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

[occipitallobe]

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[Insane-Not-Crazy]

TURN 12, OMAKE 7 [Lipita]
Lipita Delphi 22: Lipita Delphi & Lihua Kokkinos - Seeking the Dao​

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

TURN 12, OMAKE 11 [Lihua] Lipita Delphi 22: Lipita Delphi & Lihua Kokkinos - Seeking the Dao Lihua Kokkinos breathed in deep and then out. Two short inhalations, a long pause and then a slow exhalation constituted the breathing pattern she was employing. Without the density of spiritual energy...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

Editing this omake to avoid double-posting.

AN: (3312 words) @Alectai @no. @ReaderOfFate Please threadmark. This is a collaboration with @veekie.

 

[occipitallobe]

A couple of clarification questions/typos.

Fanatically Aiding should be more than Bravely, not the reverse.

Click to shrink...

It is, though the wording is a little ambiguous, I'll change it.

If it doubles each time, the multiplier across 2 levels should be 4, not 8.

Click to shrink...

My mistake. Meant to be in comparison to baseline.

And the question: is the malus applied before or after the Fate multiplier for words/quality?

Click to shrink...

Before.

 

[occipitallobe]

I've got a bunch of background questions I'd like to ask here, @occipitallobe.

• What's the triangle on the map near Divine King Zhao's Forge?
• Is there anything left of the Shang Clan after we took their lands?
• Where were we before we got pushed south, then into the mountains? For that matter, when we were pushed south, were we in Chuan lands or only Yu?
• Was the Abyssal Demon Sect adherent to Blood Path?
• Were we vassals of the Wei Empire?
• How far south did the Wei Empire stretch?
• How long ago was it ended?
• How long after that was the first Demon-Annihilating War started?
• How long ago did Demonic Soup Chef strike down the Turtle Young?
• Why is the Great Mountain Bell Sect bereft of a mountain?

Click to shrink...

Those I intend to answer. The triangle is a mapmaker's error on my first map! In-character, I might find a use for it.

The Abyssal Demon Sect was Blood Path.

We were not vassals of the Wei.

The Great Mountain Bell Sect starts with two adjectives and then a noun.

I have a very vague timeline which is "here are a few events with years, but mostly stuff is positioned before/after other events" and I promise to tidy it up and present it at some point... just not now.

 

[veekie]

TURN 12, OMAKE 11 [Lihua]
Lipita Delphi 22: Lipita Delphi & Lihua Kokkinos - Seeking the Dao​

Lihua Kokkinos breathed in deep and then out. Two short inhalations, a long pause and then a slow exhalation constituted the breathing pattern she was employing. Without the density of spiritual energy common to the Green Scale Plains, this breathing did nothing for her cultivation but over the years she'd found the rhythm useful in meditation. Tonight she'd forsaken her usual training beneath the scorching heat of the Sun and was seated in seiza, weight resting on her knees and arms reposed in her lap, in the darkness her room lit only by the faint illumination of moonlight. Spending several hours in this position as she'd done would have been a tortuous and potentially fatal experience for a mortal or even a weak junior in Qi Condensation but Lihua had since stepped beyond such limits long before this night.

Tonight as she'd done several nights previous and likely would several for more to come, she pondered the truth of herself and the world around her. In the past six decades she'd managed to break through into the Great Realm of Foundation Establishment and progress well in her advancement. Surmounting the tribulation at the 9th Heavenstage by crafting that first pillar within herself had been the first step upon an unending path of exploration and self-discovery. At the time, she'd grasped a base foundational truth of herself: The Self was forged in Metal, beaten and tempered into the vessel of being. Simple enough to come to that conclusion looking at her body transformed into the likeness of animate metalwork by her Living Metal mutated variant of the Blood of Bronze. Yet even that had proven a simplistic realisation that had needed greater depth to achieve the Fortified Pillar of True 1-Pillar development.

Since then her growth had been explosive, fueled by great fortune in an expedition into the Man-As-Mountain Array of the Yuan Clan in the last decade. Her gains in the Secret Realm had allowed her to step just into the Mid range of Foundation Establishment and she was acclimating herself to the new insights she was laying as her foundation. One Pillar had given her a platform to lift herself above the hurdles of the blindness of mortality and the incomprehension of a junior to the mysteries of the Grand Dao. Three Pillars formed a path, a signpost that pointed to some hazy ideal in the far off distance of the greater heights of advancements whose attainments were uniquely hers coalescing from her accumulated experience, heartfelt conviction and received epiphanies: Commitment. As yet it was a shape blindly groped about in the darkness of her ignorance but the fit and weight of it was becoming an ever familiar companion.

So she knelt into the long night and turned to look deep within herself - questioning principles, replaying memory, reviewing Legion teachings - always seeking, slowly drawing near a precipice. The cries of cockerels heralded the advancing dawn and when the first light of day broke free of the horizon she remained in reflection. Only when the sun had risen high enough to surmount the shield of the Indomitable Peaks did Lihua pause in her meditation to rise. Her body proved up to the task of enduring her prolonged stillness without a trace of ill effect, refined in tribulation as it was and bolstered by the Blood of Bronze. Her morning ablutions were carried out briskly without undue haste. She took her time consuming several ingots of mundane and spiritual ore at her dining table, cut up into small bite sized chunks, expensively seasoned with ground down Fire-aspected spirit stones and washed down with a drink of caustic solution containing traces of mercury and refined vitriol. An ill informed observer might stare agog at this feat of consumption and proclaim dire portents of impending mortality but this was familiar practice to the Expert. A living foundry of Spirit Metal needed regular topping up of fuel and reagents to produce the best products for personal use and sale. Completing her morning routine, Lihua departed from her residence in the Dawn Fortress and set off to find a troublesome junior who'd managed to truly kick her foot against a bronze shield.

-------++++++++----------

The Dawn Fortress was both an urban center and defensive fortification. Built up over time as the central hub of the Tall Wheat Fields and the locus of Golden Devil habitation in the Organ Meat Desert, it contained within its fastness towns, cities, cultivated fields and more. In the Clan's retreat from the Mountains, pushed out by the Demon-Punishing Coalition, many of the great legacies and bloodlines of the Imperial Optimatoi had first planted their flag in the settlement that would grow to become the Dawn Fortress. Over the centuries as fortunes waxed and waned, some families departed from the Dawn Fortress to seek other pastures unable to hold on to their original claims, forced out by poverty, disfavor among the powers of the Clan and thinning bloodline strength, the Myia being one well known example in more recent times. Others had been extinguished entirely, estates left hollow as the cultivators of the claimant lineages died in the many varied ways the Third Sea had to snuff out disfavored scions of an invading force. Such lands were reclaimed by the governing council, to be sold to those families who'd had good fortune at their side to be able to expand, to be gifted to Legions for meritorious service or put to such use as the Clan needed.

All that being said meant that when the Delphi quietly declared that they had held their original estates since the initial exile to the Desert, it meant something to those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Lihua Kokkinos quietly stood outside the entrance to the relatively small estate, waiting for her entry to be approved, examining the grounds. This part of the Delphi estate was enclosed with walls that stood 12 feet tall, white stone gleaming unblemished in the early morning light. The height was an easily surmountable challenge for an able cultivator, particularly a Foundation Establishment Expert such as herself, but she suspected that the glimmering traces of arrays inlaid into the barrier would provide effective deterrent to would be intruders.

Lihua broke off her inspection as the hurried aide she'd given her name to returned. Aquila was the name he'd given her as she recalled. "Please follow me, Centurion Kokkinos. Elder Linus has left an instruction for you to be given reasonable access to the estate on his personal authority. This way please, Miss Lipita, is in one of our isolation wards."

Nodding her assent but otherwise remaining silent she followed after the young man. The Delphi estate might have been on the small side among those in the Dawn Fortress but that still left it stretching over several acres. They passed through multiple buildings linked by covered paths in a winding journey from the entrance. Lihua looked on curiously as they went by several gardening enclosures for raising the more delicate Spirit Herbs, reinforced alchemical workshops and dormitories.

