It's not just about walking in and punching people though. She also has to convince people to support her petition to the throne, establish herself as someone capable of managing such a large amount of territory, and gather the resources to do both of those things. Considering how entrenched established clans can be, I'm not surprised it took that long, especially since she was inventing a suite of White level arts at the same time.
Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Regardless of how subpar for the position they may have been, they were still a ducal clan and I'm pretty sure that tree city has some pretty major mojo going on, which they could fortify behind.
I mean her cheat is real good, but its not like it instantly let her develop white tier arts in a matter of months. If they had alpha striked her right away 2-4 prisms probably could have taken her out. And yeah, if she'd just gone alone to go punch out the Hui clan she'd have died. Plus all the stuff about actually establishing her position to actually hold the seat.
Anyway, bonus updoot coming.
Anyway, bonus updoot coming.
Missed Battles
Failure tasted like the mud of the village gutters, Gan Guangli thought, looking down upon the arena.
He had known this since he was but a youth, only as high as his weary mothers knee. It was a taste he had grown used too in those days. In this world, those who stood for justice, and protecting the weak often found it their only reward. His father had learned that and so had he. His stubbornness had certainly earned him enough beatings by peers and adults alike in those days.
So why did it taste so foul now? Was it because he had disappointed the one person who had seen his value? Or perhaps because he knew it was his own fault. A thousand explanations whirled in his mind, but they were all so much useless chaff. A Man should not make excuses for his failure.
Father had taught him that, before alcohol consumed him.
So, Gan Guangli could only promise to be better, to meet the expectations of his Liege and her Mother, no matter how impossible the redemptive task he was assigned would be. He would need to stand on his own, and succeed at what he had so fumbled doing this year. He would have to become more than a soldier, playing at command. The path of the soldier was an honorable one, but not one that could carry him at Lady Cai's side.
Gan Guangli let out a sigh, his wide shoulders rising and falling as he turned his attention to the stages below. At least his mistress would have Ling Qi, for all her habitual thoughtlessness and bouts of whimsy, she had a cunning to her, and the resolve to be a blade in Lady Cai's hand.
Deep shame still bubbled in his stomach when he remembered the flicker of expression he had glimpsed on his lady's face when she had asked Ling Qi to leave them alone.
Gan Guangli pushed that memory away for the moment, down with the others that formed the foundation of his resolve. He should carve this match into his memory. Kang Zihao would probably be causing him a great deal of trouble in the next year.
He laughed aloud, startling the other outer disciples seated around him. Was that not a satisfying thought? That the scion of Kang had no chance of victory? He had disliked that young man since the moment he had lain eyes upon him. He could respect Ji Rong, after a fashion, recognizing him as a dark mirror. It would be arrogance after all, to think that such resentment could not have been born in his own heart. Even Lu Feng, was respectable in his way, cunning and underhanded lout that he was.
Kang Zihao though… in his handsome face, Gan Guangli saw everything he despised. He had no honor, only a blind and mindless loyalty to the appearance of decorum and titles, with no thought for who held them. He discarded his subordinates as easily as one would throw aside trash. So, with another boisterous laugh, Gan Guangli, leaned forward a smile on his face, to observe what was to come.
MIss Bai was as resplendent as always, clad in whites and soft blues that leant her an air of phantasmal beauty. Her striking eyes gazed impassively upon her foe, as queen might regard a mongrel dog sniffing at the hem of her gown.
The Kang was armored in gleaming silver, presenting as always the appearance of noble hero taken straight from the pages of the classics. Gan Guangli's grin stretched wider. It would be truly satisfying to see that shell cracked.
"Do you have no words for me?" Miss Bai said softly as the stage began to activate shrouding them in mist. "Where are your denouncements now, son of Kang?"
Kang ZIhao looked down his nose at the shorter girl facing him, a touch of a sneer on his handsome features. "There is no purpose for words at this juncture," he replied haughtily. Gan Guangli heard the tremor in his voice none the less.
