was a circular door on the far side of the chamber. The plaque had hinted that this would test them each individually, so rather than wait around for her friends that may never come, she swam over to the door. Whatever this challenge was, she would crush it and find her friends. The door was sealed in a way none of the others had been. With a metal version of the monstrous face on the mosaics and mouth of the temple. Its eyes were soulless and hungry with the tentacles extending from its mouth across the stone and into sockets in the doorway like the world''s creepiest deadbolts. Only, Jie saw no way to move them back and open the door. Then, as though sensing her desire to enter, the metal tentacles that locked it in place slid back with a series of soft clicks and a stream of bubbles. There were other clicks coming from behind or perhaps inside the stone. Though all the sounds were... wrong. Things that should be loud sounded impossibly far away while whispers and soft noises seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. She heard something behind her and spun around, but once again there was nothing there. Or nothing she could see anyway. She reached out with her spirit sense, but it felt like only water, and Essence... at least in her very limited range. Still, she couldn''t quite shake the unpleasant feeling that something was watching her. The door rolled out of the way, revealing another large room with rows of things that looked almost like benches. A massive mosaic of the same creature''s head decorated the enormous far wall along with a raised platform with what looked like a stone altar on it. Magma tubes lined the floor as they did in most rooms, but the light was still muted and penetrated only a few meters above the tubes, leaving the ceiling lost somewhere above in utter blackness. A blackness that she could swear was moving. Jie swam near the floor, close to the light. It would make her more visible, but she wanted as much time as possible to react to anything that might come out of the darkness above. There was an inscription at the base of the mosaic on the wall, but it was in a language she didn''t recognize. The altar was free of any kind of barnacle or other muck... except for green stains upon its surface along with shallow scratches. She paused and looked around her. This was supposed to be a challenge about survival... Alone in the dark? What am I missing? Do I need to solve a riddle to get rid of this darkness? Is it some kind of affliction? Do I need to find my way back out maybe? Jie wondered. Something shot out of the darkness above her, and Jie reacted with a dragonfist on instinct. She slammed her fist into it and it exploded in a brightly glowing colorful flare like liquid fire surrounded by steaming, boiling water that surged outward in a swelling bubble of destruction in front of her, many times more powerful than her usual dragonfist attacks. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The sheer recoil of her attack slammed her feet first into the stone floor beneath her as whatever it was that had attacked her sprayed away in meaty chunks of white flesh and swirling green goo that splattered across the chamber and swirled in the water around her. Some of the green liquid touched her water suit and the fabric hissed and burned as the acidic substance ate into it. Jie immediately swam back and away from the cloud of green fluid. Another of the creatures launched at her out of the darkness. She saw more of it this time. Saw its worm-like circular jaws open in a whispering, hungry hiss as it propelled itself toward her with long, thin tentacles. Six clawed hands extended toward her, each creating ten images that her spirit sense told her were illusions. They might''ve fooled her if she was much weaker, but as it was, the creature was barely at the second star of the Expert rank and it had no hope. Jie punched its head right between its eye stalks. Its head vanished in a dazzling explosion that sent shockwaves rippling through the water as a bright, explosive flash claimed it much like the first. What remained of its limbs spiraled away in the water, still twitching and gushing acidic green blood, which she avoided this time. Like the other one, its flesh was pale white, desiccated, and all too familiar. The whispering grew, filling the water with countless voices all speaking a language she didn''t understand. Jie cycled her lightning step and qi armor techniques and the world around her slowed as the blue glow of dragon lightning qi covered her. Jie directed two fingers on each hand upward and fired two finger of light attacks up into the darkness. The flashes of lightning were unnaturally dimmed, but still much brighter than the magma. They pushed enough of the darkness away to reveal a vast space above her and hundreds, if not thousands, of the creatures hovering in the darkness and staring at her with unblinking alien eyes. Each of her bolts were thicker than usual and the water around them burned like the sun, muted though they were. Each bolt raced through the water faster than it ever moved through the air. It obliterated the creatures it hit with an enormous explosion that ripped through the water and annihilated everything around her target as it sent shockwaves pulsing through the water, scattering the teeming horde in every direction. Are my attacks turning water into plasma? I love fighting in water! Now who''s scary freakazoids? Jie thought as she grinned wolfishly and fired off one finger of light after another. She didn''t remember the grove water having such a profound effect on her attacks, but something about this particular water massively boosted the power of any attack she used. It was hard not to love the sudden increase in power, even if it was some strange property of the environment rather than her own strength. Jie staggered her attacks so the flashes lit up the chamber more consistently. The bright bursts of light lit the teeming horde as though revealing one picture at a time in a slideshow of ever-approaching horror. The resulting explosions from her attacks sent creatures anywhere near her targets slamming lifelessly into the floor and pillars. Along with chunks of pale flesh and green blood that swirled in the water in a thickening cloud of acidic gore. Jie was careful to avoid that acidic blood, but she couldn''t help feeling almost euphoric with the feeling of power. Jie then pulled on the insight she''d gained in her fight against the grove lord. And, rather than firing off single target finger of light attacks as she had been, she continued controlling her qi, unleashing devastating chain finger of light attacks. Bright, burning plasma arced from one target to the next, spreading with more branches than she''d had the last time she used it. And each time an arc connected with a target, it exploded. Explosions rolled one after the other so close together that they seemed like one constant attack. The water around Jie hummed with charge as countless shockwaves pulsed through the water, shaking the room. The sheer destruction of her attacks dwarfed any she''d ever used before and devoured huge chunks of the numberless horde in bright, burning flashes. But, even her boosted attacks were not enough for the sheer number of the creatures and they streamed toward her like a river of alien nightmares. They hissed, roared, and screeched, moving in a coordinated swarm that her attacks slowed but could not stop. A few of the smarter ones broke away from the main mass trying to rush her and flanked her along the sides of the room. They charged toward her from either side, their many tentacles turning into an illusory blur of razor-sharp glowing attacks as they used the same martial skill she''d seen before. Jie lashed out with a finger of light to either side of her an instant before they reached her. Bright, burning plasma engulfed them. A dazzling reward for their cunning. Then, as the main swarm surged forward from the brief respite granted them, lightning arced from her flanking targets and chained into the main group. Bodies flew away from Jie, caught in a bright, burning hurricane of force with her at its center as acidic blood rained all around the room. Stone hissed and spat wherever it touched that cursed blood. The vast majority of them were far too weak to be her match with only a handful at the eighth and ninth star of the Expert rank. But, there were so many of them that Jie found herself giving ground despite the difference in strength. Some were weak enough that they spasmed and died simply from approaching her as the charge in the water around her had grown to such an extreme that even her skin prickled from it. Jie was vaguely aware of the doorway behind her and it had become her goal as she fell back. It would make a good choke point, and she was confident that the bottleneck would rob the swarm of its only advantage. And, keeping moving was the only way to avoid getting surrounded or caught in a cloud of that acidic blood. There were so many of them that she didn''t even have to aim and only seeing in brief flashes made it hard to count how many she killed with each strike. But she guessed it was upwards of forty of the monstrous creatures with every attack. Chapter 92 The Swarm Maybe I should focus my attacks on the tubes... how many more could I kill with the lava? Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Now what? Chapter 93 Whispers How am I supposed to fight? I''ll kill my friends with how my qi is in this water! I really need to get Elder Shi to teach me how to detect things better with it... If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Chapter 94 Terror Hopefully, it wants to eat me and doesn''t use a martial skill that obliterates me... Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. floomf Chapter 95 Canyon Finally, Jie came to a stop. The rivulets of sweat from the oppressive heat of the monster''s attacks had frozen against her skin and she shivered from the cold. She spared a moment to inspect her back as best she could. The skin there was crispy and tender even after consuming multiple healing pills but it wasn''t as bad as Jie had feared. She let out a relieved sigh, happy simply to be alive, and consumed another healing pill. That was too close... she thought as she sat behind a boulder, her tail coiled around her for warmth as she shivered. Jie''s breath steamed in the air as she, at last, took a moment to recover from her ordeal. Her meridians ached from cycling lightning step to the extent she had, but a smile spread across her face as she thought about the insight she''d gained with the skill. Electrified afterimages should be interesting to use... she thought. The Crimson Valley was dangerous and terrifying, but she was glad of the boost to her cultivation and fighting prowess... even if she still didn''t know why she couldn''t break through into the Elementalist rank... She hadn''t seen any sign of her friends, but then she''d been focused on trying not to die. Hopefully, they''d got out okay. She didn''t want to head anywhere near the lake just yet, but perhaps it would be best if she did. "--said it was this way," said a voice that Jie recognized as Chen Huo''s. Jie pulled her aura in tight and veiled it as best she could as she retreated more behind the boulder, using it and the surrounding snow to hide herself from sight. Chen Huo and his group raced past the other side of the boulder, their words carrying far in the now-silent forest. "What beast made these tracks?" asked Chen Ai. "I don''t know but keep an eye out. They look fresh. If we encounter it, we''ll take its core as a trophy. But don''t get distracted," Chen Huo said. "Yes, brother," Chen Ai said. They kept going and only when they were far away, did Jie come out from behind the boulder. She wasn''t entirely sure why. It felt absurd to hide from them when she was confident that she could''ve taken on all four of them at the same time, even shivering with cold as she was. She frowned. Maybe I should''ve roughed them up a bit first... but is that the kind of person I am? They''d certainly deserve it... ugh... I wish I could talk to Ming. He always knows what to say... Thinking of him made her bones ache with how much she missed that arrogant snake... but she reminded herself that she would find a way to cure him and then they would have thousands of years. An eternity really, to talk about anything and everything. She retraced her steps back to the lake. She didn''t feel comfortable randomly assaulting people, even Chen Huo and Chen Ai who surely deserved it. But, she figured that if that monster was nearby, it might attack them and give her some warning. Besides, she needed to search the lake shore for her friends. She moved quietly and kept her aura veiled so she didn''t alert any other students or more importantly, any other monsters that wanted to eat her. This Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt is intense... Jie thought. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
She made it to the lake shore but stayed a good distance away from the lake itself and began circling around. She didn''t use lightning step, and instead focused on cultivating as she walked to replenish her qi. It wasn''t as fast as when she gave it her full attention, but it was something. Her back was healed now, thanks to the pills she''d consumed. Yet, despite that, the ghost of a feeling remained, reminding her how close to death she''d come. It didn''t take long before Jie saw figures heading her way, also giving the border of the lake a wide berth. As they approached, she saw it was Pan Tian, Ithilix, and Xue. Jie let out a relieved sigh as a weight slipped from her shoulders at seeing they were okay. "Don''t you ever do that again!" Pan Tian said as she ran over to Jie and wrapped her in a huge hug as she lifted Jie off the ground, her arms squeezing Jie''s sensitive sides. "Gills!" Jie protested. "Oh right," Pan Tian said and set Jie back down, "You scared us!" "I couldn''t let you guys get eaten," Jie said, "though I''d really rather not do that again." "This one would prefer it if you did not, Princess. It was most frightening. This one feared for your life," Ithilix said. Xue meowed and pressed his nose into Jie''s hand. Jie stroked his head. "I''m freezing," Jie said, "please tell me the dungeon is somewhere warmer? And when does this water breathing pill wear off?" "It lasts for several more hours," Pan Tian said, "I wasn''t sure how long we would be. But the dungeon entrance is warmer. Or it was last year anyway. I have a cloak if you need one?" *** They resumed their travels, with Pan Tian leading the way to the dungeon entrance now that they had all three plaques completed. Jie kept the fur-lined cloak Pan Tian had lent to her wrapped tight around her body with her tail curled under it as best she could manage. They dried off as they ran, with the fireblood pills and Pan Tian''s cloaks helping to keep them warm as they traveled over the snow. Though, Jie''s feet were freezing and she missed wearing shoes. She couldn''t wait for the pill to wear off so she could strip out of the water suit, dry off, and at last, don some dry clothes. Still, they made good time. *** As Pan Tian promised, it warmed up as they traveled. Snow gave way to a wasteland of orange dirt and gravel as they approached a mountain range that rose up at a sheer ninety-degree angle. Pan Tian led them along the base of the mountain range until they found a crevice. A narrow canyon really, with the mountains rising up on either side. Pan Tian led them into the slot canyon. Sunlight filtered down from above in rays of light as dust drifted down from somewhere above. The canyon walls were smooth and wavy in shape. Almost like some great sculptor had begun to turn the sides of the mountain into vases, but gave up partway through. The stone itself was of a myriad of hues. Mostly reds and with glittering gems like rubies that sparkled in the light. A faint metallic scent clung to the air. "Are these stones valuable?" Jie asked. "I''m not sure," Pan Tian said, "I don''t know how to properly gather them anyway." "Can''t we just break some of the rock off and stick the whole thing in our storage rings?" Jie asked. "It still melts," Pan Tian said. "Melts?" Jie asked. "It''s blood," Pan Tian said, "do you know how to gather them, Ithilix?" "This one is unsure. This one has never gathered blood crystals before," Ithilix said. "This place is a little creepy sometimes," Jie muttered. They continued their journey through the canyon, along the winding path.
The canyon was deathly quiet, and the air was hot and stuffy. Quickly turning oppressive, like an oven. And the deeper they went, the more Jie got the feeling that there was something just on the edge of her senses. Then, she began to hear whispering, echoing voices. "Is this the way?" asked one. "Yes, we''re almost there," said a second. "Do you think we''re first?" asked another. Countless other conversations echoed through the winding canyon. Many of them sounded like children talking about going to the dungeon and the whole thing made the hairs on Jie''s body stand on end. It didn''t help that the shadows around them lengthened as the day moved deeper into the afternoon and less light made it into the canyon. "Ignore the voices," Pan Tian said, "they''re only echoes." "I thought we''d be first," Jie said. "I think we still are. The echoes are from other years," Pan Tian said. Jie opened her mouth to ask how that could even be possible, but asking that on a magical alien planet seemed just a bit too ridiculous for her. She closed her mouth, shrugged, and continued on. Shortly after they entered the canyon, Jie and her friends shifted back from their aquatic forms and were finally able to change clothes. Jie found that she missed her tail for some reason and it felt strange to be back in her normal body again. Her aquatic form had also been larger, and she found she missed being a bit taller. It made her feel older. As they traveled, the metallic scent in the air grew stronger. Chapter 96 Prophecy Yeah... not statues. And, they can hide their cultivation from me even at my level and me focusing directly on them... these things are at least as strong as I am... maybe stronger. maybe if we leave the path... they won''t follow? "Hello, Liu Jie," The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "There''s no need to learn our names,""you and your friends have good hearts. We offer each of you advice from our divinations. Will you heed my words, Liu Jie?" "I''ll certainly do my best," "How delightful. I see you''ve spoken this way before. You''re at a bottleneck in your cultivation, Liu Jie. You work as hard as you can, and yet feel as though you make no progress. This is because cultivation is not merely about gathering and refining Essence. Cultivation is a journey and like any journey, the choices you make shape your destination. You do not advance because your martial heart is at war with itself. A crossroads is coming. One that will force a change from you. Either you will make your darkness serve you, or it will enslave you. Choose wisely and remember that your choices will shape you and your cultivation," "What choice will I have to make? What should I choose?" "If I told you that, it wouldn''t be your choice. Good luck, Liu Jie. We have faith in you... and we are deeply sorry for what is coming. We are bound by the rules of our contract and cannot save you from the darkness," "Is there nothing more you can tell me?" "We have already done all that we can. Good luck, Liu Jie. This universe needs you more than you know," Yeah... literal blood running along the walls, but I''m sensitive just because I think that''s freaking weird? Sure. Chapter 97 The Dungeon Pan Tian looked them over and gave them an approving nod. "Be careful here. With Jie''s strength, we should be able to breeze through this place easier than most. But, let''s not let overconfidence become our downfall. This dungeon is still full of dangers. Monsters, arak, traps, and threats nobody has even uncovered yet. "This is my first time in the dungeon, and while I acquired as many notes as I could on this place, there''s still a lot I don''t know. So, I''m counting on you three to stay alert. Let the rest of us know if you spot something we miss and be careful. Ithilix, I want you to be extra cautious. It''s a maze down here and I''ve heard of several groups getting attacked from behind even when they were sure the path behind them was clear," Pan Tian said. "This one will be on guard," Ithilix said. Pan Tian nodded. "Good. Jie, I''m going to be looking for traps so I need you to look after me just as you''ve been doing," she said. Jie nodded. "I won''t let anything happen to you," she promised. "Alright then. Let''s move out. Stay alert and keep quiet. Sound carries far in this place," Pan Tian said.
They moved along the long dark tunnel and came to a round room with pathways that led off in every direction and a familiar red statue in the center. "Welcome, students of my Crimson Academy. This dungeon will prepare you for delving into ancient ruins and the tombs of esteemed experts. Learn well. You''re the first to enter the dungeon this year and the horned lion''s share of treasure and danger await you hand in hand. Will you emerge victorious, or will your lives serve only to make the path easier for those who follow you? Risk, reward, and lessons await you, dear students," said the statue, though its lips didn''t move. Pan Tian pulled a map out of her storage ring and consulted it. Jie caught a peek over Pan Tian''s shoulder and her eyes widened. It looked like a nightmare of contorting tunnels so vast that each room was drawn incredibly small, and yet huge chunks of it remained unchartered as far as Jie could see. Pan Tian pointed to a path that led to the right and slightly down and led the way. Jie followed after her. "Does the map show you where traps are?" Jie whispered. "Some of them. But they make new ones and make changes," Pan Tian whispered back. "They?" Jie asked. "The arak. Vicious humanoid bird creatures. They seem to worship our school''s founder. I''m not sure about the details. You saw some of them outside," Pan Tian said. They fell back into silence after that as Pan Tian led them through the tunnels. The air grew mustier, and the walls vanished behind skulls and bones stacked neatly along them. Though, Jie still heard the blood moving somewhere behind the densely packed bones. The skulls were a mixture of all kinds of creatures. Human and bird skulls seemed the most common. Jie scanned the bones with her spirit sense extra carefully, as the ghosts in the first trial had made it all too clear that undead were a very real threat in this world. And, even if there weren''t any undead in here, the bones still seemed like a good place for something to hide. But, all Jie sensed were small things skittering among them. Their scrabbling movements echoed through the long, dark tunnels. But, the creatures Jie sensed were extraordinarily weak and shouldn''t pose much of a threat. They still made Jie''s skin crawl though. "Pressure plates in the middle, walk against the walls," Pan Tian said without slowing down. Jie did as she was told and so did the others. Her clothing brushed against the bones, but it allowed her to avoid a series of pressure plates along the center of the passage. They were almost imperceptible with the layer of dust covering them and the floor. Jie was curious about what they activated. When she looked up, she saw countless small holes that looked like they could shoot something out of them. Jie swallowed hard and they pressed on. Scratching, screeching, clacking noises echoed from somewhere ahead. At least, Jie thought it was from that direction. The echoes did strange things to sounds in the maze of tight passageways. But, the sounds were getting louder. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A dim orange glow came from around a corner up ahead as the noises grew louder. A moment later, Jie sensed auras approaching them. They were indeed coming from ahead of them. A group of six auras. One eighth star Expert, three ninth star Experts, a second star Elementalist and a third star Elementalist. Jie swallowed hard. She''d escaped an Elementalist already, but in the tight corridors and with two of them and the others... she had no confidence she''d be able to keep her friends safe and lead the creatures away this time... Thankfully, the creatures hadn''t bothered to veil their auras so they were easy to sense, and hopefully had not yet sensed Jie and her friends. Pan Tian called a halt with an upraised hand almost immediately and looked at Jie, as though asking whether Jie thought she could handle what was coming their way. Jie shook her head vehemently. Pan Tian nodded. She gestured back the way they''d come and led them rapidly in the opposite direction. None of them said a word, all of them trying to keep the noise of their movements down and their auras veiled tightly. Pan Tian led them down a side passage, then turned around another corner and came to a stop. There, the older girl pressed a finger to her lips and turned off her lantern. The others followed suit. Jie turned off her own lantern first, leaving Xue''s till last. As Jie turned off Xue''s lantern, darkness swallowed them. Jie and her friends waited there in utter blackness, surrounded by bones, the steady trickle of blood, and the scrabbling of things scurrying around them. Footsteps drew closer, muffled slightly by the layer of dust that covered the catacomb floor. The approaching creatures screeched and clacked in a rhythm that sounded like some form of speech. Jie felt a weak aura skittering over the floor toward her. A sixth star Adept and tiny. It reached her foot and crawled onto her shoe. Jie kept as quiet as she could and didn''t move. It was small. Too small and weak to pose any real threat... even if it did have far too many legs. But, she dared not make a sound as the Elementalists approached. Jie''s breaths sounded far too loud in her ears despite her attempts to breathe as quietly as possible. The auras of the two Elementalists drew closer, traveling along the passage they''d been in only a moment ago. The orange glow that followed the creatures gradually lit the side passage they''d ducked out of, casting long shadows over the skulls as Jie kept her aura veiled as best she could. Just enough light made it around the bends for Jie to see the hairy outline of a spider the size of her face as it started climbing up her robes. She suppressed a shudder together with the urge to smack it away. Far, far away. The approaching auras paused at the entrance to the side passage Jie and her friends had taken, and Jie''s heart pounded in her chest. She felt certain that they''d been found. Sensed by the Elementalists despite their attempts to hide. Then one of the creatures gave a series of harsh, screeching noises that sounded oddly like an order... and the auras continued moving down the original passage. Jie held in her relieved sigh, afraid the Elementalists might somehow hear the soft noise echoing through the tunnels. She waited patiently with her friends, fearful the creatures might double back. The spider lazily continued its climb up Jie''s waist. The weight of its body tugged slightly on her robes as it pulled itself up. Jie''s skin crawled but she remained silent and unmoving. But, gradually, the auras moved beyond Jie''s ability to sense them... the orange light faded and so too did the noise. But, nobody dared move. Not even Jie. Despite the spider that crawled lazily up to her neck. Jie and her friends waited in the darkness for a while longer. Time the spider used to continue its climb up her neck. Jie felt the hairs of its legs on her neck and cheek as it climbed up her face. She tensed, aching to crush it and incinerate it with dragon lightning qi but held back. Elementalist senses would be better than theirs. They had to be sure. Finally, Pan Tian dialed her lantern back up to a faint blue glow. Jie took that as her cue to at last do something about the spider. She grabbed it with one hand and hurled it into the darkness. It landed with a meaty thud and skittered away down the tunnel. Jie shuddered and dusted herself off, trying to shake off the memory of it. They encountered more of the screeching groups wandering the catacombs. Pan Tian said they were arak, but they never risked getting close enough to verify that. "Are they hostile?" Jie asked after they''d evaded another group of them. "Let''s not find out," Pan Tian said. They encountered other creatures in the long, dark passages. Larger versions of the hairy spider that''d crawled up Jie. They loved to drop down from the ceiling or spring out from hidden crevices in the walls. But the strongest ones they encountered were only at the fourth star of the Expert rank and easily dealt with. They collected their bodies and beast cores and moved on. They also encountered multiple groups of skeletons that climbed out of the collection of bones along the wall, red energy suffused them and connected mismatched bones into nightmare monstrosities that should not exist. Despite the fright they gave Jie when they suddenly ambushed their group from either side, fear soon turned to vindication at her paranoia being proven correct. The skeletons were stronger than the spiders with several fifth and sixth star Experts among them. Strong enough to be a threat to the others in Jie''s party. But Jie made sure to annihilate those threats as quickly as she could. And, they moved on. The skeletons had nothing worth taking as they used no items and fought only with the red energy that suffused their bodies as well as the bones that composed them. Jie was glad that not even Pan Tian wanted to take the bones. Chapter 98 Treasure The passages seemed endless and the long shadows danced as they moved and jostled the lanterns on their belts. They moved at a fast walk, with Pan Tian checking for traps. She''d helped their group avoid countless numbers of them so far. Even the more magical ones. Pan Tian always seemed to know what to look for and Jie was glad she had the opportunity to watch the older girl in action as she would''ve been caught by many of the traps simply because she didn''t know any better. She paid careful attention to what Pan Tian indicated and the occasional words the older girl spoke, telling them about the traps and what triggered them. They were being fairly quiet, but Pan Tian still instructed them when she could. Though Ithilix already seemed at least as skilled at trap finding. Perhaps even more so than Pan Tian herself, so Jie presumed the lessons were mainly for her benefit. Jie wasn''t sure what, if any, of the treasures they''d gained in the Crimson Valley would be of use to her, aside from the cultivation resources. But she felt like she''d learned an incredible amount from it already. Between the insights into her martial skills, her growth in cultivation, and Pan Tian''s lessons, it''d been enormously rewarding so far. And, if the qilin were right, she finally knew what was holding her back. Though, she hadn''t resolved the conflict inside her yet... she''d tried mentally chanting that she was okay with killing, but it seemed that it wasn''t that easy, and the conflict remained. Once again, they saw light around a corner. But it was brighter this time and lacked the sounds the arak made. There were far more auras, but they felt more in line with items than cultivators. Even so, Jie cycled her qi, ready for a fight, and hoping they weren''t about to come face to face with Elementalists. They turned the corner and saw that there were indeed no arak in sight. Instead, there was a massive chamber ahead of them with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, casting bright orange light on the piles of gold and silver coins, weapons, clothing, pottery, chests, stacks of scrolls, metal and stone statues and busts, glittering gemstones, tapestries, crowns, and countless other objects strewn about the room and on the floor above with open archways revealing more treasures on that floor. Large troughs of blood lined the walls and the ledge of the floor above. The blood within oozed at a steady trickle. In the center of the room was a large red statue of the same woman as always. She looked right at them with her usual severe expression. "Woah," Jie said. "I told you. There''s tons of treasure in the dungeon. Though, I must admit, this is more than even I expected," Pan Tian said. "This one is most grateful to partake in such a bounty," Ithilix said. Xue sniffed the air and growled. Jie frowned and scanned the room with her spirit sense as best she could. Auras came off countless objects in the room, though she felt something giving off a powerful aura like that of an Expert ranked cultivator of the peak ninth star... only it didn''t feel... right. More like the aura that came off objects than magical beasts, monsters, or people. Still... she wasn''t great with using her spirit sense. She started cycling lightning step and qi armor just in case. Ithilix stepped forward, her antennae quivering. "This one senses a powerful treasure... we shouldn''t touch anything until we''ve identified it," Ithilix said. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. A gold coin slid off a large pile on Jie''s right, bounced on the floor with a clink, and rolled across the floor toward the center of the room. A silver coin leapt over to it and the two stuck together. The pair skid toward the middle of the room as more coins followed suit. Huge piles of coins sloshed in a glittering chorus of tinkling metal, carrying jeweled necklaces, gems, weapons, scrolls, and beautiful tapestries with them as they flowed into a massive pile in the middle of the room. The pile grew until it was four times higher than Jie was tall. Then, it shifted, forming into a vaguely humanoid shape with a head, two arms (the left of which was more than triple the size of the right one), and rose up on an almost serpentine lower body extending out of the pile of coins. Gold, silver, and dazzling gems fell from it as it moved only to fall at its tail and slide back to rejoin the rest of the monster. It pulled its larger arm back as violet fire qi burned through the gaps in the coins and set scrolls caught in the mass of coins alight. Its entire arm of precious coins glowed from the heat. It lashed out at Jie. The enormous fist bore down upon her, radiating heat. But, it was slow despite being at the ninth star of the Expert rank. Jie sidestepped the strike and it extended past her, flowing like a train of sizzling metal. It smashed a large chest behind her which exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke that sent crowns, coins, and strange blue gems scattering everywhere. Hey! That''s our treasure! Jie thought. She directed her fingers at it and sent out a finger of light attack. Dragon lightning qi flashed across the distance between her and it and blasted its head apart in an explosion of coins as dragon lightning arced over its massive body. The pieces of its head landed with a chorus of clinks and slid over the floor back toward the tail of the monster as a new head formed. A hum filled the air as more coins, a weapon rack containing spears, and a large hammer shot across the room and into the creature''s bulk. Its aura fluctuated and bright violet qi engulfed its entire body, burning through the gaps in the coins as its body glowed with an oppressive heat that washed over the entire room. Gold, silver, and many of the weapons in its body melted and formed into a swirling liquid. Gold and silver mixed into a strange variety of white, yellow, and green metal that radiated heat. The metal bubbled as lines of violet fire flickered over its surface. "I think you annoyed it," Pan Tian said. "I think so too. Whatever. Let''s end this," Jie said. Jie struck out with two finger of light attacks. More powerful ones this time. Her dragon lightning qi flashed across the room and blasted its head and one of its shoulders away, sending molten metal splattering across the room, which her friends dived behind pillars to avoid. Lightning arced over its body and the liquid metal flowed back to it as the hum intensified and Jie''s hair stood on end. Even more of the room flowed toward it. "Ah! It''s pulling my weapons!" Pan Tian said. "This one''s too!" Ithilix said as she wrestled with her spear. The creature''s larger arm flowed into an enormous, curved blade of liquid metal and violet fire as the monster slithered toward Jie. Its speed had been almost ponderous before, but now it closed the gap between it and Jie in the blink of an eye. It slashed at Jie, its liquid metal weapon slicing toward her far faster than its first attack and at a much closer range. Jie bit back a surprised yelp at the sudden change, but it was still slower than her. Jie formed dragonfists around each of her fists. She smashed one into the blade with the back of her fist, blasting it away from her, and then punched the creature in the lower half of its body. Where its hips would be if it weren''t a mass of metal and gems. The heat coming off it made sweat run down Jie''s skin. But thankfully with her dragon lightning qi shielding her fists, she didn''t burn herself as she blasted the monster back with each hit. Liquid metal and half-molten treasures splattered around her as she punched great dents in the monster. Lightning arced over the monster''s bulk and the humming intensified. It vibrated Jie''s bones as more of the treasures in the room flowed to the creature, merging, and melting into it with only a few more powerful weapons managing to stay intact, sticking out like spikes and glowing from the heat. The creature reformed, the dents she''d created flowing closed as the monster slashed at Jie again with both arms this time and even faster than before. Jie stopped attacking, focusing instead on evading its attacks and then on outright fleeing the creature as her mind raced and the monster gave chase. What the heck? My attacks make it faster. And stronger too. Gold and silver... I remember something about gold and silver... together it makes... electrum? I remember it had something to do with electrostatic... something or other. But, this is ridiculous! A treasure monster that gets stronger when I attack it?! What am I supposed to do against something like that!? Jie thought. Chapter 99 The Treasure Golem "What are you doing? Hit it, Jie!" Pan Tian yelled as she lashed out with arcs of bright white qi that cut shallow gouges in the liquid metal. Only for the metal to ooze back together almost immediately. The monster didn''t even seem to notice. "I can''t!" Jie said as she ducked under a flaming slash that trailed embers in the air and continued running from the now much faster monster, "my attacks just supercharge it!" Jie ran around the room with the creature slithering behind her, unleashing a flurry of devastating attacks that ripped apart anything they touched and left deep, molten gouges in the marble floor. She was still faster than it, and she scrambled to think of some way to deal with the creature. The heat radiating from it had grown in intensity until it felt like physical waves that slammed into her and made it hard to think. The creature stopped chasing her and Jie glanced over her shoulder. Its featureless face melted inward, forming a hollowed-out space like a mouth that took up its entire face. Its body swelled and its aura flared as violet fire swirled inside its hollow head. Jie leapt to one side with all her speed as a beam of violet plasma shot out of the creature''s ''mouth''. It missed her and blasted a bookcase filled with scrolls into a flaming, ruined mess. "Oh, come on!" Jie yelled. It continued channeling the beam and swept its burning gaze toward Jie. Jie ran, using lightning step to its fullest as the beam chased her around the room, incinerating anything it touched and leaving a trail of smoke, molten marble, metal, and ruined scrolls. Pan Tian and Ithilix came out from behind their pillars, unleashing a barrage of attacks on the monster. But, their abilities only created ripples and cuts in the liquid metal that rapidly reformed good as new. Xue gave a ferocious roar but didn''t attack and the monster ignored him too as it chased Jie with the beam. It seemed to be accelerating and Jie was struggling to stay ahead of it. She dived behind the red statue of the woman and hid behind it. The beam struck the statue and violet fire spilled around her edges, adding to the oppressive heat in the room as the liquid metal monster channeled its attack. But the red statue seemed to be holding. Finally, the treasure monster''s attack sputtered out. Jie jumped out from behind the statue, moving quickly to make herself a harder target. The red statue seemed utterly unharmed, though the marble floor at its base was a gurgling, molten mess. The monster closed its ''mouth'' and paused. Its featureless face reflected Jie as it regarded her while Pan Tian and Ithilix attacked it to no effect. It then turned its gaze from Jie and looked over Xue, Pan Tian, and Ithilix in turn. Its liquid form shifted like a coiling spring as its blank face fixated on Ithilix. Jie''s eyes widened as she sensed its intentions. The treasure monster lunged at Ithilix. Its massive, burning blades of liquid metal reared back to cut her down with powerful slashes she had no hope of stopping. Ithilix cycled a martial skill, but she was far too slow and would never escape in time. Jie gritted her teeth and launched herself off a lightning step platform. She rocketed across the room and slipped between Ithilix and the liquid metal monstrosity. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Jie activated her storage ring and pulled out the pair of blood swords her friends had insisted on gifting her earlier and parried the treasure monster''s enormous blades with her blood crystal ones. The power of the strike cracked the ground beneath Jie''s feet as the monster brought its full weight and power to bear, its burning blades sizzling against Jie''s crystal ones. Jie reinforced her muscles with qi, resisting the monster''s attempt to overpower her as Ithilix vanished with poison step, reappearing some distance away as she resumed peppering the treasure monster with poison qi darts. Jie stared into her own defiant reflection in the creature''s featureless face. Its face peeled back to reveal the hollow interior once more as it swelled with violet fire. Jie sidestepped, her meridians protesting as she pumped as much qi into her lightning step ability as she could, forcing her body to move with impossible speed. The burning beam incinerated the space where Jie had been standing as the monster slashed furiously at her while trying to focus its violet fire gaze upon her. Jie danced around the beam as her blood swords clashed with burning liquid metal in a staccato of ringing strikes. She had no experience using swords and relied purely on her raw speed to keep herself alive as she danced on the edge of death, her mind furiously working on how to defeat the creature. Despite her inexperience, Jie soon gained enough familiarity with her blades to not only parry but counter strike, her blood blades cutting deep rents in the monster''s liquid metal. But, as before, the creature seemed impossible to truly harm as the deep wounds flowed back together as quickly as she caused them. The blades did, however, drain violet fire qi from the monster with every strike, pouring it into Jie who cultivated and broke it down into lightning dragon qi even as she fought. The amount was small, but it was perhaps the only true harm she''d inflicted upon the monster since their fight began. The monster continued to press her, however, heedless of the feeble drain her blades had on it as its serpentine bulk flowed toward her, constantly forcing her back between trying to incinerate her with its burning beam. Each of its attacks contained impossible force and the marble beneath Jie''s feet cracked with every impact even as it began to glow from the heat. Jie stepped back, one grudging step at a time as it pushed her under the floor above. Jie sliced through the creature''s sword arms, severing the liquid members with brute force and speed. But, they merely flowed back into the creature and re-emerged. Jie panted as sweat ran down her body, stinging her eyes and dripping from her nose and chin as her hair stuck to her skin. Each second was like an eternity, locked in a deadly battle where the smallest mistake would mean her end. I take back everything negative I ever thought about weapons... she thought bitterly as she desperately fended the monster off. Thankfully, the blood weapons seemed impressively resistant to the creature''s heat and its strange magnetic ability. This isn''t working. Damn it! Think! How do I stop a liquid electrum treasure monster? Her electric blue eyes flicked up to the lip of the floor above. Oh... of course! Jie parried several more strikes and stepped back just a little more until the creature was right under the edge of the floor above. Then, she threw one of her swords into its chest, lifted her free hand up, and blasted a finger of light attack into the floor above. The marble exploded in a cloud of dust, marble chunks, and a torrent of blood from the deep troughs. The blood rained like a waterfall through the hole Jie had created and splashed onto the liquid electrum monster. The treasure monster screeched as blood steamed into a red mist and the metal hissed. It slowed down as its molten metal body rapidly cooled and it began to freeze up as an endless deluge of blood rained down upon it. Finally, the monster slowed to a stop. Its screeching died to an echo as the room fell silent apart from the splatter of blood falling upon its unmoving, hardened body. Jie let out a breath she hadn''t known she''d been holding. Her friends stopped their attacks, looking as relieved as she felt. "Thank you, Princess," Ithilix said, "if not for you, this one would surely have died." "What are friends for?" Jie said between panting breaths. The creature shuddered and the solid metal cracked like the top of a cr¨¨me br?l¨¦e, exposing the glowing hot liquid metal underneath. Chapter 100 Artifact "How the hell are we supposed to kill this thing?!" Jie yelled as more cracks formed on its surface and began to widen. "This one senses a powerful artifact within it. Perhaps it can be shut down?" Ithilix suggested. Jie formed a dragonfist and punched the pommel of the blood sword she''d left stuck inside it. The blood sword exploded into the creature. The monster''s frozen outer surface shattered like glass and its liquid form reeled back, splitting the monster almost in half as lightning arced over it. Seriously? Even indirect strikes power it up? Jie thought bitterly. It splashed backward, exposing a metal ring the size of Jie''s waist, covered in runes that surrounded a large violet sphere. It hummed and liquid metal rushed in around it as the creature reformed. "There!" Ithilix yelled, "That is the artifact this one sensed!" The humming intensified as the creature drew in more treasure and its size swelled. It levitated off the ground and formed into a ball of liquid metal as weapons and other treasures that refused to melt swirled around inside it, including Jie''s blood sword. Violet fire enveloped the orb and a wave of heat washed over the room. Jie''s friends cried out and retreated as far as they could as the floor below the hovering sphere glowed and began to melt. Several scrolls near it caught fire. "Leave our treasure alone you jerk!" Pan Tian shouted as she lashed out with several arcs of moonlight qi that left only shallow gouges which quickly healed. Jie held her remaining blood sword at the ready as globules of liquid metal stretched out of the sphere and then split off. Hundreds of them. They then reshaped into razors of liquid metal and started to rotate around the orb, slowly at first, but picking up speed until they howled around the sphere like a hurricane of sharp, fiery death that chewed up the ground and treasures around it. "Ithilix, can you sense where its power core is?" Jie asked. Ithilix''s antennae quivered. "It''s moving it around in the larger sphere," she said, "by the time this one says where it is, it will already be somewhere else." "Awesome," Jie said. She stared at the cyclone of whirling death that gained intensity with every passing moment. She couldn''t hope to parry even a fraction of the blades. Especially not while trying to carve her way through the monster''s core. There was only one thing Jie could think of. One way they might win. Though it would mean certain death for all of them if she failed. Jie stored her blood sword in her ring with a thought as qi armor sparked to life around her. She clenched her fists as snarling, crackling dragon lightning qi ignited into dragonfists around them and she prepared to do something only a genius or a moron would ever even attempt. Guess I''ll find out which I am... the dragon advances, Jie thought. She bent her knees as she pushed more qi into her lightning step and qi armor skills. Then, like an arrow loosed from a bow, she sprang forward. Jie leaped at the bubbling, burning orb of liquid metal, trailing arcs of lightning behind her. She roared at it, propelled by some primal instinct as metal blades howled all around her, moving so fast that the air shrieked. Blade after blade smashed into her, liquid metal thudding into her and splattering against her qi armor with such force they knocked her off course. But, she formed a lightning step platform in mid-air and surged into the heart of the storm. Jie gritted her teeth as the countless blades shredded her qi armor, draining it rapidly as she struggled to replenish it and failed to keep pace with the damage. In moments, it would break, and boiling razors of molten metal would shred her to pieces. Jie reached the orb and struck out. Snarling dragon lightning qi met liquid metal and exploded outward, sending it spraying away even as dragon lightning arced all around her, empowering the treasure monster further. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Jie saw no sign of the core, so she struck again. The blow landed with explosive fury and blasted more liquid metal in every direction even as shards of molten metal continued to slam into her. Jie''s qi armor dropped alarmingly low. Moments away from shattering completely as her strike empowered the metal monstrosity even further. But, she saw it. A small piece of the creature''s core. The outer ring was just barely exposed for a moment before the monster sucked it deeper into its body. Jie targeted that area and delivered another strike. The blow detonated with the fury of unrestrained lightning as liquid metal showered the room, splattering against Jie''s armor and draining the already failing skill even further. Lightning arced over glowing hot metal as the monster grew even more powerful, but its core was exposed. Jie grabbed the outer ring of the core even as liquid desperately flowed over the rest of the core, trying to drag it deeper into the monster and away from her. Jie gripped the ring with single-minded determination even as the monster tried to pull it away from her. But, she''d die before she released it. Jie''s qi armor disintegrated into fragments around her as she formed a lightning step to give herself leverage and kicked off it with all her strength, her fingers still locked in a death grip around the core. For a heart-stopping moment, Jie didn''t move. Then, the artifact gave all at once and she pulled it free with a mighty heave and a wet sucking noise as she leaped backward. The force of her leap caused her to overbalance in the air. She leaned into it, backflipping from the motion as she soared across the room and landed feet first up on the floor above. A trail of qi armor fragments crackled in her wake and countless cuts and burns marred her skin and robes but she had the core in her grasp. Jie''s elation was short-lived, however, as the violet core hummed louder than ever with an intensity that vibrated her bones. Coins, liquid metal, one of the chandeliers, and a weapon rack came flying toward her in a tsunami of deadly treasure. Jie ran as she cycled a dragonfist and struck the core. A hairline crack formed from the impact as the wave of treasure shattered a pillar behind her. Jie struck the core again. More cracks formed. Bigger this time. A wave of treasure hurtled toward her from ahead as yet more came from behind and the side, surrounding her from every angle as the core''s intense humming drew everything metal toward her. Jie cycled a fresh set of qi armor and poured as much qi into it as she could, as she braced for what was coming. Jie struck the core, widening the cracks. She struck again and at last her fist broke through. Foreign, violet fire qi seared her hand and exploded out of the hole she''d made in a blinding roar of energy. It washed over her skin and into her meridians where it rushed to her dantian. It dwarfed the scraps her swords had gathered, burning her from the inside out. Jie screamed, but despite the pain she sucked it into her dantian and cycled her qi, trying to refine it as she had before. Some distant part of her was still aware of the incoming danger through the pain and she dived into a trough of blood in the hope it might at least cool the liquid metal rushing toward her. The world turned red as she plunged into the thick, sticky red liquid. Violet fire qi lit the trough like the sun as Jie greedily absorbed its energies. An instant later the treasure hit her like a hammer. Liquid metal boiled the blood around her and pressed tight against her qi armor, burning through it faster than she could replenish it as it squeezed her like a vise. Jie could only hope the blood would cool it enough for her to survive when it inevitably broke through her qi armor. As when Jie had cultivated before, cultivating rapidly grew painful and the fact she was drawing in violet fire qi of incredible intensity only made it all the more agonizing. It lit her dantian like an inferno as she wrestled with it, forcing it to refine into dragon lightning qi as fast as she could as ever more energy poured into her. Violet fire spun around her dragon lightning qi, forming a storm cloud of conflicting ferocious energies that threatened to rip her apart. She spun it faster and faster as even more violet fire qi flooded into her. Her head swam as liquid metal engulfed her, eating through her qi armor all too quickly. Still, she forced the violet fire qi to rotate even faster, stripping it of impurities in a howling vortex of blue and violet energies like a storm upon an alien world. She felt the marble trough break. Felt herself fall and smack against the floor below. She couldn''t move, trapped as she was in the cocoon of metal. It breached her qi armor in places and burned her skin, yet not even that stopped it as the violet fire qi drew it through her skin and into her body. Molten metal cooked her flesh, adding to the orchestra of pain that destroyed all capacity for thought. Driven by instinct and the sheer will to survive, Jie refined the metal as she would a body conditioning resource, assimilating the foreign substance rather than allowing herself to burn to death. Violet fire qi broke apart as she forced it to obey her and refined it into dragon lightning qi. Impurities and unwanted energy were thrown out, unable to spin fast enough as it glowed brighter and brighter within her. Finally, when she''d broken the violet fire qi down, she forced it all to stop rotating. The explosion within her dantian rippled through her and blood boiled out of her throat, yet as she opened her mouth to vomit it out, liquid metal poured through the opening. In a singular instant of sanity, Jie wished she could scream. Then, that thought was snuffed out once more by all-consuming pain. Chapter 101 Scrolls of Wisdom She''d make a good nurse... Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Wow... I think I''m starting to get used to this world. This isn''t even weird to me. A bloodstained training manual for increasing the power and skill of slave warriors for arena combat. It contains detailed notes on improving the strength of cultivators belonging to intelligent, sentient species. Everything from diet to training techniques, common mistakes and weaknesses in a variety of fighting styles, ways in which their cultivation could be improved, and even body refinement techniques. It''s a most thorough treatise. Penned by Zulman Kol''mar, the head of a renowned gladiatorial school in the Barrens of Yon''Garek. His teachings were so effective that some cultivators paid great sums to become his students even at the cost of their freedom. Chapter 102 The Shandian Hearthlands A copy of the seventh of a twelve-volume set of historical texts covering Long Kui''s battle with the Dark Hive Queen Trinix and his subsequent ascent to become the Spectral Emperor, ruler of the Shandian Hearthlands. This copy was penned by Vorrmak The Arak Scribe. The handwriting is poor, but it''s otherwise a faithful replication. ''Before he became the Spectral Emperor, those whose hearts cried for freedom knew well the name of the Spectral Warrior Long Kui.'' I guess I''m in the Shandian Hearthlands then... A cultivation manual describing the Path of Blood cultivation method and the creation of blood qi. This particular manual was penned by High Priestess Vrethka. While following the cultivation methods described is likely to indeed produce blood qi, it should be noted that this manual is filled with zealous language and false promises designed to indoctrinate those who read it into following ''The Blood Goddess''. And, to revere the goddess''s ''holy messenger'', the author. A hideous, malformed rock. One would think nature could not produce such a travesty. Congratulations on wasting a scroll on such a worthless, wretched item. Idiot. Well, that was rude. Though I guess I shouldn''t be surprised... what did I expect from such a low-ranked scroll when even Ming couldn''t remember it? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Chapter 103 Cavern Of Blood
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Chapter 104 Hidden Caches
Or veiling themselves.
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Chapter 105 The Arak etter to see if there''s another way out of this, Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Just when I start thinking I''m getting used to this world, there are birds living underground of all places, Hopefully, they don''t kill us, Seriously guys? I haven''t had a single meeting in this world where I didn''t piss everyone off. Why the hell do you want me to do the talking? Are you nuts? Chapter 106 The Goddesss Will Elder Shi, wherever you are please lend me the gift of your silver tongue, Jie prayed as she gave another elegant bow toward the elders. "Thank you, esteemed elders, for giving us the chance to explain," Jie said as her mind worked furiously to find a way out of this, "we never had any intention of stepping into your sacred realm. We were making our way through your expertly made tests when our path was destroyed by a red statue that rose up out of the lake. She--" "The goddess destroyed your path?" interrupted the male. Purple smoke spilled from his beak as he spoke. "Yes," Jie said, "she--" "See? It''s the goddess''s will for them to die by our hand," Vrethka slurred, "I''m sure the other elders agree." "I''ll go with whatever Kazzak decides," said one of the elders, her voice even more slurred than Vrethka''s as she stared off into space as though looking at something only she could see. Vrethka glared at her. "Thank you," said the male that Jie assumed was Kazzak, "it''s always so nice to have the support of my fellow elders." He was the only male elder that Jie could see and several of the female elders preened at that though half of them looked too stoned to know or care what he was referring to. It only seemed to make Vrethka angrier. "Please, continue," said Kazzak. Jie inclined her head in thanks. "The great goddess spoke to us and told us that a smart cultivator always prepares as best they can. But that no matter how well you lay your plans, something will always happen to disrupt them. She asked us how we would handle a change in our plans as she summoned an army of blood elementals and broke our path. "We were forced away from the main path and tried to find our way onto another one to get across. To adapt and overcome as the goddess instructed. We never intended to intrude on you when we are so very grateful for your hard work that gives us the opportunity to be tested by the great goddess," Jie said, "if you would only allow us to leave, we would go back the way we came and try to find another way through to the other side as the goddess wishes for us." Jie tried to keep any emotion off her face while killing intent came off Vrethka in waves, weighing on Jie even from so far away and enhanced by the strength of her aura. Jie''s friends trembled but remained standing. "Please, control yourself, Vrethka. It''s unseemly for an elder to behave in such a barbaric fashion," Kazzak said as smoke spilled from his beak and his golden eyes gleamed with mirth. Vrethka glared at him. "And it is not a husband''s place to tell his wife what is and is not unseemly," she hissed. In response, Kazzak stroked one of his cloying admirers as she clumsily attempted to shower him with affection. Vrethka''s feathers flared and her aura came off her in chaotic waves as she glared at him. He watched her as though waiting for something with eager anticipation, but as she settled back down a flicker of disappointment flashed through his golden eyes. Gone so fast that Jie wasn''t sure if she''d imagined it. "Their test was to choose another path. They chose poorly. Death is better than they deserve," said Vrethka. "Ahk. Perhaps," said Kazzak, "but, it''s not our goddess''s will for us to interfere in the tests. Only to help create them. Killing them now would be sacrilege." "What would you do? Let them go? Such weakness. As expected of a male," Vrethka snapped. "Is that you saying you wish to challenge me, Vrethka? If so, I happily accept," Kazzak said. Vrethka looked furious. "I''ve beaten you before," she said bitterly. Though her dark red eyes widened as soon as the words left her beak as though she hadn''t meant to say it, or not as loudly as she had. "I remember," Kazzak said with a grim edge to his voice, "care to try again?" She scowled at him for a long moment but retreated, her feathers settling back as she inclined her head. "No..." Vrethka said. "No... what?" Kazzak pressed. "No... Flock Leader. I do not wish to challenge you... yet," Vrethka said. Kazzak looked at her with calculating eyes and bit down on his pipe again, sucking down a long draw. She did the same. He looked back down at Jie and her friends. "You cannot stay here, but we cannot allow you to simply leave after trespassing on our realm. And yet we are not to interfere in the test. You''ve certainly made our day more interesting," Kazzak said. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Many of the flock laughed including several of the elders. Some laughed so hard they couldn''t breathe, though Jie didn''t think it was that funny. But, then many of them looked baked out of their minds. The laughter seemed to provoke yet more laughter and rapidly devolved into hysterics that drowned out all other sounds as the arak howled their amusement. All except for Kazzak and Vrethka. After a long moment, it settled down into fitful giggles. "What about a trial then?" Jie asked, "That way you wouldn''t be interfering, you''d just be helping the goddess test us the way that she wants. You could pit us against a team of cultivators of similar strength. If we win, you could take us across the lake on one of your boats. And, if we lose we could leave and never bother you again." The arak laughed again. All of them this time and so loudly that the building vibrated. "Leave if you lose?" roared Vrethka. Which triggered fresh waves of raucous laughter from the other arak. All except Kazzak who stopped laughing and seemed only irritated by his wife. The laughter continued before finally settling down into waves of sporadic giggles that rippled through the chamber. "You will be tested in our arena. Win and you will have safe passage to the deeper parts of the dungeon. Lose, and the victors will claim your heads. Strength will determine your fates," said Kazzak, "it will take some time to prepare. You may rest in comfort until you are called." "One of them is on the cusp of breaking through to the middle dantian," Vrethka said, "isn''t your son of similar strength, husband? What an excellent chance for him to lead a group in combat. And, for the honor of our flock no less." If Vrethka''s words bothered him, Kazzak didn''t show it. "Unfortunately, his friends are too strong for the rest of this group," Kazzak said. "I can lend him some of my younger priestesses," Vrethka said, "unless you think he is somehow unfit?" Kazzak''s feathers rippled with the barest ruffle. He took a long draw from his pipe and looked at Jie and her friends. "Of course, they''ll need to be of a slightly higher cultivation than our intruders. No doubt they have plenty of practice fighting together while the group he forms for this will not. It''s only fair to compensate for that," he said. Vrethka looked like she was trying hard to think of a reason not to do that, but could not. Jie wanted to say that they didn''t, but she didn''t see how that would help. It would only force the only person who''d argued in their favor to call them liars. Each of them was strong for their cultivation level... she hoped that would be enough.