There were no children in sight, all the ebon eyed family members in view being adults looking only briefly at the stranger in their midst. This estate was not the seat of the Clan's power; that honor was reserved for the three major holdings in Emporikipolis, Beast-Raising Forest and Pill-Forge Forest. This was a more political residence where the head councilor represented the family's interests and the production facilities were a legacy of the family's early start. The other more common function was a recuperative facility for physical and mental injury which was in evidence soon enough as Lihua and her guide reached their destination.

The building was a squat three storey structure of granite. Inside, Aquila left her in the care of another servant with a few polite words. The servant, barely scraping at the 2nd Heavenstage, led her to a room on the second floor and knocked on the door. "Miss Lipita, your guest, Centurion Kokkinos is here to see you."

"Come on in." A weak voice called out from within.

The servant, whose name she'd never received, waved her forward and then left.
Lihua let herself in and looked around. The room was fairly spartan in decoration, brightly lit from a window that looked to the east. Looking past the bed and dresser, her gaze settled on the woman sitting in a rocking chair by the window.

"I would rise to greet you, Senior Kokkinos, but alas, my current circumstances prevent that. Please pardon the ill manners." Lipita apologized softly, remaining seated.

"I see your letters understated the results of your exploits in the Yuan mountains." Cultivators blessed with a strong expression of the Blood of Bronze like Lipita didn't much change complexion even in illness but the woman before was making a good go at demonstrating the pallor bronzed skin could acquire. A slight tremor in the limbs resting on the arms of the rocking chair and the weakness of breath visible within just these few moments of interaction told Lihua that her junior's mention of injury in their brief correspondence since her return had left out a lot of detail.

Counting the years, it had been a short two decades since a junior had delivered a message from an elder of her family and in that meeting struck up an acquaintance with a meditating expert that had led to a casual mentorship when both parties could find the time. From that lowly introduction as a 1st Heavenstage Aspirant in the heated sands, Lipita had advanced prodigiously in a few short years as cultivators counted it to stand within the Great Circle of QI Condensation with all indications of being well on the way to achieve the 10th in due time. That rapid ascent had not been without cost evidently. To Lihua's spiritual senses, Lipita was like a cracked vase held together only by will and a lot of patchwork.

"How did you manage to rupture your meridians and leave your dantian in such a sorry state? If this is how bad you look after your family's apothecarists had time to attend to you, I'm amazed you made it alive from the mountains." The damage was extensive and ran deep, made more evident as Lihua stepped closer and stood in front of the window. Lipita's cultivation base was currently a shaky sandcastle, a hair away from collapse. In this condition, she could never cultivate successfully much less engage in any physical activity of moderate exertion.

"I'd like to say that my opponent had the worst of it but in this case I am both the victim and perpetrator." Lipita confessed.

Lihua scowled. "I should track down this Gaius Antonius and sit on him until the weight of responsibility that is required to lead juniors in such a perilous zone as a Secret Realm sinks into his awareness. It's one thing to have them in danger from the trials found within such hazards but at the very least, keeping your juniors from crippling themselves should be an obvious task."

Lipita clenched weakly at the armrests and looked up at Lihua, glaring as fiercely as anyone could in her condition. "It was not Senior Gaius' fault that this mishap befell me. I am not sheep, easily led and pushed to foolhardiness by just anyone with authority or seniority. I made the choice to take the risk knowing full well the risk and accepted then as I do now the responsibility for the outcome of my choice. We were in dire straits in the Mountains. I had taken a serious injury and it was a calculated gamble to chance that advancement would resolve it. That it unfortunately succeeded too well and the Harrowing laid me low in the aftermath is on my head and no one else's."

Lihua sniffed and said nothing for several minutes. Before the silence could grow truly uncomfortable, she sat on the edge of the bed nearest the window and closed her eyes remembering. "I suffered a similar injury when I was just a junior much like yourself in my first Hundred-Year Trial. Several successive attacks from Fifth Sea Hunters wounded me grievously and if not for the strength of my constitution and a lucky refuge in a cave, I would have perished then. Afterwards, it took me twenty years to recover. I had no family or close friends to lean on in those decades so it was maddening quiet isolation. Forgive my words, I simply dislike seeing my troubles reflected in another. You are fortunate to have a family willing and able to assist you immediately. Don't take risks that cheapen your promise or denigrate their backing."

Lipita hadn't known that about the Expert and gained some perspective for Lihua's reaction. "I didn't know that about you, Senior Kokkinos. I am glad that you are well recovered from that injury and able to advise such a foolish junior as myself. I admit that I have grown more wary of risks myself after this experience."

Lihua hmmphed and smiled. "I'd certainly hope so. In a way I was a little disappointed that you'd advanced so fast. I'd hoped to formalize teaching you by sponsoring you for the new program by the Office of the Master of Disciples. You're the only junior with talent I'm familiar with to justify swearing for you but it seems you need no additional aid. The Yuan Man-as-Mountain array appears to have brought you good fortune."

Lipita smiled and waved weakly at Lihua. "You appear to have done quite well for yourself as well in the Yuan Mountains. Mid Foundation Establishment is no small growth."

"You could say that you played some part in that success." Lihua grinned. "The conflict around the Three Powers Alliance left many prized harvesting sports in the Man-as-Mountain Array ripe for the picking without interference. I was able to find and consume a Pillar-Forging Bamboo Shoot. Afterwards, some of the guidance you shared on Herb Gathering meant that I was able to quickly locate three more saplings of the shoot and make a Pillar Raising Ceremony Salad. That was a headache and half to create considering my difficulty consuming ordinary spirit food but in the end I got it done."

Lihua's tone turned introspective at this as she shared with Lipita. "You have reached the 9th Heavenstage and should begin contemplating the foundation of your Dao pillars even if you are not breaking though immediately. It takes time and honest self-reflection to create a sound basis for Foundation Establishment. I went into the Yuan mountains with a single pillar and left with three. I have known the truth of Metal carried in my Living Metal bloodline from the Blood of Bronze but it was only when I was faced with the urgent need to process those saplings for my unique constitution that I truly accepted the lessons of the other half of my heritage. Those of my mother's blood are born of flame, Phoenixes wandering far and wide. So too did I have the embers of freedom within me and I realized this: Through Fire is Metal reborn, transient forms forsaken for true essence. Thus did I seize upon the means to fuel my growth in the furnace of my body."

To Lipita, much of the personal import of the shared epiphany was lost on her but she got the faintest hint of something resonating within Lihua as she contemplated her insight. "I am grateful for your words senior Lihua. While I am sorely put out that I cannot take advantage of the new training program, I hope I would not go amiss by saying that I consider you a teacher and would be honored to call you Kokkinos Laoshi if you would permit me."

"Bah, don't bother about it. No need to get all formal." Lihua relaxed, the air between the two freer.

"While I have you here, I would like your advice on something I've been thinking about. Convalescing leaves a woman with far too much time on her hands to do nothing but ponder so any assistance you could offer while I am so limited would be helpful." Lipita made the request, eager to work on the project that had kept her distracted during much of her enforced rest.

"What's the project?" Lihua asked, curious.

"A curious byproduct of the backlash I suffered in my crippling is that a piece of my dantian was fractured off and expelled. It appears to have taken the form of an Orienting Bezoar and I have begun designing its incorporation into an artifact to leverage its affinity to myself and its ability to heighten ones innate sense of qi interactions." Lipita revealed.

Interest truly captured by the prospect of artifice, Lihua excitedly considered the project. "Oh, that's a good fit for you, leaning into your strengths. Done well it should give you an edge in complex qi interactions which is an advantage both in combat and out of it. What's your prototype design?"