"...I suppose you are right," Miss Bai replied thoughtfully as a brightly lit river valley took shape around them, the gurgling of the wide, shallow river off to their right almost hiding her quiet words. "I really should cleave closer to tradition, should I not?"
Kang Zihao grit his teeth, but did not reply. A few moments later, thunder boomed, and the match began. A gleaming spear spun into existence in Kang Zihao's hand, and twin canine forms burst from the the air at his side, snarling and snapping. One was the white furred hound that the boy had at his side from the years beginning, grown now to stand almost a full meter at the shoulder. The other however, was a wolf, shaggy and wild, frost and rime coating its blue-grey fur. The second beast stood almost as tall as Kang's shoulder.
Bai Meizhen took a single step forward, shimmering green scales flashing in the grass at her feet.
The dog and the wolf burst into motion, dashing in opposite directions to circle and flank the young lady of Bai. Kang Zihao spun his spear into a guard position, and a blazing white shield appeared in his other hand, held forward as a bulwark, as if against an incoming avalanche. Potent, mountainous qi crackled through his limbs, and even at this distance, Gan Guangli could feel the sudden 'weight' his form gained.
Bai Meizhen took a second step, and dark water rippled around her shoulders, casting her face in shadow.
Twin mountains of canine bulk howled as their pounding feet tore up the remaining distance, their jaws open as if to devour the advancing maiden. Kang ZIhao's kiai resounded like thunder as the his instep sent a spiderweb of cracks through the soft earth, and he brought his spear forward, it's point alight with blazing qi that howled as it shot toward Bai Meizhen, leaving a blinding trail through the air behind it.
Bai Meizhen's golden eyes narrowed, and he raised her hand, raising a her cloak of abyssal water.
Blazing light struck black water and screamed, creating an explosion of steam that Kang's beasts dived eagerly into.
"Heel."
Her cold voice rang out, and in an instant a terrible cold pall fell over the brightly lit scene. Twin yelps of canine distress sounded from within the dissipating cloud as it cleared to reveal Bai Meizhen, standing still, her shadow pooled at her feet like a lake of ink. Her eyes blazed from the shadow of her liquid hood and even from her Gan Guangli felt sweat break out on his brow and his heart begin to beat erratically.
The dog and the wolf were far less insulated. They crashed to the ground, eyes rolling in their sockets and froth leaking from their mouths. The smaller of the two let out a whimpering yelp as green coils emerged from the grass in a flash, and hungry fangs sunk into its throat. Bai Meizhen's cousin, coiled around the thrashing dog in mere moments, and Gan Guangli knew that it would not be getting up again in this fight.
The wolf was, if anything less lucky, as Bai Meizhen heel ground into it's throat, and liquid shadowy crawled across it's form, bringing strangled yelps of distress from the beasts throat. All the while, Bai Meizhen's gaze remained fixed on Kang, who remained in place, his shield held out as another layer of defensive qi shimmered into place, spreading from the outward edge of his shield.
"How useless," Bai Meizhen said idly, removing her foot from the beasts throat as her shadow engulfed it entirely. "Just what do you intend to protect with that shield, Kang Zihao?"
He did not answer, only tightening his stance.
Bai Meizhen hummed thoughtfully, and blurred, crossing thirty meters in an instant before her ribbon blades lashed out, the metal strips extended by toxic purple fluid. Kang Zihao batted them aside, and once again, his spear thrust out in a blur, launching three fiery lances toward Miss Bai.
She continued forward, twisting gracefully to avoid the first two, and then battins aside the third with a sweep of her mantle and a hissing burst of steam. The fangs of her weapon came again, whipping in from impossible angles, and Kang Zihao stood strong, his spinning spear and flashing shield knocking away the virulent tendrils that sought his flesh.
Bai Meizhen lurred again, closing the distance to rest of the distance, though he stood taller than the pale girl, Kang Zihao seemed terribly small in the shadow she cast. The whipping blades returned, twice as fast, and this time one scored the shoulder of his armor, leaving a bubbling, hissing scar in the metal that revealed the padding beneath, blackening from the venom. Barehanded, Bai Meizhen parried the spearstokes that came in return, splashing water sounding from the points of impact.
