Firstly, if you have questions about Good Seeds and the like please read here. If that doesn't answer your question please ping me in thread, or on Discord.
If you write a new Good Seed, or write an omake, please update the spreadsheet if you have access.
If you do not have access, please ping a collaborator (Swordomatic, Alectai, Quest, TehChron, Insane-Not-Crazy, Humbaba, ReaderOfFate, Kaboomatic, no., BungieONI) letting them know what you want and they will update the spreadsheet here. To gain access, you will need a gmail account of some kind. Throwaway emails are fine (I'm using one for the spreadsheet), but to gain access it's as simple as sending me either your email via PM, via DM in Discord, or just in Discord's #spreadsheet-requests channel.
This is mandatory. If a Good Seed does not record their omake by pinging collabs (or just requesting access and editing things themselves - this is the preferred option), I won't give out awards. If a new Good Seed is not recorded here, they won't advance. By doing this it makes the whole thing manageable for me - it's gotten pretty unwieldy!
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Omake Writer Instructions:
There are four fields you need to fill out.
Omake Link, which is just a link to your first omake for the turn. This makes it easier for me to read them as I do the update - without this it's tough to know off the bat which omake were written this turn, and to properly
Requested Bonus, which is your requested bonus for your omake. You can leave it up to me if you like. You can see more info in the Good Seed infopost here.
Cultivation Aims. For those following unorthodox paths - higher than 9th Heavenstage or later than 7th Dao Pillar paths. Please put in what you are aiming for before you break through. I have left it as 'default'. If you do not edit it, I'll go with that.
Turn Notes - Do you want to do something specific? Enter a Secret Realm? Help the Clan out in some way? If you have something specific you want to accomplish on this turn, put it in turn notes so I can adjust your Fate around it.
All other fields are for QM use to record character information to properly run the flow of the game.
this is a really interesting quest though since I don't know much about xianxia I have a few questions
1.How do most other cultivator factions treat mortals since it seems to fly between the extremes of blood clans "tasty morsels" to our factions"people we have to protect"
It varies. The righteous path in the Plains are mostly dismissive but you have souls like Mortal Protecting Bandit Li who died living up to his moniker. Then you have the Blood Oath with Old Cannibals sustainable farming philosophy and the more conventional hunt kill eat repeat strategy. The mountains are really inhospitable so little time for mortals. Finally you have our overly sensitive net loss mortal favoritism
Total Word Count: 54605
Katana1515
adamashield
Insane-not-Crazy
Ambit
LordEdric
ninjastar
veekie
ObsidianNoir
Quest
Swordomatic
Sol Zagato
Liliet
TheFourthMonado
ACT 1 – PROLOGUE
{Katana1515 – 1555 words}
"Elder Minervina Barda."
The words rolled smoothly off her tongue. Her voice was calm and measured, giving no hint as to the almost irrepressible giddiness that bubbled up in her belly every time she heard those syllables strung together.
Minervina's hand unconsciously patted the scaly head of her bonded spirit, Emilia, nails painted purple with a glossy nerve agent sparkling in the sunlight. Currently the familiar was massively expanded in size, taking the shape of a gigantic snake large enough to swallow a human Minervina's size in a single gulp. Emilia was curled up, sunning herself lazily around a rock that Minervina had randomly picked out as a seat from several others in an out of the way training field in the Dawn Fortress. This was one of the less patronized practice environments being reserved for Core Formation cultivators, a rare clique to which Minervina had recently found herself entering into.
The terrain of the training area was nothing special save for the liberal amounts of boulders and rocks littering the field. Sourced from the lower ranges of Turtlebone Mountain these stones were almost identical to ordinary rocks save for one special quality. They were resistant to any physical force exerted against them that did not come from a source with at least Nascent Soul strength. Other sources of damage like heat and corrosion were not impeded so the best use for them had become training targets for new Core Formation cultivators getting a handle on their expanded physical abilities.
Minervina had tired of smacking at rocks with her hands after a few minutes and retired to tend to other matters. Physical damage was not a major component of her combat portfolio in any case and testing out the variables introduced to her alchemy by the solid weight behind her navel could wait for another time.
"Legate Minervina Barda."
That one wasn't exactly accurate since she hadn't yet taken up the mantle of leadership for a Legion but who was arguing semantics here? Certainly, not Minervina as she looked down with a frisson of delight at the two small jade slips that had been delivered a week ago. She'd read through their contents immediately on reception and again almost every day afterwards. Personal congratulations from the Nascent Soul lords of one's clan deserved repeated review after all.
Minervina beckoned Emilia and her ophidian companion placed her massive head onto Minerva's lap, hissing in delight as Minervina scratched above her eyes.