Lipita was all too happy to continue. "So far I'm thinking of either a headband or a miniaturized compass worn around the neck. Now that has it's own problems in that…"

--------++++++++++++------------

Lihua distractedly walked back to her residence, feet moving automatically as her mind contemplated the proposed artifact she'd spent several hours discussing with her junior Lipita. Fascinating work really and most enjoyable to have an able partner to collaborate with. She'd left the Delphi estate at noon to attend to other duties but she was eager to return and translate the idea to reality especially since she wasn't paying for the cost of components or equipment.

That afternoon in the sands had been the start of an interesting relationship indeed. "Kokkinos Laoshi, eh? Doesn't sound too bad."

Contemplating this relationship and the others that she'd formed in over a century of service to the Golden Devils, Lihua grasped a long held difference between herself and her mother. Her mother's Way of Freedom pulled her away from her lover and child alike but Lihua took strength in her bonds, the ties to her family, her fellow legionnaires and the Clan as a whole. For those bonds, she'd risked her life in the Trials suffering crippling once and challenging a foe that had set Rina Callista, the Shining Hope herself, into flight for her life. Bandit Prince Shun of the Heavenly Bandit Kingdoms had been won over to the support of the Golden Devils by her defense of his son from a Beast Wave, a bond of blood acknowledged and leveraged. In the mountains of Yuan she'd raised not one but two pillars and this was what she'd inscribed upon the third: There is no strength in purity for purity's sake, for as weak copper and weaker tin form sturdy bronze, so too power is born of Unity.

There were mutterings in the command structure about a new front to be opened. The attack by Jingshen Jiao on Boss Yao Zhihao had drawn eyes to the eastern borders. The next few years promised to be interesting and busy for a Centurion like herself. With a renewed energy to her step, Lihua headed into the depths of the Dawn Fortress. She had training to do and squads to drill.

@no. This is a collaboration with @Insane-Not-Crazy.
Will be taking a Life Saving Treasure and put me down for What We Have, We Hold

E: Changed reward on reconsideration

 

[RyubosJ]

Second Blood Curse.

Chrys accepted the mug of Airag from one of the village elders with a smile and thanks but only took a small mouthful before passing it along. The whole village was celebrating tonight by drinking and dancing, but Chrys found it difficult to join in. They weren't alone in this either; amongst the revelry were spots of mourning. No one forced them to join in, but over the night, Chrys saw that they were never left alone for long either.

Luckily, after the second round of drinks, someone decided that Chrys would not be joining any of the dances circling the fires, so the young men and women that had been approaching Chrys started to leave them alone. However, this message did not get passed on to the children, and soon Chrys was surrounded by what felt like everyone in the village under the age of 12.

"Hey, hey uncle!" said one of the children as they pulled on Chrys' robe. "Have you ever saved a princess?"

At this, a second child, younger than the first, piped up, "Who cares about princesses! Uncle, can you tell us about the mountains?"

Soon all the children were arguing amongst themselves about what story Chrys should tell them, having completely forgotten about Chrys themselves. Not that they minded, it was such a nostalgic vision that Chrys' heart was almost breaking from grief.

Before the arguments could grow much further, a couple of the village elders managed to intervene, their age and experiences allowing them to corral the children with ease. Once they were all sitting in their places, the younger of the two elders began to speak. "How shameful of you all, demanding stories from our guest and then starting fights."

Settling down next to Chrys, the elder stretched out her legs, taking her time as if to dare anyone to interrupt her. "As is proper, I'll share a story, and then our guest will do the same." She declared at last, and before anyone could object, she began to speak.
"Long ago in the lands beyond even the great battlefield, a cultivator dwelled. He was a pathetic man who craved power and prestige; however, due to his poisonous attitude and words, lived alone, with not even a sworn brother to share a drink with," began the elder to a now silent gathering.

"As time passed, the cultivator grew bitter and cruel, driving all who knew of him to flee the lands he had made his home. But it was not enough."

To Chrys, the elder's words seemed to carry a weight to them, almost as if he was a fellow foundation cultivator lecturing to his juniors.

"Now, the cultivator remembered from his youth a rival cultivator who punished any who attempted to steal their sword. Instead of simply beating the thief, they would let them go; however, each time they used the weapon, it would cut them, at first small knicks. Then larger ones. Then larger still, until the thief was dead and the sword soaked in blood.

When the cultivator had asked the rival why the thieves did not sell the sword or throw it away, the rival had smiled and offered the weapon to hold.

To a mortal, the sword was just a sword, but to the cultivator, they saw that the sword was the rival."

At this, the elder paused, accepting a mug of Airag and taking a sip as the children around them appropriately gasped.

"So, the cultivator considered. If the rival who was his sword could control thieves, then surely he, who was undoubtedly greater than any rival, could control others as well. And then none could run from him.

"But he had no swords.

"The cultivator thought about this for a long time, until one day they cut themselves and as they watched their blood drip found his answer.

"Blood", and this final word was almost whispered as if the elder feared demons would hear him.

"The Cultivator would use his own blood to subjugate the world; no longer would others turn from him, deny him, or ignore him. He would feed his blood to others, and by his blood, they would worship him."

"At once, he began his work, syphoning his blood, he travelled to the nearest village and forced all among them to drink of him. And oh, the triumph he felt as they fell at his feet and honoured him. He took off to the next village at once, and his followers left their tools and homes behind to follow him and worship. At the next village, he did the same, and again they bowed before him and praised the heavens for his coming. Once they had drunk, of course."

"This pattern went on for a while until the Cultivator had thousands following him. But over time, he grew bored, and in a flight of fancy, instructed his flock to devour each other. And they did. Mothers killed babes. Fathers killed neighbours. And Siblings killed each other.

"And with each death? The cultivator felt his power grow."

"At last, he instructed them to stop once only ten still lived. These ten he named his Fingers, for after devouring their fellows, they each matched the power the cultivator held in a single finger.

"Greedy for more power and prestige, the Cultivator began his cycle again. Travelling between villages and towns, he forced mortals to drink his blood and then once he grew tired of them, they were to murder their fellows. With each death, the Cultivator grew in power, until soon he was hunting other cultivators to feed his hunger."

"And it was this Greed which became his doom."

By this point, even Chrys was enrapt by the tale, the Elder's masterful telling seeming to transcend the limits of mortality.

"Word spread of the Cultivator, now known as the Blood Spilling Leach, and his legions of followers, and such was his danger that the Heavens themselves instructed all righteous cultivators to purify the land of his taint. And so the powers of that land far away gathered together, and formed a mighty army, and did battle against the Blood Spilling Leach."

"To tell each deed of that battle would take a year and a decade were each hero given his due. But I only know of one Hero from that battle. A Beautiful Young Woman who had been born to a village devoured by the Blood Spilling Leach and his Fingers. He escaped the same fate by pure chance, having left only days earlier to marry a Young Prince. When the newlywed couple learnt of the tragedy, they despaired. But the woman was filled with rage, and so with the blessing of her husband, took the name Bai En Chou, Hundred Years Enmity, and travelled to the Crying Crimson Chain Sect.

"There Bai En Chou mastered the fist in a single week. She Mastered the blade in a single month. And Mastered the Chain in a single year. A year later, she rose to the rank of Expert. And a year after that, she was the Grand Elder of the Whole Sect.

"Now a powerful cultivator herself, with the Crying Crimson Chain at her waist, and her Sect at her back, Bai En Chou headed to war. Leading the charge against the Blood Spilling Leach, Bai En Chou cut down countless thralls and even two of the Fingers before she found herself before the Blood Spilling Leach himself.

"The two leaders attacked each other, and their blows shook the sky and sent those surrounding them flying. Such was their fury and power that none could observe their duel, as before you could even see them, you would be rend limb from limb. Their contest continued for a day and two nights before a victor arrose.

"Legend says that Blood Spilling Leach turned the Crying Crimson Chain against Bai En Chou and pinning her to the ground broke both her arms. However, rather than killing her himself, he instead called up his favourite Finger.

"And yet this was not the end for Bai En Chou, for as she lay there bleeding out, her dazed eyes met that of the Finger's and recognition sparked between them. It was her brother, who she had believed dead. "Oh, Zixin", Bai En Chou cried out. Her grief grew a thousandfold at that moment.

