Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

[Falconis]

Paulus 11 - Good Seed Report

Strategos,

This is a record of Jingshen cultivators I encountered while pursuing leads into the smuggling ring. This record, while not exhaustive, will contain what I understand about their backgrounds and techniques at the time of writing.

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ENTRY 1: The Magistrate

Name: Ma Kunfeng

Cultivation: Approximately ninth heavenstage of qi condensation.

Background: Ma Kunfeng is the younger brother of Ma Jeitei (see entry: The Gambler) and a successful businessman. Recovered information showed that Ma Kunfeng cultivated the Magistrate's Cruel Grasp and Seven Supreme Steps techniques and was proficient in both to the expected degree given his cultivation.

Treasures, Techniques, and Armaments: Ma Kunfeng made use of a heavenly treasure scroll called The Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams. The scroll itself is made of Three Clouds Silk wrapped around Eternal Song Jade and is durable enough to function as both a life saving treasure and a weapon. The Magistrate's Cruel Grasp is written on the scroll and it seems to be designed as both a cultivation manual and a way for junior cultivators to make use of the techniques written on it.

When supplied enough qi the scroll will manifest Jade hands from its back. The hands vary in scale from life sized to one story in height depending on the qi supplied. If fed beyond their maximum size the hands will break into two hands half the size and resume growing.

The techniques do not seem to be compatible with the Blood of Bronze.

AN: This thing is bullshit. Submitted for bronze capping and sealing so I never have to fight someone with this again.

Current status:

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The Jingshen agent rose to his feet and pulled off his bindings with tiny jade hands reaching from his back. The array cuffs snapped as if they were made of dry grass, unable to resist a cultivator's strength with the arrays themselves subverted by the Magistrate's Cruel Grasp.

"You'll regret this, Devil scum! Once my Lord Brother hears of what you did he will have your head, Clan or no Clan." he spat out as he retreated in a blur, crossing the space of seven steps with each motion.

I sighed and summoned the Hoplite. It came at my call, arms raised in an imitation of my own stance. Then I threw the spear.

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Deceased.

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ENTRY 2: The Gambler

Name: Ma Jeitei

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1st Pillar (assumed)

Background: Ma Jeitei is the leader of the Ma Clan, a subordinate of the Jingshen. The Ma control a full city's worth of resources despite their relatively low strength among the Jingshen due to their absurd ability at creating wealth. Ma Jeitei was the one to elevate the clan from a minor group of ruffians to their present heights. Rumors collected in Jingshen lands suggested that the Ma are to be invited to be Overseers in new Jingshen territory gained by the war agreement should they prove they have enough funds to develop it.

Treasures, Techniques, and Armaments: Ma Jeitei made use of a Punchstone, a treasure that allows the holder to strike several levels above their displayed cultivation for a brief period. He also carried on him an Albatross Transforming Needle presumably to use as a life saving treasure if things grew dangerous.

Ma Jeitei's claim to fame is the possession of a soul attacking technique that could be used from Foundation all the way to Golden Core. Using the owner's own soul as a medium, conditions could be set on targets in close range, penalizing them if they became unable to fulfill those conditions. Ma Jeitei was also subject to the conditions imposed.

Limits unknown.

Ma Jeitei was observed using the technique to force opponents to sacrifice qi, which he paid with stones instead of his reserves.

Current Status:

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He stood on the back of an Eagle of Bronze, regarding the two Jingshen Scions below with trepidation. The two cultivators, one a middle aged with a stern features and a sharply hooked nose and the other a round faced youth with more rings than not on his fingers, regarded him in turn.

"You made a mistake trying to escape here, boy."The elder of the two spoke, rolling a polished stone gracefully between his fingers, "None of your stinking Devil friends will find you in this secret realm. Your formations are worthless without more of you, isn't that so?"

The Devil spread his hands wide in welcome and flashed a conspiratorial grin at the two. "Great! You won't have anything else to blame when I kick your ass."

The Gambler snorted and flicked his fingers, replacing the stone with four small round tokens cut from spirit stone. "Ante."

The space between the Devil and the Gambler flickered and four round tokens of flickering qi were drawn from the gasping Devil. The Eagle screeched in rage and the round faced youth fingered his rings, and the battle was joined.

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Deceased.

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Entry 3: The Collector

Name: Jingshen Kai

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1st Pillar (assumed)

Background: Jingshen Kai is a young scion of the Jingshen clan. Possesses a reputation as a brute and a gambling addict. In recent years he has regularly been seen hanging out with Ma Jeitei and many have attributed the latter's meteoric rise to the assistance of the Jingshen scion.

Treasures, Techniques, and Armaments: Jingshen Kai carries on his person hundreds of disposable treasures he uses en masse in combat. The treasures carry a wide variety of effects and notably, Jingshen Kai did not seem to know what the majority of them did before using them.

Chief among his treasures and the only long term ones on his person was a set of 30 rings that were forcibly fitted on both hands. The rings allowed one to interact with karma using the skills of a Tunist. Jingshen Kai demonstrated no proficiency in their use beyond a few forceful tricks.


Current Status:

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"Jeitei!"

The Collector watched in shock as The Gambler's body fell, head crushed in massive bronze talons. His murderer staggered drunkenly, blood pouring from his eyes, ears, and mouth as his body struggled against damage that wasn't dealt to it. The Devil's soul had to be a mess by now, that's how it always went, right?

The Collector made a fist and gripped the invisible strings that touched every person. It was more difficult now, with Jeitei dead. The strong lines between The Collector and Gambler were slack and barely of any use in locating the Devil's own strings, but he found it by simply grabbing everything in the area and pulling with all his might!

The Devil roared in agony as The Collector pulled on his debts to a dead man, Jeitei's Ante was still in effect! The Devil struggled against a force he couldn't perceive, had no hope of defending against. The Collector grinned with sublime pleasure as the Devil danced on the end of his rope.

Then the last whisper of Jeitei's soul flickered out and the lines between them vanished altogether. The Collector had a brief impression of Jeitei's remnants rushing towards the beleaguered devil in a mirror of all the victories Jeitei had over others in the past. The Gambler had lost, and to victor go the spoils.

The Collector watched in horror as the Devil's power swelled and bloodshot eyes rolled towards him, looking at him as if he were already dead.

He ran.

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Deceased.

AN: Remaining treasures have been submitted to be capped and sealed or repurposed as appropriate, but I'm keeping the Stage-Smashing Pill.

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Word Count: 1251 words

Got some inspiration for how to do omake 10 in the middle of the night and knocked this out. I will likely do a few more of these in the future, perhaps including images depending on what's accepted.

I tried something new here, hope its enjoyed! Getting close to 40k!

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 12 - Touchstones


The dream changed.

I don't know if it was the first time it's happened or if I've just forgotten the previous times. This one is less clear than the dream of Father's death and it feels in a way like I'm observing the entire thing while submerged in deep water. The sounds are echoey and the sights waver strangely, but I can still make out the lines of a small, open courtyard amid the trees. I sit there on a comfortable cloth laid out under the shade of a big leafy plant, the echoes of anticipation ringing clearly in my mind as I gather my bearings.

A natural spring bubbled up a few meters away and formed into a stream that flowed out of sight. The air was cool and crisp and filled with the calls of birds and wildlife simply going on about their lives. Across from me a woman in flowery robes crouched over a strange iron cylinder capped at one end that she rotated over a flame. The smell of buttery corn and the sound of popping kernels joined the cacophony of the small wooded area and made my stomach grumble audibly.

The woman looked over at the sound and smiled wryly, communicating with her eyes that the treat would soon be ready and true to her promise she was scooping out popped corn into an extra large bowl less than a minute later.

The scent attracted a smiling, bald headed and clean shaven man from where he had been standing guard and the man, my father, took a seat behind me and scooped me up into his lap with one hand while he accepted the bowl from the woman, my mother, with his other hand.

She snuggled up beside him and they shared a brief kiss as I dug into the treat held before me, completely ignoring my parents.

"Bah, hold on now boy. If you move that quickly there will be none left for your Mother and I." comes the rumbling voice from above my head. He adjusts the position of the bowl so that it is held between all of us and grabs a hefty handful of the treats in a single motion. Mother giggles and takes some for herself and for a while we just sit there in silence, enjoying each other's company along with food.

It can't last forever.

Father broaches the topic with audible discomfort but it's not enough to stop him from saying the words.

"It's time I headed back." he rumbles, and we all know he doesn't mean his guard work.

Mother shifts slightly and does something I can't see, but she doesn't say anything. Still, father replies as if she'd argued for him to stay.

"You know I cannot, as much as I want to. The trials are almost here and they will come for me. The enemies of heaven don't get to hide."

Mother sets the much diminished bowl of popcorn aside and I tumble out of her lap in hot pursuit of the dregs. She lets me go as she turns more fully to face father.

"No. Even with their sick and twisted games I am still afforded some protections. If I bought you along...you would have no such thing. I cannot defend you from them - no I cannot. I might barely be able to defend myself and the boy."

A few moments pass in silence after his declaration before he speaks again.

"I...will not take that risk. It is too early for us to tell if the boy has the gift, but if there is the slightest chance their hunters will come looking here, to you, it is unacceptable. I must take him with me. And...should the worst happen I would not condemn him to a life away from his clan. There are only two fates for us out here, a protected tool to access our stolen heritage or someone else's fortunate encounter. You know this to be true."

This time, young-me hears something in father's voice and turns just enough to see the two staring at each other. Father's face might as well be cast from iron, but he can't hide the sadness in his voice. Mother doesn't speak - can't speak without breaking her oath - but father understands her all the same. Maybe that's why he's father and not just some guard.

"I have already stayed too long. If I run I should be able to make it back before they catch me out of the defenses. I will return once these trials are over." He says and then flashes her the most forced smile I've ever seen, "Besides, that should give your Matron some time to cool off once she discovers what happened here. I'll be gone no more than a decade."

She rolls her eyes at him, a brief smile breaking across her face before she sashays over to me and picks me up. She takes a long, silent look at me and then kisses me on the forehead. It's warm and cool at the same time and spreads across my entire body like a hug, and she follows it up with an actual hug!

"Well now, if there was a hope of hiding it before there certainly isn't one now. That Matron of yours will throw a fit when she comes here and finds you've already used the blessing. Any chance you have another one for me?"