They were soon dismissed and their escort led them back out the way they''d come and continued leading them up the spiral town that wound around the massive block of stone. She ushered them into a two-story, cozy house with a large bath, artwork on the walls, potted plants, and a runed light on the ceiling that seemed to emit sunlight or something like it. Other than the front door, the doorways were covered with beads. "You should be more than comfortable here," said the Elementalist arak, "would you like anything? A last meal perhaps?" Jie gave the bird woman a flat stare. The bird woman shrugged and walked back out. Ithilix returned from the bedroom. "This one doesn''t understand why anyone would want to sleep above the floor," she muttered. Jie could sense the Elementalist Arak outside their door. She hoped they could have at least some privacy, but there was no way that she wouldn''t hear everything they said. And, Jie had no doubt that she would pass it on. Still, they needed to talk. Jie turned to her friends. "What the hell was that?" she asked. The returned blank looks. "You''re our leader, not me. Why did you make me do the talking? Are you crazy? Now look where we are," Jie said. "I don''t know this area and besides, you did well," Pan Tian said with a smile. Jie resisted the urge to strangle the older girl. Pan Tian rolled her green eyes. "Relax. You''re the strongest of us and you radiate royalty. It''s obvious to anyone that you have a powerful bloodline of some kind. My family is strong in this region, but these arak probably don''t know or care. And, you''re the strongest of us. So, you''re obviously the one they were most likely to listen to. And you handled it well. I could give you some notes though, if you''d like? So you can do better next time?" she suggested. Jie narrowed her blue eyes at the older girl but finally blew out a sigh. "Yes," she said, "please." "I''ll do that later then. For now, we should consider what to do about the coming fight. I suspect they''ll try to gain every advantage they can. We have no idea what we''re walking into and fighting flying enemies is going to be a challenge," Pan Tian said. Jie pointed over her shoulder at the door where their escort would be easily overhearing everything they said. Pan Tian nodded and a brush, inkstick, and ink stone appeared in her hands. She then pulled out wads of paper, paperweights, and everything else they''d need. And, they began planning. Using the brush to write notes and draw diagrams as they discussed their strategy in a way that couldn''t be overheard. They had no idea just what kind of fighting styles they''d be facing, or just how much stronger their opponents would be. But, they worked with what they did know and came out with several general plans for different scenarios. The others took a moment to cultivate after they''d discussed and run through multiple scenarios, so they''d be at peak performance. But, Jie was still bursting with energy and her cultivation wasn''t as stable as she''d like. So, she didn''t dare add more to her cultivation until she''d had a chance to stabilize it. Part of Jie hoped that this fight would be tough enough to give her something to help stabilize again. Yet, that thought made her feel guilty as the harder the fight was, the more her friends would be in danger. Maybe I''m getting too used to this crazy world... she thought. She paced the room and spotted the enclosed bed with only a single opening suspended above the ground in the bedroom. It looked cozy, if a little weird. She chose to bathe, scrubbing the muck of the trials and tests off her skin. Her ghostly form that seemed somehow connected to her bond with Xue had allowed her to remove the metal from her throat and lungs. But, for whatever reason, it hadn''t allowed the blood, water, and dust to drop through her the same way. As such, it was a relief to be rid of it and to feel clean for the first time in what felt like forever but in truth had only been a day or so. After scrubbing, Jie allowed herself to soak. She''d worked every minute she possibly could since being brought to this world... and now simply waiting... she found her mind wandering. She thought of Ming trying to heal himself within her room in the academy. As the days passed without any obvious signs of recovery, she increasingly felt that if she didn''t find a healer, she would lose him. But, all she had to go on was a rumor. And one that would be a perilous journey to check on. The Headmaster had made that journey, but how was she supposed to get him to talk about it? Chapter 107 Bloodfeather Arena I don''t know that I''d call a fight to the death ''small things not worth sweating over'',
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. No doubt a formation to protect the crowd from stray strikes... or to keep anyone from escaping, No matter what happens? I don''t know if I can do that... Chapter 108 Blood And Moonlight Or maybe not so unique if the Gsthi Wanderers do the same thing... This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Chapter 109 Sunfire Qi Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Chapter 110 Flash The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. I can''t go on like this. One day whether I like it or not... I''ll have to kill. Chapter 111 The Freedom To Fly You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. I don''t have time to take years to do this... Ming is counting on me... the universe is counting on me... Chapter 112 Shared Knowledge They continued speaking as they traveled across the blood lake. Jie was relieved to learn that the statues helped the arak in return for their work on the dungeon, so it wasn''t a completely one-sided affair. They also talked about cultivation and how to more efficiently gather Essence. Kazzak had several techniques and pieces of advice that Jie was sure she and her friends could use even though they didn''t cultivate sunfire qi like he did. And Jie told her friends and Kazzak some of the things she''d learned with her own cultivation. They seemed to find her thoughts fascinating, though they seemed obvious enough to her. Pan Tian and Ithilix also shared some of their techniques and discoveries. And Jie passed on what little she could glean from Xue, using her connection to him to get a general feeling for what he wanted to say. But that was far less useful simply because she struggled to communicate it. But Xue did his best to demonstrate to make up for it. Even though the way magical beasts cultivated was different, there were enough similarities for Jie and the others to learn something. And he seemed to benefit as well. It felt like an incredibly useful and productive discussion and it was enjoyable too. Between their conversations were long moments of silent traveling as her friends cultivated with their eyes closed and huge smiles on their faces as they sucked in and refined huge amounts of Essence. Jie cultivated a little too, but her cultivation still felt a bit unstable despite how much the fight with Hazzik had helped her and once again, it quickly turned painful. Still, what little cultivation she did was vastly improved by all that she''d learned from Kazzak and her friends. Jie looked out over the calm blood lake into the darkness lit only by the glowing worms on the ceiling, the occasional luminescent mushroom or stone, and the dim light of their lanterns. Including the one on the boat. It was quite beautiful, in a disgusting and extraordinarily creepy way. As she looked out over it, she thought about what Kazzak had said and what others had told her. She tried to think about the conflict within her that she least wanted to think about, which made her thoughts rapidly turn to the idea of killing. She''d been avoiding it ever since she came to this world, and she knew deep down in her bones that she couldn''t avoid it forever. It wasn''t like anyone in this world would judge her if she killed... quite the opposite... not that she cared what they thought. But her parents would. They''d always said that no matter the reason, killing someone makes you a monster just like them... Jie didn''t know if she agreed with that... she wished she could talk to them about it. Had they meant it? Did they still mean it? Surely there was a time when it was acceptable? If I kill someone... would you hate me? Do you already hate me for what I''ve done? What I asked Ming to do? Jie wondered. The thought was like a cold knife to her heart. Sharp and painful, it spread a cold ache through her soul that made her bones physically hurt as she fought back tears. Her friends were busy cultivating, but Kazzak''s golden eyes met hers and he gave her the smallest of nods. Somehow, knowing that someone else had to go through something similar to break through was a comforting thought. And she was grateful that he didn''t say anything to the others. Jie meditated on it until she noticed she was only running in circles within her mind. Then, she stopped and took in shuddering breaths as she blinked back tears. Kazzak said nothing and they traveled in silence. *** Finally, they approached an island of rock connected to a wall of the cavern. The island was bare except for a statue of the red woman, and a doorway sculpted in the shape of an insectoid head with large, serrated mandibles extending outward around the doorway that led into a long, dark tunnel. "This is where I leave you," Kazzak said as their boat drifted sideways up to the rocky island. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Pan Tian, Ithilix, and Xue opened their eyes. Pan Tian and Ithilix had bright smiles on their faces. Xue pressed his nose into Jie''s hand. "Thank you! And thank you for your advice! Both of you! Oh my gosh, I can''t believe how much my cultivation has improved! Not just the speed but the quality too!" Pan Tian squealed with a bubbly smile on her lips. "This one experienced similar gains. Thank you," Ithilix said. Kazzak laughed. "There''s no need for thanks, I think even I gained something from this. I may be in the middle dantian, but I still have to cultivate, after all," he said, "this has been a beneficial experience for all of us, I think. I''m amazed by your knowledge of cultivation, Liu Jie." "It was a pleasure to return the favor," Jie said as she stroked Xue''s head. She could feel his concern through their connection. He hadn''t missed her emotions like she''d thought, it seemed. She did her best to send reassurance toward him. "Before you go... I''d like to offer you all some advice if you''re willing to hear it," Kazzak said. "Of course, we''d be most grateful," Pan Tian said. "I''m glad," Kazzak said, "first things first... if you need to leave, take the walkway. Don''t try to cross the lake like we just did, or the blood elementals will swarm you and rip you to pieces while they drag you down. Fighting in this lake is not a fun experience. Believe me." They shuddered. Kazzak then pointed at the dark tunnel ahead. "Beyond that passageway is the final area before the end of the dungeon," he said, "I can''t say exactly what you''ll face as the statues like to modify things. But you should know that the noctilith are more dangerous than they look." "The noctilith?" Jie asked. Kazzak pointed up at the large glowworms on the ceiling. "We keep most of them confined to the ancient city. Especially the adults," Kazzak said, "They have a horrible variety of poisons and can swarm a location. Particularly if you give off any kind of light. That means your attacks could easily be more trouble than they''re worth. Be very careful. Still... they''re far from the worst things within the ancient city. Whatever you do, avoid the behemoths. They''re beyond your current strength, but even if they weren''t... they''re incredibly difficult to kill and unbelievably dangerous. They''re not very bright and are extremely slow for their rank though." "Thank you," Jie said, "you''ve been very good to us." "You were good to my son," Kazzak said, "and on that note... I must warn you not to show mercy within that ancient city. There are no creatures within that cursed place that deserve it. Give them any and you and your friends will surely meet a horrifying end... if you''re lucky. Be careful. Even I''m not completely safe there." "Because of the behemoths?" Jie asked. Kazzak nodded. "What are they?" Jie asked. "Very large undead," Kazzak said, "beyond that... I don''t know. You''ll see. Deeply unpleasant creatures. But I''ve said too much already. Good luck." They leaped up onto the rocky island. "Thank you," Jie said, "I hope things go well for you with the flock." Kazzak chuckled. "I''ll certainly try to make that happen," he said as he began drifting away and rapidly picked up speed. "So, now what?" Jie asked. "We go to the ancient city," Pan Tian said, "we''ve come so far, it''d be a shame to back off now." "This one is not looking forward to it," Ithilix said, "to enter the realm of such pestilent creatures... ugh." Jie tried not to chuckle at the irony, failed, and covered it with a cough as best she could. The others looked at her. "Are you okay?" Pan Tian asked. "Just some dust or something," Jie said, "shall we go?" They strode toward the foreboding door. "So, you braved yet another challenge? Truly, you''re among the most skilled in the academy. You''re strong and adaptable... but even that is not enough for a cultivator. In the very beginning of my journey, I learned that strength isn''t always what''s needed to survive. Sometimes... you must hide. How well can you pass unnoticed?" asked the statue. "Well... at least it wasn''t something unexpected this time," Pan Tian said. Jie, Ithilix, and Xue all looked at her. "What? Oh, come on. It''s not like I said--" Pan Tian began. "Don''t!" Ithilix hissed. "But I was just--" Pan Tian said. "No," Jie said. "But--" Pan Tian said. "No," Ithilix and Jie said in unison. Pan Tian narrowed her olive green eyes and blew out a sigh. "Fine," Pan Tian said as she spun on the heel of her hoof and strode toward the insectoid doorway while muttering about certain people being far too superstitious. As they stepped through the jaws around the doorway, a warm, rancid breeze washed over them. "Ugh... that smell," Jie said. "It''s not as bad as the sulfur lake at least," Pan Tian said. "That was natural, at least. This is the stench of a vermin infestation," Ithilix said. "Well... I suppose we''d better keep our auras veiled as best we can as we go forward. I''ll take the lead again and check for traps. Jie, please keep looking after me," Pan Tian said. "Always," Jie said. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the dark passageway were lined with webbing, and organic muck with glowing mushrooms dotted around. Jie felt Essence within them, but Pan Tian and the others ignored them. So, she assumed they had a reason for doing so as they''d been all too eager to take everything that wasn''t nailed down otherwise. Chapter 113 The Ruins Of Senra (City Of The Sun) They moved at a smooth pace but didn''t rush as Pan Tian constantly scanned for, and helped them avoid, traps. The vats of acid suspended from the ceiling seemed particularly over the top to Jie. It made sense to prepare students with real world experiences, but how was someone supposed to learn when a single mistake meant death?
Finally, the passageway opened up into another massive, cavernous space with the cavern floor over a thousand feet below them. With only a narrow path on the side of the rocky, mountainous wall leading onward. Pan Tian led them on. Large, millipede-looking creatures scuttled across the rock above and below them. The smallest of them was twice Jie''s size and their chitinous exoskeletons looked tough. But these ones were too weak to be much of a threat. Still, they seemed attracted by the dim glow of their lanterns. So, they each turned theirs down to the barest amount they could possibly get away with. That seemed to help as there were many other flickering lights all over the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. And countless auras ranging from incredibly weak to things beyond the Elementalist rank... the latter of which were hidden in the darkness. Jie tried not to look over the edge of the narrow pathway any more than she had to. But since dangers could come up from below she couldn''t avoid it entirely. Far below them was what looked like a dried-up riverbed. Streams of blood rained down from gaps in some sections of the cavern wall, like waterfalls. They filled the riverbed just enough for it to ooze along dilapidated irrigation channels that formed a square-like pattern around what once might have been fields filled with crops... Now, however, there were endless rows of glossy, fleshy eggs. Some of which had silhouettes moving within. Though they were so much weaker than her that they shouldn''t pose much of a challenge, they still made Jie''s skin crawl. Beyond the fields was an enormous, angular, city wall with faded hieroglyphics so huge that Jie could make them out even at this distance. Sections of the wall had collapsed, or been destroyed, leaving gaping holes in the otherwise impressive defense and most of it was covered in webbing and muck. In front of the walls were two obelisks on either side of the open gateway that stretched higher even than the walls themselves and a pair of statues showing cat people each wielding twin khopeshes. Though one statue was missing its head and half of one of its ancient sickle-swords. From their pathway, Jie saw above the walls and into the city itself. A flying pyramid hovered above a section of the city, its base lit with a purple glow as runes and indentations that ran along its sides pulsed with purple light. Though much of it was obscured as countless noctilith crawled over its surface and buzzed around it, their tails pulsing with light. The pyramid moved slightly, drifting in different directions only to be stopped by countless strands of thick webbing that anchored it to the ground below. At its peak was a large glowing crystal that drew in thick clouds of Essence. The glowing pyramid cast a soft purple light over the straight, orderly streets, flat-roofed buildings, and more impressive structures. But, most of the ancient city was still lost in the darkness. Jie thought she could see the silhouette of a second pyramid crashed upon the ground and propped up at an awkward angle. But, if it was one, it wasn''t glowing. A cluster of noctilith broke away from the glowing pyramid and flew over the city, their tails like shooting stars in the darkness of the cavern. Monstrously long claws bigger than many of the buildings below them emerged from the darkness, lit by the glow from the noctiliths'' tails, and ripped half of them to pieces in one lazy swipe, sending wings drifting down like falling leaves. Those that weren''t hit landed on the creature''s skeletal arm or ribs and pulsed with their tails as they scuttled among the enormous bones. More joined them until the undead behemoth looked like a cluster of moving stars. Even so, most of the enormous undead creature was lost in darkness. It moved ponderously and the ground shook with every step it took. Well at least I know what to avoid now, Jie thought.
They continued, their path slowly winding down with Pan Tian finding and disabling several more traps. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Finally, they stepped out onto the cavern floor, not far from the outer wall of the city. "Stay close. Let''s keep our lanterns dim. If we have to fight, try to keep it quick and avoid using anything flashy if you can avoid it," Pan Tian whispered, "you can probably easily defeat most things in here, Jie, but I don''t want us getting swarmed or attracting the attention of those behemoths." They crept along as best they could, though the ground squelched beneath their shoes, staining them with blood and mud. There was little they could do about it, however. Thankfully, the cavernous space wasn''t entirely quiet, so Jie hoped it wouldn''t matter too much. Jie felt presences all around them, skittering in the darkness. Jie and her friends veiled their auras as best they could, but she was sure anything nearby still heard the rustle of their clothes and the wet, sucking squish of their footsteps. Up ahead, Jie felt two creatures moving toward a larger third creature in the darkness. Two of the creatures darted forward onto the third and their tails lit up, revealing two noctilith on a large snail. It was easier to see the noctilith in more detail now. They had long, almost sinuous bodies comprised of dark chitin that glistened wetly in the light of their tails, with six legs and two pairs of semi-translucent wings folded upon their backs. They bit into the snail''s soft flesh with their massive, dripping mandibles and ripped chunks of its flesh free, beginning to feed right away. The snail retreated into its shell, but the noctilith tipped it, exposing the opening and reaching inside with their powerful jaws as they continued their feast. Not bothering to kill the snail before beginning to devour it. Jie shuddered. All three were weak enough for her to kill with a single attack, but somehow it still haunted her. Pan Tian led them around the creatures and closer to the wall. They walked along the edge of the wall until they came to an opening with thick strands of webbing crisscrossed over the stone. But there weren''t enough strands to block their passage and they continued through without disturbing the webs themselves. Nobody said anything as they stepped into the city. Their footsteps were quieter here as the ground was mostly dry stone, with patches of webs, slime, mushrooms, and mold. All of which they avoided as best they could. They peered inside a few of the buildings as they passed but saw nothing of interest and moved deeper into the city. Searching the buildings rapidly began to feel like nothing more than a waste of time until Ithilix''s antennae quivered, and she pointed out a nondescript building. When they checked inside, they found two small wooden chests with runes on the wood. Even standing right next to them, Jie found it nearly impossible to sense them and marveled at Ithilix''s treasure finding abilities. Pan Tian and Ithilix inspected the chests and told Jie what they were looking for to help her find traps or curses should she venture out alone someday. They also used scrolls of wisdom on the chests and confirmed that there were in fact two effects upon the chests. One was a type of ward to keep noctilith away, and the other was a type of veil to make the chests harder to find. It didn''t seem to have helped against Ithilix, however. Inside the chests, they found twelve bloodfruit at the eighth star of the Expert rank and thirty-eight gold coins. As they ventured deeper into the city, Ithilix pointed out several more caches of treasure with the same enchantments hiding them. Some of which were hidden behind loose bricks, in false walls, on rooftops, inside buckets in old wells, strapped to the side of walls or on the ceiling inside buildings and hidden by paint of a similar color to their surroundings, and countless other dirty tricks to make finding the treasures nearly impossible. For anyone other than Ithilix at least. In no time at all, they collected another two hundred bloodfruit ranging from the eighth to the ninth star of the Expert rank, seven hundred and twelve gold coins, six iron orbs, five dune cat bone powder, twelve mindworm jelly, sixty-three twin moon pills, two spirit coins, fourteen low ranked healing pills, and an egg about the size of Jie''s head made out of solid gold. Though the joy of finding so much treasure was somewhat dampened by the ground occasionally shaking with the footsteps of behemoths. An ever-present reminder of the dangers surrounding them. "This one thinks that flying pyramid might hold better treasure," Ithilix said. "You want us to go there?" Pan Tian asked, incredulously. "No. But, this one thought to mention it because the fallen one does not glow and does not seem to have many noctilith on it," Ithilix said, "the arak may have put something worthwhile within. Or, perhaps, we''ll find something previous students missed." "We can look at the crashed one. Anything but the glowing one. I don''t care if it''s filled with treasure, there must be tens of thousands of them on that thing. Maybe hundreds of thousands," Pan Tian said as a sixth star of the Adept rank moved toward her in the darkness, "I''ve got this one." A noctilith lunged out of the shadows at Pan Tian. She stepped aside and its dripping mandibles snapped shut on empty air. She then ripped its head off. The noctilith staggered and skittered off into the darkness, gushing out pale yellow blood from where its head used to be. Pan Tian tore the beast core from its head and stored it in her storage ring before tossing its head aside. The head landed with a loud clatter upon an old sewer grate which echoed softly through the city streets, and they all cringed from the noise. Pan Tian gave them an apologetic look and flicked her claws of light, splattering yellow blood over the worn stone floor. "So. Freaking. Gross," Pan Tian whispered, "you''d think that they''d get the hint that if they can''t sense our auras, they probably shouldn''t attack us." "This one is glad the vermin are not more intelligent... but it would be nice not to have to touch them," Ithilix said. "What are you complaining about? At least you have a spear," Pan Tian said, "I have to get way closer to them." Xue growled. "Yes... I suppose you do have it the worst out of all of us... sorry, Xue," Pan Tian said. Chapter 114 Fallen Pyramid mrowr This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Probably the arak, Chapter 115 Transportation Pad If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 116 Forgotten Bones Was that open before? I only sensed three auras... did I miss one? Or did they get behind the door? If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Chapter 117 Barrier Mummy I have to end this quickly, or I''m dead... Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Chapter 118 Dancing Shadow Just before Jie reached him, long blades of the same pitch black qi extended from his feet like stilts and he jumped with the motion, leaping backward with an impossibly quick, high jump as he flipped in the air, slicing at Jie with his leg blades. Jie sidestepped the leg blades and dived out of the way of another trio of homing runic spheres that exploded near her. The shockwave washed over her as she rolled over the floor and sprang back to her feet. The shadow blade mummy threw his swords at her, and she ducked under them. Both blades impacted the floor with wet, sticky thuds as the tar-like shadow oozed out over the surface of the floor like sludge and long cables of shadow connected the blades to the shadow mummy''s hands. He yanked himself toward Jie with the cables as though his swords were grappling hooks. He spun his body as he did so, whirling at Jie with his leg blades as his grappling blades came free and retracted from behind Jie. Jie evaded the myriad of blades as best she could. One of his leg blades sliced down at her neck and Jie parried it with a dragonfist, blasting it away from her. Yet, he pirouetted with the motion and whirled like a ballet dancer, using the force of her defense to increase the speed of his rotating attack. He sliced at her again, a whirling dance of death as Jie slipped between his attacks and parried those she couldn''t avoid. Then, he was beyond her and threw another sword away from her. He pulled on the cord of shadow and zipped away from her, exposing her to attack from the rune caster and the skeletal snakes. Once again, Jie dived out of the way of a trio of homing runic spheres that detonated behind her, then used a lightning step platform to boost out of the way of a skeletal snake''s snapping jaws. While she was still flying through the air, unable to evade anything, the second snake lunged at her, its long fangs barred as it struck. Jie caught its jaws with her hands, holding them away from her as its momentum slammed into her. It hissed, struggled, and writhed, desperately trying to bite her, its gaping maw filled with a roiling green inferno. Jie reinforced her muscles with qi as the snake drove her back down to the floor with its bulk. Her feet slid backward over the smooth surface as it continued slithering toward her, its jaws straining to close down upon her, its fangs draining her qi armor where she gripped its upper and lower jaws. Driven by some primal instinct, Jie roared in defiance as she pulled open its jaws with all her strength. The skeletal snake''s jaws dislocated, opening incredibly wide as only a snake could... but Jie kept pulling with all her might, forcing them wider still... Bones snapped and the green fire animating it ripped like flesh as Jie tore the snake in half. The skeletal snake screeched but its cries cut off abruptly as she wrenched it apart. It stopped struggling, its jaws turning to dead weight in her hands as the green flames flickered and died. Jie let its jaws slip from her grip and crash to the floor as she stumbled, panting hard. Her meridians throbbed and her muscles felt like lead. But her enemies did not relent. The shadow mummy hurled his blades at her and she sidestepped. The long, dark blades passed close enough to her for the breeze of their passing to wash over her and they thudded into the large metal pipe behind her. The blades penetrated the surface of the metal, and he yanked himself toward her, his blade legs skating over the floor as though it were made of ice. Jie raised her hands, still panting hard as sweat dripped from her chin. She was nearly out of qi but there was no way out except through her enemies. The shadow mummy sliced at her as he skated past her. She jumped back, narrowly evading the blows and cursing her slowness as she struggled to cycle lightning step to the degree she had previously. She was running on fumes now. The shadow mummy''s leg blades retracted an instant before he landed feet first on the vertical pipe. He then sprang back off as his leg blades extended, pushing him off the pipe and toward Jie with an increased boost of speed. He twisted in the air, his blades moving in great sweeping slashes that were damn near impossible to avoid. The remaining skeletal snake barreled down on her too, its jaws open wide as the rune caster mummy created another trio of black spheres in the air, each with a purple rune in the center that vibrated with barely contained power. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Jie leaped backward and the shadow mummy threw one of his blades at her. She boosted off a weak lightning step platform, doing everything she could to conserve energy and moving just enough to evade the blade. It whipped past her and thudded stickily into the floor as the shadow mummy yanked himself toward her. Jie grabbed the shadowy cable as she reinforced her muscles with qi. The cable burned against her qi armor and oozed between her fingers as she spun in the air, hurling him like a flail into the approaching skeletal snake and smashing him into it like a wrecking ball. His bladed legs stabbed through the side of the snake''s skull, eliciting an agonized, shrieking roar from the skeletal snake. The tar-like leg blades caught on the undead beast''s skull and wrenched it in line with the shadow blade mummy''s momentum as the snake thrashed in wild, panicked death throes. Green fire gushed from the snake''s wound as the shadow blade mummy struggled and failed to free himself before the pair crashed to the purple, glowing, transparent floor in a tangled heap. The homing runic spheres hurtled toward Jie and she stepped toward the tangled mess of the shadow blade mummy and the skeletal snake as they approached. The spheres of dark energy took the most direct path to Jie, causing them to explode against the back of the tangled mess in front of her in a shower of black and purple qi, bones and green fire. What remained of the skeletal snake rained down around Jie as the shadow blade mummy lay prone upon the floor in front of her. Jie stalked toward the shadow mummy as he struggled up on his hands and knees. She withdrew her two blood swords from her storage ring, as she no longer had the energy to expend on attacks, and sliced at his head with both swords. The red crystal blades bit deep into his tar-like armor and caught partway through his skull, sticking in place. She tried to shake him off but his tar-like armor adhered to her blades, keeping them held fast even as it started to melt, exposing the mummy underneath as the green fire animating him flickered out. Frustrated, Jie kicked him in the chest as she wrenched her blades free, sending his body flying back. He landed with a dull thud among the ruined bones of the snake. His armor oozed away and wisps of fire curled from his mouth like a final gasp before death pulled him into its embrace once more. Some small portion of his shadow qi and the green fire animating him flowed through the crystalline blades and into Jie and she refined it as best she could, though it felt wrong somehow. Perhaps due to him being undead. She staggered forward, barely able to stand as she glared at the final mummy across the room, the whirring, clanking gears echoed around the room as Jie panted heavily. The energy her swords had collected was too small to replenish Jie much at all and she stopped feeding energy to her qi armor as she could no longer afford to do so. It didn''t immediately fade but its small energy requirement was too much for her to handle right now. The rune mummy raised his hand and summoned more dark spheres containing glowing purple runes above it as his green fiery eyes glared at her. Jie stepped behind the large metal pipe nearest her and leaned with her back against it. The pipe was thicker than the average pillar and she hoped that if she was out of his line of sight, he''d struggle to hit her as she panted heavily and tried to cultivate and replenish her energy. She stopped cycling lightning step too and the clanking whir of the gears sped up around her as she did so. It was a risky move, she knew. But she had so little energy that just closing the gap between her and the mummy would be nearly impossible and who knew what other tricks he had at his disposal? It seemed better to play for time and recover her energy and removing the drain from lightning step would help with that. Still, her lower speed made her vulnerable now... "You''ve ssslaaain the others. But I sense your aura... you have nothing left. The statues will return them to un-life and you will stand with us. Forced to guard this ruined place for eternity," said the rune caster mummy with his hollow, rasping voice. She felt fluctuations in his aura behind her, but no attacks came hurtling down. Instead, whatever he was doing built up in the air behind her. She dared not come out from behind cover as she didn''t believe she had enough energy for a finger of light or to close the gap. Well, at least my cultivation has finally settled. She thought and laughed darkly. "What''s so funny?" asked the mummy. His voice was apprehensive. It made Jie laugh even harder until her laughter started turning uncontrollable and manic. The mummy hissed and she felt him backing away. Then, Jie heard the locks in the door click and slide as it unlocked. Instantly, her laughter died as cold fear burned its way up her spine. No! What are you doing!? Why would you come back!? Jie thought. Yet, even as she cried out in her heart, she knew the reason. They''d heard the fighting stop. Perhaps even heard her laughter. They likely thought the fight was over one way or another and were coming to help her. Or at least to free her from the chamber. If only they''d waited long enough for her to get her energy back and truly finish the fight... but they couldn''t have known. Jie stepped out from around the metal pipe just as the door began to open, exposing Pan Tian, Ithilix, and Xue as easy targets for the rune caster mummy. He smiled darkly and turned his gaze to them. The air around him was a wall of thirty three runic spheres. Each of which contained enough power to kill her friends and no doubt the cause of the aura fluctuations she''d sensed a moment ago. Pan Tian, Ithilix, and Xue''s eyes widened as they stared at the wall of purple-black runic orbs and the mummy. But their cultivation was too low and there was no way they''d be able to react in time. Chapter 119 Crystalline Lotus This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Why does this bother me so much? Because I don''t want my parents to hate me... because I''m afraid they already do... because I don''t want Ming to hate me... because I don''t want to hate myself... and yet I already do. Because I don''t know what''s right and I don''t know how to know. How is anyone supposed to know? How am I supposed to know? How can I kill without becoming a monster myself? How do I live with myself if I make a mistake? What if I already have? And if I don''t kill Fang Zhuyu''s followers... won''t everyone die? Or worse... Chapter 120 Noctilith but it''s also not the most important thing for me to focus on right now... A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Chapter 121 Noctilith Swarm This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Chapter 122 Jinx
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Chapter 123 The Sewers Jie ran after her friends down a wider tunnel. She sensed many other creatures around them, but most of them were too weak to be any real threat and everything seemed to be trying to avoid the behemoth''s attention. They dropped down into a rectangular room and kept running until they reached a much larger rectangular room. It had a hole in the floor with a pipe heading downward at an angle back along the way they''d come with webbing crisscrossed inside it. "Are we going in there?" Pan Tian asked. They all looked at each other. Jie couldn''t blame them. She had no desire to try and slide down into who knew where surrounded by more of the things skittering in the darkness or through the webbing... but they could all still hear the behemoth digging its way down to them. Its long claws carved through the stone with slow but relentless fury. Nobody said anything. All of them saw the fear on one another''s faces. Pan Tian nodded and leaped down the pipe. Xue followed right after her. "This one thinks you should go first. This one will not slide," Ithilix said. Jie nodded and jumped into the hole. The instant her shoes touched the bottom of the pipe, she slid downward. The muck beneath her feet broke apart and her feet slipped out from under her. She slammed onto her back and rocketed down the steep angle of the pipe as Ithilix ran after her. The behemoth finally broke into the room they''d all been standing in and ripped it to shreds. There was a bright flash ahead as Pan Tian cried out and attacked something with her claws of light. Jie hurtled after her in the darkness, wishing she''d gone first to clear the way. "Watch out it goes do-oooooown!" Pan Tian cried from up ahead, her voice echoing up the pipe. Moments later, Jie saw what she''d been talking about as the pipe she was in connected to a massive one heading straight downward. Jie shot through the opening, arced through the air, and grabbed a handhold on the other side of the pipe leading down. The muck she''d grabbed for a handhold broke under her grip and she plummeted downward. Her fingers carved a path on the side of the pipe and helped to slow her descent. But it was a long way down. Far further than anything they''d been in so far. Finally, she fell through the bottom of the pipe and into an enormous one running horizontally across at a very gentle angle. Once again, Jie used a lightning step platform to break her fall. Even so, she landed on her feet with a bone-jarring thud next to Pan Tian and Xue. Both of whom were covered in muck. "I... hate... this place..." Pan Tian said between panting breaths as she flicked unidentifiable gunk off her claws of light. Xue stood to one side and shook himself vigorously, splattering Jie and Pan Tian with filth as he did so. Jie and Pan Tian both glared at him and stepped away from him. Thankfully, the behemoth''s roars sounded much further away now and Jie doubted even it could sense them through all this metal, rock, and... whatever else... A moment later, Ithilix walked out of the pipe, across the ceiling, down the wall, and over to them. Out of all of them, she was by far the cleanest. "I need to find a way to emulate that ability," Pan Tian said, "maybe some enchanted shoes or something." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "This one does find it very useful from time to time," Ithilix said, "is everyone alright?" They took a moment to look themselves and each other over. Other than a few bumps and bruises, mostly from debris raining on them, they were alright. "I don''t think I''ll ever feel clean again," Pan Tian complained as she scraped black gook off her arm and flicked it off her gauntleted hand, "not with a thousand baths. Ugh." "At least we''re safer from the behemoth," Jie said, "I think we should keep going before we slow down though... it dug through a lot of stone with no issue, and I don''t want to stop moving just yet." The others looked upward and shuddered. They ran down the tunnel, with Jie side by side with Pan Tian. She scanned for traps and dangers while Jie kept alert for anything that might try to eat them. Though most things fled from the light of their lanterns. A large gelatinous mass attacked them, and Jie blasted it to pieces with her finger of light attack. The other creatures kept their distance even more after that, but Jie could still feel countless eyes upon them. And even the soft light of their lanterns carried incredibly far in the total darkness of the sewage tunnels. It would be all too easy for creatures to ambush them down here, Jie thought. The smell was terrible, but Jie expected it''d been far worse when it carried the waste of an entire city. The roars and furious digging died down into a tense silence. Whether it meant the behemoth had given up on them or was trying some new way to get at them, Jie wasn''t sure and it set her nerves on edge.