"Realising that they were siblings, Blood Spilling Leach was bent backwards by the force of his laughter, which was the last thing he ever did! Zixin turned away from his sister and, with a single stroke, sliced his master's head off."

And with this, a cheer broke out among the children, and Chrys felt a tightness in their chest loosen. Sure it was most likely a made-up story, too loose in details otherwise, but knowing that for these people, the Bloodpath lost? It mattered.

Leaning backwards, Chrys watched as the children began to pester the elder about what happened next. Did Bai En Chou go back to her husband? Did Zixin live? What about all the other Thawls of Blood Spilling Leach.

For the rest of the night, a faint smile remained on Chrys' face, even as they entertained the children of stories from their own youth. The following day Chris left with the dawn, their heart lighter than it had been in years.

A/N - going to be taking the mission What We Have, We Hold this turn.

 

[Shard]

Savvas Nicolidis 11 - Practicing Shaping

The Shaper's Gloves. A most wonderful artifact, able to transmute Qi to anything.. ghost or poison. Poison enough to overcome his own resistance, and theoretically also curative Qi to counteract using it on himself.. you know, if he knew enough about poisons. The clan archives and Elders comprised enough that Savvas could probably spend his whole life studying those concepts and never finish them. After his last botch in turning himself part ghost in order to gain their advantages, his experimentation became more.. measured.

Some of the Sacapolis ghosts had mocked him, others laughed, others still were encouraging or of the sort to warn him away from 'a most foolish endeavor'. But right now for him to play his part in the mission to infiltrate the Jingshen Underworld Palace depended on him mastering the gloves. It was not strictly needed, in fact you could say it was folly for his to try and reach so far - But he wanted to contribute to the clan. Not just be someone who could only kill the absolute weakest of seven foundation bandits while Muyi slew the strongest, with the survivors all reaching Core.

Damn the plantman! Why did he have to die!

A tree burned so bright, but as they say, twice as bright, half as short.

He advanced so quickly, sacrificed so much of himself, reached so high up.. someone he himself could never reach. Savvas looked back at his gloved hands. He would never fit well in the Jingshen clan. Everyone there were near the peak of their great realms, but lacking skill and experience. Savvas himself was near the bottom of his great realm, making up for as much as possible with tricks, play as dishonorable as he could manage in any game. How else does the weak triumph over the strong?

With Formations. With Arrays. Banding together for strength. One part of his mind said.

With Sacrifices. With Payment. Everything comes at a price. Another part answered.

Perhaps there was nothing to truly master here. Just a choice. He always thought that he had to be able to undo any change he did to himself to call a technique a success - But did he really? Accept the consequences fully, and walk the road to the end without looking back.

After all, as they say,

Half as short, twice as bright.

 

[Alectai]

Rina Callista
Tip of the Spear
​

The onset of war--War of all things!--had done terrifying things to Jingshen Ming's schedule. His glassworks had been a pride of the Clan! His goods bringing forth great wealth to the Clan, in their elegance and artifice alike! Even the Patriarch had taken up one of his masterpieces as a treasure in the Underworld Palace! This should be a time of great investment, great growth! But with the barbarism of the West and the treacherous terms of the so-called Righteous Path, greedily seeking to suck the Jingshen dry?

Fools and vagabonds, all of them! They had paid their taxes to fuel the conflict in the distance--but this was to have been a time of wild expansion! Claiming goods and services and expanding into lands untainted by the Qi-Draining Desert! Their own herb stores! Their own minerals and resources!

He scoffed, his robes billowing in the cool evening wind, disdainfully gazing into the horizon. No, because of the barbarism of the West and their obsession with their petty wars, the devils were at the doors. Where he had once been able to prosper in his glassworks, furthering his craft--now he was pressed to service, his Core Formation cultivation base sufficient enough to deter the barbarians--even dismissing his High Noon Lens Array's support on the overall campaign--even now, raiders had splashed harmlessly away from his Great Sand Mesa Fort, bandits and demons wreaking havoc on the petty holdings beyond, as he transmitted their movements to the greater Clan.

They could exhaust themselves freely upon the chaff--when the Enemy's thrusts on the Heavenly Beauty Palace and the Three Great Forts were cast aside, the rest would be easy prey.

A clattering of noise behind him--and another headache to be concerned with.

"We've lost another three camps to the Devils." Jingshen Heng reported--a younger brother of his, a precocious talent newly raised into Core Formation himself. "If this keeps up, even in victory, we'll be hard pressed to recover our losses."

Jingshen Ming sniffed dismissively. "And what? Spend perfectly good blood giving aid to the servants?" He replied. "So long as we retain a majority of our strength in this fortress, the enemy will not dare strike at us. So what if we have to re-establish the work camps in the aftermath? We will have the time and leisure to do so once the Righteous Path finishes their games and drives the Devils out. The loss of this fort and its garrison however? Not so easily replaced."

Jingshen Heng's eyes narrowed, a trace of rebellion on his features. "And the fact that you are part of this garrison has absolutely no bearing on your decisionmaking, does it?" He wondered out loud. Such insubordination, but as to be expected from a young jackal, not yet enlightened as to the way of the world.

Jingshen Ming would teach him this lesson.

"You've been associating with the Bei then?" He asked--and the slight start Heng had was all the proof he needed. "Meatheads and rabble, for all that they are useful--such talk of martial glory and tactics are the logic of soldiers, not Princes." Jingshen Ming planted his hands upon the ramparts of the fort. "This Great Sand Mesa Fort is protected by three feet of peak grade desert granite! Reinforced by a Top Grade Defensive Array! It houses the High Noon Lens Array--which grants us insight to all those who dare travel under the light of the sun in our realm! It is protected by no less than two Core Formation Princes of the True Clan and Two Hundred Foundation Establishment True Sons of the Patriarch! We have levies of Ten Thousand Servant-Soldiers manning its defenses!"

He pivoted sharply, turning to face the younger Prince, and thrusting one finger towards him. "Our security is assured, but only so long as we hold our position. What should happen if we send a relief force, only to find it slain by the Devils, hmm? We surely cannot send our entire garrison lest we expose it to attack, but to react to the enemy is to allow them to sap our strength, free from the security of our walls! Would you surrender certain victory for something as petty as martial glory?"

Jingshen Heng--for all that he was a jackal, was still the junior prince here. Under the scrutiny of his senior, he frowned, but swallowed his initial reaction, bending his head. "As you say." He remarked, bringing forth a curt nod and a satisfied stroke of the beard from Jingshen Ming.

"Good. So long as you understand that victory will not come from reckless action, but in keeping our brothers and sisters informed as to the movements of the Devils." He turned back outwards. "It is good that you are concerned for our future--however misplaced the feelings are--simply remember that it is not the duty of the Princes to risk their lives lightly. For all it is the Patriarch's duty to serve as the Clan's mailed fist, it is ours to be the spear he wields in our ambitions. We are granted great privileges for our service, and power enough to be feared by our lessers--but our lives should only be risked when no other option remains. If a million Servants die instead of one Prince--it is a bargain, do you understand?"

Jingshen Heng's gaze was tangible--a weight on Jingshen Ming's back--but he did not need to like the truth, merely accept it. "You say it's a High Noon Lens Array." He said after a moment.

Why?

What did that matter?

"What is your point Junior?" Jingshen Ming snapped out, his patience nearly at an end.

"Does that only work during the day?" Was the nonsensical, inexplicable response.

"Do you think they would attack at night?" He shook his head, the thought was ludicrous! "Who would dare strike a fortified citadel under the cover of darkness? They are outnumbered, outmatched, and undersupplied! Why would they then add half-blind to their list of follies?" He gave a sharp bark of laughter. "Of course, I would certainly not reject a chance to show them the power of this fortification if they should foolishly decide to take such action!"

"I think we'd best get to that then, because they're coming for us."