Mother walks over and places me firmly in his hands. Father smiles and bends down to kiss his wife one last time. Then the dream ends.

And this time, I remember.

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I limped back to Golden Devil lands after twenty years of hiding, sneaking, observing, and acting interspersed with brief periods of extreme danger and more than one near death experience. One of them even managed to finally break Filia's defensive charm, so I was in need of a new life saving measure after all these years. The result?

Two Jingshen Scions, dead. Their plots, ruined. Xin Kingdom, free of Jingshen smuggling operations...for a little while. The entire thing blew up much further than I ever expected. Somehow my investigation dovetailed with some major clan moves against the Jingshen and I once again found myself working with dozens of people out of sheer necessity despite orders to the contrary.

I wonder how far in advance Strategos Merida set me up. I'd have to buy her a fruit basket or something.

All told this was the busiest twenty years of my life so far, and that was saying something given what my life has been like, and the only thing I could about was how tired I was. My body was still full of energy - I don't think I've slept more than a day per month, or needed to, since I hit the 10th heavenstage - but I was still tired. Cultivation isn't everything.

Phantom pains plagued me, whatever it was those Jingshen bastards did to me I was still paying for it even now. Bruises and wounds long since healed by cultivator tinctures and secret techniques pained me as if they were fresh even with my body visibly unblemished. My left leg sometimes failed to obey commands which left me limping across the desert all on my lonesome trying to get home. Flight was...unwise if you couldn't trust your stance.

I'm tired.

I wanted nothing more than to find a nice inn and relax for the next decade but that wasn't in the cards. A paper crane found me the moment I crossed back into Golden Devil lands and it contained an invitation I wouldn't refuse. That was how I found myself in the middle of nowhere with nothing around but sand, stone, and a squat building made entirely out of the latter. It was the only thing around for hours of travel, and that was quite a bit of distance at cultivator speeds, limping or not.

It wasn't very large, just a few steps over a shack and very crude in appearance, but it was built to last with array script worked into the structure and I spotted the beginnings of an array system in the surrounding grounds. This place was definitely approved by the Clan or it wouldn't be allowed out here, even in the middle of nowhere. A sign made of pressed sandstone read 'Sultan's Bar and Grill'.

Lines of gleaming array script sprung to life on the sturdy stone door as I raised my hand to push it open. The proximity array registered the motion and the door swung open on silent hinges before I could so much as touch it, giving me full access to the interior of.

The bar itself was a small place; Cramped would be a generous descriptor. It only had five stools nearly rammed together in front of a counter made of polished stone which separated the narrow seating area from an equally confined back bar space.

It was the kind of place I would have walked by even as a mortal street rat and as a cultivator I would have done the same if it wasn't for its occupants.

A massive mountain of flesh and muscle in the shape of a man had squeezed in behind the bar counter. His big, meaty fingers moved with uncanny dexterity as he prepared a cocktail of some gleaming blue liquid. The man wore puffy maroon pants with a belt of golden silk holding it up and little else by way of clothing, save for vambraces and an Usekh collar made of polished bronze. He looked up as I entered and nodded stoically in my direction, pausing only to flick his eyes at an empty seat before returning his attention to his work.

Spiros hadn't changed a bit.

He slid a plate of perfectly crisped Pebbleback Boar Bites in front of me as I all but collapsed onto the stool and pointed at the corner with his eyes where a bundle of blankets covering something in the vague shape of a human was curled up.

"Leto." he whispered, confirming my suspicions, "She's been working on the array schema all by herself. Finally got her to take a break."

I nodded in understanding. You didn't own anything lasting in this desert if you didn't have a quality city array to act as a foundation. If left to its own devices the desert would reclaim any structure, regardless of the size, within a few decades. That may seem like a long time but to a cultivator it really, really isn't. Case in point, my last ten to fifteen years could count as one single outing.

"Do you know where her designs are? I've gotten pretty good with the formations so maybe I can help."

Spiros reached under the counter with one hand and pulled out a fancy looking jade slip while he poured the drink into a tall, narrow glass with the other, then he slid the pair over to me with a flourish. The drink had transformed slightly in creation. What was once a brightly glowing - if uniform - blue was now a layered gradient of light to dark starting from the top. Every now and again a blob of darker liquid shaped like some kind of beast would swim through the lighter layers before dipping back into the layer that matched its shade and vanishing from sight.

"The Hidden Depths." Spiros announced as I took in the weirdly active drink.

"What does it do?"

"Gets you drunk." he said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes and took a sip as I tapped the jade slip on my forehead. Diagrams and array schema unfolded in my mind and...I couldn't understand any of it. I didn't recognize a single part of this entire setup from all my years working with formations. Some of those lines looked like they might be for carrying qi but - no I have no idea what that spiral is or why it has zig-zag squiggles on it.

I slid the jade slip back across the counter and Spiros tucked it away with a commiserating nod.

"She understands that?" I asked.

"She made it." he replied factually.

On one hand I felt like an idiot for not understanding what was on the slip, but on the other hand? Pure pride for Leto.

"I always knew she was a genius."

"Mmm."

I stared at my multilayered drink in silence for a full minute as Spiros put the jade slip back where it came from and started working on another two drinks, one a vibrant green and the other a deep magenta. A navy blue three-ringed saber-shark barely avoided a sky blue flood dragon as it retreated into its layer and vanished. I took a sip, cutting into the flood dragon's territory with impunity.

"Filia? Korina?"

Instead of replying, Spiros pointed at the door with his elbow seconds before it opened up and admitted the two in question. If I thought Korina looked old before then she was ancient now. Her hair had gone fully grey and her skin was leathery and wrinkled, but even so she stood tall as she walked and radiated an inner youth that convinced me she had several good years left in her still as she walked in wearing a simple magenta sundress.

Filia was...almost the same as the last time I saw her. She was a little taller and cultivation had firmly extinguished any of the signs from living on the streets by now. Her hair was in a long braid and she had lost an eye at some point, judging from the scarring around the eyepatch it was a long time ago. She, like me, wore Legionnaire armour and carried a spear with her, but she had some kind of green shoulder cape slung over one side.

Filia noticed the sleeping Leto first and tapped Korina on the shoulder, stopping her shout of joy in its tracks. The two instead walked over and exchanged hugs with Spiros and I before slipping into their seats, just in time for Spiros to hand slide over their drinks.

"For Filia, Emerald Throne," a syrupy thick green liquid that seemed fit to climb out of its glass and fight somebody, "and for Korina, Sunset Hues." Another multi layered drink but this one in reds, blues, and purples one would find in a particularly spectacular sunset. Another two platters of Pebbleback Boar Bites joined them and Korina began chowing down with gusto.

For a full minute everyone just ate and drank and the only noises were sounds of appreciation and the clinking of glass on stone. If this was how it was going to go then maybe I'd get away wi-

"So, Paulus. " Filia began

Crap.

"It's been a while since you came around. We were starting to wonder if you'd died on the front lines when you didn't answer our letters." she continued, jiggling her glass around and watching the slimy liquid suffer.

"Ah, well you know how it is. I just -"

"If it wasn't for that nice Legionnaire, Atria wasn't it? Why we'd never have found out where you went." Korina said with a smile, sipping on her transforming drink.

"Guys, please -"

"But you made it to the wedding didn't you? Conveniently after the rest of us left?" Filia cut me off again.

"Do you really think I planned-"

"And after that you vanished on undercover work without coming to find the rest of us or say you'd passed through or anything" Filia rolled her eyes and interrupted.

"Look, I'm sorry."

The two finally stopped interrupting and watched me expectantly. Spiros had just kept cleaning behind the bar silently the whole time as bartenders seemed to do whenever you weren't directly looking at them. He was going to be no help in defending myself, and to be honest I owed him an explanation too.

"I'm… I'm sorry I just - I'm guessing you heard about the snake." I paused and received nods of affirmation from Korina and Filia, so I continued, "Yea well I thought that was it for my career and well, I was ashamed to come talk to you guys alright?"

The three around me exchanged a silent look and then turned back to me. Then as one they slapped my upside the head.

"OW! What the hell?" I was pretty tough now but I can't say I expected to be hit by my friends! Not even a super cultivator would be fine getting hit by a rock if it was a surprise.

"By the Bronze, Paulus. You really don't change, do you?" Korina asked while shaking the pain from her hand.

"After all this time you're still the same guy that tried to leave us back in Singing Beast Town." Filia sighed with exasperation.

"Hey, excuse me for trying to save my pride." I grumped

"Please, I've seen you run through the street naked while being chased by sand lizards." Filia countered. Spiros pulled a weak healing treasure from under the shelf and pressed it on Korina's wrist as we spoke. What the hell did he have down there?

"That was one time!"

"You didn't have any dignity left for a second pass."

"Ugh." I slammed my head into the cool stone bar. They were right, I knew they were right. I should have depended on them and not been an idiot, but my heart just wasn't in it. A meaty hand clapped me on the shoulder and I looked up to Spiros' commiserating look.

"Boss. It's okay to be weak sometimes."

RUMBLE

The beat on Paulus hour stopped abruptly as everyone looked up at the sound of thunder overhead. It was a deep, rolling sound like the beat of a thousand war drums in the distance. The faint scent of ozone filled the very much sealed room. Crap.

"...that wasn't me. Was that you, Boss?" Spiros asked, looking at his ceiling thoughtfully.

"...yea I think so." I replied. My breakthrough was coming, and it was closer than I expected.

"Better get moving then. We just built this place." He smiled as he said it but nevertheless gestured urgently to the door.

I leapt up from the seat and made my way over when a hand grabbed the edge of my armour and I looked down to see Filia staring at me with her good eye.

"Hey. You better come back here once you're done or not even heaven will save you from what's coming." Her iris glowed with emerald light and for a moment I saw the illusion of a distant throne in a palace of green gems before she released me and it faded.

Heaven wasn't usually in the business of saving Golden Devils but that display just reminded me that I still hadn't felt Filia's cultivation and illusions from pressure were a very rare phenomenon. So I kept that retort sealed deep in my chest.

I was stopped again by the sound of cloth rubbing on cloth as Leto stood up from the corner, still wrapped in a sheet. She focused two bleary eyes on me and stumbled over to press her forehead against my breastplate with a (rather painful sounding) clonk.

"Don't run away next time. Dummy." she mumbled into my chest.

Ugh. Dammit this girl really knew my weak points.