Eventually, they slowed down and Pan Tian led the way more cautiously. Now that they seemed to have escaped the behemoth, the ever-present threat of traps seemed worth paying attention to again. They passed several ladders leading upward. Though some of the rungs were missing. But they continued onward as none of them wanted to emerge anywhere near the behemoth. Pan Tian returned to making notes of their path, but Jie had the sneaking suspicion that for once Pan Tian was just as lost as the rest of them. Still, they could easily backtrack to one of the ladders... provided they led to the surface and not just another layer of pipes... Some sections of pipe had faded hieroglyphs. Usually consisting of lines like tally marks next to other symbols that made no sense to Jie. Like birds or weird squiggly lines. As they walked, Jie cultivated, restoring her energies after the fight with the noctilith. The dungeon was a dangerous place, and she wanted to be as close to her peak as she possibly could be for whatever they might encounter. *** After a while, Jie saw a faint white light ahead. And Ithilix''s antennae quivered. "This one senses spiritual medicine," Ithilix said. "We''ll investigate, but let''s be careful. Keep your auras veiled. It could be a trap to lure in prey. Or something nasty the arak left for us," Pan Tian said. They pressed on more cautiously, dimming their lanterns as much as they dared as they approached the light. They turned a corner and saw it directly ahead. Jie''s skin prickled and a sense of unease grew with every step down the pipe. "Is anyone else feeling like something isn''t right?" Pan Tian whispered. "I feel it too. So, does Xue, I think," Jie whispered back. "Ithilix, any thoughts?" Pan Tian asked. Ithilix''s antennae twitched. "This one thinks it''s a ward of some kind designed to create an unpleasant, fearful feeling," she said. "Hmm... probably something put in by the arak to keep noctilith and whatever else dwells down here from getting at the spiritual medicine..." Pan Tian mused, "still... we''ll be careful." They crept closer and soon turned their lanterns off entirely as the light ahead was more than enough to see by. Though the feeling of unease had long since grown into a sense of terror that weighed on Jie. The others were shaking, but they pressed on without a word, so Jie did the same while using her spirit sense to search for any hidden enemies as best she could. She felt a variety of presences ahead of them. A collection of spiritual medicine ranging from the Adept rank to the early Elementalist rank and some kind of creature at the ninth star of the Adept rank as far as she could tell. There were some other, stranger auras that felt somewhat like items too... Not that it meant much with how skilled some things were at hiding. Especially when they were more powerful. The Elementalist spiritual medicine worried her too... particularly as the fight in the grove had taught her that plants were not always passive. The light came from panels someone had affixed between the thick pipes that ran over the ceiling of a larger chamber, some of which had been broken at some stage. The light was warm like sunlight and beneath the panels were tables with a variety of spiritual medicine planted in small trays filled with soil held above a layer of water beneath them. Beyond them was an orderly desk and a neatly made bed. Chapter 124 The Water Watcher Jie frowned and cycled lightning step as the chamber didn''t look organized the same way as many of the other rooms the arak had prepared. But perhaps it was just the feeling of terror seeping into her from the wards... Many of the auras Jie sensed seemed to be from the spiritual medicine, or a variety of artifacts arranged neatly around the room. Whatever gave off the aura of a ninth star Adept was moving. Though she couldn''t see it. They entered the room and Jie made sure to have her qi armor activated and ready in case something struck out at them as she moved at Pan Tian''s side. A large creature with slick, wet skin, two powerful limbs ending in clawed, grasping hands and a snake-like body burst out of one of the broken pipes on the ceiling. It opened its misshapen jaws and screeched as its chest swelled and Jie felt its aura fluctuate as it readied some kind of attack. Its aura was of the ninth star Adept rank. The same one she''d sensed before, Jie was sure. Hardly a threat. Unless it was hiding its true strength... Jie pointed two fingers at it as she cycled finger of light. She was just about to fire when a shadow flickered into the room. Overwhelming killing intent washed over Jie like an avalanche as a deep, rasping voice cried out, "No!" A wall of water appeared out of thin air and smashed Jie backward. It disrupted her attack and carried her and her friends back through the pipe they''d walked along before arcing upward and slamming them into the filthy ceiling and holding them there. Jie struggled against it, but the water around her held impossibly firm. The water peeled back away from her face, allowing her to breathe as their attacker followed after them into the pipe. Jie poured qi into her qi armor and told it to react to the water around her. The water exploded, freeing her from its grasp. Jie fell and landed on her feet, but her friends remained pinned to the ceiling. "I won''t let you harm them!" Jie roared as she formed a dragonfist around each of her hands and stood in front of her friends in the pipe. "Me? Harm them? Don''t speak to me as though I''m the savage here!" roared the voice as a frog man appeared in front of her, moving so fast that she had trouble following his movements. She couldn''t sense his aura in the slightest other than the intense killing intent washing over her and making it hard to breathe, but the way he''d used water told her he was beyond her. Easily at the Elementalist rank. Perhaps beyond. Jie said nothing, studying her enemy as she cycled her skills and desperately tried to think of a way to get her friends to safety. The frog man stood with his hands behind his back, his simple robe neat and somehow undisturbed by his movements. He had large, dark blue eyes with horizontally slitted pupils, bushy white eyebrows, webbed feet, and a thin, well-maintained mustache with a long goatee that came down to a point. He carried a satchel with a strap over one shoulder. Why he didn''t just use storage rings, Jie wasn''t sure and she immediately wondered if there might be more to it than a simple bag. The frog man took in a deep breath and almost as suddenly as it had appeared, his killing intent receded. He stared flatly at her though his enormous mouth was twisted into a disgusted frown. "Barbarians," spat the frog man, "how do you justify your vile behavior!?" Jie blinked for a moment, stunned. "What?! You attacked us!" Jie yelled. "Ha! I merely defended Alice from you! Savages! All of you! How far must I go to get away from people like you? Thugs! Barbaric primitives!" shouted the frog man. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "I... what? Alice? You mean that monster?" Jie asked. "Monster? You broke into our home and attacked her, and you call her the monster!?" roared the frog man, "unconscionable!" "We meant no harm," Jie said, "we didn''t know this was anyone''s home." "Don''t take me for a fool, savage," said the frog man, "you forced your way through despite the wards! Who do you think laid them down? Did they feel inviting to you? Why is it that insects knew not to come here, but you who think yourselves greater did so? Hmm? Perhaps you''d like to come up with a better lie than that one!" "It''s not a lie," Jie said firmly, "we thought it was a chamber made by the arak. For the test. Though it was a little... weird. It''s not like we had much time to figure out differently, and we''ve seen some strange stuff already." "The test? Ah... yes... that backwoods academy. Hmph! Teaching children to butcher their way through places they don''t understand. No wonder the world is such a horrid place. I suppose you would be the same ones that activated the Midostra, garnered the attention of a megathor, and destroyed half the city?" asked the frog man. "If you mean we were chased by a huge undead monster while we ran for our lives, then yes," Jie said, almost growling the words. "Humph. It wouldn''t have happened if you''d simply thought through your actions. But instead, you blindly run into a land you know nothing about and bring nothing but chaos, destruction, and suffering," said the frog man, "do you have any idea how ancient this city is? The wealth of knowledge you ruin with your careless actions?" "I won''t apologize for trying not to die. We had no intention of drawing that thing''s attention. Now let my friends go," Jie said. The frog man snorted. "At least you have some measure of concern for others. Even if you lack manners and decency," he said. He waved his hand and the water pinning Jie''s friends to the ceiling vanished. They dropped like rocks but landed on their feet. "Get. Out," growled the frog man. Jie allowed her dragonfist technique to dissipate and gave a small bow, keeping her eyes on the frog man the whole time. "Thank you. And, for what it''s worth we''re sorry for invading your home and threatening your... Alice," Jie said. She backed away with her friends, keeping them behind her as they walked. The frog man stared at her, unmoving. Then, turned his back on them. Jie kept backing away but kept her eyes on him. She couldn''t sense him properly with her spirit sense and he moved so fast that she needed all the warning she could get if he tried something. "Wait," said the frog man. Jie and her friends froze. Jie cycled her qi, readying for a fight. Though she didn''t think she stood much of a chance against someone so far above her. Especially not with her friends in danger. "If you re-emerge within the city, the megathor will surely find you. Then, you''ll either die, or destroy the rest of the city by running. I''ll guide you through these sewers to the end of your little test. But, while you''re in my care you will harm no living things," said the frog man. "Thank you for your offer, but we can find our own way, esteemed master," Pan Tian said politely. "Humph," said the frog man, "you''re a fool to so easily discard another''s help. Besides, I''m not giving you a choice. You''ll come with me, or I''ll carry you there." "In that case... we would be delighted to join you," Pan Tian said with an elegant bow, "thank you for taking us into your care." "Honeyed words from venomous mouths," said the frog man, "come. Try not to break anything." He strode into the room he''d swept them out of, and they followed after him. Alice focused her eye stalks on them and growled softly. "It''s alright, Alice," said the frog man, "I won''t let them hurt you." Alice still watched them carefully but seemed to settle back a bit. "I''ll have my tea and then we''ll go," said the frog man as he stepped into a side room before re-emerging with a tray full of simple cups and a weathered teapot, "what are your names, savages?" Jie and the others introduced themselves honestly. The frog man nodded. "You may call me Sorek," he said, "would you like some tea?" "No, thank you," Jie said. The others shook their heads too. Sorek chuckled, a deep rumbling sound. "Perhaps it is indeed wise not to take what is offered from a stranger. But we''re no longer strangers and this is the best tea on the island," he said. "Thank you for the offer, but my answer remains unchanged," Jie said. "Your words are stiff and stilted," he said, "how many years did you go without talking?" Jie''s electric blue eyes widened slightly, but she kept her face as neutral as she could. Sorek''s enormous mouth twisted into a smirk and he sipped his tea and sighed as though completely unconcerned with their impatient, vigilant eyes upon him. Chapter 125 Perspective Sorek finished his tea, with more than a few comments about how they were missing out. He then led the way down another pipe with Alice following close to him. He led them through several larger spaces converted into rooms similar to the first. Some grew food, others seemed more focused on growing spiritual medicine. They followed after him in silence and he walked unhurriedly but with a purposeful stride, his hands clasped behind his straight back. The pressure from the wards faded as they walked away from his home and into the dark tunnels. A noctilith lashed out at Sorek from the darkness. Sorek gestured with one hand as though caressing the air with the back of his hand, and a wave of water swept the noctilith down another passageway. Jie heard it scuttle away. Jie stared at Sorek as they walked, her blue eyes boring into his back as she tried to understand him. He''d been overpowering and terrifying at first... yet his water had moved away from their mouths and allowed them all to breathe even before Jie had broken out... and the things he said were unlike anything she''d heard on Xiannu. Her frown deepened. "Spit it out. Your silence is deafening," Sorek said. "It''s just... your killing intent is overwhelming, but you seem to go out of your way to avoid harming anything... I don''t understand," Jie said. "Mmm... I killed many before realizing the truth," Sorek said. "The truth?" Jie asked. "That killing is wrong," Sorek said, "and anyone who says otherwise is trying to manipulate others." "It sounds like you speak from experience," Jie said. Pan Tian looked at her like she was crazy, her green eyes screaming the words ''What are you doing!? Stop talking!'' "I''m ashamed to say I do," Sorek said bitterly, "they told us it was okay because we were stronger. Because we were descendants of one of the Great Lightning Dragon''s disciples and thus this world, everyone, and everything in it belonged to us as our birthright. Because we were somehow superior to our enemies. Whatever that means. Because they were different or for their own good or the greater good. So many lies. A bouquet of them. Anything to keep people from thinking. From realizing that what they''re doing is wrong and turning on those who would use them as puppets to do their bidding." "And you were a puppet?" Jie asked. "Jie," Pan Tian said with a forced smile, "let''s not insult our host." "It''s alright. Your young friend is correct. I was a puppet. A fool. Their lies made me think myself a master when in truth they made me a slave... for far too long," Sorek said, "what better way to enslave someone can there be than to convince them of their superiority?" "Who did?" Jie asked. "Does it matter? They''re all the same," Sorek said, "families, clans, sects, countries, this group or that. They''re all the same... take a step back and they all blur into one big dot." "So now you don''t kill... at all? Not even noctilith?" Jie asked. Sorek nodded. "But... isn''t that too extreme the other way? I mean... I don''t like killing... and I don''t like the way people think of it here... but sometimes it''s necessary," Jie said. "Necessary? It''s never necessary," Sorek said, "take the noctilith for example. I''ve not killed a single one as we''ve traveled. So, how is it necessary?" "But they''re disgusting," Ithilix said. "So? They only go about their lives as we do ours," Sorek said. "And they try to kill us," Jie said, "how am I evil for defending myself and my friends?" "Was it not your actions that put you in a place that made such defense necessary?" Sorek asked. "So, I''m just supposed to hide under a rock my whole life? Too afraid to go anywhere because maybe I''ll have to kill some freaky bug, or it''ll eat me?" Jie asked. "I''ve not needed to do so," Sorek said. "You live in the sewers of a dead city in a cavern filled with creatures too weak to be a threat to you. How is that not hiding?" Jie asked. Pan Tian flashed her another warning look and Jie noticed her tone was indeed growing more aggressive. Yet, she couldn''t help it. His words infuriated her, and she didn''t know why. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "It''s peaceful. And, I enjoy studying these ruins," Sorek said, "I wouldn''t call it hiding. But, if I had to, to avoid doing wrong then so be it. And, I might add if I followed the moral philosophy you suggest... you''d not be alive now to criticize my current one." Jie found it hard to think of a response to that. A black blob with far too many mouths dropped down on them from the ceiling and was swept away by Sorek''s water before Jie could even get a better look at it. "Maybe you don''t like killing if you can avoid it, but what about when you can''t? What about when someone bad needs to be stopped? Not just some mindless beast you can overpower and sweep away or people like us who could be reasoned with. But someone who wants to kill you or others? Someone you cannot reason with. Someone strong enough to be a true threat," Jie asked. "If I couldn''t stop them without killing, I suppose I would flee," Sorek said. "What if they go kill someone else then? And another person? Maybe hundreds? Or thousands? How is it not okay to kill them?" Jie asked. Though she tried to control it, more anger bled into her words and her lack of control further annoyed her. Why is this conversation making me so angry? Jie wondered despite her inability to prevent herself from feeling that way. Sorek''s words were calm and yet she couldn''t help feeling as though he were judging her. Judging her for the things she''d tried so hard to make herself do since coming to this world. The things she''d already done... the things she''d promised to do. And worse, judging Ming for what he''d done for her. That last thought made Jie clench her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms despite her best efforts to steady herself and remain calm. "We don''t know the true effect of our actions," Sorek said. "What?" Jie asked, doing her best to keep her anger and frustration out of her voice. She doubted she succeeded. "Actions are not self-contained. They ripple forward. So, perhaps you kill someone to save another, and his sect comes seeking revenge and kills twice as many as he would have. Now you''ve stained your soul, and cost the world even more lives," Sorek said. "No, you did your best and now you need to stop the sect too," Jie said. "And, so your one evil deed now creates a need for more and those will create a need for even more. On and on it goes," Sorek said. "So, you should just let everything happen because you don''t know what the end result will be? That''s not goodness. It''s cowardice," Jie said. "It''s humility," Sorek countered, "but there''s more. For when you kill, your soul is stained by it. To harm another is to harm yourself and be plagued by turmoil. Say you seek revenge against someone who wronged you. You will gain no peace from this. You shall only stain yourself and create ripples you cannot see." Jie gritted her teeth. "Well, I got my revenge and I didn''t feel in turmoil. I felt relieved that they were gone and would never hurt anyone else. It wasn''t like they were ever going to change," Jie said. "Yes, you sound truly peaceful," Sorek said with a smug smile that made Jie want to hit him, "and you don''t know that they wouldn''t have changed." "Too bad for them, then. Maybe they should''ve met the deadline," Jie snapped, "and I felt your killing intent. It''s easy to say you wouldn''t kill, but what if someone attacked Alice? Not just a mistake like we made, but someone who knew how important Alice was to you. Someone who couldn''t be reasoned with. Strong enough that you couldn''t stop them without killing them. You''re saying you''d just let them? That you''d just stand by and watch them butcher your friend?" Sorek''s killing intent flared for just a moment and Jie smirked even as it sent ice-cold fear running down her spine. Sorek took a deep breath and his killing intent faded as though it had never been there. "Jie, please. You''re being rude," Pan Tian said evenly. "Not at all," Sorek said, "I can sense deep conflict within Jie and I would be delighted to help steer her to a better path. I''m not so easily offended these days." Pan Tian gave a polite smile though she looked unconvinced. "You don''t know the full story of why someone or something does what it does," Sorek continued, "Perhaps you''re told that thievery is wrong and so you kill someone for stealing a bushel of apples only to--" "Only to find they were trying to feed their starving family or whatever. Yeah, I''m not talking about petty thieves. I don''t think it''s okay to just let people go around murdering, raping, and doing whatever they want because ''oh they weren''t hugged enough as a child.'' Too bad for them. It doesn''t justify their actions and you didn''t answer my question," Jie said. "I don''t know the answer," Sorek said, "I would certainly try to avoid killing... but I''m not naive enough to believe that I have perfect control over myself. Still... I would do my best... and perhaps that would mean grieving and moving forward, allowing karma to take care of it, and avoiding yet another stain on my soul." "Karma?" Jie asked. "Yes, karma. Actions create positive or negative karma that carries forward. Like I said with how we cannot truly know the outcome of our actions," Sorek said, "do bad things and bad things shall flow back to you. Do good and good shall flow back to you. It is, of course, much more complicated than this." "You''re joking, right? I heard something similar back on... home. But, for a moment I thought you were talking about something different. Something real. If karma was real, then good things would happen to good people and bad people would have everything fall apart. Instead, bad people destroy lives and run off free and happy with rewards!" Jie said. Sorek shook his head. "It doesn''t work that way. Karma takes a long time to manifest and follows one through lifetimes. It''s not nearly so... deterministic. Nor is it one to one. It''s more like do one bad deed and have a thousand return to you. Do one good deed and have a thousand returned to you. Do something bad and in a future lifetime, you may lead a life of innocence only for a thousand times your actions to come crashing down upon you," Sorek said. "So, then if something bad happens to someone it''s their fault? Like they deserve it? That''s insane!" Jie said, "And that means I could kill anyone because then if they die it must be what they deserve!" Dragon lightning qi crackled over her for a moment before she took a steadying breath. "That''s not what I meant," Sorek said calmly, "I can see that my words have struck something within you. As I said, it''s not so deterministic. It''s more complicated and fluid and not all that happens is the result of karma. It''s simply a force. One of many in the universe and one with far-reaching consequences." Jie cycled her qi to calm herself back down. "Maybe... but if it''s real... it''s too slow for my taste," Jie said. Chapter 126 Radan Palace (Sunlight Palace) Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Chapter 127 Specters Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter 128 Necromancer It''s still just a test. Focus on doing what needs to be donefine. If you want your pet zombies to block my ranged attacks... you leave me no choice. I''m not even sure this is a necromancer and I already hate necromancers, Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Chapter 129 Skeletons Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. A cursed, ancient scythe belonging to Ahket of the Silvermask order. The scythe will attempt to kill its wielder with a combination of qi and life drain before resurrecting them as an undead bound to Ahket''s will. The scythe retains some limited life drain properties and enhances Ahket''s strength. It was once far more powerful but age and foreign powers have brought it and its master low. A fitting fate for a traitor. Chapter 130 Sarcophagus is Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Chapter 131 Spirit Sense She was of the hive... unused to even saying the word ''I''. What if she didn''t have the will to resist? Jie chewed lightly on her bottom lip as she looked over the barrier with both her eyes and her spirit sense, searching for a weakness she could exploit... But even if she found one... she had no idea how to help her friend. Then, something changed within the barrier. It weakened, swirled, and retreated. Jie''s heart fell. The energy condensed into the air above the sarcophagus where it formed into an image of the red woman with Ithilix standing at the sarcophagus, swaying from side to side. "Ithilix?" Jie called, her voice hesitant as she jumped up to her friend. Ithilix slowly turned, her legs shaking, until her amber eyes met Jie''s. "Pr-princess?" Ithilix asked, "Ugh... this one''s head is swimming." She staggered and Jie caught her before she could fall. "It''s okay," Pan Tian said, "it passes quickly." Ithilix pressed a palm to her head. "Ugh... this one hopes so..." she said. "Well done, disciples," said the red woman, "In truth, this was your final lesson. For when I reached the end of my first tomb, deep in an ancient jungle, just when I thought I''d made it through every trap, trial, and monster that barred my path... I confronted the spirit of the cultivator who''d created it. She tried to devour my soul and steal my body. "But, like you, my will was strong enough. Remember, the tombs of cultivators are often filled with dangers and treasures in equal measure to draw worthy vessels to those sinister cultivators who wish to cheat death. Never let down your guard. Especially in the heart of an enemy''s domain. And always maintain an unbreakable will. "I''ve received word that a powerful stranger wishes an audience with me. He waits for me in the village of my birth. After my return, you four... the first to reach the end of The Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt this year shall become my personal disciples. I''ll train you and raise you to the grandest of heights and you''ll make our academy proud. For now, accept these treasures. A just reward for your remarkable efforts. Truly, you''re geniuses of the younger generation. Red energy swirled and a golden chest appeared in front of each of them. "Within these chests are cultivation resources that will aid you in growing stronger. For the strongest of you, the one called Jie, cultivation resources for the Elementalist rank have been included as your cultivation has already surpassed the threshold. "Break through and move onward to greater heights. Then, they will be useful to you. The rest of you must still reach that level and so your resources will help you get there," said the swirling image of the red woman. They each opened their chests, exposing the resources within. Jie''s friends had each been given forty bloodfruit at the ninth star of the Expert rank as well as twenty dune cat bone powder, twenty iron orbs, twenty mindworm jelly, twenty tireless endurance pills, and twenty steel body pills. Jie''s chest had far fewer items within. Containing fifteen essences of blood at the fifth star of the Elementalist rank, as well as seven flowing blood, vigorous blood, glimmering blood, dominant blood, and iron blood crystals. "Woah... Elementalist resources? And so many of them... lucky you, Jie," Pan Tian said with a huge smile. Jie ran a thumb over the cold metal of the chest lid. The red woman had given her fewer items, but their worth was vastly superior. She couldn''t help feeling a strange mix of gratitude and guilt about that. Regardless, the resources would help her get closer to her eventual goal... she closed the lid softly and stored the chest in her ring as did the others. "But cultivation resources alone are an unworthy prize for the best the Crimson Academy has to offer, and so I shall gift each of you something more. I''ve reviewed your encounters throughout the valley and dungeon. Liu Jie, your cultivation is phenomenal for your age and your strength reaches far beyond it. But your ability to sense even weak enemies who wish to hide is deeply flawed. For you... I offer an improvement to your spirit sense as well as your understanding of how to use it," said the red swirling woman. "How do you improve my understan--" Jie began only for the swirling figure to point at her and blast her in the center of her forehead with a beam of red energy. Jie felt her spirit sense expand as her mind was filled with memories of lessons as a child... only the child wasn''t her. She gasped as understanding blossomed in her mind and huge gaps in her knowledge were filled in. Then, the beam cut off and Jie let out a shuddering sigh.