Jingshen Ming paused, bewildered--and turned back to the landscape beyond, squinting into the distance. What kind of nonsense...

There! Dust and sand in the distance! A flash of bronze light!

"... To Arms!" Jingshen Ming cried out, his voice booming with the infusion of his Qi, he grasped at the ramparts. "Empower the defensive Arrays! Prepare the siege weapons!" He snarled, and lowered his voice. "How! How did they get so close!"

"The sun's going down, and were were focused on the attacks in the distance." Jingshen Heng explained. "It's easy to confirm if a strike is true or not from a distance--but an army of Qi Condensation fighters fanning out and striking at targets is indistinguishable from anything else--if you don't have forces on hand to combat them."

Jingshen Ming shot a venomous look to the cool-headed junior--was this an attempt to supplant him? To get him on the record blundering while opening the Fort up to attack by shutting down the wards?

He spat, and turned back to the approaching enemy. He would have to suppress that little problem later--for now at least, he would be a fool to betray his senior when the enemy is literally at the gate. He squinted, making out the form of colossal Qi projections--lancers one and all.

He scoffed. "They dare strike at these walls with cavalry?" He laughed sharply. "Fools one and all! Did they think we were so easily cowed that we would falter at the sight of such a pathetic attack?"

One of the Enemy's Great Formations--a technique that creates a phantom projection of a mounted horseman. It had respectable speed for the otherwise sluggish Golden Devils, and a strike at a charge could do formidable amounts of harm--but he counted merely ten such formations! Even an all powerful assault would do little more than crack the wards.

He hesitated though before issuing his orders. If one of those formations bore a Core Formation expert though... It was not impossible to do greater harm.

But that was his duty to resolve.

He gestured sharply, and withdrew a looking glass from his Spatial Ring, squinting as he looked through it into the approaching formations. Roughly twenty Golden Devils to each one. Their Qi fluctuations were even--cleverly trying to hide which of the thrusts was the key one.

It would be a dangerous move against anyone save himself--but Jingshen Ming walked the Dao of the Glassmaker! His perception was unrivaled among those of the same level. Even if the Qi Fluctuations were uniform...

Those encompassed within the formations were not.

He sneered, setting his looking glass aside, and stepped to the top of the battlements as the Golden Devil formations lowered the lances of their projection. His eyes flickered from target to target, pretending as though he as making a decision on the spot.

With a gesture, a glass spear materialized in his hands, and he lurched forward, foot pressed against the stone of the fort's walls. Qi surged from the Array, gathering to repel the force already gathering there.

Just as planned.

His body shot out like a mad rocket, sky shattering in his wake as it tore apart, no longer daring to obstruct his passage. The shockwave rattled the already gathering defenders and sent ripples through the wall defenses--but such did not even qualify as damage.

He extended his spear, and met the lance of the strongest Formation. Air exploded as two unstoppable forces met--the earth of the Mesa's passage shattering from the forces exerted. His bones shook with his own share of the power exerted, and his spear shattered.

Precisely as planned.

The Formation bent and groaned--collapsing as Golden Devil Experts were sent flying like broken toys in all directions. Bouncing off of walls, stone, and off the edges of the ramp respectively. A twist of Qi a moment later, and a strand of golden light snaked around, wrapping about one of Jingshen Ming's wrists. A Core Formation Elder! As he had expected! A middle aged man in a golden cloak, hair a dull, dirty blonde and covered in stubble.

"Have to admit to a lot of things." He quipped, his whip tangled, held with both hands as he grinned, yanking back on the binding. "I was expecting artillery, or arrogance--hells, I might have even expected a sally as we charged in. You Jingshen folks like spending blood when the alternative is treasure." He smirked, digging his feet in as Jingshen Ming sought to free his arm. "I was not expecting a counter-charge from the commander though, it's more bold than I expect from you folks." A surge of Qi travelled down the whip--and it glowed white hot. "We'll have to go out drinking when this all blows over! That kind of professionalism's not bad!"

"Arrogance!" Jingshen Ming spat, gesturing with his free arm and withdrawing a chisel from his Spatial Ring. "To think you would try to seize this fortress with such a weak force!" His chisel struck a joint in the whip--and the Qi flow within sputtered, loosening its grip on his wrist enough to tear free. "Merely throwing your cultivators to die--if you sought death, then you have found it here!" His chisel returned to his off hand--and a moment later, was matched with a craftsman's hammer in the main hand. "Come then Devil! Let me carve my name into your chest!"

"I'll pass, sorry." The Golden Devil Elder shrugged, his whip snapping back into his hands with a ferocious crack. "I mean, you've got a good eyes, you picked out which Formation I was in fast enough to prepare a treasure and build enough power to break it up. That's pretty good." He complimented, steadily circling around the Jingshen Elder, his whip languidly trailing in the rock and sand of the newly formed crater as further Cataphract Formations charged past, ignoring the first sparks of artillery fire that might otherwise have been a problem. "You've even got a small realm of Cultivation on me--and if that isn't unfair I'm not sure what is." He gave a sheepish grin at that, infuriating his foe. "Still, I'm pretty confident in my ability to tie you up for a good, long while as my juniors sort this place out."

"Hmph! If you think those petty children could break this fort before I've captured you, then I question how you had the insight to reach your current level in the first place!" Jingshen Ming snorted. "Even if your accursed vitality is such that the ones riding with you can rejoin their comrades--they could not strike down our remaining Elder without conceding defeat to our other defenders! You've led them to their deaths!"

"Everyone dies at some point." The Golden Devil Elder observes, drawing a shining bronze dagger from a scabbard at his side, as his whip begins to coil upon itself, taking on something of a life of its own. "Still, I've gotten my own part sorted out." He grins, and spins his dagger casually in one hand. "After all, you came out here to fight me."

"What?" Jingshen Ming frowned, and his head snapped to look upon the walls--the charging horseman formations... Breaking off?

No! There was one among them that continued to charge! Its lance began to ripple and distort as it drew backwards.

Jingshen Heng seemed to notice something wrong, and was gathering his strength--but too late! The lance struck against the Wall--and the Heavenly Daos Rippled.

The fortress wall flashed--its arrays lighting up one and all. But as the point of impact slowly liquified--stone falling to powder--the intricately formed defensive spells began to unravel, the very material they were carved in falling apart.

In just one fell swoop, a great breach had been formed in the defensive wall. Jingshen Heng's Qi surged, and he leapt down to strike as the Devil Formation dispersed, not yet being so late that the hole in the defensive perimeter could be plugged.

But another horseman struck him in the side with its Lance--sending him careening back into the Fort's courtyard. The initial Formation had broken up, and Jingshen Ming heard a clear voice rise up in the clamour of battle, carrying with it the weight of the Dao.

"Men and Women of Jingshen! Your defenses are breached and your elders suppressed! Stand down and no further bloodshed will be necessary!" Emanations rippled from the point of context--a woman with a braided bun of shining golden hair in the center of the Devil formation. From her came a sense of weight, of terrible pressure--and the lesser Cultivators fell to their knees. "All who continue fighting though will be put to the sword!"

Jingshen Meng had heard enough--he saw the junior Elder recover himself and launch a second strike--only to be repulsed again as further Cataphracts poured into the breach, their lances sharp enough to force even a Core Formation Elder to give ground--and each Cataphract that launched its attack stepped out, and joined the rapidly intensifying Hoplite Formation occupying the Breach. Already its power had grown sufficiently to touch upon Core Formation.

But it was not so mighty that Jingshen Meng could not break it down and slaughter the woman at the center of this suppression!

He felt the whip coil around his ankles even as he leapt upwards.

"Oi, you haven't forgotten about old man Hektor here, have you?" The Golden Devil Elder smirked as his Qi raced into the whip--yanking Jingshen Meng back down into the crater. His dagger lashed up, dealing a superficial wound to the Jingshen Elder--but the blood that would have spilled bubbles instead of flows--and ignites into a terrible flame! "I know Rina's a sweet girl, but at least for a few more centuries, us old uncles have to do our part to keep the more entrenched monsters from stepping on her. It's a busy job, I'll admit it."