I mumbled a promise to return and gave her a kiss on the head that she waved away tiredly before staggering back over to her corner and curling into a sheet ball.

My friends, my family, still had my back.

Now it was time to prove myself worth it.

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Wordcount: 3277

Ladies and gentlemen that brings the total to 40,006 words. It's time for my boy to break through.
@TehChron @no.

pls

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 13 - A New Dao


What does it mean to be weak?

This is what goes through my mind as I sit on a lonely peak in the middle of nowhere.

Okay so the peak is more like a big rock but it was the best place I could find far away from everyone else before the sky started rumbling too much for me to feel comfortable pushing on. So now I sat cross legged on a random boulder jutting out of the sand circulating my qi as I 'Ponder the Dao'.

Back in first heavenstage Titus, my squad medico, had asked me what my Dao was and I didn't really have an answer. For a while I thought it might have been understanding people but that doesn't really fit.

What does it mean to be weak?

As I grew in strength some things became clearer to me. Like why I was so driven to join the Clan, or why it had taken me so long to break through from the first heavenstage.
Or what happened to my Father.

RUMBLE

Yea yea shut up heaven I'll get to you in a sec.

I've only taken two really serious injuries since I broke through the first heavenstage. I'm not talking anything you can heal in a couple weeks with some medicine and bedrest, I'm talking real problems that would take decades of work to really get over. The first was a blood attack from a foundation level cannibal back under Strategos Merida that wiped out everyone in the group I was with except me. The second was a soul attack from that Jingshen punk.

I was still hurting from that one.

But funnily enough both of those big hurts knocked something loose. The blood attack swept out some kind of artificial block in my meridians that, once removed, shot me up from sixth to ninth heavenstage in one go. The soul attack...well that one just let me remember the Dream. I remembered what he said, and realized why that part of the dream always came back around. The first thing I asked him every time.

"Dad, why are we running?"
"We run because we are weak, child."

RUMBLE

Weakness was a constant presence in my life.
I was weak, so Romanallis tried to step on me.
I was weak, so the Clan brats tried to push us around in training.
I was weak, so the Blasphemer Beast saw us as a snack.
I was weak, so I hid after my failures.
I was weak, so now heaven was trying to smite me down.

RUMBLE

"Take no offense young Captain, I do not mean it as an insult. When I say you are weak, I mean that you are skilled in weakness."

But that was right too.
Because I was weak, I pulled one over on Meathead and got my family out to a better life.
Because I was weak, I taught my squad to dance to help them master the Hoplite.
Because I was weak, I recognized what the Beast was doing and ruined its plans.
Because I was weak, I beat (well, tied with) Merida in Ludus and got a second chance.
Because I am weak, heaven will not strike me.

And it's okay to be weak, right Spiros?

The thunder rumbled in an incredulous way and the shadows around me deepened as the cloud cover thickened. Tribulation clouds built and built until I couldn't see anything in front of me. The wind picked up until I was deaf. Ozone filled my lungs and the static tingle of imminent death surged over my skin. I could see nothing else, hear nothing else, taste nothing else, smell nothing else, and feel nothing else. Tribulation was imminent and I sat down to wait for it.

I wonder what would be jostled loose next.

The rumbles paused. The sky hesitated.

The truth of Weakness rung in my head, separated from the world, from everything.
The desert was weak.
The ocean was weak.
The clouds were weak.
I am weak, and will forever be weak, but like the rest I would endure whatever came my way.

So don't keep me waiting you bastards. I'll take everything you can dish out and make it my own strength.

RUMBLE

The storm hesitated, crackling with Tribulation. They knew it to be true, what I could become, but could not stop. Tribulation, once called, could not be turned away. But it could be changed.

The clouds thinned, and I could see.
The thunder grew quiet, and I could hear.
The lightning grew weaker, and I could feel.
The wind blew freely again, and I could taste my victory.

I looked up and there were still clouds overhead, a fraction of what they could be and the least threat they could manage. It wouldn't dissipate - It couldn't relent completely and keep me here forever - but it would drag it out as long as it could. The trials were soon, a Tribulation of another sort was coming, and I already felt it in my bones that the bums up in heaven would wait for the absolute worst time to join forces and knock me down a peg.

I blinked and the insights slipped away like sand through my fingers and I was just Paulus again.

I was already Foundation Building, I could feel it, but it was a miniscule improvement. The power that was mine was slowly trickling into me in drips and drabs instead of the torrent I knew to expect, but it was coming. I'd broken through.

Now there was only one thing left to do.

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I swept the flap of the war tent aside and stepped through still stinking of ozone and with electric streamers jumping through my hair.

"Nabu! I've come to bargain!"

The man in question was seated by an extra large Ludus board with a hundred lines each way and an entire second board sitting above it on stilts that only had core formation pieces on it. The bronze toothed man glanced up at me as I entered before turning back to his game and shifting a core formation piece from the upper board to the lower board where it took out a duo of formation building experts that had been threatening his position. His opponent clicked her tongue and moved her own core formation pieces across the upper board, threatening his ascent with a pincer formation.

"Ah, Paulus. I was wondering when you'd get here. Your armour is over there." he said distractedly, gesturing at a corner of the tent.

A shiny new set of armour stood on a rack in said corner, looking subtly different from the normal Legionnaire armour with a few extra plates and tight array script lining each one. The helmet sported a tall red crest and more robust cheekguards as well as the symbols of higher office. It was Centurion gear.

"What?"

"What what, Centurion? I thought the situation was very clear." Nabu muttered in his strangely resonating voice, still focused on the board in front of him.

"Is that all you have to say?" I spluttered.

"Do you expect me to say something else?"

"IT'S BEEN SIXTY YEARS!"

"Yes you certainly did drag your feet, didn't you?" Nabu replied evenly.

His opponent glanced over and the honey gold eyes of Strategos Merida met my own for the briefest instant before lightning jumped off my arm and struck my nose, forcing me to look away.

"Ow." I complained in a manly fashion.

"Just take the promotion Paulus." She chuckled, turning back to the game.
"You were in on this too, huh?" I still couldn't look at her, but I swore I heard the smile in her voice as she replied.

"Oh yes. We take bets on how standout talents are going to do and after you entered my service, why Nabu couldn't hide your potential any longer. You almost lost me quite a bit of savration."

A million complaints ran through my mind in an instant, but instead of saying any of them I just threw my hands in the air and stomped over to gather up my 'new gear'.

"Fine. Whatever. It's always some hidden shadowy stuff in the upper ranks. You guys better hope I don't surpass you or it's gonna be like this all the time." I grumbled.

"Oh I quite hope you do, Paulus." Merida murmured as she refocused on her game, "You'll lose me quite a bit more otherwise."

Nabu clicked his tongue, a weirdly metallic sound, and Merida quieted down with a chuckle.

"Get out of here, boy, before your friend here gets herself disqualified for affecting the results."

I shook my head and headed for the tent flaps with the new armour bundled under my arm. This wasn't exactly the triumphant return I'd expected but I'd take it. I took half a step outside and was immediately met by the sound of one hundred pairs of feet snapping to attention and the roar of fists on breastplates.

"Century salute!"

A wordless roar erupted from a hundred mouths and blasted me with sound as my new century apparently gathered to greet me in front of the war tent. How the hell would they have known?

"Oh and Centurion?" I turned to find Nabu standing right behind me, a devilish grin plastered on his face.

"Welcome back."

-----------------
-----------------

Word Count: 1560

Put this one out in a hurry. The last of the omakes that I'd really envisioned before trials. I'm glad I got it done in time.
Finally got to put Paulus' Dao out there. The Dao of Weakness is one I've been excited about since maybe two turns in and I'm glad that everything ultimately came together as I'd hoped with the breakthrough by the trials after he arrived.

Time to see if it was a good decision. Time to save some Juniors.

Next up is trials stuff, centurion stuff, Dao stuff, and the first real long term arcs.

@TehChron @no. Pls

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 14 Interlude - A wish for your health


Cloudy Jade City was not truly a city. It began its life as a simple spirit stone mine, a bold venture by a handful of prospectors trying to strike it rich. The early days were rife with conflict. Spirit beasts and bandits plagued the miners, collapses in the mines stole lives, and many times the city teemed on the brink of destruction. However in the end it not only survived but thrived. Wealth unimaginable poured out of the mines and miners flush with their new bounty found themselves in need of places to spend it. Thus, came the merchants.

At first only a caravan or two detoured off set routes with much begging and pleading, but once the wealth of the city had been seen two caravans became four, four became ten, and ten became a flourishing market for goods and services. Charm makers, weapon smiths, transport experts, brothels, drug dens, casinos… all businesses a wealthy miner would wish to spend his hard earned stones at.

The settlement continued to grow and expand until it had become a bustling town where spirit stones flowed more easily than water and legends and tragedies were made every day. Multiple new powers rose up in this environment to become dragons among their kind. The greatest of these was Lucky Bird Casino, owned by the greatest of men, Jingshen Lidao.

Currently Jingshen Lidao stood in his office, gazing out the window at the expanse of Cloudy Jade City laid out before him. This view was one of his favourites and was only possible because he had the thirty story casino built in the first place, the largest of its kind in the city. Oh there were other casinos, other towering buildings, but none came close to the height of his Lucky Bird Casino.

None dared.

He was the overseer of this territory, king in all but name, and absolutely none of that had to do with his family name. It had taken decades of hard work to make his fortune and many liters of spilled blood to keep it in his hands. By the time he was ready to take his place at the top? Why a quiet word was all that was needed for the previous overseer to pack up and hand the place over to him.

A wise man, though his wisdom did not let him escape his fate.The records had to show that Lidao was and always had been the overseer if he wanted to secure his position, and it wouldn't do to have someone around who could contradict the new paperwork.

Jingshen Lidao was in a good mood. The recent territory expansion had opened up several opportunities to expand his claim and a few choice bribes was all it had taken to get himself assigned some new territory to bring up from scratch. Cloudy Jade City was nice, but he was beginning to want to stretch his legs again. The other powers in the city were too cowed by now to provide him any real entertainment.

Which was good, they wouldn't give any trouble when he handed over the city to little Kai.

He rang a small silver bell that was kept on the windowsill for such purposes and no more than a second later a rough faced retainer cracked open the door to his office and waited obediently out of sight for his request.

"Summon my son, I wish to share some good news with him." He commanded, jovially.