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She rubbed her head. Thoughts and foreign memories swirled around in her mind, making her skull throb. "I shall also improve your blood swords, though you rarely use them," said the red woman. Jie withdrew her twin blood swords. Threads of red energy pulled them out of Jie''s hands toward the red swirling figure of the woman. "These weapons share similar properties to many others your group gathered on your journey down here. If you wish, you may sacrifice any weapons with similar enchantments and I shall use them to enhance your blades," said the woman. Before Jie had a chance to discuss which items were part of her share and thus able to be sacrificed, her friends withdrew all of the crystalline weapons they carried and looked at Jie expectantly. Pan Tian even took out the cursed scythe they''d collected without touching it. "You don''t have to--" Jie began. "Hush, you. And take out the ones you''re carrying," Pan Tian said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Honored Elder, this scythe has a curse. Will your refinement process cleanse it or should I--" "Your concern is wise and admirable. But there is no need for it. I will strip the curse away as I refine the weapons into something better," said the woman. Jie shook her head in frustration even as she felt grateful for her friends'' sacrifice on her behalf. And, she had to admit, she also felt more than a little hesitant about a cursed item being included as an ingredient in the enhancement of her weapons. Still, the woman said it was fine and Jie supposed she could identify them later... just to be safe. Jie waved her hand, depositing the weapons with similar enchantments from her storage ring onto the floor in front of her. The red woman gestured with her arm and threads of red energy lifted all the weapons, drawing them closer to the red woman and causing them to levitate around her. Red energy surged and the various weapons flared with power before shattering apart. The fragments swirled together in a dense cloud around Jie''s twin blood blades as the blades burned with dark red energy. Power built as auras rippled in complex patterns Jie sensed fragments of but couldn''t understand. Not for the first time, Jie wondered how strong the academy''s founder had been if even these strange statues and ghostly images could do things like this... The red energy broke down and refined the weapons then flowed into the crystalline blades. The blades turned liquid and swirled with power as the red woman reforged them into something more powerful. The blood thickened and condensed into crystal once more. The overall design was only slightly different, more elegant and refined, but the power radiating from the blades was massively higher. "I''ve vastly improved the power of your blades. They will now better channel even your chaotic, destructive qi and should serve you well through the middle dantian. I''ve bolstered their life and qi drain enchantments. I must warn you that you may need to vent what the swords collect, lest they overwhelm your ability to refine energy in the heat of battle," said the red woman. The swords drifted toward Jie and she took them from the air. She could swear they almost hummed in her grip. "For your beast companion, I gift a Collar of the Bond," said the red swirling figure, "a spirit tiger is a ferocious companion. But he''s still far too weak. This collar will grant an enormous boost to his cultivation. It will never allow him to reach your heights, but the greater the difference between you two... the more the collar will amplify his ability to cultivate." A collar appeared in the air in front of the red woman and drifted toward Xue. It slipped easily over his neck and then resized to fit him better. "This one has never even heard of something like that," Ithilix said with wide eyes, "that''s incredible." "As your beast companion does not use weapons, I shall instead grant the knowledge of a martial skill known as Tiger''s Rage. When used, it''ll make him larger, stronger, faster, and vastly tougher. "It will burn through qi to maintain the skill however and so is not without its costs. However, it should allow your beast companion to better compliment your fighting style and combat enemies he would otherwise be unable to," said the red woman. The red woman then pointed two fingers at Xue and a red beam shot into his head. He gave a surprised mrow and squeezed his blue eyes shut as his entire body tensed. The beam faded and Xue shook his head, staggering unsteadily. Jie stroked him softly to try and soothe him. "Thank you for your gifts," Jie said. She thought she should probably be using some sort of honorific or title but had no idea which one might be suitable. She hoped it didn''t annoy the absurdly powerful figure. "For you... Ithilix... Hiveborn... your fighting skills are deadly... but sorely unrefined and utterly inadequate against groups of enemies. This is unacceptable for a student of the Crimson Academy. I gift you a martial skill that will allow for insights toward improving your poison qi darts into something superior. And I shall modify your weapon to better suit your fighting style," said the red woman. She shot a beam of red light from her fingers into Ithilix''s forehead. Ithilix''s amber eyes rolled up into her head and she trembled. Jie wondered if she''d looked like that. The beam cut off and Ithilix blinked as she rubbed her forehead. The spear in Ithilix''s hands shot out of her grip and hovered in front of the red woman. The swirling figure poured red energy into it and the spear shifted and split apart into two shorter spears. The handles then retracted, turning them into a pair of daggers. She then stuck them together once more and it extended into a full-length double-sided spear though it looked far more sinister and dangerous than before and with a deadly shift in its aura. The spear drifted through the air back to Ithilix who took it with a degree of reverence. She ran her hands over the shaft then whirled the spear in the air and tested out the dual spear and dagger modes, switching between the various modes in increasingly rapid succession. "There... it should be far more fitting for your fighting style now. Additionally, it will better channel your qi allowing you to empower the weapon more for a lower qi cost than before. It will also work with your elemental energies once you unlock them and should serve you well until you reach the Emperor rank," said the swirling red woman. "Thank you... that is most generous of you, my lady," Ithilix said with a bow. Chapter 132 Claws Of Blood "For you, disciple Pan Tian... your cultivation is solid if somewhat lacking, but time, hard work, and cultivation resources will fix that. Your martial skills and fighting style are excellent and so well-rounded that it''s difficult to determine what would best aid in your development. "However, in your battles thus far, there have been times when you struggle to gain tempo against your opponents. As such, I gift you a martial skill known as Full Moon. It requires an enormous amount of qi to use and maintain but will massively increase the power of your moonlight qi and martial skills. While adding additional damage to your attacks and those of your allies. "Once you gain further insights, it will fire stars made of moonlight qi at your enemies. Its qi cost is enormous, however, it should allow you to gain tempo where you would otherwise fall into a stalemate or be outright defeated," said the red woman. "That sounds amazing... thank y--" Pan Tian began only for the red woman to shoot her between the eyes with a red beam. Pan Tian''s olive green eyes rolled back in her head and her entire body convulsed. After a moment, the red beam died, and Pan Tian clutched her head in her hands as she staggered on wobbly legs. "Ugh..." she groaned. "For your second reward, I shall enhance your weapons," said the red woman. She gestured and the claws of light slid off Pan Tian''s hands and drifted toward the swirling figure of the red woman. "Hmm... interesting..." said the red woman, "your claws of light have traveled an enormous distance and passed through many hands to find their way to you. They work best with light-based qi... focusing and enhancing the power of attacks channeled through them. These were made by the arak of the Glass Mesa... their techniques are similar to those who serve me... "Liu Jie, just as your friends were offered a chance to make a sacrifice for you, now I offer you a similar choice. If you''re willing to sacrifice the blades I enhanced for you, I could imbue their power into these weapons and create something superior to either alone. If you choose not to, I can still empower these claws, but they will be a shadow of what they could be." "Would I have to sacrifice both blades?" Jie asked. "Both blades would create the most powerful enhancement. One blade would gift only half the effect," said the red woman. "It''s fine, Jie. I''m happy just to have the normal enhancement. I don''t need--" Pan Tian began. "Hush you," Jie said with a smirk. She withdrew both her blades from her storage ring and offered them to the red woman. "But--" Pan Tian said. "I said hush. I hardly ever use them anyway and I can always look at what else we collected. Or see what I can get from the Onyx Pavilion," Jie said. The blood swords levitated out of Jie''s hands and hovered in the air horizontally above Pan Tian''s claws of light. Red energy surged. The blood swords cracked and began to bleed. Droplets of their dense blood dripped onto Pan Tian''s claws of light as the red woman poured red energy into them. The blades further melted as red energy swirled around the weapons, refining and shifting energies in a complex weave of power. The blades vanished entirely as the claws of light subtly changed. Red power flared one final time then subsided as the claws drifted back toward Pan Tian. The glassy claws now had a red tint to them and the aura coming off them frightened Jie. They felt... hungry. Pan Tian held out her hands and the claws slipped back on, fitting perfectly. "Thanks to the sacrifice of your fellow disciple, your claws of light now have all the properties of the blood blades. As such, I think it''s fitting to rename them to claws of blood. They will now further enhance and amplify the energies you channel through them. "The claws themselves will also be more devastating and cut far better than before. Additionally, I''ve refined them to be better suited to all energy types. So, when you break into the middle dantian, you''ll be able to use them no matter what affinities you have. And shouldn''t need to replace them until you break through into the upper dantian.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "As you''re still growing, I further modified the claws so they may better adapt themselves to fit you," said the red woman. "Thank you, Lady An Shen," Pan Tian said with a bow, "and thank you too, Jie." The swirling red woman turned her gaze back to Jie. "As you sacrificed one of your rewards to benefit a fellow student, I shall grant you a different prize," said the red woman. She gestured at Jie and threads of red energy pulled Jie''s cultivation bracelet off her arm toward the red woman. The red woman focused on it and channeled red energy into it, altering it with her power in ways Jie couldn''t make sense of. The process took only a few moments before the red woman appeared satisfied and returned the bracelet to Jie. The instant it slipped onto Jie''s arm, it resized smoothly, and Jie noticed a sharp increase in the qi she gathered just by cycling passively. "The enhancements I made were simple as you''ve all already received your rewards. It will better adjust to fit you as you grow, however. And I''ve improved its enchantments," said the woman. "Thank you, Lady An Shen," Jie said as she bowed. "Congratulations on making it here before any other. You may choose whether to return to the Crimson Academy via the portal or continue within the Crimson Valley for the remainder of the competition. In either case, I shall see you upon my return to the academy, disciples," said the red swirling figure as she broke apart and faded away. A section of the midsection of the massive statue on the left side of the chamber slid up into the statue itself, revealing an opening that pulsed with shimmering red light. A stone bridge rose out of the lake of blood, the dark liquid falling off the stone like a waterfall as it moved up to the same level as the opening. "What''s through there? The portal?" Jie asked. "If my notes are right, yes. It should take us back down to the Crimson Academy. But we don''t have to take it. We still have time before the end of the hunt and there are lots of places we haven''t explored," Pan Tian said. "You say that like you want to stay?" Jie asked as she withdrew two scrolls of wisdom. "Well... if you want to get back to your training, we don''t have to. It''s up to you," Pan Tian said with notes of sad disappointment in her voice, "though we''ll have a better chance of winning the treasure hunt if we continue gathering treasure." Jie used a scroll of wisdom on her bracelet and information flooded her mind. A cultivation bracelet that was reforged to better suit a more chaotic and destructive cultivation path. Then, further enhanced by a powerful entity beyond the power of this scroll. As such, it should be used with caution as it may contain effects this scroll is unable to detect. This bracelet aids in gathering and refining qi. The memory stones it holds are sentimental in nature. As such this item likely holds more value for its owner than its function would suggest. Interestingly, this bracelet was reforged using techniques usually associated with hiveborn. Yet, its overall design would suggest it hails from the Spectral Empire. A most unlikely union. "What are you doing?" Pan Tian asked. "Identifying the items. The scroll warns that it can''t detect everything, but it still seems best to check anyway. I mean, she did just try to take over our bodies and lied about the previous test being the last test..." Jie said. "This one thinks that''s a good point..." Ithilix said as she withdrew a scroll of wisdom of her own and used it on her spear. Pan Tian did the same to her claws. Jie used her second scroll on Xue''s collar. A collar for a magical beast designed to interact with the bond between it and its master. This collar grants the beast wearing it a boost to cultivation speed that scales with the gap between its master and itself. Without the presence of such a bond, this collar is useless. The design of this collar is a strange offshoot of traditional arak design. Whatever its original enchantment, it has been heavily modified by a presence that transcends the power of this scroll. Such an item is rare indeed. It should be used with caution, however, as it may contain effects this scroll is unable to detect. She frowned. The idea that the scrolls might not be able to detect some kind of hidden effect bothered Jie. But, if the statues wanted to kill them, they had the power to do so. Still, she would''ve preferred to make sure and wondered just what strength of scroll it would take. Pan Tian and Ithilix both said they had the same experience. "So, what do you want to do?" Pan Tian asked. Jie was about to say they should leave but hesitated. She fingered her protection amulet as she considered the question. She wanted to be done with this place. It''d been fun at times, but incredibly stressful and she wanted nothing more than to resume her more ordinary routine... But cultivating wasn''t what would help her advance at this stage. She''d made some progress with her inner conflict... and gained resources that should help with advancement anyway... Not to mention gaining insights into her martial skills and learning how to deal with this strange, savage world from Pan Tian and Ithilix... Besides, hadn''t they entered this competition together? Wouldn''t it be a kind of betrayal for her to make them stop now rather than seeing it through until the end the way the others seemed to want to? But Jie knew none of that mattered. The truth was that one look at Pan Tian''s sorrowful green eyes made Jie feel too guilty to say no to her... especially when she wanted to spend more time together and really... what would be the point of saying no? "Okay... we can continue," Jie said, "but is there much left for us to get?" Pan Tian''s face brightened immediately. "Definitely! We skipped over a bunch of areas in our rush to get here. There will be tons of events and treasures for us," she said, "I have some good locations in my notes." Jie looked back at the exit, lit with that pulsing red light... and followed Pan Tian away from it, back the way they''d come in. Chapter 133 The Way Back mrowr Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Chapter 134 Frost Qi Elder Kanev''s aura surged with spiritual energy and pillars of rock burst out of the ground at an upward angle beneath the Chen family''s feet, launching them all over the lake of blood, toward the rocky island while bypassing the bridge entirely. While in the air, blazing golden wings erupted from Chen Huo''s back as he drew his sword and surged even faster toward Jie''s friends. Chen Ai followed behind him, pulling herself forward with her strange movement skill as though yanking on some invisible thread that warped the light around her slightly. Blue water serpent qi formed beneath Chen Lisha''s feet, swelling into the head of an enormous snake, and growing out the rest of its length as she fell toward the lake of blood. Just when it seemed Chen Lisha would fall short of the island, the serpent''s bulk hit the lake of blood and slithered across it. The serpent kept its neck reared up high, so Chen Lisha stood level with the edge of the island. Chen Yi turned into a dazzling ball of turquoise and black qi and rocketed toward the island like a shooting star. Each of the Chen family reached the island and rapidly gained on Jie''s friends. But Jie dared not take her eyes off Elder Kanev as she activated her storage ring and the silver stone appeared in her grip. Jie raised her hand out toward Elder Kanev to show him the stone and ward him off. But he didn''t return his gaze back to her. Instead, he looked down at the ground as he hefted his massive hammer and imbued it with an overwhelming amount of white frost qi that swirled around the hammer''s head like a blizzard. He swung his hammer down without so much as a glance in her direction despite him being too far away to hit her. Or so she thought. Frost qi surged as the hammer struck the stone bridge and a torrent of ice-cold qi rushed toward Jie in a freezing wave that swallowed the stone bridge. Jie leaped back, using a lightning step platform to boost her speed at an angle to try and get out of the path of the strike. But the frost expanded in a cone outward and even with all her speed and the distance between them, the fringes of it caught Jie. It slammed into her like an avalanche, draining her qi armor at an alarming rate and piercing her bones with biting cold. Even with her qi armor, it knocked the wind out of her lungs and sent her flying backward. The tidal wave of frozen force ripped the silver stone out of her fingers. Jie clawed at the air with numb fingers, desperately trying to grab it. But the stone spun away from her and sailed across the island. It bounced, spun through the air, bounced again, then skid across the rock toward the edge of the island and the lake of blood below. It came to rest right on the edge of the island, part of it suspended above the lake of blood as it wobbled in place. The wave of frost qi carried Jie backward and slammed her hard into the bottom step of the step pyramid. Her qi armor screamed from the impact as pain flared through her body. The frost qi solidified around Jie up to her neck, pinning her in place against the stone as blood ran down from her nose over her lips. The heat of it felt like lava against her frozen skin. The cloud of frost cleared, revealing Elder Kanev with a smug smile upon his lips. Jie sensed the Chen family intercept her friends and felt their auras flare with martial skills. Xue roared and the power Jie sensed from him sharply increased. Something exploded. Pan Tian''s aura surged, and a silvery-white full moon appeared in the air, bathing the entire chamber in its light. Jie felt its aura swirling around her and her friends as it bolstered their strength. Elder Kanev rested his war hammer on his shoulder as he strode toward Jie. The frost of the bridge crunched beneath his heavy boots as it glistened from the light of Pan Tian''s full moon skill. Jie struggled against the ice covering her. Her eyes flicked from Elder Kanev back to the silver stone. If she could just get her hands on it, she could use it to repel him as she had the lady in white, she was sure. Her friends battled fiercely against the Chen family, but she could only put her faith in their abilities and focus on delaying Elder Kanev. The stone called out to her, begging for her to take it. Her heart ached to be apart from it with a pain so deep it radiated through her bones. Elder Kanev drew closer with every step, his smug smile only growing as Jie tried and failed to wrest herself free of the ice. Elder Kanev chuckled. "Even you aren''t strong enough to fight someone in the Elementalist rank. You''ve advanced quickly, but your journey is at an end now," he said. The call of the stone intensified as did Jie''s fears that they would all die here and now because of her failure. Her dragon lightning qi snarled chaotically in her dantian and rushed up toward her middle dantian. Once again, it slammed into the barrier there. So hard it drove the breath from Jie''s lungs. With an effort of will, Jie calmed herself and wrestled with her energies. She pushed them back down into her lower dantian as she poured dragon lightning qi into her qi armor. She radiated blue lightning, causing the ice covering her to glow as she cycled qi armor to its limit. Then, she willed it to react to the ice around her. Her armor hummed with power as the ice around her vibrated, but the only obvious effect was a massive drain on her qi armor. Jie poured yet more energy into her qi armor and the hum built up louder and louder. A slender crack spread through the ice. Then, the ice exploded in a spray of jagged shards and arcs of dragon lightning qi. The massive drain on her qi armor from the reaction caused her armor to unravel and exposed almost her entire body to the icy shrapnel. The frigid splinters cut into her skin, covering her body and face in shallow cuts.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. But she was free. Jie wasted no time celebrating her victory and ran for the silver stone as it teetered on the edge of the island with the blood lake oozing below. Jie pushed her lightning step to the limit. Her feet slipped on the slick ice, causing her to fall forward. But Jie formed a lightning step platform and boosted off it, stopping her fall, and speeding toward the silver stone with all she had. Jie felt Elder Kanev cycle spiritual energy behind her. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see him form a pillar of rock beneath his feet that launched him into the air in her direction. The ground shuddered from the force of his power and the silver stone wobbled on the edge of the island. Elder Kanev plummeted through the air toward her. He would fall short, but he cycled the same martial skill he''d used earlier as he fell. Swirling white frost qi gathered around the head of his hammer. She''d been lucky to survive his first strike. This one would be at much closer range. And her qi armor hadn''t reformed yet. Jie''s spirit sense screamed a warning as Elder Kanev landed behind her. His hammer struck the floor like the fist of an angry god and a pulse of frost qi surged toward her. She dove for the silver stone, grabbed it, rolled off the edge, and allowed herself to drop. After she''d fallen what felt like far enough, Jie grabbed the rough rock on the side of the island with her free hand. Rock scraped away, crumbling beneath her fingers for a moment before she brought herself to a stop. She clung to the rock as the freezing wave of frost qi cascaded over the edge of the island above her head. Most of the wave passed harmlessly over her head, leaving only a small amount to drift down and shower her with frost qi. The bone-chilling cold made her already numb body ache and shattered what little of her qi armor had reformed. Jie let out a sigh at the close call and her breath steamed the air. If that had hit her... she was certain she would be dead. Especially without her qi armor to bear the brunt of it. And she didn''t think Elder Kanev was even taking her seriously in the slightest. If he had... she was sure they would all already be dead. She sensed and heard her friends fighting for their lives against the Chen family. The Chen family had the advantage of numbers and cultivation rank. But Jie''s friends were using careful positioning, letting themselves be pushed back closer and closer to the portal. Her friends were doing better than she could''ve hoped. Now, she needed to make sure she kept Elder Kanev distracted as she''d promised. She pushed down the pride and worry she felt for her friends and gathered herself for a moment as hot blood trickled from wounds all over her hands and body. Jie formed a lightning step platform and boosted herself up over the edge of the stone island with ease. She landed with the crunch of ice beneath her feet. Elder Kanev stood fifteen feet in front of her, his enormous war hammer in his hands. But his gaze was on Jie''s friends. "Hey! You missed!" Jie yelled as she fired a finger of light attack at his face. He blocked her attack with his forearm. The bright blue bolt of dragon lightning qi burnt his crimson sleeve but if it hurt at all, he didn''t show it. Instead, his cold gray eyes met hers and he gave her a bloodthirsty grin. Finally! Jie thought. She held the silver stone out in front of her. His icy gray eyes went wide as he recoiled. "Get that away from me!" he screamed, but his gaze remained fixated on it. A sense of relief washed over Jie as she stood with the stone in hand, her breaths steaming upon the air. Her dragon lightning qi flickered over her as her qi armor reformed around her. Blood coated her fingers and her hand felt so numb that she could barely feel the stone. Her heart squeezed with the worry that it might slip from her numb fingers and she gripped it all the tighter. The stone glowed with a dim silver light from deep inside. Jie thought nothing of it as it had reacted the same way to her qi before. She glanced at her friends as they battled fiercely with the Chen family. Jie''s friends were almost at the bridge leading to the portal room. Chen Huo stabbed at Ithilix with his flaming sword, but she parried the strike with her spear. The length of which oozed green poisonous qi and glistened with the silvery white empowerment of Pan Tian''s full moon skill. Ithilix continued with the motion, spinning her body as she slashed at him with the other side of her spear. Chen Huo leaned out of the way of that strike and started to lunge toward Ithilix to stab her in the back. But he was forced to retreat once more with a flap of his wings as the barb of Ithilix''s tail pierced the air where his face had been. She separated her spear into two shorter spears, continuing the whirling dance of death and forcing Chen Huo to parry her strikes with his blade. Chen Ai sliced at Pan Tian with the edge of her hand which was engulfed in dark qi that bent the light around it. Pan Tian met the strike with long qi claws sprouting from her claws of blood. Chen Ai had the higher cultivation, but Pan Tian''s strike carried additional notes of power from her full moon skill. That extra power allowed Pan Tian to hold her own as she slashed at the air in the direction of Chen Lisha, sending great curved blades of moonlight qi shooting toward her. Chen Lisha''s serpent carried her out of the path of Pan Tian''s resplendent slashes only for Xue to crash into her like a thunderbolt. He was larger than usual, with engorged muscles that rippled beneath his fur as his blue stripes glowed with the bright blue of dragon lightning qi. All no doubt due to his new martial skill. Chen Lisha shrieked as Xue''s claws tore through her robes and left deep cuts on her stomach and arms as she tried to fend him off. She cycled another martial skill and a swirling whirlpool of smaller serpents made of her water serpent qi spun around her like a tornado, smashing into Xue and sending him flying away from her. Chen Yi then raised his bow and fired bright turquoise and black arrows at Xue. The arrows homed in on Xue as he fell and tumbled over the ground and struck him hard in the side. Xue snarled and scrabbled back to his feet as his chest swelled and he exhaled a bright blue beam of dragon lightning qi at Chen Yi. The large serpent Chen Lisha rode upon slithered her into the path of the strike and she blocked it for Chen Yi with the swirling tornado of liquid snakes surrounding her. Dragon lightning struck her spinning whirlpool of serpents and shredded it in a spray of arcing lightning and glistening water but Chen Lisha''s defense held. Jie took it all in within the span of a heartbeat. But just as she started to consider if she could throw out a finger of light attack to aid her friends, some instinct in the back of Jie''s mind screamed a warning. She snapped her attention back to Elder Kanev, her conscious mind racing to understand what her instincts were trying to say. The instant she looked at him, she knew. He''d stopped screaming and now stared at her as though in a daze. Fear spiked in Jie''s heart, and she looked at the silver stone in her hand. The stone''s glow had intensified as rivulets of her blood oozed along its surface. No! No! What are you doing? Don''t stop working! Not now! Jie thought. She turned her hand palm up and opened her fingers, trying to see what was happening to the stone while doing her best to ensure that it continued to distract Elder Kanev. Slits appeared in the stone and her blood oozed into the gaps. All along... it just wanted my blood? Jie thought. The idea horrified her, yet she dared not throw the stone away. Even if she could somehow force herself to part with it. A moment later, the stone broke apart into five smaller stones of about equal size and a bunch of extremely fine silver dust. Jie looked up at Elder Kanev, terrified that the stone''s effect would be broken, and he''d lunge at her. But he continued to stare blankly at the stone as though caught in a daydream. Chapter 135 Desperation What!? That''s it!? No... no.... no... This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Chapter 136 Portal You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Chapter 137 Frost Viper Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter 138 Moonlights Grace Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Even now I can''t break through, Chapter 139 Nine Clouds Healing Pill Stolen story; please report. Chapter 140 The Dragon Jie turned her glare from Elder Kanev to Chen Yi, Chen Lisha, and Chen Huo standing on the bridge to the portal room. She took in a deep shuddering breath as she cycled what little qi she had remaining and exhaled a bright blue beam of dragon lightning qi at them. She turned her head to sweep it across all three of them in the hope it would distract Elder Kanev long enough for her to get free. The attack lacked the focused technique of her finger of light or dragonfist skills and expanded in a cone of lightning toward the Chen family. Elder Kanev raised his hand upward and a wall of rock burst through the icy ground. Jie''s lightning breath impacted it, sparking and crackling over it to no avail. Jie slumped, panting hard and struggling to stay standing after expending the last of her qi. Her lightning step fizzled out and the world sped up around her. "Cute trick," Elder Kanev said, "but no. There''ll be no diving in to save your friend this time. And no Elder Shi to save you. Just you watching her die before I kill you." Jie drew in deep, shuddering breaths. She ignored the sharp pain stabbing through her chest as she refined Essence of the Heavens and the Earth as fast as she could in a desperate bid to gain enough qi to do something. Anything. "Your body is strangely tough," Elder Kanev said, "I''m sure I can make your death take a lot longer than your little friend. Make sure you use that movement skill of yours to stretch out every moment. We don''t have as long as I''d like, and I wouldn''t want you to miss out on any of it." It was hard to concentrate through the pain and her hot blood dribbling down her leg and feet. But she''d spent so long cultivating that she could do it nearly automatically. And, gradually, she gained some fumes of her energy back. It wouldn''t be enough, she knew. But she didn''t know what else to do as her mind raced, trying to think of a way to get the pill and save Pan Tian. "Let us go and I''ll pay you more than the Chen family," Jie said. The words tasted like bile as she spoke them, but it was the only thing she could think of. Elder Kanev laughed. "So you can have your bodyguards kill me? I''m not that stupid," he said, "I''ll just have to be satisfied with what the Chen family offers. Besides, I''m sure a rich brat like you has all kinds of treasures in your storage ring anyway." Pan Tian''s shallow breathing stilled and the bubbly, cheerful, vibrant life in her olive green eyes went out even as her qi continued to spill from her wound. Elder Kanev chuckled and popped the nine cloud''s healing pill into his mouth. He licked his lips and gave a satisfied moan as intense healing energy pulsed through him. The branch-like bruises on his skin faded away as every minor injury Jie had inflicted upon him was erased in a moment. He stretched as though utterly revitalized. "I''ve always wondered what those pills were like," he said, "I probably should''ve saved it... but I''m sure you have plenty more stored away, don''t you?" The tiny fragments of qi Jie had gained surged inside her and slammed into the barrier to her middle dantian so hard that the impact rippled through her body, and she tasted blood. Jie''s entire body vibrated with a mixture of rage and hatred, widening the wounds in her leg and feet and sending a stabbing pain pulsing through her chest. But the pain felt so far away as she stared at Pan Tian''s lifeless body. "Why are you still struggling?" Elder Kanev asked with sadistic mirth in his voice, "Even if I let you reach her now, she''s too far gone for even the grandest of healing pills." Tears froze on Jie''s eyelashes as sadness welled up in her so thick it ached in her soul and made it hard to breathe. Pan Tian was the first friend she''d made on this world... the first friend she''d made at school... the first friend to take her out in the city... to an auction house... to make her a gift... One of the only ones to make her feel that people in this world weren''t so bad... that there were good people no matter where you looked... even in this brutal world. She was the kindest person Jie knew of. She felt more like a sister than a friend... and now someone had taken her away... someone had taken her away just like everyone else... How could people destroy what little good there was? How could they be so cruel? So petty. So vindictive. So malevolent. Ming had been right from the very beginning. If she''d killed that worthless bully in the Crimson Academy entrance trial... If she''d acted emotionless at the tournament... If she''d worked even harder and broken through... if she''d insisted on going back to her training and leaving this place... then Pan Tian would still be alive. This is my fault, Jie thought. Compassion? Mercy? How could she be so stupid!? People like Elder Kanev and the Chen family didn''t deserve mercy. None of them did. There was only one thing they deserved. Everything she felt... everything she thought... everything anyone had ever said to her was all drowned out by a growing, burning, all-consuming rage that boiled up from deep within her.