He coils a portion of the whip closest to him around his leg, and uses the added strength and new fulcrum to swing the Jingshen Elder into the side of the newly formed crater, collapsing much of the rock and silicates of the mesa down upon him. "Ah, but I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" He wonders, as the pile of debris surges with Qi and evaporates, glass-needles flash-forging themselves in the light of the Glassmaker's Dao. The Golden Devil Elder gives a bow of the head. "Hektor Callista, chief Elder of House Callista." He brandishes his weapons--the Golden Maiden Whip and the Boiling Blood Dagger, and settles into a fighting stance. "Let me see what passes for fury among your decadent line."

A battle on two fronts, the marriage of Golden Devil Formations and the strength of a King turned against a foe who--in their arrogance--had never sought to listen to the tales of the Battlefield.

The outcome was clear from the moment the battle was joined.

 

[jjffjhjf]

Ha! I didn't realize the Calista's were related to Space Marines!

 

[Alectai]

... Bluh?

There seems to be context I'm missing here.

 

[Algalon]

... Bluh?

There seems to be context I'm missing here.

Click to shrink...

This line here:

"Let me see what passes for fury among your decadent line."

Click to shrink...

Is remarkably similar to a WH40k quote

Show me what passes for fury among your misbegotten kind!

Click to shrink...

 

[Alectai]

Oh, that line, okay.

 

[Lampshade]

Random thought: what about giving the stone spear to Sheng Yu? There's some juicy bait right there, we let him tear up a few Core Formation opponents, then switch the spear for a lookalike while Manuel camps for Jingshen Nascents to crawl out to snatch it . . . and BAM.

 

[TheCount]

Random thought: what about giving the stone spear to Sheng Yu? There's some juicy bait right there, we let him tear up a few Core Formation opponents, then switch the spear for a lookalike while Manuel camps for Jingshen Nascents to crawl out to snatch it . . . and BAM.

Click to shrink...

Having a treasure while weak (compared to someone in a higher realm) is a sin in xianxia.... AND Manuel would need to babysit him so no outsider NS gets to the spear.

 

[Insane-Not-Crazy]

Random thought: what about giving the stone spear to Sheng Yu? There's some juicy bait right there, we let him tear up a few Core Formation opponents, then switch the spear for a lookalike while Manuel camps for Jingshen Nascents to crawl out to snatch it . . . and BAM.

Click to shrink...

We'd have to kill Manuel first. The spear bonds for life

 

[jjffjhjf]

Oh, that line, okay.

Click to shrink...

Wait was that unintentional? If so, that's amazing.

 

[Kaboomatic]

Ninth Prince & Katha Theodoros Collab: Disputes and Distractions​

The Ninth Prince was… confused.

Now, if you knew him, either personally or through the many, many legends and 'Ninth Prince jokes' (The Ninth Prince doesn't do a push up, he pushes the earth down; Death once had a near-Ninth Prince experience; etc. Everyone's heard at least a few) left in his wake, then you'd know that this was incredibly rare.

See, the Ninth Prince had developed an astounding, some may say supernatural, talent for ignoring the constant over the top bullshit that had become his life. Mainly because more often than not, he was the one causing that bullshit. Explore an ancient temple to find a bronze snake? Easily ignorable. Compete in a pose-off with a Blood Path fiend? Gone from his mind the moment it finished. Jin Shufeng and Fang Tai? ...More difficult to shrug off but still doable.

But this? Well, assisting an incredibly ill-tempered Nascent Soul level beetle with basic Qi-Alignment (while also being a ghost) wasn't exactly normal, even by his standards.

But that was enough inner monologuing for now. Qi-Alignment, despite being simple enough that a new First Heavenstage Cultivator operating entirely on instinct should be able to fumble their way through it (seriously, why was a Nascent Soul not able to do this), was by no means easy, and any slip in the Ninth Prince's concentration could cause the whole array to collapse in on itself. This of course would probably make the beetle kill him, but more importantly it would kill the Qi Gathering kid inside the Array, which, seeing as she was a Golden Devil, was unacceptable.

...Still, there was something really bothering the Ninth Prince. Once again, why was the Nascent Soul level Beetle needing his help with something this simple? Even as the Ninth Prince's hands raced in a flurry of incantation signs, stabilizing another minor Qi knot, he casually turned over to where the enormous insect was hovering. "So. Why exactly do you need my help with this?"

The Ninth Prince then remembered he was talking to a Nascent Soul. "...Sorry about just bluntly asking, but I don't exactly have the spare mental power to be polite right now."

Such was the miserable state of this Dying Sea that all aspirants were, in their own way, flawed, petulant, and utterly… Impotent? Pathetic? Words had failed the ancient Beetle, who needed no name, and it simply sighed and added this lacking vocabulary to its long list of irritations and laments.

"A Junior as yourself should mind your words," the Beetle groused back, though it considered its words briefly as it considered the Seafarer's Qi. "Even one who was once a peer, I suppose. Respect of one's Elders is how we maintain humility and ease the burden of Cultivation. But it is true, mere Qi Alignment should be trivial for one of my stature."

The Beetle glanced back at the Array below, where its Body continued instructing the inferior girl in the most fundamental of basics. Even now, she was still struggling to purge her body of impurities four years in. Absolutely shameful. "Alas, she's more difficult to teach than expected. I expected a Golden Core Prodigy, not a helpless girl with more will than talent. Maintenance of the Array will take time I cannot spare. What of you, Seafarer? Why have you been reduced to such a pitiful state?"

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

The Ninth Prince grimaced. "That, Guardian, is a long and complicated tale, made longer and more complicated by the fact that I have two different views on the subject. Literally. There are currently two of me."

With the ease of long practice at this point, the Ninth Prince pushed down the Old Prince's desire to take control of their body for a second. They both knew it wouldn't just be for a second.

"The summary is thus: One of my best friends at the time raped my sister, I flew into a rage and did my level best to kill him until he was dead, and then our respective Spirit Severing elders intervened, and that meant a war of extermination." As he spoke, the Ninth Prince continued to destroy Qi knots, albeit with a bit more intensity and aggression. "I held a potent treasure that I don't currently remember the details of, but it was strong enough that the Spirit Severing elders of the Randhwa Clan couldn't kill me. Instead, they crafted a great curse, a curse that sent me hurtling through the Seas, stripped me of my cultivation base, and sealed my memories."

He laughed, a mirthless chuckle that held nothing but bitterness and despair. "I was weaker than that kid you have over there!"

The Beetle rumbled, a chittering huff. "Pah. That is unlikely, Seafarer, considering the Sea you hail from."

"You'd be surprised actually. For one, I stuck to the Orthodox Path in the Fifth Sea. For another, I've had significantly more luck with bloodlines and techniques."

"But that isn't important. What's important is that I managed to claw myself back up to where I am now, got to the Twelfth Heavenstage, ascended, and now I'm reaching for some Nine Pillar stage that I don't even know the details of."

The Ninth Prince smiled. "It's not all bad though. For one, I'm quite a bit stronger than the old me was in Foundation Establishment. For another, my people love me. There's plays about me, you know, made by mortals and cultivators alike. I don't think I ever had plays as a Nascent Soul, at least not ones I didn't force people to make."

"It is for the better. Such things are distractions from your Path. But you have my sympathies, Seafarer. Few need to temper their Dao a second time."

With that, the Ninth Prince turned back to his work. After all, if anyone in this fragile system, himself, the beetle, or even the girl cultivating, did anything wrong, the entire thing would coll-

Actually, that was a thought. The Ninth Prince turned to look at the junior currently sitting in the middle of the array, and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "So, Beetle. Would you enjoy perhaps fucking with that junior you're teaching?"

"I am the Overseer of this Array," the Beetle groused. "I am not inclined towards this 'fucking'. But she is not aware, no."