"My Lord, Young Master Kai left the city several hours ago in the company of Ma Jeitei." The retainer shared hesitantly.

Lidao frowned. "Is that so? Blasted boy, always traipsing about with that hooligan friend of his. If he wasn't an overseer I would just -" Lidao cut himself off, with a sigh, "Fine. My son at least brought his bodyguards?"

"Yes, my Lord." The retainer answered crisply.

"Very well, I will retire to the paper room for the evening. No one is to disturb me."

The door clicked shut once the command was given and Jingshen Lidao turned and strode to another door on the opposite side of his office. The door was unadorned and crudely formed and stood out among the otherwise ostentatious office. It was the kind of thing that only the most desperate of people would have purchased, or perhaps looted off a landfill if it wasn't hacked to splinters by the embarrassed craftsman, but Lidao had a soft spot for his first solo creation.

The door had been reinforced and perfectly maintained over the years and so it made not a sound as Lidao swung it open and stepped through to the room within. A small, cramped room with half of its interior taken up by a simple desk and chair. The rest of the space was taken up by shelves and shelves of crafting materials. Wood blocks and gemstones and hunks of metal and clumps of wax and more adorned every bit of wall space, just waiting to be used.

Lidao slipped into the chair, absently picking an ingredient from a shelf above and placing it on the table before him. It was a black and grey log threaded through with seams of tarnished red spirit stone. Flecks of sparkling blue and white minerals were scattered across the log like stars seen through the fog of a half-remembered dream, appearing to move slowly across the surface over time even though they were completely stationary. Forgotten Emberwood, a good ingredient. He began his work.

Qi, heat, and pressure squashed the log flat while retaining its beauty over the course of a few minutes and a glimsteel blade cut a head sized square from the paper thin material.

Then he began to fold.

The old way, slow and without qi.

First came the north fold and then the south fold, then the spring fold and the summer fold. The beak took shape with the enlightenment fold, then the body took its form through the kite fold. The wings through the aptly named wing fold and the wind fold to give it breath, and just like that a paper crane was born. The qi focused in this room was enough for it to spring to life immediately and begin circling his head and he whispered a message to it before taking it back to the office window and letting it fly free.

It carried the love of a father in its breast and urgent desire spurred its wings. A promise of a gift to lure its target back and a small treasure stone clutched in its claws.

A gift for his boy.


----------------------------

The crane came back the next day, still clutching the stone in hand. It was one thing for the crane to return and another thing altogether for his child to willingly send back a treasure. Lidao might have done something drastic if the crane had not been accompanied by one of lesser make that had flown straight to his Head Retainer.

"My Lord, Young Master Kai has entered the Qiguai secret realm with Ma Jeitei." The retainer reported.

"Why? I suppose it was about time for him to go and stretch his legs, but to do so without informing me?" Lidao wondered out loud with a frown. To others it may seem he was thinking to himself, but the retainer knew better than to stay quiet.

"It seems that Ma Jeitei's younger brother was recently killed and the Devil who did it was recently spotted fleeing Cloudy Jade City."

A Devil? In his city? Lidao chuckled.

"Well, if he seeks to claim good fortune that fell in his lap I can understand. A wayward Devil away from their massed formations isn't much."

Escaping to Qiguai was a shrewd move. Tracking someone in that twisted realm was all but impossible without a fortunate encounter, and no one would be allowed to block the entrance until they returned. A simple measure enforced by the Qiguai Clan to ensure...harmonious dealings.

However, with Little Kai's treasure rings and such potent Karma between Jeitei and the Devil, finding him would be simplicity itself. It seemed like Little Kai was about to acquire some heavenly favor, and just before he handed over the city!

Lidao retired to the Paper Room and formed another crane, this one from a bit of Stonespirit Carapace he had been reserving for some years now. The crane cast in earthy brown tones was a treasure in itself that would help his boy grow to the second pillar, and it carried in its claws a bottle of pills that would increase the efficacy of the crane itself.

He smiled at his cleverness as he sent the crane off with strict instructions to wait until Little Kai came back.

A surprise for his boy.

---------------------

"My Lord, the Devil was spotted leaving the secret realm heavily wounded. Our observation team failed to stop him before he leapt on some manner of conjured metal bird and flew away."

Ah, so the fish escaped early? But it seems Little Kai and his hooligan friend worked him over quite well.

"When will my son be returning?" He had left instructions for the boy to return after his adventure, after all.

"Young Master Kai has not yet left the secret realm, my Lord."

A thread of worry burrowed through his chest but he dashed it away with a force of will. Little Kai was likely just making the most of his trip to the secret realm. If he left early just to chase some devil it would be many many years before he could return to the secret realm, after all.

And the Devil could be found again if they still wanted to go after him.

Lidao dismissed his retainers and found himself in the Paper Room already on his sixth crane made from Life Preserving Palm Leaf. It was a waste of a treasure, truly, but there would be no point to unfolding them now. He breathed life into the tiny flock of cranes and sent them off with salves and tinctures in little bottles strung between their claws.

Just in case Little Kai got scratched by that Devil.

Relief for his boy.

------------------------

The secret realm was due to close soon and Little Kai had not yet returned. Nor his hoodlum friend.

"Send in the guards to find him. If they don't find him then tell them not to bother coming out." Lidao commanded.

The retainer hesitated. Being trapped in the secret realm was a death sentence for those without the lifespan left to endure, and while Jingshen Kai was a young Foundation Building Expert with the majority of his life ahead of him, his guards were all senior cultivators. No one without a century of experience at the minimum was allowed to guard the young Scion. Not to mention the exorbitant fee necessary to bribe their way ahead of other entrants.

At Lidao's thunderous look, the retainer bowed and left to do his bidding.

Lidao retired to the Paper Room.

Life Preserving Palm Leaf would not be enough if Little Kai was trapped inside. He selected deliberately and carefully from his treasures for this craft. Miraculous ingredients he had accumulated over his long career were spent like water. Imperial Gold Coin, Sea Princess' Pearl, Void Demon Bat's Wing Membrane, and more went into making high quality treasure cranes to carry his more important goods.

They would need to be Foundation Level treasures at least if he wanted to send them into the realm to find Little Kai and to do so he held nothing back. Even the Heavenly Rose Steel he was saving for Little Kai's eventual wedding was used up. He would simply have to acquire replacements after all this was done.

Only the best for his boy.

--------------------------------

The secret realm was closed. All the cranes had returned immediately after entering and the guards escaped just in the nick of time.

Jingshen Lidao stood over their corpses, just outside the Qigai Clan lands, as he accepted what he already knew.

His son was dead.

The Devil who had killed him had long since disappeared into Golden Devil lands and had not been seen since. The Jingshen Clan refused to help him get revenge, and truthfully he had expected nothing. The son of a son of a minor branch house's line was not worth mobilizing the entire clan and even if it had been the Lady herself Old Jingshen would not have moved with the Golden Devil Clan's culling trials so close.

All of it was reasonable and expected. None of it mattered because his son was dead.

He cut ties with the family and returned to his city. The new overseer would be arriving within the year but Lidao would not be around to see it and could spare no thought for it in any case.

He retired to the Paper Room and began to fold. In three days he converted all of his hobby materials into cranes, but it was not enough.

He opened the treasury.

Spirit stones became cranes, communication jades became beetles, treasure weapons became flitting sparrows, defensive charms became albatrosses. The flock grew by the thousands until the treasury was dry, but it was not enough.

He sold his businesses, traded land for resources, called in favors, made threats, borrowed and stole. All of it joined the flock by the end of the year.

He stood in the wilderness with only the clothes on his back, and even that would have been converted or sold if it had any value. Several hundred thousand creations hovered in the sky around him, awaiting his message and targets of choice. The work of decades spent in a single year.

None of it mattered. All of it could be reacquired after. Everything he could get was turned to one purpose.

Revenge for his son.

As the sun set on the first day of the culling, Lidao of no Clan closed his eyes and sank into meditation.

Now all he could do, was wait.

------------
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Word Count: 2344

First Omake of turn 11 and the beginning of a new arc in Paulus' story. Now with adversaries!
Tribulations come in many ways.

Requesting LST.
Paulus will be heading to the Yuan Secret Realm this turn.

@no. @TehChron

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 14: New Book Smell

I sadly didn't get to meet with my new Century immediately. As a real officer now I was important enough to meet with the person who gave the Legion's orders. The Legate. I'd like to say I remembered the meeting but that would be completely untrue.

The Legate's tent was not with the rest of the officer group like you'd expect but was set up way outside the camp all by itself in the desert. As soon as I crossed half the distance my vision started growing dark at the edges and it became difficult to breathe. Walking turned from simplicity itself to a monumental chore for the first time since I'd broken through and become a cultivator and my weapons suddenly felt too heavy to lift.

The last thing I remembered was forcing myself to gently bat the tent flap since speaking had become impossible a couple hundred meters ago and then I'd found myself at the edge of camp holding a heavy wooden chest and a scroll. The scroll had congratulations on my promotion from the Legate and my new orders and the chest contained a truly obscene amount of storage treasures that held supplies for my Century, and a single hard candy.

It was grape flavoured.

So instead of trying to figure out whatever the hell happened there I followed the orders on the scroll and instead met up with the other Centurions in my cohort, of which there were three.

Now you may be wondering 'hey isn't that way less than the ten centurions needed for every Cohort'? And to that I'd say 'Why yes dear mind reader. It seems as if we are significantly understrength because of the deaths in the last trials. Now get out of my head.'

In any case, meeting the other Centurions turned out to be fairly easy as they had also gotten orders to meet with me. It was just…really, really flipping weird.

When I entered the big plaza where I was supposed to find the rest, the only thing I found was a larger than life bronze statue. It depicted a cultivator in an athletic pose with hands raised and biceps curled, seemingly representing the physical might of the Golden Devils. Sunlight sparkled off the nude form, casting the hills and valleys of trained musculature in stark relief and the reflections lit up the plaza from corner to corner.

Then it winked at me.

"Holy fu-"

"Ho there Centurion." The statue's booming voice cut me off, "I don't recognize you but you have the armour, so you must be the new guy I'm here to meet."

"You can talk!?"