Again and again, her blades twisted and hissed through the air, scoring petty wounds, stripping away his gleaming armor piece by piece until it hung from him in tatters and fragments, and brackish blood stained the clothing he wore beneath.
Finally, trembling limbs raised a shield a moment too slow, and hungry blades carved open his upper arm. Kang Zihao's bulwark dropped from twitching, nerveless fingers, and a pale hand darted in seizing him by the throat.
He let out a strangled scream, the spear falling from his other hand as veins of red spread from his neck.
"Still no more than a delay. As expected," Bai Meizhen said coldly, her voice distorted by the veil of water that rose to defend her fair face from Kang's desperate strikes.
His struggles ceased shortly, and the scion of Kang crumbled into the grass, already dissolving into mist as Bai Meizhen released him.
He had known this since he was but a youth, only as high as his weary mothers knee. It was a taste he had grown used too in those days. In this world, those who stood for justice, and protecting the weak often found it their only reward. His father had learned that and so had he. His stubbornness had certainly earned him enough beatings by peers and adults alike in those days.
So why did it taste so foul now? Was it because he had disappointed the one person who had seen his value? Or perhaps because he knew it was his own fault. A thousand explanations whirled in his mind, but they were all so much useless chaff. A Man should not make excuses for his failure.
Father had taught him that, before alcohol consumed him.
So, Gan Guangli could only promise to be better, to meet the expectations of his Liege and her Mother, no matter how impossible the redemptive task he was assigned would be. He would need to stand on his own, and succeed at what he had so fumbled doing this year. He would have to become more than a soldier, playing at command. The path of the soldier was an honorable one, but not one that could carry him at Lady Cai's side.
Gan Guangli let out a sigh, his wide shoulders rising and falling as he turned his attention to the stages below. At least his mistress would have Ling Qi, for all her habitual thoughtlessness and bouts of whimsy, she had a cunning to her, and the resolve to be a blade in Lady Cai's hand.
Deep shame still bubbled in his stomach when he remembered the flicker of expression he had glimpsed on his lady's face when she had asked Ling Qi to leave them alone.
Gan Guangli pushed that memory away for the moment, down with the others that formed the foundation of his resolve. He should carve this match into his memory. Kang Zihao would probably be causing him a great deal of trouble in the next year.
He laughed aloud, startling the other outer disciples seated around him. Was that not a satisfying thought? That the scion of Kang had no chance of victory? He had disliked that young man since the moment he had lain eyes upon him. He could respect Ji Rong, after a fashion, recognizing him as a dark mirror. It would be arrogance after all, to think that such resentment could not have been born in his own heart. Even Lu Feng, was respectable in his way, cunning and underhanded lout that he was.
Kang Zihao though… in his handsome face, Gan Guangli saw everything he despised. He had no honor, only a blind and mindless loyalty to the appearance of decorum and titles, with no thought for who held them. He discarded his subordinates as easily as one would throw aside trash. So, with another boisterous laugh, Gan Guangli, leaned forward a smile on his face, to observe what was to come.
MIss Bai was as resplendent as always, clad in whites and soft blues that leant her an air of phantasmal beauty. Her striking eyes gazed impassively upon her foe, as queen might regard a mongrel dog sniffing at the hem of her gown.
The Kang was armored in gleaming silver, presenting as always the appearance of noble hero taken straight from the pages of the classics. Gan Guangli's grin stretched wider. It would be truly satisfying to see that shell cracked.
"Do you have no words for me?" Miss Bai said softly as the stage began to activate shrouding them in mist. "Where are your denouncements now, son of Kang?"
Kang ZIhao looked down his nose at the shorter girl facing him, a touch of a sneer on his handsome features. "There is no purpose for words at this juncture," he replied haughtily. Gan Guangli heard the tremor in his voice none the less.
"...I suppose you are right," Miss Bai replied thoughtfully as a brightly lit river valley took shape around them, the gurgling of the wide, shallow river off to their right almost hiding her quiet words. "I really should cleave closer to tradition, should I not?"