"...I didn't mean that kind of fucking. Anyways, does she know that any misstep on her part is probably going to destroy the entire Yuan Secret Realm?" The Ninth Prince's smile became even eviler, somehow. "I find that a bit of pressure does wonders for one's concentration."

A moment, as the Beetle considered the possibilities. "I had considered informing her afterwards, as her temperament is disinclined to lead to catastrophe. But informing her now might temper her further, which she sorely needs to be worth anything."

Her reaction would be glorious, but that was only about… 80% of the reason that he was proposing this.

...Was the Ninth Prince a bad person?

Nah.

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

The world was fire and lightning, searing in its intensity and screaming to be unleashed. Katha's meridians felt like they were about to burst, and they had been for years. Yet, she remained impassive, her expression flat and her posture as loose as she could make it. Legs crossed in the lotus position, hands splayed on her lap, she sought constantly to purify the body through the mastery of breath, expelling impurity with every exhale, drawing in Qi from the world around her. Some would find this simple, trivial even under such trying circumstances. For one with no talent, this took the fullest extent of her attention. And as she looked within, she could at least try to ignore the reality that everything that was her body felt like crystalised agony.

"Aspirant," the Beetle boomed abruptly, which broke Katha's attention and brought her mind back into the world, screaming with pain that she simply could not become numb to. If anything, her Qi Senses had grown sharper so it just hurt more. "Your attention broke. That is unacceptable. With every errant pulse of Qi you endanger this Array further."

Katha's breath hitched as she wondered if there was any hidden meaning to the Nascent Soul's words. "Wait, you mean like--"

"Yes." The Beetle chittered its mandibles. "I have overlooked your intransigence thus far, but no more. Every failure on your part introduces knots and eddies into the Qi Flows of the Man-As-Mountain Array. The pressure is already building, much like it builds in your Meridians. If further knots develop, the Array will shatter and this entire mountain will detonate most fatally. Master yourself quickly, or you will not live to regret it."

Katha blinked rapidly in succession. "H-How long do I have to get it right?"

"The system can only afford another four knots before the pressure becomes impossible to bear. It would be five, but you have just twisted the Qi Flows once more." The Beetle chittered and shook its head. "And now that I have impressed the risks of failure upon you, you fail even more than before. A truly pathetic display, aspirant. Rectify your efforts."

Katha's jaw quivered and her body trembled with fear, which only made the pain even more unbearable. "Wait, then tell me where I'm--"

"There is nothing to teach. Qi Alignment is the most fundamental of techniques. Even an illiterate savage would know it by heart. Calm yourself, aspirant."

And then the Beetle went silent once more. Watching her. Judging her.

It was all Katha could do to slow her racing heartbeat and return to Cultivating, wondering just why the heck the Beetle chose now of all times to impress the dangers on her. Because frankly, that's just sick. She didn't need more pressure!

----

...Maybe the Ninth Prince had gone a bit too far.

Just a bit, mind you, but still, he might have crossed the line.

There was fucking with people for fun and profit, and then there was bullying a kid, and holy shit this fell way more in the latter category.

The Ninth Prince was actually feeling pretty bad about this, and he was already figuring out ways to make it up to h-

The beetle was right behind him, and it was… More confused than anything.

"...I see no pleasure or productive venture in this, Seafarer. Explain this to me."

The Ninth Prince sighed. "Yeah. I miscalculated. Normally what's supposed to happen when you tell a junior they're gonna die if they don't do better is that they panic for a bit and then they double down, get to work, and evade certain doom by the skin of their teeth."

...Wait shit. The Ninth Prince was an idiot. "...Of course, I'm using my own experiences as reference here, so that might muddy the waters a bit."

"That seems to be the case for her. I simply don't see the amusement in such matters."

Still though, there shouldn't be any sort of problem. From what he'd seen of the kid in the array, she had enough willpower and mental strength to pull through, to do exactly what the Ninth Prince was describing.

The only way that the girl wouldn't have pulled through is if her mind was already under e...no....

The Ninth Prince turned to the beetle. "What exactly do you have her doing down there?"

The Beetle tilted its head. "Her Qi Senses are paltry. She is all but blind compared to one of us, and I found it unacceptable. She is currently Cultivating using the ample resources of the Man-As-Mountain Array, while I am using a technique to force her Meridians to their utmost limit while she does so. She will gain awareness of her absolute limits, the slightest edge earned for comparatively little cost. Aside from pain," the Beetle remarked, then chittered, "But one does not gain such power without paying a price in discomfort. Once she reaches a suitable level, I will begin testing the limits of her Soul."

Sorry, what.

"Sorry, what."

Huh. Everything in front of the Ninth Prince was shaking slightly. That probably meant bad things in regards to the array's stab-

Wait, no. It wasn't the array that was shaking, it was the Ninth Prince. Who was apparently vibrating through sheer rage.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL F-"

The Ninth Prince stopped himself, took a deep breath, and continued in a marginally calmer tone. While he didn't really care that much if he angered the beetle, his summary execution would mean that the girl would most likely die, and that was unacceptable. "So. Just to be clear, just so I'm getting this right. You're using a Fifth Sea torture technique meant to break the wills of Core Formation experts on a Qi Gathering kid. And after she's done with the first torture technique, you're going to use a second, even worse one on her. And you're doing this to train her."

"That correct?" The Ninth Prince's voice was like slivers of sharpened steel, harsh, cold, and ready to fucking kill A BASTARD OF A BEETLE.
"Yes. For several years, in fact."

The Beetle simply sighed, shaking its head. "The agony is certainly well suited for torture, yes. And the gains are indeed rather marginal, even in spite of the price she would pay. But she will require such gains in order to measure up, and in doing so I have flushed her Meridians of impurity and allow them to open fully."

The Beetle shifted its six legs then, taking up a second mudra, the Mudra of Struggle. "Were she to make it beyond the Ninth Small Realm, I would have little doubt she could attain the Thirteenth. I can say nothing of her techniques, but her body will reach the very limits of Qi Condensation. Ultimately, she is ill suited for Cultivation, an inferior aspirant in all the ways that matter.

"But." And here the Beetle spoke, and its words gained Texture. "It cannot be said that she is unworthy. Her singular drive speaks well to the development of a Dao already, rare for one of her age. She seeks power and has the drive to attain it, yet not the talent to acquire it for herself. As one who has taken in such an aspirant, inferior yet driven, it would be remiss of me not to give her every opportunity."

...You know, when put like that, the Ninth Prince actually kind of understood. Heavens know that he'd had his own share of juniors with determination instead of talent.

Still, he didn't like it. Torture as training only brought problems eventually. He'd seen it enough times with Bhrigu after all. "...I still disagree with the intensity of your methods, but I suppose I'll accept them."

"It matters not if you accept them. Only that she did."

The Ninth Prince laughed, a laugh tinged with bitterness. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Now, let's give her the space to actually get out of this alive, shall we?" With that, the Ninth Prince snapped his fingers, and the incantation he'd been setting up this entire time finally resolved itself.

With a pulse of Qi that sent shockwaves through the entire array for the briefest of moments, the current Qi knots that existed within the girl's vortex were abruptly resolved. It wouldn't do much for the Qi knots that'd come up after his little display of power, but for now, the array was as fixed as the Ninth Prince could make it.

This did have the side effect of opening dozens of wounds on his soul-body, but, well, small sacrifices for a greater good and all that.

He turned to the beetle, hands unmoving for the first time in a week. "Alright, that bit's done. Anything else you need me to do, or do we finish, I get my Qi and you get to say that this array was already perfect?"

The Beetle nodded. "Your work is acceptable, though that should only be expected from one who should know better. Naturally, the secrets of the Man-As-Mountain Array will remain secret. Otherwise, you will die a painful death." The way it said it, the Beetle did not even threaten retribution, merely state the consequences of violating a contract. "That would be most unfortunate, Seafarer."