"Of course I can talk! I wouldn't be very effective if I couldn't pass down orders." The woman, because I think it was obvious now that she wasn't a statue as I assumed, swapped poses as she spoke. She moved to one knee, her arms positioned as if she was holding an invisible bow, and stared off into the middle distance as if lining up a shot on a distant opponent. Her hair raised of its own accord to simulate being blown back in the wind before growing as still as the rest of her.

Did I mention she was buck naked? Because she's buck naked.

"Why are you buck naked?"

She grinned at me and waggled her eyebrows. "How could I not be, Centurion? Are you proposing that I hide this perfect form from the world?"

"I- no wait I'm not getting caught up in that. Please don't tell me the other guy is a nudist too."

The towering woman shook her head, the act made comical with all her hair sticking back in its enforced pose. "I'm afraid I've yet to convert Centurion Demios to my wonderful perspective, but if you'd give me a little time I bet we can have you ready to shine. I have some peanut oil in my storage ring."

"Stay away from me." I replied, hands raised in the Legion Pankraton First Stance.

"Helena, please stop trying to corrupt the youth. The clan needs more sane men and women to fill the upper ranks."

Demios, that rat bastard, walked into the courtyard as calm as could be as he spoke. He looked exactly the same as the last time I'd seen him, down to the cocky sneer and the arms folded behind his back. Just like Centurion Helena he wasn't wearing the armour of his station, but unlike her he was actually wearing clothes. There was just one thing I had to ask...

"You're a Centurion?"

He scoffed. "In name if not in responsibility. My primary duties are recruiting for the Legion as a whole but I do bear the power to stand in this class, and my word bears equivalent weight to any formal Centurion."

"Now if we could only get you to dress the part…" Helena mused out loud

"Not a chance." He bit back.

The two stared each other down for a moment in silence before Helena bounced a pec and Demios broke eye contact, turning back to me as his fellow Centurion scoffed.

"In any case," he sighed, "I'm glad to see my recommendation for squad leader paid off. Welcome to the ranks of Centurions, Paulus, this Legion needs all it can get."

"Yes, yes, welcome to our rank young man. In name if not in truth just yet." Helena chuckled.

I frowned. "Is this some kind of hazing thing? I'm getting really tired of getting talked down to."

"Nothing of the sort," Helena assured me, shaking her head, her tone somber. " It is simply that gaining the gear and cultivation of a Centurion are not enough to make you one. I have been using the technique since before you arrived and you still have not noticed."

I blinked slowly and flexed my cultivation base. Ripples coming from Helena and Demios told me they were both Foundation building and a few stages stronger than me but I couldn't sense any active techniques in use. They waited in silence for a moment before Demios stepped forward and raised his palm to face me.

"Pay attention, Paulus." He said, then...something about him changed. The qi coming from him took a distinctly different texture than before but it was still one that I was intensely familiar with. It was actually harder to tell it apart from the background qi than before.

"Some kind of stealth technique?" I mused out loud.

"A Centurion is more than just another combatant." He said, shaking his head in negation, "Their very presence changes the battlefield before they even get into spear range. Look."

I looked at his hand, flicking my gaze through a few nameless enhancement methods before an idea struck me and I looked at myself instead. There. The qi in my body had changed consistency after my breakthrough and the trickle of power from that event was still coming in, but with some effort I could identify multiple layers of power affecting me. Layers of Bronze Qi rippled over my cultivation base, vibrating in sync with a wordless song and causing my own qi to vibrate in harmony. I cycled through a few techniques with no visible change until I got to the Twin Headed Eagle and the Bronze Blood got involved.

The cast off power from my imperfect attempts at calling the Eagle resonated with the layers of Bronze Qi covering me and strengthened them, which in turn strengthened my own manifestation and whatever else was going on at the other end. I cancelled the formation before the loud eagle could make itself known and Demios spoke up, sounding satisfied.

"The Resounding Bronze Choir is one of the only required techniques in this Legion. Once you get to Foundation Building you need to learn how to do it to earn your rank. The effect isn't much with just the three of us here, but if you're moving with a full Century…"

Every Legionnaire would strengthen every other, even with only one user of the technique.

"Why didn't they teach this one in training?" I asked.

"It'd be pointless." Helena answered. The Centurion had adopted another pose while I studied the technique, now looking as if she was deep in thought with an elbow resting on her knee and her chin resting on a clenched fist. Every nook and cranny of her considerable musculature was displayed in stark relief, and the very light was somehow hitting her in a way that made the whole thing more dramatic than it had any right to be.

"Cultivators in the first 9 heavenstages do not possess the qi density to make effective use of this technique." Demios explained. "Even if they can learn how to use it they simply don't have the ability to stretch the aura very far. There are more practical techniques for their weight class if they wish for it."

We spoke for a while longer on the responsibilities of a Centurion and what the clan, and this Legion in particular expected of its Foundation Building experts. It was… enlightening in a way I didn't expect. It was only now that I was really realizing that Nabu had basically been handling everything for our cohort and several others besides and I still wasn't sure what his actual rank was other than 'higher than mine'.

I'd had it easy for a long time and now a lot more responsibility was being dropped square in my lap.

It was time to get informed.

It was time to go to The Library.

-----------------------

It was kinda surreal being in one of the Dawn Fortress's many libraries. I'd actually only ever been inside one once when I was picking out the Reflected Purities Technique for my own use despite how many times I'd approached one with Leto. This one wasn't as grand as the Core Formation Array Engineer library however, it was just a simple general technique palace for Foundation Building Clansmen to round out their techniques if they hadn't been blessed enough to find something good on an adventure.

Still it was about the same as I remembered it. Rows upon rows of scrolls, jade slips, books, and even tablets in sturdy, array bearing shelves that were organized in some esoteric manner that only the inspired or insane truly understood.

I approached the Legionnaire on duty there, his regalia marked him as a Tribune, tribunus militum to be precise. He wore a toga of spun bronze threads over a white cotton tunic and was quietly studying an expensive looking jade slip as I approached. The instant I got within two meters of him his eyes snapped up to meet mine and his pupils flashed a bright blue before he nodded.

"Centurion Paulus. Congratulations on your promotion. This one is tribunus angusticlavius, you may call me Genius." He spoke in clipped, measured tones and stared at me unblinkingly as he spoke.

"Uhhh… I don't think I will?" I ventured.

"As you wish, Centurion. How may I help you today?" He replied, expression unchanging.

"...Right. Tribune, I'm looking for a manual on the Resounding Bronze Choir."

He blinked, finally, and his eyes flashed blue again before he responded. "Ah, of course. The Resounding Bronze Choir is a Foundation Building technique made to support large numbers of combatants. A skilled user at the peak of the realm can support an entire Century with ease while suppressing the use of arts that do not utilize Bronze Qi. An excellent choice for a new Centurion and one that will assist in the creation of a Domain later."

He grasped at the air and a jade slip bearing the name of the technique in tight golden script flew from the depths of the shelves and landed in his hand. His eyes flashed again and he regarded me with a calculating gaze. "Records show that you regularly utilize the Reflected Purities Technique. May I then also suggest the Singing Copper Kettle Technique? It is a dangerous technique but one that is widely regarded as rewarding amongst it's surviving practitioners."

"Wait, surviving?"

He grasped at the air and pulled another two jade slips from the depths of the Library, one bearing the script of 'Singing Copper Kettle' and the other bearing the title 'Silent Steps Resounding'. "This technique will help you utilize the kettle properly as well as truly begin to bring the benefits of physical mastery to bear. The Silent Steps Resounding is only a Qi Condensation technique, but upon mastery you may learn the intermediate technique and begin to reverse the Bronze Blood's reputation of slow bearers."

He slid all three slips into a strange machine on his desk and an illusion of a scroll bearing an excerpt of all three techniques wobbled into focus in the air between us. I had an urge to just get the thing I asked for and get to practice but becoming a Tribune wasn't a simple task. I might as well give his suggestions a look.

The techniques were fairly complex and comprehensive from what I could read. Singing Copper Kettle was a combination of physical cultivation and qi flow exercises that only a genius of medicine could have come up with. It used the organs of the body as alchemical cauldrons to give a cultivator an extreme boost in physical output in exchange for rapidly burning qi. Without a strong body the practitioner would just explode so I could see why he brought up Reflected Purities. The stress that technique had put me through would help me to make proper use of this, maybe even punch up a few levels in the end.

Silent Steps Resounding was a much simpler technique but it was one that I could have used a couple decades ago when I'd first started breaking the earth when I moved. The technique did what it said on the scroll and allowed the user to move silently, but it was essentially a side effect of the technique taking firm hold of the earth beneath the user by flooding it with qi. The user could then consume the technique to launch them forward soundlessly or just guarantee themselves better footing in a fight.

Begrudgingly I had to admit the suggestions were good ones. This guy creeped me the hell out so I wasn't really looking to take any advice from him, but I'd learned a long time ago to not turn down good advice because of who was giving it.

"Fine. I'll take these two as well," I acquiesced, reaching for the slips only to have the Tribune cover them with his hands.

"It will be my pleasure to copy these manuals for you, Centurion, but first there is the matter of your contribution points."

I sighed as it sunk in that the Legion would be bleeding me of points even as a result of a promotion. It must be good to be Old Gold.

-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
Wordcount: 2492

Lotta mini omakes coming in soon. Paulus gets his new loadout and gets familiar with his role in the coming posts and maybe makes a friend or two now that he isn't just driven to secure his position. Details on the techniques coming next, if anyone wants to make use of them they can be my guest.

I don't think I said it in here so, Paulus is joining the The Thousand Song Siege.

@no. @TehChron pinging collabs as required.

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 15: Singing Copper Kettle

"This is a very dangerous technique, Centurion."

I still had some time before I had to, or could, greet my Century formally. Nabu had pulled a lot of strings to get them all there to meet me once I showed up post breakthrough but that actually meant a few things were left hanging with nobody to watch them. Rather than risk anything screwing up just for the sake of my welcome party I'd let them off to deal with their own matters and scheduled the full meetup in a few weeks.

That left me with plenty of time to start looking into my new techniques and while Silent Steps Resounding seemed straightforward enough, the other two were finicky enough that I needed help to deal with them. For Singing Copper Kettle, that meant someone who knew medicine or alchemy, preferably both. And for me that meant Titus.

The medico of my old squad easily agreed to meet with me to go over the finer points. Technically I couldn't share the technique with him but if he was acting as my medico he'd have to know what I cultivated and so he got to look at the manual.