Kang Zihao grit his teeth, but did not reply. A few moments later, thunder boomed, and the match began. A gleaming spear spun into existence in Kang Zihao's hand, and twin canine forms burst from the the air at his side, snarling and snapping. One was the white furred hound that the boy had at his side from the years beginning, grown now to stand almost a full meter at the shoulder. The other however, was a wolf, shaggy and wild, frost and rime coating its blue-grey fur. The second beast stood almost as tall as Kang's shoulder.
Bai Meizhen took a single step forward, shimmering green scales flashing in the grass at her feet.
The dog and the wolf burst into motion, dashing in opposite directions to circle and flank the young lady of Bai. Kang Zihao spun his spear into a guard position, and a blazing white shield appeared in his other hand, held forward as a bulwark, as if against an incoming avalanche. Potent, mountainous qi crackled through his limbs, and even at this distance, Gan Guangli could feel the sudden 'weight' his form gained.
Bai Meizhen took a second step, and dark water rippled around her shoulders, casting her face in shadow.
Twin mountains of canine bulk howled as their pounding feet tore up the remaining distance, their jaws open as if to devour the advancing maiden. Kang ZIhao's kiai resounded like thunder as the his instep sent a spiderweb of cracks through the soft earth, and he brought his spear forward, it's point alight with blazing qi that howled as it shot toward Bai Meizhen, leaving a blinding trail through the air behind it.
Bai Meizhen's golden eyes narrowed, and he raised her hand, raising a her cloak of abyssal water.
Blazing light struck black water and screamed, creating an explosion of steam that Kang's beasts dived eagerly into.
"Heel."
Her cold voice rang out, and in an instant a terrible cold pall fell over the brightly lit scene. Twin yelps of canine distress sounded from within the dissipating cloud as it cleared to reveal Bai Meizhen, standing still, her shadow pooled at her feet like a lake of ink. Her eyes blazed from the shadow of her liquid hood and even from her Gan Guangli felt sweat break out on his brow and his heart begin to beat erratically.
The dog and the wolf were far less insulated. They crashed to the ground, eyes rolling in their sockets and froth leaking from their mouths. The smaller of the two let out a whimpering yelp as green coils emerged from the grass in a flash, and hungry fangs sunk into its throat. Bai Meizhen's cousin, coiled around the thrashing dog in mere moments, and Gan Guangli knew that it would not be getting up again in this fight.
The wolf was, if anything less lucky, as Bai Meizhen heel ground into it's throat, and liquid shadowy crawled across it's form, bringing strangled yelps of distress from the beasts throat. All the while, Bai Meizhen's gaze remained fixed on Kang, who remained in place, his shield held out as another layer of defensive qi shimmered into place, spreading from the outward edge of his shield.
"How useless," Bai Meizhen said idly, removing her foot from the beasts throat as her shadow engulfed it entirely. "Just what do you intend to protect with that shield, Kang Zihao?"
He did not answer, only tightening his stance.
Bai Meizhen hummed thoughtfully, and blurred, crossing thirty meters in an instant before her ribbon blades lashed out, the metal strips extended by toxic purple fluid. Kang Zihao batted them aside, and once again, his spear thrust out in a blur, launching three fiery lances toward Miss Bai.
She continued forward, twisting gracefully to avoid the first two, and then battins aside the third with a sweep of her mantle and a hissing burst of steam. The fangs of her weapon came again, whipping in from impossible angles, and Kang Zihao stood strong, his spinning spear and flashing shield knocking away the virulent tendrils that sought his flesh.
Bai Meizhen lurred again, closing the distance to rest of the distance, though he stood taller than the pale girl, Kang Zihao seemed terribly small in the shadow she cast. The whipping blades returned, twice as fast, and this time one scored the shoulder of his armor, leaving a bubbling, hissing scar in the metal that revealed the padding beneath, blackening from the venom. Barehanded, Bai Meizhen parried the spearstokes that came in return, splashing water sounding from the points of impact.