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Something inside her broke. The barrier to her middle dantian cracked and leaked energy that painted her dantian with red light. The amount of Essence she drew in suddenly increased as Essence streamed into her body and rotated within her dantian so fast that it refined almost instantly. She drew in so much Essence that even the wind in the chamber flowed toward her. Her cultivation soared as ultra-refined Essence exploded into dragon lightning qi and howled upward where it slammed into the barrier covering the entrance to her middle dantian. The barrier shattered. A bright howling storm of dragon lightning qi burst into her middle dantian. It bathed her dantian in intense blue light and revealed a vast, empty, dried-out seabed that seemed to stretch on forever... Jie''s qi raced into the air above and flashed bright blue as a sound like thunder rumbled through her dantian. Dark, pitch-black clouds pulsed into existence. They swirled, rotated, and writhed as multi-colored lightning arced, flickered, and rumbled within them. Essence rushed into Jie''s lower dantian like never before, continuing to almost instantly purify before exploding into dragon lightning qi. Though, some of the energy she drew in possessed an odd, cold quality to it before being purified and exploding into dragon lightning qi like all the rest. Then again. And again. In an almost continuous storm as her body swelled and lengthened. As it did so, the spikes tore through her feet and leg. The sharp pain only enraged her further before being drowned out by mind-searing agony. She opened her mouth to scream from a mixture of rage, hatred, and pain but whatever sound she made was drowned out by a thunderous roar... *** Elder Kanev watched in horror as the monster of a girl before him broke through into the first star of the Elementalist rank. She drew in Essence with such incredible force that he had to shape rock around his feet to keep from being pulled toward her. And even now at this distance, she sucked some of the frost qi and spiritual energy right out of his dantian. Thankfully, the effect reduced enough with distance that the Chen children seemed safe enough on the bridge. Though their robes fluttered from the wind that rushed toward the monstrous girl. He wanted to attack her while she was preoccupied rather than risk allowing her to finish breaking through, but it took all his concentration just to keep his energies within his body. He stared at her, his eyes wide with disbelief. How was he supposed to know killing the Pan brat would be her trigger? How was it even possible for her to reach this rank so young? Pan Tian''s protracted death was only supposed to help appease Lord Chen Liang for his failure. But now as the girl broke through, his very cultivation was at risk. He staggered back, his feet wading through the rock lest he be drawn closer toward her. His crimson robes flapped violently in the wind. Every step back was easier than the last as he moved further away from the girl and the suction force upon his energies lessened. He took in panting breaths and tried to settle his cultivation. His heart pounded in his chest and his hands trembled as dread crawled up his spine. What she''d done... it shouldn''t be possible. People who could extract the cultivation of another were nothing more than stories to frighten children. It wasn''t possible! It wasn''t! But... even at this distance, he was still losing some of his cultivation. Only a trickle, but that trickle would take days... maybe weeks to get back. The spikes of rock impaling her feet and leg shattered and the ground beneath her feet cracked. Her body grew several feet as her hair lengthened and she looked as though she aged two years before his very eyes. Her robes strained against her rippling cords of muscle and tore. The bleeding wounds in her body glowed with intense green light as green lightning flickered over her body. He watched, stunned, as her bones and flesh knit themselves back together. The bones in her hands snapped back into place with sickening cracks as her body rapidly healed. The entire cavern chamber trembled as rock and stone warped, twisted, and levitated in the air around her. The lake of blood churned and frothed as flickers of green lightning played over her feet and vibrant green plants sprouted between cracks in the icy rock. Those same plants burst into blue flames and swirled around her in a cloud of ash and glowing embers as the ice steamed. The air grew thick with the scent of a coming storm as though the heavens themselves were preparing to unleash their rage. Elder Kanev''s war hammer trembled upon the ground where he''d left it. The metal screeched and groaned as it bent and curved. He watched in disbelief, his icy gray eyes wide. Nothing below the Spiritualist rank should even be able to scratch it... Traveling the world... finding his place in this academy... he''d seen more than his share of breakthroughs. Many of which were from peerless geniuses. Not to mention his own. None had ever looked anything like this. He felt like he was watching someone break through into realms beyond anything he''d ever seen. But when he scanned her with his spirit sense, he sensed only the transition into the first star of the Elementalist rank. Even if her aura was exceptionally frightening... it still didn''t explain what he was seeing. She shouldn''t be able to threaten him and yet he dared not even stand near her for fear of losing his cultivation. And though her cultivation was still five stars beneath his own it felt oppressive even at this distance. She was stronger than she had any right to be. Even at the peak of ninth star of the Expert rank she''d moved so fast that he''d had no choice but to get serious just to catch her. There would be no time at all for games now that she''d broken through. He slowly edged away from her and gained more control over his cultivation. Yes... why even risk it? Better to kill you now, Elder Kanev thought as he cycled his spiritual energy and thrust out his fist toward the girl. The icy ground bulged and exploded in a line of jagged rock that raced toward the girl. Elder Kanev smiled. No more holding back. No more games. Now, you die, he thought. The air suddenly turned unnaturally still. Then, crackling blue electricity swirled around the girl as a wave of force pulsed out from her. The line of jagged rock exploded before it could reach her as the entire chamber shook. Elder Kanev raised his arms and braced himself as the explosive force washed over him, spraying him with shards of rock and ice. It knocked Chen Ai down behind Jie and sent Chen Yi, Chen Lisha, and Chen Huo flying back off the bridge. They landed with a series of splashes in the lake of blood as Liu Jie''s aura surged. She broke through into the second star of the Elementalist rank. Elder Kanev grunted as his body trembled against the forceful waves emanating from her. The pressure coming off her aura doubled as she broke through. His legs trembled as though a mountain weighed down upon him. Worse than the pressure itself however was the raw killing intent her aura carried. It made his blood feel like ice. He swallowed hard. His mouth was dry. It was all he could do to stay on his feet, but he readied himself for his moment to strike. She opened her mouth and roared again. An inhuman, unnatural sound that no human voice could produce which turned his bones to jelly. Everyone had tried to figure out the strange girl. To find her family. Her clan. To uncover who she was. They''d all failed. Of course, they had... they were asking the wrong questions. The question wasn''t ''Who is she?'' but rather ''What is she?'' A monster? A magical beast that could take human form? Some undiscovered bloodline? Some unholy amalgamation of all three? Or, perhaps, something far worse... Lightning arced over her body as her hair flowed unnaturally in the air around her as though she were underwater. Chapter 141 Frost And Lightning But at last, her cultivation stopped rapidly growing and the shaking cavern stilled. The oppressive force emanating from her ceased. Apart from her aura which continued to weigh upon him. Elder Kanev almost fell to his knees in relief. The icy armor covering his skin intensified as he cycled his frozen rage skill and the swirling blizzard around him thickened as he cycled his frozen aura with everything he had. Those two techniques had been vital to dealing with her absurd speed even before she broke through and he was sure they would be now. Still, just to be safe, he gathered his spiritual energy and gestured with his hand. The blood around Chen Yi, Chen Lisha, and Chen Huo flowed in a wave that pushed them back toward the chamber''s entrance. The blood swelled into a swirling column that lifted them upward as they approached the bridge leading back up to the ancient palace. They got the hint without him needing to say anything. Each of them stepped out of the swirling blood and onto the bridge then bolted back up the tunnel with Chen Ai following close behind. Once the Chen children were safely upon the bridge, Elder Kanev cut off his control and the column of blood collapsed back into the lake. The Chen children ran like a demon was chasing them. Their panic was unwarranted but at least it took them out of harm''s way. It could prove difficult to protect them now that she''d broken through not once but twice. Still, he was four stars ahead of her. And he''d had long years of practice with his elemental affinities. Not even she could close that gap. He cycled his spiritual energy and qi. He wasn''t going to make the mistake of underestimating her. Now he''d wait for her to attack in a blind rage and then strike her down with swift precision. Somehow it made him nostalgic for the days of his childhood. Sometimes he missed the Frozen Wastes... facing mighty beasts upon the freezing snow... perhaps he''d go back there. It would be wise to move away from the Crimson Academy and lie low for a while anyway. He blinked and the girl was gone. Dust, ash, embers, and steam swirled in the space where she''d been standing. Elder Kanev''s instincts screamed, and primal fear ran down his spine like the hairy legs of a spider. He turned, whirling to face where his spirit sense now indicated she was, and found her easing the Pan brat off the spear of rock. Elder Kanev staggered back away from her, too stunned and terrified by her speed to do anything but stare with wide eyes. Some distant part of his mind whispered that perhaps the Chen children had the right idea... Liu Jie slid Pan Tian off the rock and set her down gently on the ground. She withdrew a healing pill from her storage ring. Elder Kanev could sense it, however, and it was far weaker than the nine cloud''s healing pill. Despite the fear coursing through him, some rational part of his mind wondered how that could be. Why would she not use another nine clouds healing pill? The hidden expert had been buying them all up... was he not linked to her? Liu Jie pressed the pill into Pan Tian''s lifeless mouth as she cradled the older girl''s head in her hands. The healing pill melted and vibrant green healing energy drifted aimlessly from Pan Tian''s mouth. Frozen tears fell upon Pan Tian''s dead face as Liu Jie placed another pill into the Pan girl''s mouth... then another... and another. Each with a similar lack of effect. Liu Jie sobbed. The spirit tiger cub roused and struggled onto trembling legs before stumbling toward her. He mewed and pressed his head against Liu Jie''s arm. She gave him one of the healing pills and he shivered with visible relief. He curled up beside the Pan brat''s lifeless body. Liu Jie tenderly closed the Pan girl''s eyes. Finally, Elder Kanev shook himself free of his stunned mixture of fear and confusion and gathered his spiritual energy for an attack. Just as he was preparing to release it, she looked up at him. Her eyes glowed with an intense blue that radiated unspeakable hatred. The pressure of her aura redoubled, and her sharp, cold killing intent intensified until it felt like needles of ice were drilling into his bones. Elder Kanev swallowed hard and staggered back. The attack he''d been cycling unraveled as he lost his focus in the face of the feral aura that washed over him. The pressure of it intensified as though her strength and power were increasing. But he couldn''t sense any new martial skill that might explain where it was coming from. Then, to his horror, her eyes shifted. Her pupils lengthened into narrow slits like the monster his instincts had screamed she was during her breakthrough. Liu Jie set Pan Tian''s head down tenderly even as her reptilian eyes stayed locked on his. She stood slowly with the smooth, sinuous grace of a hunting cat as she stepped over the Pan girl''s lifeless body toward him. As she did so, her black fingernails lengthened into long, curved black talons. What was left of her shoes broke away as her feet shifted, her bones rearranging into something unnatural as yet more talons grew from her toes. Black scales spread over her feet and up her legs as fabric tore and a long, serpentine black tail snaked out behind her. More black scales crept up along her arms, forming upon her skin in patches like tattoos. Her lips peeled back into a feral snarl, exposing teeth that lengthened into sharp fangs.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It doesn''t matter what she is. Even at the second star of the Elementalist rank... even with all her freakish power for her cultivation... she hasn''t had time to learn her affinities much less use them. I''ll kill her and get the Chen family out of here. Elder Kanev told himself, sickened by the feeling of weakness and terror bubbling up within him. Yet, despite his attempts to bolster his nerves, he took a step back from her. The fear he felt was wrong. He knew that down to his bones. Knew for a fact that someone at her cultivation wasn''t a threat to him even with all her speed. So why were his instincts screaming danger like he''d never felt before? Even when facing down the most savage wild beasts in his frozen, unforgiving homeland against enemies above his cultivation, he''d never felt this sense of awe-inspiring terror. Lightning crackled over her body as she stalked toward him, but she didn''t seem to notice. Elder Kanev gritted his teeth. Whatever you are, I can still kill you! He thought. Frost qi gathered in the palm of his hand, swirling in a frozen orb as he cycled frost strike. He thrust out his hand toward her and unleashed his attack at full power. She appeared in front of him, blue lightning marking the path she''d traveled in the blink of an eye. She swatted his arm aside with the back of her hand. It struck his arm like a hammer blow and sent his attack off course. A wave of frost qi shot out, washing harmlessly over the stone step pyramid beside them. She clenched her other hand into a fist and a swirling orb of her strange lightning qi gathered around it. Snarling bright blue electricity shifted around her fist, elongating, and warping into a shape like a dragon''s head. Then, she drove it into his gut before he had a chance to evade. Blue lightning exploded over his body as all the air left his lungs in a whoosh and he folded in half over her fist. She continued with the motion, following through with a brutal punch that felt as though it were drilling through his stomach. The blow sent him flying backward as his muscles spasmed and pain radiated through his body. Wind stirred up around her as it did whenever she hit him, and her speed and power surged. Elder Kanev tumbled over the icy ground but leaned into the motion and rolled back up to his feet as he cycled his spiritual energy. He poured it into the ground beneath him as he raised his arms upward and spears of rock exploded toward her from all sides. Electricity crackled around her body, forming itself into armor. She bent her legs and jumped as her armor snarled and scorched the rock beneath her. She shot up into the air as the rock spears skewered her afterimage. It exploded in a burst of blue lightning that played over the rock as she soared into the air. She pointed two clawed fingers on both hands toward him and twin bright blue beams of lightning lit the chamber like a blue sun. Elder Kanev threw out a frost strike with each hand. His attacks formed a singular cone of frost qi that expanded up into the air toward her. Her snarling lightning bolts surged through his cone of frost, cutting a path through it, and slammed into his chest. Elder Kanev screamed as lightning scorched his skin and drove him down hard into the icy rock beneath him. He groaned as he lay flat upon the floor, his body twitching involuntarily as aching, burning pain throbbed through every fiber of his being. The cloud of frost and lightning above him swirled and dissipated, revealing empty air where she''d been. Before his conscious mind could identify where she''d gone, his instincts screamed at him to move. He rolled to the side as a clawed foot, covered in the head of a dragon made of blue lighting, slammed into the icy ground he''d been lying upon. The ground exploded into shards of ice and splintered rock. Yet, her electric blue, snake-like eyes remained locked upon him even as ice and rock pattered and bounced off the two of them. A disk of lightning formed behind her other foot. It was all he had time to register before she shot forward and a crackling dragonhead over her knee smashed into his face. He felt his nose break as his head snapped back and he fell over backward. He rolled and threw out a double frost strike as she charged him. The space between them turned into a howling blizzard as the icy torrent washed over her. Blood dripped from his lips as his meridians screamed from the sheer amount of qi he poured into the attack. Finally, the cone of howling ice cut off and he staggered back. A misshapen glacier stood before him with Liu Jie''s aura trapped beneath thick layers of ice. Relief washed over Elder Kanev. He''d finally caught her with a full attack. Now, she could suffocate inside the ice for all he cared. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fragments of his broken teeth then took in grateful lungfuls of air. It hurt just to breathe, and his muscles pulsed with the memory of lightning coursing through them, aching as though it were still there. He wondered if her death and the death of the Pan girl would be enough for Chen Liang to spare his life or if he should just cut his losses and run for the Frozen Wastes. He ran his tongue over his broken teeth and winced. How could Chen Liang judge him for this failure? Nobody could''ve expected the girl would be so powerful. But would that explanation be enough to satisfy him? He wondered. He activated his storage ring and withdrew a healing pill. An arc of lightning played over the surface of the ice encasing Liu Jie. Elder Kanev''s icy gray eyes went wide as power rapidly built up inside the ice. The ice vibrated and Elder Kanev shoved the healing pill into his mouth as he cycled his spiritual energy. What does it take to stop her!? He thought as the ice glowed with bright blue light from within. Cracks raced through the surface of the ice as healing energies flooded Elder Kanev''s body. Three massive earthen spears burst through the ground around him. With a gesture, they broke off at their bases and levitated in the air, angling their points toward the girl as he reinforced the spears with spiritual energy. The ice in front of him exploded in a white spray that expanded in every direction as lightning crackled around Liu Jie and she charged toward him once more. Elder Kanev roared with effort as he gestured toward the monstrous girl and the three enormous spears of reinforced rock shot toward her like massive arrows loosed from a bow. The middle one was aimed exactly at her while the other two flew in a closing spiral around it to catch her should she try to jump out of the way. But, rather than attempting to dive out of the way, she lunged toward him as the ground beneath her feet exploded with a sizzling crack that sent shards of ice and rock spraying behind her. She twisted her body in the air, narrowly avoiding the middle spear. Then, she brought her feet under her and ran along its surface, curving around the spear to avoid the two other spears rotating around her. Worst of all, she made it look effortless. As she ran, lightning gathered around her right fist, forming into the shape of a dragon''s head. She leaped off the spear toward him and boosted off a lightning platform that discharged in the air with a thunderous crackle, closing the distance between them in an instant. Elder Kanev''s eyes were locked on the intense, howling lightning around her fist as she hurtled toward him. He stomped the ground, hastily forming a small pillar of rock between them. He gestured and the pillar fell to the side, catching her forearm and knocking her arm wide in a perfect parry. It was only then he noticed her previously unassuming left hand and the two taloned fingers aimed directly at his right eye. His eyes widened as he realized her other attack had merely been a distraction. He tried to raise his arms to protect himself but she was too fast. Curved black talons pierced the soft, wet tissue of his right eye and she unleashed a lightning bolt into his skull. The rest of her body slammed into him as he staggered back, sending them both flying through the air as she poured lightning into his skull. He screamed as bright blue electricity arced over his body and burned inside his skull. His eyeball boiled, bubbled, and smoked around her scaled fingers as she drove two fingers from her other hand into his other eye and unleashed yet another lightning bolt. Jie roared as the flesh on Elder Kanev''s face caught fire and his brain cooked inside his skull. The back of his skull exploded as the bright blue beam of dragon lightning qi burned through, scorching the icy ground behind him as they fell to the floor together. Chapter 142 Dragons Fury Jie snarled as she poured lightning into what was left of Elder Kanev''s eye sockets. The flesh of Elder Kanev''s face bubbled and blackened like fat on a hot stove as his body spasmed uncontrollably. He crumpled under her, and she fell on top of him, still channeling power into his skull even as his face melted and burned. Some distant part of her quietly said that he was already dead, but it wasn''t good enough. He needed to suffer for what he''d done. Finally, she cut off her attack and pulled her claws out of his skull. Then, fresh waves of anger and hatred washed over her, and she found herself hitting his ruined head again and again as she screamed and tears fell from her eyes. The world seemed hazy, with thoughts like a distant, indistinguishable hum as rage burned within her like an inferno. No matter how many times she hit him, she still felt just as angry. But finally, that distant part of herself caught her attention. A single whisper broke through the hum... a whisper she could not ignore. The Chen family have fled. She stood slowly and it felt as though she were watching her actions from some small corner of her mind. She looked around and scanned the chamber with her spirit sense. It was true. They were gone. She wondered how long she''d been hitting Elder Kanev for them to leave given how slow and weak they were. Fresh anger flared inside her. They were part of this. They''d helped kill Pan Tian. Tried to kill all of them... and they thought she''d just let them get away? Just let them leave? No. Never again. She raced for what was now the only exit from the cavern. The only way they could''ve gone. She moved faster than she ever had. Strength and power filled her. Ming had been right... they all had... the difference between the lower and middle dantian was truly enormous. And it seemed the strange silver whirlwind in her dantian only amplified that. It didn''t take long to catch up to the first of the Chen family. Chen Lisha held Chen Yi''s hand as they stood upon the head of her serpent which slithered along the floor. They''d just made it to the room where Jie and her friends had faced the skeletons and the necromancer. Neither of them seemed to notice Jie as she appeared on the serpent behind them in the blink of an eye. She gripped Chen Lisha''s throat with her claws and ripped it open, spraying blood over Chen Yi. He turned his head to look at Chen Lisha as his silver eyes widened with surprised horror. Chen Lisha stiffened and brought her hands to her mangled throat in a vain, instinctual attempt to stop the bleeding as blood gushed between her fingers. The serpent they rode upon broke apart as Chen Lisha lost her concentration, sending the pair flying forward as Jie hopped off and landed lightly on the stone floor. Chen Yi tumbled over the ground but rolled and whirled around. His eyes immediately went to his sister as Chen Lisha stumbled and fell forward onto her face. He ran toward her as she looked up at him and reached out toward him with one hand. She grasped at the air between them, her dark blue eyes pleading and terrified, as blood flowed between the fingers of her other hand and pooled beneath her. Her body slackened before he got to her and she fell still with her empty hand outstretched toward him as blood continued to pump out of her, covering the dusty stone floor. Chen Yi reached his sister and fell to his knees as he grabbed her limp hand and held it between his own, tears streaming down his face as his sister''s pulse faded into a trickle.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Jie walked slowly toward him, her feet splashing softly in Chen Lisha''s blood. Chen Yi looked up at her with hatred and anger in his tear filled, silver eyes. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Jie decapitated him with a swipe of her claws. His head rolled back and bounced behind him as his body fell beside his sister. Blood spurted from his neck, splattering his sister''s lifeless body before mingling with her own upon the stone. The red pool oozed outward and dribbled down into the pit filled with bones. Jie walked onward, picking up speed as she went until she was running again. She found Chen Ai next, racing down a long dark hallway, using her movement skill to pull herself along as fast as she could. As Chen Ai turned the corner, Jie appeared behind her. Jie punched Chen Ai in the back. Her fist tore through flesh and bone in an instant and burst through Chen Ai''s chest, impaling the girl on Jie''s arm. Jie gripped the front of Chen Ai''s robes from behind, bringing her to a stop. Chen Ai''s entire body trembled as she looked down at Jie''s blood-covered arm and made wet, gurgling gasps. Jie flung Chen Ai backward and her body smashed into the wall behind them hard enough to crack the stone. Chen Ai slid down, leaving a red smear in her wake, her dark brown eyes were still wide with a mixture of terror and disbelief as blood dripped from her trembling lips. Jie ran onward, unwilling to allow any of them to escape and wondering just where Chen Huo had got to... She found him on the palace steps. Sprinting as fast as he could as his golden wings beat furiously at the air. Jie cycled a weak finger of light attack with tight control on her qi and struck with cold precision. The bolt of bright, blazing dragon lightning qi struck his right leg and blew it away to ash just above the knee. Chen Huo screamed, missed a step, and fell tumbling down the long stairway. Jie stalked down the stairs toward him. He crawled on his hands and knees, the remaining half of his leg still smoldering. Jie felt sick. But, still so very angry. She walked beside him slowly as he crawled, his wings fluttering like an injured bird unable to take off. He looked up at her with pleading, bright golden eyes. "Please..." he said, "I''m sorry." Jie hesitated. The sick, twisted feeling in her gut writhed and she began to feel pity for him... Then, she thought of Pan Tian. Of what Elder Kanev and the Chen family had done. Of her family and the words of the men who''d killed them before Ming erased their scummy lives from existence. Funny how everyone was only ever sorry when they were about to lose the very thing they''d taken from someone else. Funny how they were never sorry before that moment. Funny how it wasn''t remorse or acceptance or guilt she saw in his golden eyes but desperation and fear. "No," Jie said as she kicked him over onto his back, "you''re not." She knelt down, wrapped one clawed hand around his throat, and began to squeeze. "But you will be," she said. His throat felt soft. Like putty in her hand. She kept her strength measured so she didn''t snap his neck. He struggled and choked as his wings spasmed against the ground and he flailed madly. Striking her face, her neck, her arm. Each strike hit her qi armor with no more effect than a summer breeze. He awkwardly drew his sword and ignited the blade as he stabbed and slashed her. The burning blade clattered ineffectually against her crackling armor. He cycled a martial skill, creating bolts of golden fire in the air. They struck Jie and their golden energy splashed over her qi armor like rain upon a mountain. Golden fire wreathed his entire body and he slashed at her furiously as he writhed in her grip... but she held him pinned by his throat until his skill sputtered out. His flailing grew slower... and slower... His sword fell from sluggish fingers as he beat weakly and uselessly upon her arm. Hardly even noticeable. His boots scraped against the stone floor as he struggled like a dying animal. Jie said nothing as he squirmed, his face red as the veins and small muscles of his face bulged. His mouth was open, trying desperately to inhale and failing. His movements slowed as his golden wings broke into glimmering motes and he went limp. Jie kept squeezing even after his pulse stopped beneath her fingers and his aura began to fade. His golden eyes were glassy and empty, reflecting her own bestial face and her crackling blue qi back at her. She saw the madness in her slitted eyes and watched them gradually shift back to normal, rounded pupils. The anger and hatred in them remained and they looked no less monstrous. At last, she released her grip and stared at her blood-stained hands as her claws retreated and her scales faded. She didn''t know what she was supposed to feel. Only that the anger and hatred remained and without killing them to focus on, the sadness and grief slammed into her like a tidal wave. It felt like it was drowning her. It thickened in her throat, choking her and turning every breath into a gasping, painful sob. She looked out at the dark, ruined city, still resting on her knees, and felt utterly alone. Belatedly, she realized that in her rage she''d left Xue vulnerable and unprotected. And she hated herself for it. She stood and turned to return to Xue but stopped. Pan Tian would scold her if she just left their things lying around. "Forgive me, Xue. I''ll be right with you," she muttered. Chapter 143 Impossible Hope your It''s not true. She can''t be dead. She can''t be. They can''t take even more from me! How could I have missed it? Stolen story; please report. Chapter 144 Proceed With Caution Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Chapter 145 Hidden Dragon Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! How could I be such a useless friend? Maybe he''s not coming? Chapter 146 Family They must not have invited her... she would be here otherwise... I''m not that socially inept... am I? It''s beautiful here... You''re right, Xue. We care... even if the world doesn''t, You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Oh, great. Now they''re going to try and kill me, Chapter 147 Pan Silenos Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Oh no! That''s what I looked like? Chapter 148 Headmaster Siluvius I definitely would''ve found this, Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. To tell me nobody would be doing anything about it... Chapter 149 Knowledge The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter 150 Secrets So that''s her movement skill? Feels weird... You were right old snake... this world is beautiful... Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. everything Chapter 151 Dantia Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. So that''s what the headmaster had been talking about... are Ithilix''s Poison: Cards hit by Ithilix''s attacks take additional damage every turn unless cured. Chapter 152 Crimson Valley Loot Jie made three cards of herself as Ithilix showed her how and kept one for herself. Perhaps it was vain, but she thought it was interesting to see herself in card form. Xue proved unwilling to make cards for them until they bribed him with food. He sat beside them chewing messily after making cards for them as Ithilix taught Jie how to play. Naturally, Ithilix destroyed her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This one has had more practice than you. This one is sure you will learn quickly, Princess,¡± Ithilix said. ¡°Do you play often?¡± Jie asked. Ithilix shook her head. ¡°This one rarely has time,¡± she said, ¡°still¡­ this one enjoyed playing with you.¡± They played one more game after that. It was a bit closer as Jie understood the rules now, but Ithilix still won. What¡¯s worse, Ithilix used one of the cards Jie had just made to crush her. ¡°It¡¯s not fair if you have stronger cards than I do,¡± Jie grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not this one¡¯s fault you did not draw yourself,¡± Ithilix said with a smirk, ¡°this one thinks you should keep Chen Yi¡¯s cards. That way you have a deck to play with if you want to.¡± Jie nodded and stored the cards in her storage ring. After that, they went back to organizing the loot. Though Jie found herself tempted to play just one more game. Just so she could win at least once¡­ Losing irritated her more than she liked to admit. They sifted through weapon refinement shards, all kinds of equipment, and some martial skill scrolls that were of little interest to either of them. Some of the items continued to make Jie feel as though they ought to belong to someone else. Like the ratty, worn, stuffed teddy bear in Chen Ai¡¯s storage ring. Jie wondered if she could return it to whoever Chen Ai had stolen it from and used a scroll of wisdom on it. A worn stuffed teddy bear embroidered with the name ¡®Chen Ai¡¯. A sentimental gift made with care, the bear has been hugged tight for many years and may not survive much longer. Jie blinked with surprise and turned the bear over in her hands until she found the embroidery the scroll had mentioned. It looked at least as old and worn as the rest of the bear. It made Jie feel as though she were holding a tear in the fabric of reality as the idea of someone like Chen Ai having something so¡­ normal¡­ seemed unreal. There were other sentimental items too. Each of which seemed out of place to Jie. She supposed it shouldn¡¯t have¡­ they were still people after all. But, it still felt as though they ought to be carrying around spikes, fire, and skulls. Not¡­ teddy bears, music boxes, cards, scented candles, and love notes. It just felt¡­ wrong somehow. Chen Huo had far more resources and items than his siblings, particularly from the Crimson Valley. Among his possessions were several training manuals for sword fighting which Jie found herself reading while Ithilix continued identifying weapons. It made Jie feel slightly guilty, but they¡¯d agreed to share the book and as Jie planned to leave soon¡­ she wanted to be sure she¡¯d at least read through it before her journey. That way she might be able to leave it to Ithilix and Pan Zhanshi. He seemed the most likely to benefit from it after all. Besides, Ithilix didn¡¯t seem to mind. The manuals were interesting and left part of Jie wanting to use a sword to try out some of the techniques described. They were more about positioning and form than anything else and lacked any martial skills though. Still¡­ she wondered if she might try using a sword more at some point¡­The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Finally, they finished sifting through the Chen children¡¯s rings and Jie took out Elder Kanev¡¯s ring. As they emptied out the ring, Ithilix¡¯s amber eyes went wide. The amount of money and resources it contained dwarfed even the Chen children¡¯s rings. What¡¯s more, his ring contained an incredible number of middle dantian resources as well as lower dantian ones. She couldn¡¯t help wondering how much of it was from the Chen family. Perhaps for the task of killing her and her friends¡­ ¡°Princess, are you sure you wish to share with this one?¡± Ithilix asked as she stared at the mounds of resources. ¡°Yes,¡± Jie said, ¡°help me organize it. We¡¯ll sell off what we don¡¯t want. Same as before.¡± Ithilix nodded though her eyes remained wide as though she couldn¡¯t quite believe what she was looking at or that a good percentage of it would be hers. Among the resources were new ones Jie had never heard of before. Flame¡¯s spirit, waterfalls¡¯s spirit, boulder¡¯s spirit, iron¡¯s spirit, and forest¡¯s spirit pills. Each of which was best for cultivators that had an affinity for the respective element the pill was for. There were many other pills too¡­ elemental moon pills, heavenly elements pills, and the far more powerful savior¡¯s grace pills. Essences of blood, frost, ember, stone, and bark. All ranging between the second and fifth stars of the Elementalist rank. And all new body conditioning pills. Like the other middle dantian resources, Jie doubted anyone below the middle dantian could consume them safely. Dancer¡¯s grace, Diamond salmon¡¯s endurance, dream octopus¡¯s intelligence, horned lion¡¯s strength, iron turtle¡¯s resilience, and incubus¡¯s blessing pills. The latter of which was designed to increase the sex appeal of male cultivators according to her scroll of wisdom. As such, she thought it best to either sell them or give them to Pan Zhanshi. Though he wouldn¡¯t be able to consume them safely until he broke through to the middle dantian. Part of her was curious about what an incubus blessing pill would do to her if she took one. Would I grow a beard? She wondered. Still, curious though she was, it didn¡¯t seem worth the risk of finding out. He had many other items including weapons, piles of gold, silver, and a collection of thirty spirit coins. Most interesting to Jie however, were two training manuals. One was called ¡®Basic Elemental Earth Techniques¡¯ and the other ¡®Basic Elemental Water Techniques¡¯. She still didn¡¯t know what her affinities were, but she found herself leafing through the manuals while Ithilix identified items with brisk efficiency. Eventually, they divided everything up between the three of them with a fourth share for Pan Zhanshi. Jie added a memory stone containing some of her thoughts and ideas about cultivation as she¡¯d promised Pan Tian to help him. She wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d ever look at them. Maybe he hated her too much for that. But, as he didn¡¯t seem to want to speak with her¡­ she didn¡¯t know what else to do. And, at least this way, she could fulfill her promise. They stored most of the items in another ring which would be sent off to the Onyx Pavilion along with everything else they wanted to sell. It would be a simple matter to divide up the money once the items were sold. Jie kept the two elemental training manuals as she was the only one of them that had broken through, and she wanted to have them in case she had earth or water affinity. Even if she didn¡¯t, she thought it was likely that there might be insights to be gained from studying other elemental techniques anyway. Ithilix didn¡¯t object to Jie keeping the books and generally seemed to be in a state of stunned gratitude and guilt. Ithilix blamed herself for not being fast enough and Jie wished she knew what to say to get through to her. To make Ithilix understand that none of what had happened was her fault. Keeping them all safe had been Jie¡¯s responsibility. It¡¯d been her that had failed, not Ithilix. But for whatever reason, she just couldn¡¯t get through to her as Ithilix stubbornly clung to the absurd idea that any of what happened was her fault when she¡¯d done all that she could. It was late by the time they at last finished going through everything. ¡°Ithilix, could you teach me more about traps and¡­ things I need to know for traveling the world?¡± Jie asked. ¡°This one would be delighted to instruct you,¡± Ithilix said, ¡°when do you wish to train?¡± ¡°Could we start now?¡± Jie asked. Ithilix looked a bit taken aback at that. ¡°This one does not object. But¡­ this one doesn¡¯t understand the rush. We are no longer in the Crimson Valley,¡± she said. Jie hesitated, unsure how much to tell the hive girl. ¡°I¡¯m going somewhere. Soon. I think it¡¯d be best if I knew as much as possible as fast as I can,¡± Jie said. Ithilix frowned slightly. ¡°This one is happy to assist you¡­ but such skills take years to train even to the basic levels this one has reached. This one would recommend delaying your travels for quite some time if possible, Princess,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t delay,¡± Jie said. Ithilix nodded. ¡°Then this one will do the best this one is able. Where are you going, Princess?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t say,¡± Jie said. ¡°This one would be better able to assist you if this one knew which environments you¡¯re likely to encounter,¡± Ithilix pressed. ¡°I can¡¯t take the risk of anyone knowing where I¡¯m going. What if the Chen family got to you?¡± Jie asked. Ithilix nodded solemnly. ¡°This one agrees with the precaution though it¡¯s most inconvenient. This one is curious¡­ perhaps this one could go with you?¡± she asked. Jie shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± she said. Ithilix looked a bit disappointed. ¡°This one understands,¡± she said, ¡°we shall do the best we can and hope it is enough.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Jie said. Ithilix withdrew paper and an inkbrush from her storage ring. ¡°We shall start with basic traps,¡± Ithilix said. Ithilix made notes and drew diagrams with her brush as she talked to Jie about basic trap designs, how to identify them, and common ways to disable them. Ithilix taught Jie long into the night with the promise that she would train Jie as much as she was able in the coming days for which Jie was grateful. Chapter 153 What Once Was Lost The next day, they put up a notice asking anyone who¡¯d given items they most valued to the woman in white to speak with them about getting their stuff back. They also sent a letter to the Ashcrow family letting them know they had one of their signet rings and would like to sell it back to them at a reasonable price. Though neither Ithilix nor Jie had any idea what a reasonable price was exactly. Pan Zhanshi still wasn¡¯t back and even if he had been, Jie doubted he wanted to speak with her. So once again she was left wishing she could just ask Pan Tian. Thankfully, Elder Shi knew, and the fox woman helped Jie and Ithilix make a reasonable request. Although Jie had a sneaking suspicion it leaned more toward the expensive side than she¡¯d wanted as Elder Shi had a mischievous gleam in her purple eyes and an almost predatory sway to her tails when she¡¯d given her opinion. Still, the Ashcrow family sent a representative with the money they¡¯d requested without even negotiating. Jie insisted on getting a student from their family to verify that the representative was who they said they were. And once the student vouched for them, Jie handed over the ring in exchange for the money. The instant she did so, the representative and the Ashcrow student Jie had used to verify him seemed incredibly relieved. They even went so far as to thank Jie and Ithilix profusely. It seemed a strange thing when as far as Jie was concerned, they should¡¯ve returned it for free. But, everyone seemed happy with the arrangement so she gave a mental shrug and put the whole thing out of her mind. Not long after they dealt with the Ashcrow family, a trio of youths stopped Jie and Ithilix as they walked across the academy grounds. ¡°You¡­ uh¡­ you¡¯re Jie, right?¡± asked a human boy. A human girl and a boy that looked like a humanoid lion similar to the one she¡¯d fought in the tournament stood behind their leader with a timidity that surprised her. The pair of them looked like they¡¯d run in terror if she so much as looked at them wrong. ¡°I am. Who are you three?¡± Jie asked. The trio quailed slightly at her words. ¡°Uh¡­ we¡¯re¡­ um¡­ that is¡­ we¡­ we saw your notice?¡± the boy asked, swallowing heavily as he fidgeted with his hands. What¡¯s with these people? Jie wondered. ¡°What did you lose?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡­ well¡­ it was a locket. With a family portrait. My mother gave it to me before¡­ how much do you want for it? I don¡¯t have much but¡­¡± the boy said. Jie held up a hand to cut him off. The three of them were irritatingly timid for whatever reason and she didn¡¯t want to waste more time listening to his anxious rambling. Instead, she withdrew the locket and handed it back to him. ¡°You can have it back for free,¡± Jie said. She¡¯d spoken about it with Ithilix earlier and made it clear she wasn¡¯t comfortable charging for returning the items. Ithilix had raised a few mild objections but quickly acquiesced. Though Jie thought it was simply because Ithilix felt overwhelmed by the loot from the Chen children and Elder Kanev rather than because she agreed with Jie¡¯s sentiment. It left Jie feeling slightly annoyed. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was annoyed at herself or the world. Was it wrong to hand them back without a reward or was she wrong and the world was right? Not so long ago, the answer to that seemed obvious¡­ but now¡­ They¡¯re just lucky Ithilix and I ended up with all the personal treasures, Jie thought. She certainly hadn¡¯t thought of it when they¡¯d left the contents of Pan Tian¡¯s ring alone. If Pan Tian hadn¡¯t made Jie carry most of the loot, people could easily have lost out. ¡°Really?¡± the boy said, his surprise obvious in his voice, ¡°Th-thank you!¡± He accepted the locket with care and stared at it with a complicated mixture of emotion in his eyes that seemed to overwhelm his fear. When it became clear he was too engrossed in his locket to speak, the girl peeked out from behind him. ¡°Sorry, uh¡­ Miss Liu¡­ but¡­ do you have my brother¡¯s hat?¡± the girl asked. Miss Liu? Jie thought, feeling more than a little weird to have someone who was probably older than her calling her that. ¡°Yes,¡± Jie said and handed the wide-brimmed hat to the girl. The girl grinned as she accepted it and hugged it tenderly to her chest. ¡°And what about you?¡± Jie asked the last of the trio. Though he was busy staring at Ithilix¡¯s belt with eyes that were clouded with a mixture of anger and other emotions. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Jie said. I¡¯d forgotten about that¡­ Jie thought. Ithilix crossed her arms and looked at Jie which then made the three youths, two of whom had now come back to themselves enough to return to the conversation, also look at Jie expectantly. Jie suddenly found herself wishing she¡¯d simply never said anything about returning the items as all of this was time that could have been spent either training or preparing for her journey.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. She had no desire to ask Ithilix to hand over her belt, but she also didn¡¯t feel comfortable not returning it. ¡°Ithilix is using it,¡± Jie said, ¡°but maybe if you speak with her about getting her a replacement, she might return it to you.¡± Jie looked at Ithilix as she spoke to see how her words were received. If anything she¡¯d said had annoyed Ithilix, she didn¡¯t show it. The youth seemed a bit agitated but quickly turned thoughtful. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with my family,¡± he said. He didn¡¯t seem happy about it, but as he¡¯d be getting nothing if not for them anyway, Jie didn¡¯t feel particularly guilty. ¡°Where¡¯s your fourth?¡± Jie asked. ¡°A plant monster killed him,¡± said the trio¡¯s leader, ¡°it was like a plant snake. In the swamp. The rest of us barely got out alive¡­¡± Jie nodded, remembering all too well how close Ithilix had come to getting killed by one of the tentacles. ¡°They were quite dangerous,¡± she said. Then, she and Ithilix continued back across the grounds. ¡°She¡¯s not as scary as I expected¡­¡± said the girl behind them in hushed tones to her companions. Though Jie still easily overheard them. ¡°I liked her too,¡± said their leader. ¡°I just hope my family will make the hive girl a cultivation belt so I can get mine back,¡± said the other boy. Their leader chuckled. ¡°You¡¯d better make sure it¡¯s a good one. You don¡¯t want to end up like Elder Kanev do you?¡± he asked. Ithilix walked beside Jie, using the time to continue instructing her on traps, survival, basic tracking, common curses to watch out for, and a myriad of other topics. Each topic was so dense with information that Jie found herself overwhelmed by the sheer amount she needed to memorize and understand. And yet they were only scratching the surface, she knew. Thankfully, Ithilix had a knack for breaking it all down in an easy to understand way and Jie was grateful for her help. Word of their notice seemed to have spread, and they were ambushed by a few other groups wanting their items back along the way. Some were from previous years and left unhappy as Jie was unable to return items she didn¡¯t have. A few tried to scam her. Most of them fell short when she asked what they¡¯d lost, and they gave vague, incorrect answers. The idea that they¡¯d try to take what wasn¡¯t theirs and worse yet waste her time infuriated Jie. As such, she tended to lash out. Jie slapped one so hard that the blow knocked him out, broke another would-be scammer¡¯s shin with a kick, broke another one¡¯s nose, and dragged a girl over the ground behind her by her hair as the girl kicked and screamed before Jie hurled her into a pond. It didn¡¯t take long for people to learn not to try her patience. After a few days, all but one of the items from the woman in white had been returned to their rightful owners. And, Ithilix said that the original owner of her belt was indeed working on getting her a replacement. One that would better fit her qi too by the sound of it. Days later, Ithilix mentioned that Pan Zhanshi had returned. It still seemed as though he had no desire to speak with her¡­ It stung but she couldn¡¯t blame him. It was fine that he didn¡¯t want anything to do with her. She¡¯d expected it in fact. That¡¯s why she¡¯d given Pan Zhanshi¡¯s share to Ithilix. Which Ithilix had already given to him. The Onyx Pavilion sent a messenger to notify Jie when the items she and Ithilix had agreed to sell would be auctioned off along with estimates of what they expected each item to sell for. Jie had asked them to retain her share to fund her future purchases and felt oddly proud of that. Unfortunately, she spent far more of Ming¡¯s money on resources, meals, and preparations for the Cursed Lands than the limited funds she¡¯d added. But it still felt nice to contribute a little to the money Ming had given her. She took special care to ensure she had an enormous supply of meals as Pan Tian had advised her. Middle dantian resources were vastly more expensive but Ming had given her more than enough to cover everything she was ever likely to need. At least until she advanced significantly higher, she supposed. How much do resources for gods cost? Jie wondered. She wanted to get some elemental skills but it seemed like a waste of money when she still didn¡¯t know what her affinities were. The mystery of the storm cloud above her dantian had even Elder Shi stumped. Apparently, above her spirit lake, she should¡¯ve had manifestations of her elemental affinities in her middle dantian. Their size and definition would indicate how strong the affinity was. But, she couldn¡¯t see anything aside from the dark, boiling perpetual storm and its strange multicolored lightning. She¡¯d have preferred to have elemental skills and to know what her affinities were before they set out. But she resolved that they¡¯d just have to figure it out later as Ming¡¯s condition continued to worsen, and she had no wish to delay more than they had to. She also set things up so Ithilix and Pan Zhanshi would receive cultivation and body conditioning resources. The added expense made her feel guilty for spending more of Ming¡¯s money¡­ but it seemed like the only way to keep her friends safe was for them to grow strong enough to protect themselves. Hopefully, Ming won¡¯t be too mad at me for spending his money like that¡­ Jie thought. Though she was still careful with it and hoped to return as much of the funds he¡¯d given her as she could when he recovered. Jie didn¡¯t tell Elder Shi about the strange gleaming whirlwind of silver dust and the five argent stones within her lower dantian. It spun in the center of her dragon lightning qi, looking more beautiful than ever¡­ One of the five stones continued to glow. She still didn¡¯t know why or why the others did not. Whatever it was, it hadn¡¯t done anything hostile to her that she could tell, and she was grateful for the speed and power it granted her when she fought. It seemed like she gained some sort of speed and power boost each time she hit an enemy. The effect was cumulative but quickly fell away if she stopped hitting her opponent. How it did so, if that was all it did, or if there was some price to be paid in exchange for its boon¡­ Jie didn¡¯t know. With her journey in mind, Jie set things up to get a maid who would clean and maintain her residence and bring platters of food for Ming as well as set out platters of the higher quality food Jie purchased via the Onyx Pavilion. Not that the maid would know who or what she was doing this for¡­ but Elder Shi said the woman could be trusted and Jie had to admit, her residence had become filthy. Ming deserved better. She wasn¡¯t sure if he needed anyone bringing him food¡­ but¡­ at least it would be there while Jie was gone if it was helpful for him. Even if it just helped to give him something good in his life and keep him somewhat sane as he worked to stay alive¡­ The Onyx Pavilion would continue to supply what healing pills they could, delivering them right next to Ming. For whatever good it would do¡­ Between the Onyx Pavilion and the loot she¡¯d gained, she had more than enough resources to grow considerably stronger. She¡¯d promised Ming she would grow stronger, and wanted to make absolutely certain that she wouldn¡¯t stop advancing even as she traveled. She¡¯d tried to buy another protection amulet but they¡¯d had none. It was unfortunate, but Jie supposed it wouldn¡¯t be useful to her for that much longer if she broke through as fast as she needed to. She also bought plenty of resources for Xue and even for Elder Shi. She didn¡¯t feel comfortable spending Ming¡¯s money but like her other friends, Xue needed to grow stronger. And, she hoped that the resources would help to keep Elder Shi interested in their venture. Besides¡­ Elder Shi deserved something for the incredible risk she was taking¡­ Going to the Cursed Lands was stupid and dangerous. Jie knew that. But, as she looked at Ming¡¯s catatonic form¡­ the blood that often coated his lips¡­ his discolored scales¡­ how could she not do everything in her power to save him? She told nobody else where she was going. Not even Ithilix. Finally, there was nothing more to do. Their route was planned, and Jie had more supplies than they should ever need. Including more clothes than she¡¯d ever had in her life. Some of which were in larger sizes so she¡¯d have something to wear as she grew. Thankfully, the storage rings made carrying everything incredibly easy. Chapter 154 Journey Jie awoke early one morning. Before the sun had risen, when the sky was still dark. She wrote Ming a letter and sealed it with her qi, placing it beside him. The food she left there often vanished, as did the pills¡­ but she hadn¡¯t seen him so much as open his eyes since he¡¯d first started focusing on healing. Still¡­ if he ever did open them and wonder where she was¡­ the letter would hopefully show him that she hadn¡¯t forgotten him. Hadn¡¯t abandoned him. Or the promise she¡¯d made. Jie looked over the dragon¡¯s sickly form. It was hard to tell if he was meditating or if he¡¯d fallen asleep. She ached to reach out for him. To hug him tightly and never let go. She was afraid that if she didn¡¯t, she might never get another chance. But, she was worried she would distract him from his healing. So, instead, Jie bowed toward Ming as she held back tears. Be strong, you old snake. I won¡¯t let you down. Jie thought. She stepped outside her residence and found Elder Shi waiting for her. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Elder Shi asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Jie said as she activated her storage ring and a beautifully wrapped box tied with a purple ribbon appeared in her hands, ¡°are you sure you can take it? I could get a courier to¡ª¡± ¡°I can handle it. You¡¯re much too young to worry so much,¡± Elder Shi said with a wicked smile as she took the package from Jie and stored it within her storage ring, ¡°don¡¯t be late.¡± Jie nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t be,¡± she said. She¡¯d studied the maps together with Elder Shi and was confident she could find their meeting place. The Verdant Gorge. It was supposed to be quite beautiful. Though, Jie supposed that didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Make sure of it,¡± Elder Shi said, ¡°and¡ª¡± ¡°Stay off the main roads,¡± Jie said, ¡°we¡¯ve been over this. Be careful.¡± Elder Shi winked. ¡°Where¡¯s the fun in that?¡± she asked as her tails flicked the air behind her and her ears quirked. Then, she evaporated into purple smoke and zipped away impossibly fast. ¡°I guess it¡¯s just you and me now, Xue,¡± Jie said, ¡°still insisting on tagging along?¡± Xue yawned and stretched beside her then brushed against her leg. ¡°I guess that¡¯s a yes,¡± Jie said. She couldn¡¯t help worrying about him¡­ but he¡¯d been growing in strength incredibly quickly. She suspected he¡¯d break into the middle dantian soon. And Elder Shi said he¡¯d probably have less trouble with the effects of the Cursed Lands than she would¡­ still¡­ Jie was afraid of losing yet another friend. Their time together had been brief, but she was extremely fond of him. Their bond probably amplified that, she supposed. She looked back at her residence one last time and then set out across the expansive grounds of the Crimson Academy to the front gate. The guards opened the gate for her and she paused there. The dark sky was slowly turning gold at the edge of the horizon. She realized that she¡¯d never been outside the academy alone before¡­ ¡°I guess I¡¯m not alone this time either. You¡¯re with me,¡± Jie said with a smile at Xue. He rubbed his cheek against her leg and Jie petted his head.