"Your mastery of medicine and alchemy are insufficient to use this perfectly safely." The deadpan doctor continued, "The manual claims that a Foundation Building Expert's level of qi control is sufficient to forcibly utilize it, however I must stress that there will be a significant drop in efficiency if you cannot precisely control the reactions."

"I meet the toughness requirement, don't I?" I countered.

He nodded reluctantly, still staring into the middle distance as he communed with the jade slip to observe the technique.

"That you do, Centurion. If the new information on the 10th heavenstage is to be believed your body should remain intact even in the case of catastrophic technique failure, but I must again stress that 'intact' does not mean 'in perfect health'. In the worst case you could be consigned to bedrest for decades."

I hesitated a bit at that. Titus wasn't the type to exaggerate and he knew exactly what kind of resources I had available to me now. If he was saying I'd be in bed for decades he very likely included other healing methods in that timeframe. The possibility of blowing myself up or whatever was almost enough to get me to drop the technique, but the benefits it outlined...well I wanted those real bad. Reflected Purities isn't enough for me at this level, it barely saw me through the fights with those Jingshen Scions.

I need an edge.

"Still doing it." I confirmed.

Titus sighed and pulled a number of needles from a satchel at his waist with some of the finest qi control I'd ever seen. The needles launched forwards and pierced precise points on my body before the man himself took a few measured steps forward and rested his hand on the crown of my head.

"Very well Centurion. I will monitor your progress until you complete the first layer of attainment, as requested."

"Thanks again Titus."

"Think nothing of it, Centurion. Now, we will begin with the Lungs."

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply but steadily, filling my lungs to their physical capacity and then forcing a bit more in there with qi control. Titus continued speaking as I worked, explaining some of the finer points of what we were doing and directing the next steps. We both knew what the manual said at this point, but this was why I brought him in.

"The Lungs are a Yin Organ and excel at filtering the Metal Element from the qi around you. Do not hold this breath, release it slowly as you pass the filtered energy to your kidneys." A small pulse of qi flowed through the needles into the organs, just enough to help direct me to them without disrupting my technique.

The qi flowed smoothly and easily at this point, following the body's natural processes. I barely had to do anything but make sure the overabundance of qi I was feeding into the system was not dispersed and wasted.
"The Kidneys are also a Yin Organ and as such require a delicate touch. The filtered Metal Element will gather and multiply the Water Element in your kidneys. Do not directly interact with this organ without expert knowledge. You must create a qi bridge encasing it to pass the transformed energy to your Liver. Follow and bridge these meridians, their closest point lies close to the groin. I don't believe I need to emphasize what a mistake here will do to you."

Sweat began pouring down my brow but I followed the path of vibrating needles through my meridian system and transferred the concentrated water element from my kidneys over to my Liver. I immediately felt a change in my body and my energies almost beginning to cycle on their own, but it felt strange, incomplete.

"This is where things become difficult. Breathe, Centurion, you must continue to fuel the effect with metal energy from the Lungs or your kidneys will wither. Small breaths, you cannot afford to overwhelm the system. We must move quickly now."

A long series of needles vibrated across my torso, repeating after a moment as Titus began to pulse his qi regularly.

"The Liver is also a Yin organ and governs the Wood Element in the body. Due to the nature of our physiques most clansmen tend to have some problems with the Liver but the benefits of a more robust body mitigate or counter them somewha-"

"Hey Titus." I broke in, feeling the qi pooling in my liver beginning to grow out of control. "How about we save the extra credit for later. What do I do with this energy?"

"Of course, Centurion," Titus replied, sounding mildly embarrassed. I couldn't spare a look at him to confirm as I was beginning to feel my liver pulse now and I was pretty sure that was impossible. Pretty sure.

"This next step is where most of the danger lies and is the most complicated part of the technique. Qi naturally flows now to the liver and the technique will take conscious effort to halt at this stage. You must split the energies into three even flows and drive them here, here, and here along these meridians. Bridge them at these locations. But be warned-"

The Wood Element qi jumped at my command as I directed them down the paths Titus indicated, bullied into immediate compliance by the natural Bronze qi circulating in my blood, The indicated paths led to specific locations in and around my heart and I'd meant to be careful with it but the rush of qi connected almost immediately without complaint, even doing so a split instant before I asked.

The effect was immediately obvious as my heartbeat grew strong enough to rock my chest and my body temperature spiked to the point where my sweat began steaming off of me.

"Ugh."
"- the Heart and its protector are also Yin Organs that govern the Fire Element in the body, but the third stream connects to a Yang flow line and the influx of subordinate yin energies will fuel the flame element in your body to uncomfortable heights."

"Yea, pretty sure I'm feeling that!" I bit out. I sucked down a breath-

BOOM

My body temperature spiked again to a painful degree and a visible heat haze formed over my skin as qi rushed around my body like a charging scorpion bear. I reflexively drew on the Reflected Purities to dull the pain.

"I said small breaths, Captain!" Titus cried, "And the Reflected Purities...no matter, we are already over the allotment of metal energy. Captain you must complete the technique or the system will rampage out of control. It must be done now!"

A series of needles I could barely feel vibrated across my torso and lower back. The thumping of my heart made it difficult to tell exactly what the proper route was but I prepared to follow them anyway from my memory of the manual.

"The three flows must be reunited here in the Stomach. It is a Yang Earth Element Organ and will serve as a way to dump the energies of the technique should the worst happen. Quickly now Captain, time runs short."

The rampaging qi struggled in my spiritual grip as if it knew I was attempting to ground it. I couldn't dedicate any more focus to it, my control over the containment on my kidneys was already slipping and if I messed up there I could cause myself some real damage.

Fine, screw it, lets see if this technique can beat my body. I released my hold on the majority of my organs and instead poured energy into the Reflected Purities. The contained qi instantly rampaged out of control but instead of weak flesh it met a body made of Bronze. Titus' needles were forcibly pushed out of my body and the sound of internal impacts began echoing through my chest. I only had one shot at this.

I marshaled every last bit of my attention not focused on creating the qi bridges to grasping the rampaging Fire Element qi around my thumping heart. The flame was already destroying the protection of the Reflected Purities at an accelerated rate as if it had found its natural prey, but in the face of my full attention the relatively small amount of qi cycling through the technique was no match. I forcibly bridged the route to my stomach and the organ in question roiled as Earth Element began to multiply, feeding on the Fire Element from my Heart.

Titus shouted something and I remembered the last step of the manual. Something about the lungs. There was no more time to think about it so I just shoved it in and hoped for the best as I tried to re-establish the protections around my organs.
Steam erupted from my body and my next exhale came out like a keening whistle instead of something sounding like it came from a human. I sucked in another breath and the Earth Element fed back into the system, multiplying the Metal Element in my lungs as it was filtered back into my kidneys. I exhaled and steam poured out my mouth, nostrils, and I'm pretty sure some came from my ears as I was abruptly forced to stand.

Titus was shouting something at me and pointing outside but I couldn't hear it over the steady thumping of my heart and the rumble of energy in my stomach. I sucked in another breath and the effect multiplied again. I began vibrating in place as strength filled my body that had nowhere to go. Titus was shouting and pointing, my body was crying out for something. Eventually I got the idea.

I ran.

-----------------------

Kalliope looked at her new tent in happiness. Her promotion to Optio had come as soon as her lessons with Strategos Merida had completed and she had just finished setting up her things for her new position.

She would be on loan to another Legion for the first few years, at least until the position opened up back in her own, but a promotion was a promotion. The only real downside is that she would be seeing Justi less, but they had already agreed to coordinate their leave and 'self improvement' time to be together. As long as her new Centurion was decent then this would be an ideal posting. Kalliope hoped that…

She looked up at the sound of a distant inhuman whistling. A spirit beast, here? Most of those left in the camp were administrators and tacticians, not warriors. She cursed and grabbed her spear before rushing out. Whoever had allowed one to slip through would get a beating from her personally for ruining her arrival day. She listened again for the keening whistle and paused as the rapid thumping of feet on sand drew...closer?

She barely managed to throw herself out of the way as a - somewhat familiar - man completely made of bronze charged past her towards the wilderness, steam pouring from his metallic body in such copious amounts as to almost shroud him entirely from sight. Within seconds he was out of the camp and charging up - no THROUGH - a nearby sand dune, blasting sand into the air without slowing his advance one step.

Kalliope watched him go for a moment until he was out of sight and then looked back on her wind rumpled tent mournfully. Perhaps Strategos Merida would be willing to send her somewhere else.

--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------

Word Count: 2112

New technique! New stories to tell around the campfire about insane Centurions or very strange spirit beasts.

I went a bit more in depth on technique function here than I normally do so I hope that doesn't end up boring. The Foundation Establishment techniques are a bit more complicated and learning how to use them will be just as important to Paulus' growth as actually using them this time so I figured I had to give them some scenes. This technique, the Singing Copper Kettle, is an enhancement technique with some very uhh, visible effects. It's absolute crap for stealthy operations but when you just need to give a lot of somethings a lot of punches at once you'll find no better option for those physically inclined, or medical/alchemy professionals with enough knowledge to properly control it.

If you want an example of the 'inhuman whistling' just hit ye old google and look up 'steam whistle'. Any and all of those are true at the same time.

@no. @TehChron

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 16 - Wu Shuang and the Pillar of Mud

Day 1

An auspicious day to begin a new journal. In a few hours our band of brothers will be entering the Secret Realm to reap some of the benefits there. We have long prepared for this day. We will split into small parties and plunder some of the lesser treasure areas before returning to delve some of the more dangerous locations. The lesser locations are all fairly below the view of the more powerful factions here and we should encounter no problems monopolizing their benefits and then with those benefits combined we will be able to thrust any single group out of our way as long as they are below core formation.

Our teamwork is flawless. Our studies are exhaustive. There is no way anything can go wrong.

------

Day 7

Sand Dancers! Who the hell brings Sand Dancers to a hotzone? I told Hakish time and time again to retrieve a Flawless Edge treasure before engaging but instead he decided to switch things up with his stupid Sand Dancers strategy.

Even if you, future me, have forgotten this day in the future I'm sure you can imagine what happened next. Hakish dove into a scuffle between three Daoists, hoping to attach a dancer to each one in the conflict and they merely turned and crushed him before turning back to their own problems. To make matters worse the victor looted Hakish's control schema and turned the Sand Dancers on me by reversing the friend or foe sutras!