Again and again, her blades twisted and hissed through the air, scoring petty wounds, stripping away his gleaming armor piece by piece until it hung from him in tatters and fragments, and brackish blood stained the clothing he wore beneath.
Finally, trembling limbs raised a shield a moment too slow, and hungry blades carved open his upper arm. Kang Zihao's bulwark dropped from twitching, nerveless fingers, and a pale hand darted in seizing him by the throat.
He let out a strangled scream, the spear falling from his other hand as veins of red spread from his neck.
"Still no more than a delay. As expected," Bai Meizhen said coldly, her voice distorted by the veil of water that rose to defend her fair face from Kang's desperate strikes.
His struggles ceased shortly, and the scion of Kang crumbled into the grass, already dissolving into mist as Bai Meizhen released him.
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Theunderbolt
"Prepare for trouble..."
- Location
- USoA
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What a fucking marvelous line, @yrsillar
Well done.
Although I admit to being confused as to why Guangli would see Kang as his direct competition. By this point in the tournament, both Kang and Meizhen's position in the Inner Sect would be assured. Does this mean that Kang intends to try and exert influence over the Outer Sect by proxy next year? :thinking:
- Location
- United States
Uhhhh. I thought kang got in to the inner sect? How would he be gan's opponent?
Dirtnap
Kanmusu Affecionado
Why is Meizhen so best.
Figures. Liling just doesnt have an administrative mindset to do the legwork of being able to run her own faction, I'd assumed that had fallen to either Lu Feng or Kang Zihao.
Although I do find myself interested in seeing what Wen Ai gets up to when she has the backing of Kang Zihao and presumably doesn't have to worry about getting constantly bodied by a better Intrigue game between Fu Xiang, Huang Da, and Ling Qi potentially screwing things up for her.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Huang Da wound up joining up with Wen Ai out of petty spite to screw over the Golden Fields group by proxy for what Xiulan cost the both of them next year.
It's his shield.
- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
I kind of feel a lack of physical curbstomp in the chap.
I was expecting Meizhen to physically throw Kang around, preferably in the mud.
I was expecting Meizhen to be almost visibly enraged by Kang's mere existence rather than this almost!disdain.
I was expecting a public humiliation rather than this slow grinding down. Perhaps even a instant disembowelment rather than this Death of a Thousand Cuts.
I'm also surprised that domain weapons were strangely absent of the fight. I might somewhat understand Meizhen thinking she doesn't need to bother with it, but why Kang ? Is the Shield his domain weapon ?
I was expecting Meizhen to physically throw Kang around, preferably in the mud.
I was expecting Meizhen to be almost visibly enraged by Kang's mere existence rather than this almost!disdain.
I was expecting a public humiliation rather than this slow grinding down. Perhaps even a instant disembowelment rather than this Death of a Thousand Cuts.
He got no sold with his Domain weapon out and Meizhen just laughed it off without bringing out her own
That top tier disrespect lmao
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
She likely doesn't want to bring it to public.
- Location
- New Zealand
Anyone else notice just how many times Gan made mention of Meizhen's beauty?
I mean, that could just be a natural part of his internal monologue, but still.....
I mean, that could just be a natural part of his internal monologue, but still.....
- Location
- Illinois
He was so below Meizhen here that she could take the time to play with her food is the feeling I got from the fight.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Meizhen is super good looking by the standards of the Empire, she's basically the Ideal Young Lady.
It's not surprising that she's considered attractive in light of that.
Anyway, new plan. We need to ship Gan Guangli and Su Ling, this cannot possibly go wrong because their mindsets are super compatible.
Also, we need to provide support to our Outer Sect buddies too, especially given the revelation that Kang Zihao's going to be bankrolling resistance out of spite. And it is the earnest duty of every member of this Outer Sect crop to dunk on Kang Zihao at any opportunity.
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Grosstoad
Birdbrain - Dick - Rules-Lawyer - Creeper
+flips desk+
Rraaaargh, should've argued for bow domain weapon mooore...
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Book One is over.
Book Two is starting in the next... Either few days or week I guess?
This quest is over, and comprised book 1. The second books starts a week from this Thursday iirc.