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Two familiar auras raced toward her, and Jie turned to face them. Ithilix ran over to her, pulling Pan Zhanshi along by his hand like luggage. ¡°Princess!¡± Ithilix yelled. Jie waited for them to get closer. Ithilix ran right up to her, panting for breath, with Pan Zhanshi at her side. He looked better than he had at the funeral, but his dark purple eyes still lacked the spark they¡¯d had before and he looked awfully thin¡­ ¡°This one can¡¯t believe you were going to leave without saying goodbye!¡± Ithilix said. ¡°I told you last night that I would be leaving,¡± Jie said. ¡°That¡¯s not the same as saying goodbye!¡± Ithilix protested as her antennae twitched with irritation, ¡°This one wanted to see you before you left and wish you farewell.¡± ¡°It¡¯s early,¡± Jie said, ¡°I thought you¡¯d be sleeping or cultivating. I didn¡¯t want to bother you. It¡¯s good to see you¡­ both of you. I¡¯m glad you came.¡± That seemed to mollify Ithilix somewhat. ¡°Are you sure we can¡¯t come with you? Or at least know where you¡¯re going?¡± Ithilix asked. ¡°It¡¯s better this way,¡± Jie said. ¡°This one understands¡­ we¡¯ll miss you,¡± Ithilix said. Ithilix started to bow. ¡°Oh, come here, you,¡± Jie said. She pulled Ithilix into a hug and squeezed her. Though she was careful not to hurt her by accident. It seemed to catch Ithilix by surprise for a moment before she returned the hug. ¡°Make sure to return safely,¡± Ithilix said. ¡°I will, don¡¯t worry,¡± Jie said. ¡°This one will miss you, Princess,¡± Ithilix said. Jie smiled a little. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too. It was nice to spend so much time with you these last days¡­ thank you for your training,¡± she said. Jie released Ithilix and found herself face to face with Pan Zhanshi. She¡¯d thought of what to say over and over again in her head, but now¡­ seeing him here¡­ she still didn¡¯t know. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± Jie began. Pan Zhanshi hugged her. He squeezed her so tightly that it might¡¯ve hurt if her cultivation weren¡¯t so far above his. ¡°Be careful out there,¡± he said, ¡°there¡¯s a bounty on your head.¡± ¡°I know¡­ I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Jie said. ¡°You¡¯d better be,¡± Pan Zhanshi said. ¡°You don¡¯t¡­ hate me?¡± Jie asked. ¡°What? Why would you say that?¡± Pan Zhanshi asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been avoiding me¡­ at the funeral, you wouldn¡¯t even look at me,¡± Jie said. ¡°I was trying to keep it together for the ceremony,¡± Pan Zhanshi said, ¡°I meant to say thank you¡­ for my sister¡¯s share from the valley. For all the cultivation resources and for your cultivation notes. They¡¯re¡­ eye opening.¡± ¡°This one is grateful too,¡± Ithilix said. Jie nodded. ¡°I hope it helps you guys. Get strong. Train hard, okay?¡± she said. ¡°We will,¡± Pan Zhanshi said, ¡°there¡¯s something I wanted to give you.¡± He activated his storage ring and Pan Tian¡¯s claws of blood appeared in his hands. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t take those,¡± Jie said. ¡°Yes, you can,¡± Pan Zhanshi said as he held them out toward her, ¡°she would¡¯ve wanted you to have them.¡± Jie swallowed hard and accepted them as she fought down the emotion welling up within her. ¡°The claws will suit your fighting style almost as well as they suited my sister¡¯s. Ithilix told me about the modifications made to them. With them, you¡¯ll be able to grow your cultivation by fighting¡­ and I think you¡¯ll be doing a lot of that,¡± Pan Zhanshi said. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Jie said, ¡°I¡¯ll use them well.¡± She put them on and retracted the red, glassy claws. They reminded her of the transformation she¡¯d had in the dungeon¡­ though she wasn¡¯t sure how she¡¯d done it¡­ ¡°And here,¡± Pan Zhanshi said as he handed Jie a memory stone that swirled with his night qi, ¡°they¡¯re nowhere near as profound as your ideas on cultivation. But¡­ I thought there might still be something of value for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll study them carefully,¡± Jie said. ¡°This one also has a gift for you¡­ though it¡¯s not as impressive,¡± Ithilix said. She withdrew a small chest they¡¯d collected inside the Crimson Valley from her storage ring and handed it to Jie. Jie opened the lid and looked inside, finding it crammed full of memory stones and pages of notes. ¡°Since this one is unable to accompany you¡­ this one thought that perhaps your training could continue while you traveled. Maybe when you make camp,¡± Ithilix said. Jie smiled as a warm feeling spread through her chest and mingled with a tangled mess of complicated emotions. Suddenly, she found herself smiling even as her eyes glistened with tears and she sniffed a little. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll study it carefully,¡± Jie said, her voice thick with emotion which embarrassed her. Their goodbyes dragged on a little longer as Jie found she didn¡¯t want to leave her friends. But, if she took too long, she risked losing Ming. And that was something she could never allow. She wished them well and started down the Crimson Academy¡¯s steps. She began her journey as the sun peeked above the horizon, turning the world gold and the sky blue. She moved at a steady, measured pace so Xue could keep up with her and they quickly left the main paths. She thought of her notes, maps, and preparations. She¡¯d tried to follow Pan Tian¡¯s example as best she could and hoped the older girl would¡¯ve approved. Though Jie wished she¡¯d had the opportunity to learn all that Pan Tian had wanted to teach her. Still, she also had Ithilix¡¯s guidance and Pan Zhanshi¡¯s gift. With them, Jie couldn¡¯t help feeling as though her friends were beside her in a way. Helping to guide her on her most dangerous journey yet. Chapter 155 Dragons Pride Meanwhile, back in Jie¡¯s residence within the Crimson Academy. Ming inhaled deeply and evenly as he drew in oceans of Essence and exhaled wheezing, billowing breaths that rippled through the room. He shifted slowly, his long serpentine coils sliding against one another as he slowly drifted out of his healing meditation. He fought the sickness that plagued him day in and day out, but it was insidious and difficult to banish. Despite his best efforts, he felt weaker by the day. The pain had grown. He stirred more and his bones protested as though his cartilage were rusty. His spine clicked and cracked, and he growled softly. Anger at the weakness he felt coursed through him, but he kept himself from lashing out. He blinked in an attempt to banish the grogginess that plagued his mind as he took in more of the room with his electric blue, slitted, reptilian eyes. The large windows were open, stirring the curtains with a soft breeze and fresh air. The place was impeccably tidy and clean. A far cry from the mess Jie tended to leave it in. He blinked again. When had Jie put paintings here? And potted plants¡­ with feeble healing auras. Green smoke curled and danced like fire on the ends of incense sticks, filling the room with the scent of cinnamon and healing energies. Ah¡­ Jie has increased her efforts¡­ he thought as he took in another deep, wheezing breath. The power of all the items was weak, but he had to admit¡­ it felt as though it helped. Whether it was their paltry energies or just the thought of how she tried to make him more comfortable¡­ to help him through this¡­ he was unsure. An itch pulsed through his chest, and he coughed wetly into his hand. The cough spawned more of its kind as his chest stung and itched from the hacking fit and his blood splattered onto his hand. He suppressed another growl as he gritted his teeth. For one such as he to be reduced to this sorry state burned his soul. He saw more healing pills in a bowl beside him and poured all of them into his gaping maw once again. Even combined, their energies were weak. But as they melted on his tongue, he closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. If nothing else, they helped to soothe some of the pain. He was about to return once more to his healing meditation when he noticed a slim white envelope sealed with Jie¡¯s qi. He sniffed the air again and noted that there was the scent of another having been here very recently. He saw no sign of Jie or anyone else though. He broke the seal and read the letter: My dearest Ming, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll ever read this. Maybe the strain of fighting your injuries, your sickness, is too much to spare the time to read this letter. But if you find yourself with a moment and notice me gone¡­ know that I haven¡¯t forgotten you. That I haven¡¯t forgotten my promise. And, that I never will. No matter what happens, I will fulfill our pact. Before I met you, every day was a struggle. Working toward things I knew would never happen. You gave me more than I ever dared dream of. More than revenge. More than hope. You sacrificed everything for me. I know that I¡¯m not what you wanted. Not a strong, brave, powerful savior of the universe. I know that you even coming to Earth at all was a mistake.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. But I¡¯m so proud to be your disciple and to call you my friend and master. I hope that one day, I¡¯ll make you proud too. That even though you only picked me because everything went so horribly wrong, you¡¯ll feel that it was the best choice you ever made. Every moment of every day I work as hard as I can to grow stronger. I¡¯ve reached the Elementalist rank, but I know that I have so much further to go. I will never stop working. The dragon advances. Just like you said. But while I understand my duty¡­ I¡¯ve seen you growing sicker and I cannot ignore it. I fear that without help, you might not make it. I¡¯ve lost so much¡­ I refuse to lose you too. You healed me when I was broken. Now, I go to find someone who can heal you. I¡¯ve located one that seems to have the power of a god. I will get him to help you. And, if he can¡¯t, then I will find someone who can. I will find a way to save you. No matter what it takes. So, don¡¯t you dare give up, old snake. Because I will never give up on you. Don¡¯t stop fighting. Hold onto life by the tips of your claws if you must. I might not be right by your side but know that you¡¯re not alone. I¡¯ve set it up so people will bring you healing pills and a maid will clean and bring you food. I don¡¯t know her, but supposedly she¡¯s trustworthy. If she steals your healing pills, feel free to eat her. She¡¯s been warned. Nobody knows that you¡¯re there, but they suspect powerful guards of mine watch over the place. Until we meet again. Love Jie PS: I hope you like fox women, old snake. Because though the one helping me knows nothing about you¡­ I think she likes you somehow. Ming¡¯s lips curled into an affectionate smile as he read the letter. He doubted there was anyone on Xiannu who had the power to heal him when even he struggled to do so. He needed a healer of considerable power, but he couldn¡¯t hope to make it to one in his current state. His only hope was to somehow heal himself. But her concern warmed his heart and the dangers of traveling would no doubt help to hone Jie into the cultivator she needed to become. He stored the letter in one of his storage rings and closed his eyes as he adjusted his aching body into a more comfortable position. I¡¯m already proud of you, kiddo. He thought as he slipped into his healing meditation once more¡­ *** Within the Chen family¡¯s audience chamber, Lord Chen Liang lightly tapped the armrest of his throne with his finger as the elders argued among themselves. One of them was missing and he frowned. What was so important that Elder Chen Xing couldn¡¯t make this meeting? ¡°¡ªwe must raise the bounty! She¡¯s left the academy alone! How many more opportunities will we get?¡± roared Elder Chen Yong as he shook a fist in the air. The tattoos on his shaven head writhed to the beat of his anger. Elder Chen Gang glared back at him with steely gray eyes despite his otherwise tightly controlled demeanor. ¡°Our resources would be better spent dealing with the damage this debacle has caused us,¡± Elder Chen Gang said. Elder Chen Yong scoffed derisively. Elder Chen Gang¡¯s hand moved almost imperceptibly closer to the sword sheathed at his hip. ¡°The Crimson Academy is just one of a whole host of new enemies Elder Kanev¡¯s failure has caused,¡± Elder Chen Gang continued, ¡°We have too much at stake. And, what happens if the assassins succeed? Her bodyguards will surely wipe us out! We should pull back and stabilize our position, so we can bring this land to heel when the time is right. Not go tangling with that girl again!¡± ¡°You would have us cower and hide with our tail between our legs? The Chen family will never¡ª¡± said Elder Chen Yong. ¡°Enough,¡± Lord Chen Liang said. He spoke evenly but his word instantly silenced the room, ¡°I grow tired of your bickering. We¡ª¡± The large doors to the chamber burst open and a guard marched inside. His shining armor clattered all too loudly with every step in the quiet space as all eyes turned to him. Lord Chen Liang¡¯s lips curved downward slightly and his killing intent washed over the room, making everyone within shudder as cold sweat beaded their skin. When the guard reached the center of the room, he kowtowed on the floor, his forehead pressed against the polished black tiles. ¡°Forgiveness for the interruption, honored elders. But¡­ there¡¯s something you should see,¡± said the guard. Chapter 156 The Gift ¡°What is it?¡± Lord Chen Liang asked. His killing intent receded slightly as his spirit sense told him who was beyond the doorway, and he grew curious enough to spare the guard¡¯s life. At least for the moment. The guard stood and gestured to those who waited on the other side of the doorway. ¡°Bring her in,¡± the guard said. The guards stepped aside and ushered Elder Chen Xing into the room. She carried a beautifully wrapped box tied with a purple ribbon in her hands. ¡°Chen Xing? What is the meaning of this? Why were you not here earlier?¡± Lord Chen Liang asked. Elder Chen Xing looked up at Lord Chen Liang. Her normally sharp forest green eyes looked strangely vacant. ¡°I have a gift for you,¡± she said with a hollow, brainless note to her voice. Lord Chen Liang¡¯s fingers dug into the metal of his throne, warping it beneath his fingers. ¡°Explain this. My patience is wearing thin,¡± he said coldly. ¡°We found her outside the compound, my lord. She kept saying she had a gift for you¡­ we used water affinity investigators to try and find what¡¯s wrong with her and they say she¡¯s bewitched, my lord. But they can¡¯t find anything else,¡± said the guard. ¡°Of course they found nothing,¡± Lord Chen Liang snapped, ¡°It would take someone far beyond them to do this to an elder. Chen Gang. See what you can find.¡± Elder Chen Gang jumped up from his seat, his robes fluttered as his movement skill stirred the air around him. He landed beside Elder Chen Xing with smooth grace and readjusted his robes into perfect order. Elder Chen Gang raised a white gloved hand to her cheek as threads of blue energy streamed from his hand and wound around Elder Chen Xing¡¯s head, snaking over her body. ¡°My lord¡­ I can find no more than they did. It doesn¡¯t seem to be permanent¡­ but whoever did this was both powerful and skilled,¡± Elder Chen Gang said. ¡°I have a gift for you,¡± Elder Chen Xing said again, still looking vacantly at Lord Chen Liang. ¡°Open it,¡± Lord Chen Liang said. ¡°My lord¡­ I cannot. It¡¯s sealed with powerful qi¡­ it will destroy the contents if anyone but you attempts to open it,¡± said Elder Chen Gang. ¡°Then what good are you?¡± Lord Chen Liang snapped, his voice laced with venom. He stepped off his throne as fire engulfed his body and he shot through the air, leaving a trail of orange flames in his wake. In the blink of an eye, he solidified in front of Elder Chen Xing. Lord Chen Liang pulled the shimmering purple ribbon and it came undone, slipping free of the box impossibly smoothly as its power detected him and faded away into nothing. He frowned. He¡¯d half-expected it to explode the second he did that. He lifted the lid slowly. Just enough to peek inside¡­ and his body shivered with a mixture of disgust and rage. He threw the lid aside, revealing the box¡¯s contents to everyone in the room. Almost as one, the room hissed and recoiled the moment he exposed the severed, rotting heads of four of his children and what he assumed to be Elder Kanev. A glowing purple jewel with flecks of blue was wedged between burnt, blackened teeth in what remained of Elder Kanev¡¯s mouth. Lord Chen Liang pulled it free. It was a memory stone¡­ but not like any he¡¯d ever seen. This was¡­ far more complicated. He had no question about who¡¯d sent this¡­ gift. But, he wasn¡¯t sure how the girl had made this. He sent a sliver of his qi into it and it flared with purple and blue light, painting the entire room in otherworldly color as it cracked and broke apart in his grip. Purple smoke spilled from it, rushing outward over the room, and Lord Chen Liang stepped back, readying to defend himself. Only¡­ no attack came. Rather, the purple smoke crept over the floor, up the walls and pillars, and spread over the ceiling until it covered the room in a thick, swirling cloud. Purple smoke boiled up from the floor, forming an image directly in front of Lord Chen Liang. He pushed Elder Chen Xing aside to better see it. Unlike most memory stones, it revealed its contents to the entire room at once as it resolved into the image of Elder Kanev. His face was contorted with horror and agony as clawed fingers pushed through his eyes. He screamed as he burned with the fury of the unmistakable qi of Liu Jie. Then, Lord Chen Liang watched four of his children killed¡­ one by one¡­ until it ended with Chen Huo. When it was done, the image shifted to one of Liu Jie. She was taller than the last time he¡¯d seen her and looked far older too. Even so, he couldn¡¯t help but recognize her instantly. He trembled with rage. Her image looked over the room with a haughty, dismissive arrogance and then at him. It shouldn¡¯t be possible, but she looked him straight in the eyes as though she were right there. ¡°Do you like my gift?¡± she asked as her lips twisted into a cruel smirk, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure what to get you, but your pet told me you like memory stones and heads.¡± She paused and stared at him as though waiting for a response. No memory stone should be able to do this¡­ he thought. ¡°Nothing to say? Not even a thank you?¡± the image of Jie said, ¡°and after all the trouble I went to? I¡¯m hurt¡­ though I suppose it¡¯s to be expected. You are from the sticks, after all.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. She looked down her nose at their audience chamber as though the mere sight of it both bored and disgusted her. ¡°Still¡­ at least I have the manners to thank you for all you¡¯ve done for me,¡± she continued, ¡°I must say, I didn¡¯t expect country bumpkins to know so much about my path. How did you know that killing my chosen feeds my growth? Thanks to you, I¡¯m stronger than I¡¯ve ever been. Just a few more of my chosen to die and I¡¯ll be strong enough to make my family proud. They have such high expectations of me, you know.¡± Icy fear crept down Lord Chen Liang¡¯s spine. That was how she¡¯d broken through so fast? The death of the Pan girl? He¡¯d never heard of such a ferocious path¡­ But clearly, their first suspicions were correct. She was a member of a great house. Royalty¡­ perhaps even gods¡­ she¡¯d been asking about them often enough. She hadn¡¯t revealed her bodyguards, but perhaps that was part of her ploy¡­ he¡¯d thought she was just a sniveling brat. Crying about her friend at the tournament¡­ was everything¡­ all of it a manipulation? Had they been tricked into killing her chosen as she called them? Perhaps this was just a warning¡­ maybe they could placate her¡­ even get her to help them in their goals¡­ yes¡­ then once he had the master¡¯s gift, he could betray the stupid girl and¡ª ¡°Unless¡­¡± said the image of Jie as she tapped one finger against her lips as though only now considering something, ¡°¡­unless you didn¡¯t know about my path. But that would mean that you tried to kill me¡­ that you thought you killed a friend of mine? In that case¡­ you¡¯ve made a grave error.¡± The purple smoke lurched, engulfing the remainder of the room and everything swirled and shifted as though they were all transported somewhere else. They stood in the burned out remains of their audience hall. Its great pillars were now little more than broken, charred fragments. The sky was black with falling ash as the entire family compound burned around them. Their most ancient and sacred places had been reduced to cinders. All their family, their servants, and their slaves lay dead upon the earth like trash as everything their family had built. Everything they¡¯d schemed, connived, and fought for over generations was brought to ruin. ¡°I could have this done now¡­¡± Jie said as she gestured to the destruction surrounding them, ¡°just give the order and have your whole pathetic family snuffed out.¡± She smiled sadistically as the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over her face. ¡°But, where¡¯s the fun in that? No¡­ it¡¯ll be much more enjoyable to do it with my own hands. To feel your life slip away as you beg and grovel. Just like your son,¡± Jie said. Lord Chen Liang glared at her and she laughed. It only served to further unsettle him. It should only be a recording¡­ she shouldn¡¯t be able to respond to him the way that she did. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she teased, ¡°Are you impatient? That¡¯s alright, just kill more of my chosen. Every time you do, I will surge with power and my cultivation will grow faster and faster. So, go on¡­ you know you want to¡­¡± She stood there, staring at him with wild excitement in her vibrant blue eyes. When he said nothing, she pouted slightly like a sulking child then sighed and inspected the underside of her fingernails. ¡°Or I suppose you could be boring and wait. Tell your family you¡¯ll stop me. That you¡¯ll save them. That you¡¯ll save everything you and they hold dear. If you say it enough times¡­ maybe you¡¯ll believe it too,¡± she said. Jie looked over the room again and though she shouldn¡¯t be able to see them, she still managed to look at all of them like they were nothing. Then, she turned her back and walked slowly away. ¡°But, don¡¯t worry,¡± she said as she confidently sauntered away, ¡°No matter what you choose, I¡¯ll save you till last. I wouldn¡¯t want you to miss the defining moment of your entire family. The day I crush you beneath my heel.¡± She paused and looked over her shoulder at Lord Chen Liang with a vicious smirk on her lips and cold cruelty in her merciless blue eyes. ¡°You should be thankful¡­¡± Jie said, ¡°it¡¯ll be the closest any of you will ever come to greatness.¡± With that, the vision broke apart like smoke in the wind and the destruction around them faded away to be replaced with the reassuring reality of their meeting chamber once again. The room was silent. As though nobody had the courage to speak. ¡°I want the bounty on her head recalled. Tell everyone that anyone she has ever associated with is not to be killed. We can capture them¡­ maybe use her precious chosen as bargaining chips¡­ but if anyone kills even a single one, I will personally see to their punishment,¡± Lord Chen Liang said. ¡°Are you sure my lord? This could be a bluff,¡± said Elder Chen Yong. ¡°If it¡¯s a bluff, how do you explain her sudden advancement into the middle dantian? And not just the first star either¡­ she¡¯s advancing through the middle dantian faster than the lower one! Each star should take her years. Maybe decades. And, look how far she¡¯s come in a matter of days!¡± Lord Chen Liang snapped. He took in a steadying breath and ran a hand through his perfect hair. ¡°No¡­ bluff or not¡­ we can¡¯t risk accelerating her growth, and if we kill her, her family will kill us even faster. We have no choice but to play for time and use it so I might receive the master¡¯s first gift,¡± Lord Chen Liang said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we cannot recall the bounty on Liu Jie¡¯s head, my lord,¡± said Elder Chen Gang. ¡°What?¡± Lord Chen Liang snarled. Elder Chen Gang stood rigidly still. ¡°We kept our identity hidden from the vendor, as you asked of us. They already have the money. The bounty can never be recalled. If we tried¡­ we would only confirm that it was us who placed it,¡± he said. Lord Chen Liang¡¯s jaw pulsed as he clenched his teeth. The polished tiles at his feet glowed with heat as smoke curled upward. Elder Chen Min shot to her feet. Her frightened, worried eyes were ringed with dark circles due to her path. ¡°It may be just as well,¡± she said with her hoarse voice as black veins pulsed in stark contrast to her purple skin, ¡°if they succeed and it can¡¯t be traced back to us, it¡¯s possible we may avoid repercussions. We don¡¯t know how her family will react to her death. They might only punish those with blood on their hands. Especially if we¡¯re so far removed from it that we can¡¯t even recall it ourselves. We¡¯ve already denounced Elder Kanev and the children involved in the attack. And, given that she saved Chen Jingren, we could claim that we had no reason to wish her ill.¡± Lord Chen Liang considered that. He still didn¡¯t know why Jie had saved Chen Jingren. Perhaps she¡¯d done so merely to toy with them. Or she¡¯s turned him into a spy for her¡­ perhaps it would be best to kill the boy. No. He might be one of her chosen now and killing him would only make her stronger. Still, I¡¯ll have to ensure he¡¯s monitored closely until we can be sure of his allegiance. We need to move fast. There¡¯s no telling how quickly the bitch will advance. I must receive the master¡¯s first gift¡­ yet the task required is enormous. Lord Chen Liang thought darkly. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right,¡± Lord Chen Liang said and Elder Chen Min visibly relaxed, ¡°in that case¡­ triple the bounty. And make sure it still can¡¯t be traced back to us. But, no matter what happens¡­ we¡¯ll focus all our efforts on completing the first task. The only way we¡¯ll be safe from that bitch and her family will be to gain strength.¡± Elder Chen Min and Elder Chen Gang bowed. Lord Chen Liang stormed away. ¡°And fix your wife. I will not tolerate bewitched elders,¡± he spat. ¡°As you wish, my lord,¡± Elder Chen Gang said and escorted his vacant-eyed wife from the audience chamber by her arm. Chapter 157 Satyrs Pride Pan Silenos stood in a private room in one of the rare moments he got to himself. He held a memory stone in one hand as he read a letter penned with beautiful calligraphy. It wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d read the letter and he doubted it would be the last. My dear father, We¡¯ve just made camp for the first night of the Crimson Valley Treasure Hunt. The others are in their bedrolls. I elected to take first watch. We¡¯ve already completed two trials and will set out to complete the third and no doubt enter the dungeon tomorrow. The hunt is going better than I could¡¯ve expected. Jie decimates anything that stands in our way and Ithilix¡¯s hive senses are phenomenal at finding treasures. You should¡¯ve seen what she did with one of the trials where we had to gamble with a series of chests. Thanks to her, we have an incredible amount of loot and we¡¯ve only just begun. I confess that the others leave me feeling a bit like dead weight. I try my best to lead them, and I hope I¡¯m doing a good job¡­ though in truth it¡¯s not so hard a task as they¡¯re so adept and responsible. Even Jie¡¯s magical beast is unbelievably responsive and intelligent. And I do so love it when he purrs. It¡¯s the most adorable thing. Tonight, as we dined together¡­ we talked about our families. Our discussion has left me missing mother¡­ do you still think of her? I¡¯m sorry¡­ I don¡¯t mean to bring up painful memories. It¡¯s just that I miss her¡­ Jie said that she¡¯d be proud of me¡­ do you think that¡¯s true? I hope it is¡­This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Are you proud of me, father? I¡¯m proud of you¡­ and I¡¯m proud to be your daughter. You have a heavy responsibility and I know you keep many secrets from me¡­ I know that you shoulder great burdens and often¡­ I wish I could be as strong as you so I could help you carry them. You lead our family well¡­ though I wish that you didn¡¯t have to. That we could just¡­ share a meal together without politics or duty getting in the way. I¡¯m sorry¡­ it¡¯s late, I¡¯m tired, and the conversations with my friends have left me feeling sentimental. I know how important your work is. Forgive my selfish musings. Love, Your little moonbeam PS: I¡¯ve included a memory stone showing the trial with the chests I mentioned and a few of our battles in the valley so far. I also included an encounter we had with Chen Jingren. It turns out he¡¯s alive. He was frozen and we elected to thaw him out. He¡¯s always seemed like one of the better members of that family and I couldn¡¯t quite bring myself to leave him like that¡­ but I can¡¯t help thinking that perhaps I made a mistake? He swallowed hard and smiled though his heart ached. ¡°Of course I¡¯m proud of you. I always will be,¡± he muttered, ¡°tell your mother I miss her too. May your next lives be kinder to you both.¡± END OF BOOK 2 ************************************************** Thank you so much for reading. I hope that you¡¯ve enjoyed Path of the Dragon so far and I appreciate all the support, positive reviews, and wonderful comments. We¡¯ve now caught up with what I¡¯ve written of Path of the Dragon (aside from a bonus short story which is available on my Patreon and in the paid for copy of book 2). In fact, this scene is a bonus scene¡­ we already reached the end of the book in the last post. ;) It will be a while (I don¡¯t know how long) before I release more PoD content as I¡¯m currently working on and releasing book 2 of my Alchemist series. Naturally, there are only so many hours in a day so I¡¯ve paused PoD for now. Once again, thank you for reading, I hope to see you again when PoD continues, and in the meantime, consider checking out the alchemist series as I think book 2 is pretty cool so far. Stay awesome. The Alchemist Series: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/81697/unspeakable-secrets-the-alchemist-series-a-dark