I had to abandon the location entirely and flee using a Ghostly Step talisman, one of the few I have remaining, and that bought me enough time to kill the Dancer before the controller could catch up. The Sand Dancers are too damn fast for their stage and the only reason this worked is because the thief sent too few after me. I worry about where he sent the rest,

------

Day 11

Heaven truly leaves a way out even in the direst of situations. That fool Hakish must have secretly encoded the signatures of each of us brothers in those Sand Dancers before heading out. Each one of us was attacked by Sand Dancers in the days following his death and I suspect at least half of us have perished due to the hunters following them. I myself was attacked three more times before I stumbled into this cavern.

The qi here is strange and thin and none of my treasures work in this space. If there is anything good about this it is that I suspect that the Sand Dancers will be unable to track me inside. It has been a day since the last attack and I have gotten much needed time to rest and catch up with my journaling before I get out of here.

I think I will wait another few days to ensure my hunters give up on the chase before climbing out. If I pop up now only to find them lurking around my last seen location, I wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry before death. Besides, I think there is something good to be found here.

-----

Day 12

This is a miraculous space.

I was not mistaken in my earlier assumptions, there is indeed something good to be found in this place. The qi becomes more and more dense as I descend into these twisting tunnels and my treasures can once again be activated. It is still a far cry from my own prepared cultivation chambers but I have not yet reached the bottom of these caves. If things continue this way then I could advance my cultivation while waiting for those hunters to give up! I'll just spend a few more days exploring.

------

Day 15

I have reached the bottom of these caves. The qi density here is truly astounding, the highest I've ever encountered in the wild! Cultivation is almost as easy as breathing and I truly wonder if this is what those great sects experience all the time.

It would be perfect if not for all this blasted hissing.

The situation progressed as I expected with the qi density increasing the deeper I went into the caves. A bit before the density reached something acceptable I began to hear an incessant hissing on the edge of my hearing and I delved further to discover the source.

Not ten minutes later the cramped caves abruptly opened up into a truly gargantuan underground cavern. The opposite wall is so far away that I can barely see a suggestion of it even when using a Farsight Treasure and the space between is covered in water as far as the eye can see. A shallow pool, barely knee deep but one that continues long enough that it has its own horizon. The entire space is lit as if it is daylight, but I have been unable to determine the source of the light other than 'above'. I suspect a natural bewilderment formation has come into being down here, a phenomenon that promises a wondrous treasure protected at the center.

I have yet to discover the source of the hissing but it has grown loud enough to interrupt my meditations. I could retreat into the caves until I can no longer hear it but...no I don't believe I will. How could a cultivator run away before even determining what stands against him?

At the very least I'll discover what all the fuss is about.

------

Day 17

After a day of wading through the waters I discovered the source of the infernal hissing. It was far too loud to remain nearby so I have waded back to the edge of the pool before beginning this entry. The qi concentration is about the same anyway.

The water here is crystal clear and clean for drinking, so imagine my surprise when at the center of this place I discovered a massive pillar of bubbling mud! Hot mud bubbles out of the earth ceaselessly, piling up upon itself so much that it has already created a mountain of muck that would be a challenge to climb in its own right even if it hadn't inexplicably remained in a tightly contained pillar instead of spreading out as I would expect.

The hissing, that infernal hissing, came from jets of superheated air escaping from the gaps and folds in the mud that change unendingly as the entire formation bubbles. Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of folds burbling into existence only to release the air caught within before the next fold forms from its back. I spent half a day examining it but I couldn't figure out anything about how it worked and my Life-Reading Compass tells me that touching it would be a fatal mistake.

Regardless, whatever danger it has doesn't seem to be active. I will try and put it out of my mind until it is time to leave.

------

Day 18

I will not stay in this blasted place one second longer! That hissing never stops, never quiets! Even in my deepest mediations I can still hear the infernal hissing. I'm leaving this place today! The hunters must have given up by now.

------

Day 21

The way is shut.
------

Day 24

I returned to the cavern at the base of the tunnels. The qi here is enough to cultivate with. If I can break through...perhaps learn something about the law of space...maybe I can break out of here.

This has gone beyond discomfort, I have only a few weeks of food rations left. To sustain myself through cultivation will extend that somewhat, but my time is limited at best. I
The
To

If anyone else finds this journal. Take heed of my wisdom and try and escape as quickly as possible. Perhaps whatever method sealed me in here will be delayed long enough for you to slip away.

------

Day 30

I have grown used to the hissing, I think. This is not to say I can ignore it, no. It still fills my every waking and sleeping hour, no matter how deep into unconsciousness I sink, but I believe I've determined a pattern in the sounds.

It is an entire day long, but it sounds as if the hissing repeats itself over and over. It is consistent enough that I can time my cultivation by it. Patterns can be comforting with enough repetition. Perhaps this will eventually be true here as well.

------

Day 37

Hello future me. It has been some time since I last wrote, I have been so busy you see. What am I talking about, you know this already. After all, there's no way I'll fail to escape at this rate.

My cultivation has advanced a whole stage. A whole stage in just one week! This is far and away the best cultivation rate I've ever experienced and it is all thanks to that wonderful hissing I was cursing some days ago.

How could it be so, you ask?

You recall that I said the hissing repeated in a regular pattern? Not only that, but following the pattern in my mind as I cultivate improved my cycling speed tenfold! Such a miraculous treasure, no wonder heaven has tried to seal it away down here.

Could it be the remnant pillar of a great immortal? If I can decipher the meaning behind the hissing then perhaps I could get a glimpse of their great Dao. The beginning of the pattern is coming again soon, I have to stop writing or else I'll miss it. This time I'll try and continue for the whole repetition.

------

Day 38

Bah! I almost managed an entire repetition, but I lost the pattern along the way. Still just like that I've advanced almost half a stage. I can't let this opportunity pass me by, I'll get right next to the Pillar tomorrow to hear it clearly. I've already missed the start for today so I'll take it as a day of rest.

------

Day ??

I did it, I managed a whole repetition of cycling. I didn't manage to stick closely to my normal Ten Thousand Treasures Refinement Method but I managed to track the pattern of the hissing for the entire day. As I expected the benefits are… significant.

As I write to you I am already at the cusp of breaking through a third time. In the past few days of attempting to follow the pattern I already broke through for the second time down here. Just a few more and I'll be ready to form a core.

I was worried since my Method stops at the Great Circle but the gifts of this place continue to astound. If I can just follow the pattern I can break through I am certain of it. This is not some delusion born from desperation. The more I cultivate here the more certain I become that this is only the surface of this pattern. The hissing it...it's almost beginning to sound like words.

------

Day ??

I have determined a word.

I cannot write it here for fear of disrupting the pattern. The moment I understood the word I spoke it and...something changed. A palpable sense of displeasure descended on the place and I ended up hiding in the mud for a few days before it vanished. It doesn't happen when I say the word in my mind but I feel that if I say it aloud or write it down, if I externalise it in any way, there will be a problem. I don't know what happened but I don't seem to be in too much danger.

I'll write again soon, the quill is difficult to hold with my claws.

------

Day ??

Three words seems to be my limit. Try as I might, I cannot manage to vocalize another one. This is frustrating, extremely frustrating. I can feel it right on the tip of my tongue, right on the edge of my awareness. It's such a simple one, I'm sure I've said it before outside of the pattern but when I try to use it within the pattern it invariably fails.

This is just so frustrating, so unbelievably frustrating. If it wasn't for that blasted displeasure I could at least force it out, but when I try the air grows thick like molasses and taut like the surface of a drum. Speaking is too difficult, if I force it I'm sure something will break. Something...something will break.

------

Day ??

Damn them. Damn them. Damn them. Damn them. Damn them. Damn them. Damn them.

Try to limit me? When I'm this close? I'll shake off the chains of heaven! I'm so close to a breakthrough I can taste it.

Just two more words for the full seven pillars and then I can learn the rest of the pattern. I can already see it in my mind's eye, taste it running down my beak like the sweetest ambrosia. My wonderful core of mud is only a few steps away.

Challenge me? Threaten me? Send your blasted tribulation as many times as you want.

-----

Day ??

I've failed. My beautiful core. I-

Those bastards sealed the qi here with their lightning. I hid in the mud from their eyes, and it protected me. The cost was too steep.

The pillar is diminished and back below ground, it
It is too hard to hear the pattern.

Damn them I was so close. SO CLOSE!

I just need a little more qi to finish my breakthrough, I think I can remember the rest. I can remember the rest.

They made a mistake. The lightning opened a path in the seal above. My wings will carry me out of here before the seal recovers..

I just need a bit more qi. I have to find some. Their paltry leavings will not be enough. I need more than they're willing to give.

I hear thunder again. I can't endure another strike without the pillar. I have to go now. I'll find some more and come back. Yes.


-----------------------
-----------------------
Word Count: 2336

Another little interlude for a location I dreamed up a long time ago. Literally!
I've imagined this place as the origin of the Blasphemer Beasts, an example of which was featured in Paulus 5(part1) and Paulus 5(Part2) .
Feel free to use it if you're interested in the place, or the Beasts.

@no. @TehChron
pls

 

[Falconis]

Paulus 17 - Eye of the Archimedean.

"That is indeed the name of my technique but I don't think you're a good fit for it, Captain. Ah, it's Centurion now isn't it? My apologies."

Cassius loosed an arrow to punctuate his remark, sending the shaft blurring away into the distance, far out of the range of mundane sight. A glance at the farseeing array showed what I expected, the arrow hit the 10 kilometer target dead center and now he was free to move on to the 15 kilometer target.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." I grumped.

Sure I was still on the 1 kilometer target myself, but I also didn't have any special techniques to help me while Cassius, as an archer spec, did. I lined up an attempt with the Arbalest anyway, letting my muscles shift from fallible flesh to steady bronze and instant before I fired. The bolt sunk into the target a bit off center but it was enough to allow me to move on to the 2 kilometer target. Yay.

Cassius shook his head with a smile and lined up another shot for himself.

"Of course not, Centurion. I'm certain that with some practice a Foundation Level Expert such as yourself could easily acquire any purely physical skill you desire to. But that is not what I meant."

He grew silent as he focused, unblinking on the distant target that I couldn't even see without aid. His pupils were pinpricks of light in the center of his iris, glowing with an intensity that rivaled Genius, the Librarian, but Cassius' light was a radiant gold where the Librarian's were an electric blue. I wondered idly at the difference as Cassius stood there, quietly.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

"Well?" I asked at last.