The Ninth Prince's irreverent smile somehow grew wider, as he gave the beetle a lazy salute that conveyed precisely the opposite of respect for authority. "Noted. Don't worry, the story everyone else is going to know is that I stole some qi from your perfect array and you nearly killed me for it."

The Ninth Prince moved to leave before he raised a finger, stopped, and whirled back around to face the beetle. "Oh, also, when the kid's done with her training, send her my way. I'll help her get the story straight."

"Ah, you are a senior member of her Clan then? I will take care to inform her." The Beetle widened one of its eyes. "If you would allow me this curiosity: What happened to your physical body?"

The Ninth Prince laughed, though out of shock or amusement, not even he knew. "Alright, you might want to sit down, this is going to take a while. It all started when this arrogant, pretentious, very attractive bastard told me I was going to die in about twenty years. Naturally, I decided to abide by the loosest definition of his prophecy."

--‐---------

The impact of her Cultivation, Katha ultimately realised, was vastly overstated. She mastered her Qi Alignment there and then and made no further mistakes, even under pressure in the future, but considering the Beetle made no further statements on the topic she was seriously considering that this was just the worst kind of motivation she could expect.

The ghostly laughter that rippled through the cavern did not help matters. The acoustics of the cave did not make it easy to identify just where the laughter came from, but Katha's ears had grown sharp enough by now that she could get a general idea. It could have been a ghost, or other Beetles, or the Overseer itself. But Katha made the simple decision to stop caring about it and continue cultivating. She was definitely not important enough to catch the interest of any ghost anyways. This wasn't Qiguai, there weren't any old Theodoroi legacies here that might smell out a descendant.

"Whoever is telling that story must really like the sound of his voice, though," Katha muttered under her breath, which earned her a whip from one of the Beetle's limbs.

"Words mean little. Cultivate, aspirant."

"Yes, yes…"

She figured none of this would matter by the time she got out, anyhow. What was the ghost going to do, haunt her?

A/N: Well, here's my first omake for the turn. As you can tell, I decided to take a bit of an unorthodox twist on my fate result. After all, who told Manuel that the Ninth Prince stole Qi? Someone had to, so that means that there could be some unreliable narrator stuff going on, which me and @Swordomatic took full advantage of. I hope yall enjoy this omake, once again huge thanks to swordo for helping write this collab (he did the beetle bits).

 

[Swordomatic]

And that's the second collab done!

Princey is going to be the death of this girl it's definitely going to happen.

 

[Pyro Hawk]

Princey is going to be the death of this girl it's definitely going to happen.

Click to shrink...

The question then is, does she actually die permanently and forever? Or is it only a little dead that gets better afterwards?

Oh, and a second question: Are you guys actually trying for a retroactive 'Teaching Juniors' action? Because I'm sure Katha would love the extra 20 cultivation years. What she went through to get them, not so much admittedly. But then, isn't it always that way?

 

[Swordomatic]

The question then is, does she actually die permanently and forever? Or is it only a little dead that gets better afterwards?

Oh, and a second question: Are you guys actually trying for a retroactive 'Teaching Juniors' action? Because I'm sure Katha would love the extra 20 cultivation years. What she went through to get them, not so much admittedly. But then, isn't it always that way?

Click to shrink...

She doesn't qualify, unfortunately. Even if it would be hilarious.

 

[Insane-Not-Crazy]

Where are the Qi Condensation juniors for Missions? I know we're not too far along in the turn but just 5 is really low

 

[Pyro Hawk]

She doesn't qualify, unfortunately. Even if it would be hilarious.

Click to shrink...

Hence why they'd have to be retroactive lessons. Or well, more accurately a retroactive omake. After all, the Ninth Prince can't teach Katha now because she's too advanced. But back when the omake is set, now that's a different story!

 

[Alectai]

Speaking of which, any Qi Condensation participants right now who are still on the fence, "What We Have, We Hold' Desperately needs some love, it's one of the most important objectives in its bracket this turn but lacks someone to lock its success in.

 

[occipitallobe]

It was rare for Core Formation Elders to die.

Oh, it happened, but it was rare. Perhaps at most the Clan had usually had sixty Core Formation elders, each of whom spent around three hundred years in Core Formation on average. Outside of the Trials, Core Formation elders died once every few decades.

For someone to rise into Core Formation and die immediately after was even rarer.

For Jin Muyi, one of the best-known Foundation Experts to do so... the clamour was not small.

Manuel had heard the arguments in favour of vilifying Muyi, and agreed with them all. He had nodded.

"Yes, I agree. It would be best for the Clan. Nonetheless, we should do what is right in this case. Leave Jin Muyi his legacy. The cost is not immense and can be borne. A little more Blood Path deviancy, more deviancy of other kinds, some additional costs in administration and internal spying... such legacies die down over time in any case. Fete him as a hero. I owe him this much."

The official death record was put out, and in it a brief description. Much of it was censored, the information in terms of areas and the like given out only in the vaguest terms. Thousands of women were hired to chant the lamentations, washing a fascimile of Muyi's corpse - cast in bronze - with both water and Spirit Wine, applying three differing perfumes, one for each Great Realm he had reached in life. Dressed in a pure white shroud made from interlinked pieces of white gold, the metal slowly took on a burnished bronze colour as it sat upon the statue Muyi. The Dawn Fortress was wakened by the noise, and many came out to give thanks.

For Jin Muyi had discovered a Blood Path practitioner awakening an ancient legacy, some monstrous creature in Early Nascent Soul. He had fought the practitioner, sending word to the Nascent Souls of the Optimatoi. The creature was newly awake, still coming into its strength. It sought a nearby city, and Jin Muyi fought. He held it back for longer than anyone would have thought possible, Core Formation versus the strength of a Nascent. In the end, it killed him as the Archegetes arrived, too late to save his life, but early enough to save the city - and slay the creature.

In the three days he held it back, it was said, he saved nearly a million souls among the western Scorpion Road.

So his statue was mourned, and he was given a crypt in the inner reaches of the Dawn Fortress, where the most decorated Elders lay. Of course, his true corpse and true will sat with his family and those he cared about. It was simply that this particular funeral was a public matter. For days, many came to offer small objects to Jin Muyi, things they thought were related to him, as well as the many silver obols - the sorts of coins mortals used, though cultivators could easily enough put their hands on. These were given to him to tide his soul into the grasp of the Imperator, far from the hateful world they lived upon.

Nine days after, the first visit was opened. Mourners once again came in, and wept at his new crypt. On the eleventh day, there was a feast to send cheerful energy to speed his steps in the world beyond, on the thirtieth, a mass prayer to the Imperator to reach out to Muyi if he were lost, and on the fourtieth more obols were given, in case he had been robbed by bandits or thieves in the afterlife. The last came at a year, where mourners came to celebrate, drinking wildly at his tomb for the joy that he had no doubt reached the Imperator's grasp, and been reincarnated for his services.

Who knew if it were true? Manuel could not peer beyond the veil of life and death, yet he hoped so. Perhaps Muyi and Alexios were drinking and eating now, sharing tales and waiting for him.

He felt more maudlin than he had expected. He had offered them endless risks, and the children had taken them, and for it? He took a spear and killed the rightful bearer. He had considered killing Muyi, of course, but the fact that he had gained so much from the death of someone so young felt vaguely obscene. He knew the gain was the Clan's, and he was but a tool, but still... the Stone Spear was the most powerful weapon he had ever seen, or was like to see. If he had ventured out to seize it and suffered for it, it would have been one thing.

He closed his eyes, grieving the young man who had twisted himself so much for others. On the hundredth day, at Haoshen Fort, he found reason to celebrate Muyi's life, just as others were doing on that selfsame day.

 

[Alectai]

100 days to the second line of defense

Holy fuck, Jingshen was apparently a house of cards.

 

[Insane-Not-Crazy]

100 days to the second line of defense

Holy fuck, Jingshen was apparently a house of cards.

Click to shrink...

Reading that I was momentarily surprised because that was not the first name I was expecting. Then it hit me exactly what it meant. They never rebuilt the first and only restaffed the second