Cassius smirked but said nothing, still staring unblinkingly into the distance. After another minute he exhaled slowly and let the arrow slip from his fingertips. The farseer treasure tracked it's flight across the range accurately, the viewpoint blurring over sand and stone as it tracked the slightly wobbling arrow. After a full thirty seconds of flight it buried itself up to the fletching in the 15 kilometer target, dead center.

Cassius nodded and turned back to me, smirk remaining plastered on his face.

"It is because you lack patience, Centurion."

I scoffed and turned back to my own target, recalibrating the farseer to help me actually look at what I was supposed to be hitting.

"Okay, I guess I walked right into that one but lets be real for a minute. Cultivation is the most boring shit ever. Anybody who can go a hundred years with it can suffer through some quiet time if that's what it takes."

Cassius's smirk became a nostalgic smile as he turned to watch my target with his own eyes.
"Hmm. I don't remember too many boring times back when we were fighting those Beasts."

A twitch of my trigger finger sent the bolt flying towards the 2 kilometer target. It went wide. Damn. I began the somewhat laborious process of reloading the Arbalest while I wanted for Cassius to take his turn, but he just stood there quietly looking out at the range.

"Problem?" I asked.

He shook his head and made a small, aborted laugh.

"No, but this is what I mean, Centurion. Your mind is always moving, always seeking some kind of angle around your problems. In some ways I wish I could do the same but my path is the path of The Archimedian, not the path of the Centurion; it is not a path you would enjoy."

"How about you let me decide that?" I grunted, acknowledging his point but refusing to give up such a convenient technique. From what I knew The Eye of the Archimedian could let a cultivator see much longer distances and much smaller things in exquisite detail and even give them a simple long range qi attack to round out their arsenal. It was the kind of thing that was sorely missing in my own kit and I could see myself using it on the battlefield.

And I'd be damned if Old Gold was seeing another point from me for technique requisition any time soon.

"Hmm. Very well." He began, still keeping his eyes on the horizon. "The first attainment in The Eye of the Archimedian requires the practitioner to keep their eyes open for 24 hours without blinking."

I settled in to listen, carefully stowing the Arbalest so I didn't end up shooting myself or something stupid. Cassius continued as I spoke, arms crossed over his chest and eyes staring unblinkingly ahead.

"'The hopeful practitioner must prepare their eyes to contain the mystery of the Cosmos suffusing all things. To see the true scope of the Light Eternal is to risk searing your own eyes from your head, for heaven will not countenance a true witness to its actions' is the exact quote. This is a fanciful way of saying that we cannot see The Light, or more accurately we can only see The Light and only one facet that the manual calls 'The Light that Touches'."

"The other forms of the Light Eternal, visible and invisible...well they are simply out of the reach of a beginner like myself. But through constant exposure to The Light that Touches we can gain the merest sliver of understanding of Light itself."

He shut his eyes for just a moment as he took a deep breath, and when he opened them again both orbs glowed like contained stars in his skull.

"Days. Weeks. Months. We filter the merest glimmer of the Light that Touches to help us understand the true shape of things. Then at the right moment, we share our sight with the world. Observe."

He tensed and twin beams of coruscating light flashed from his eyes, briefly overwhelming the light from the sun and casting the world into shadow save for the bright white line connecting him and his distant target. The air warped in the beam's path and a visible shockwave washed over me with a high pitched whine on the edge of hearing before the whole thing abruptly stopped an instant later and things returned to normal.

Fifteen kilometers away an archery target burst apart in a shower of flame and radiance.

"Holy crap." I said following a low whistle, "About how much charge was that?"

"Hmm. I have been building Light for about sixty years now and my proficiency has changed quite a bit since I reached the fifth attainment. At the start this would have been a much larger portion but at current rates...I'd say about a month's worth of Light?" Cassius mused aloud.

"Holy crap!"

Don't get me wrong the technique was impressive but if we were talking pure destruction then I could probably do something similar a hundred times a day with some solid kicks, if not at range. Still, if Cassius had been building shots like that for decades now… well he could probably hit harder than me if he was willing to take the loss in progress. I looked over at the man who was now trailing thin streamers of smoke from his eyes and shaking his head to remove the heat haze and re-evaluated my assumptions about the technique.

"Any way to speed that up?" I queried.

Cassius thought in silence for a moment before shrugging and reaching for his bow again.

"You could stick your head in a bonfire?"

"Yea, no, not for me."

The man just nodded as if this was a foregone conclusion and blinked away the last of the overpowering radiance from his eyes, reducing it back to pinpricks in his pupils.

"Your shot, Centurion."

"Right."

I pulled the Arbalest up to eye level, resting the stock against my bronzed shoulder. The thing had a kick that could outdo a donkey, but it was nothing to the Blood of Bronze and a hundred years of cultivation. I inhaled deeply and took careful aim-

"I suspect the Legate uses a successor technique to my own."

My finger slipped and the bolt flew free, flying through the sky only to bury itself into a dune just five hundred meters away. I turned to glare at Cassius but he was already lining up a shot at the 20 kilometer target.

"You've met the Legate?"

He continued focusing on his shot, eyes unblinking as he drew in more and more light to see his target even beyond the subtle curvature of Turtle World that would have hidden such a distant spot from his sight. Five seconds passed in silence before he loosed another arrow and the farseer followed the shaft all the way to the target 20 kilometers away. It buried itself just off center in the target and Cassius clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Not in so many words. It is my understanding that the Legate is an archer like myself. A part of our training involves sections designed by the Legate themself and the choices are...well enlightening."

I looked out at the firing range we had booked for the hour and calmly reflected that some of these targets were literally impossible to see unless you were using a farseer treasure or had special vision techniques. I could see how he'd come to that conclusion.

"Explains why they don't need to camp with the rest of us. If the Legate is a ranged specialist this entire region is probably locked the hell down." I mused

"The region is uncommonly quiet considering how undermanned we are." Cassius agreed. And wasn't that the truth.

I thought back to the chest full of jade slips and storage treasures the Legate had given me. I was fortunate enough to have my own Century starting full strength but that wasn't true for the entire Legion. We were still reeling from the trials a hundred years ago and we were barely half strength overall, and the next trials were coming soon.

A full strength Century was a gift I couldn't afford to waste. I needed to get everyone armed and ready for what was coming ahead, and I couldn't depend on just my assigned budget to do it.

I loosed a bolt.

---------------------
---------------------
Word Count: 1706

The Gear up portion of the arc with the suspiciously technique named posts continues. I didn't know if I was going to continue on this route but the words want what they want.

Unless something crazy happens then soon to come is a bit of Trials stuff to give Paulus a very warm welcome to the big leagues. It'll be fun.

@no. @Quest
pls

 

[Falconis]

PAULUS ?? Play on Words

ACT 1
SCENE 1 A Hidden Place

Enter JINGSHEN MO, Jingshen Clan Trader, JINGSHEN YE, Jingshen Clan Trader

JINGSHEN MO
How fare thee brother, this foul morn?

JINGSHEN YE
Foulness and fairness go hand in hand. Tis the will of heaven that now prevails us.

JINGSHEN MO
Cursed tongue doth wag most fiercely. Hast' thine face turned to cowardice before the Devil doth strike?

JINGSHEN YE
Strike they I before, and strike again I fear. My house lies empty in seized lands, my sons lie dead within.

JINGSHEN MO
Say not so! How doth it become when hidden moon cloaks our way?

JINGSHEN YE
I know not, save silent prayer that cursed witchery not strike again.

JINGSHEN MO
And yet you come to sup with we hidden Scions in dark place?

JINGSHEN YE
I have no choice.

JINGSHEN MO
Foul betrayer! Craven dog! This Judas doth expose our ways.

JINGSHEN YE
I have no choice! Upon my neck a spear rests firmly.

JINGSHEN MO
Fear not distant spear tonight. By my own blade will thee be slain.


ENTER PAULUS, Centurion of The Golden Devils AND subordinates.


PAULUS
Shuddap. You're all under arrest for attempted sabotage.


JINGSHEN MO
Lo foul devil approaches hence with imps aplenty carried on foul train!


JINGSHEN YE
Fear not and take not flight! By arms in unity can we yet escape!


JINGSHEN MO
This was thy plan?


JINGSHEN YE
Mine only chance and yours a fate brought forward a day.


PAULUS
Yea no, we were already coming here, you just made it easier.


JINGSHEN MO
…This Devil speaks as if in reply. How sure are we our cipher holds?


JINGSHEN YE
It cannot be broken by Devil minds! My brother assures me it had him vexed!


JINGSHEN MO
The one in qi condensation?


JINGSHEN YE
…


JINGSHEN MO
Did you…


PAULUS
*sighs*


JINGSHEN YE
…

JINGSHEN MO
…

JINGSHEN YE
We can yet fight.


PAULUS
Or, you can ignore this idiot and surrender. I'll slap you in chains and you can make a case to the Legate.


JINGSHEN YE
No I have a plan!


JINGSHEN MO
Just arrest me already.


Jingshen Mo places his head in his hands and drops the technique, barely reacting as the qi draining cuffs are secured around his arms. A bronzed fist strikes the idiot YE in the side of the head and he goes down like a plank of wood.

Jingshen Mo sighs.


Exeunt
----------------------
Wordcount: 406

Forgive me.
I had an idea and tried to knock it together in my less busy time. Pretty sure this is all I can get done this turn, sadly.

Omake Reward: LST
Mission: A Great Clamour

@no.

 

[Falconis]

Paulus Collab Series

Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest] Original - Fantasy

TURN 13, OMAKE 2 [Lipita] Lipita Delphi 29: Lipita &the Gang - Archive of Golden Devil Legions NAME, COGNOMEN LEGATE (Legate Auxiliary for Foundation Experts in Charge) MOTTO SIGIL DESCRIPTION (Headquarters, Composition, Specialties, Responsibilities, Notable Persons, etc) 3rd Legion, Farflung...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

Here's a link to the wonderful ongoing work of mapping out the legions. I made my own contribution with the 77th Legion, the Watchers, under the enigmatic Legate Selene Scala. I hope to explore this Legion more in the future.

@Insane-Not-Crazy
Threadmark pls.

Paulus will go on the Mountain Bell Expedition.