"We've made it quite far, haven't we Emilia?" Minervina mused, "From having almost nothing but a single scroll as a frail mortal girl, I can count myself as one of the handful of cultivators whose decisions matter to the Golden Devil Clan as a senior. We cast a long shadow now don't we?"
Emilia bobbed her head in agreement to Minervina's smile, a smile that turned sharp "Why don't we aim for a larger shadow yet, eh? Core Formation is a nice accomplishment but I think Nascent Soul is a far more fitting realm for having gone for 8 Dao-Pillars. That should be a fitting spur to the side to certain beer drinking layabouts."
Minervina's time outdoors was cut short as a tinny alarm rang from her belt. Checking the clockwork timepiece, Minervina noted the hour and stood up, She recalled Emilia into storage and departed swiftly. One did not keep the Stratopedarches waiting, Elder or not.
***
"You represent a remarkable opportunity, Elder Barda, one that I would not have thought to have delivered into my lap without looking," Casia Zsimisce said to Minervina Barda.
The two of them were alone in the office of the Elder of Administration. Minervina had been invited to see the Stratopedarches to have her rank within the Legions and the Clan itself updated to reflect the status her cultivation gave her. Casia had taken away Minervina's old centurion token and given her a new rank token containing Celestial Bronze if Minervina's senses were not deceiving her.
The discussion after that had shifted to penciling in a follow-up appointment for Minervina to confirm how she wanted to realize her role as a Legate and the necessary bureaucratic procedures to see her vision get off the ground. The technical details of registering Minervina as an authorized user of the Legion Contribution Board and the Glass Javelin Array network had been interesting in a dry fashion but the more intriguing information had been the notice that whatever Legion Minervina chose to raise up, the final assent would come by a personal meeting with the Second Elder. Minervina idly wondered if it would be too impolite to request a cutting of Hetaireiarches Kleisthenes Sarantapechos' hair on their first meeting. There was an interesting bone disintegration poison she'd been trying to brew unsuccessfully for a while but clippings from a Nascent Soul should provide a stable enough base for the poison to hold together for deployment. Shelf life might be tricky though.
Minervina was pulled out of her distracted musing by Casia's last comment, having been lulled into comfort by the affable manner of the lean and severe-faced woman.
Replaying the last few words from Casia, she asked, "Pardon me, what opportunity are you talking about?"
"The Aurum Invictum Certamen," Casia replied. Seeing the blank look on Minervina's face she explained further, "One of my aides came up with an idea to host a desert wide celebration after the clan defeated the Jingshen. A reversal of the Archegetes tour of our vassals when he became Grand Elder, if that helps. Rather than going to our newly claimed territories, we have them come to us and in the process make clear the new structure of things. It was a good idea in principle but it had issues with the execution, not least being that the Archegetes could not spare the time anyhow."
Casia smiled slightly and Minervina couldn't escape feeling like a slab of meat on a butcher's counter being appraised for the perfect cut. "But then comes you. An 8-Pillar Foundation Establishment ascending to Core Formation is impressive in its own right, but you are not just anyone. You are Minervina Barda, the Poison Witch of the Indomitable Thirteen. That is a reputation that has weight and regard. If the Clan can't host a ceremony in honor of the Grand Elder, then one in honor of a feared and beloved Elder who has accomplished a feat not witnessed in living history – cultivator history, that is – would serve as a decent replacement."
"What exactly is this ceremony you're proposing, this Aurum Invictum Certamen? Some sort of competition I presume?" Minervina asked.
"Oh yes, you're a decent draw on your own but sweetening the pot never hurt. The Aurum Invictum Certamen is intended to be a public showcase of the junior generation of every relevant influence in the desert we can dig up. The Clan gives them a chance to show of their foundations to their peers and our ability to compel their attendance will highlight our position above the vassals," Casia's smiled broadened fractionally, "Better yet, we can drag in the powers of the Spirit Oasis squatting in our desert. Impressing upon them exactly who rules the Organ Meat Desert now will speak clearly to those de jure under our control. The Spirit Oasis sects probably won't move even for an an opportunity to boast about their juniors but they'll come for the auction."
"What auction?" Minervina asked feeling a little lost.
Casia tapped a file on her table and said, "Through a perfect confluence of events, the Chamber of Administration has been considering an initiative to give the Scorpion Trade Palace a leg up in breaking into the markets of the other desert territories and this gives us an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Juniors from the influences come to compete for prizes while their seniors accompany them, ostensibly to chaperone but also to scout out the potential of the nascent trade network the Trade Palace is growing. An auction with goods fronted by the clan and announced beforehand, encourages the visiting influences to show off the value of the raw and finished products in a secure forum guaranteed by the clan. Everyone wins, the clan most of all, because we spend relatively cheap material wealth and time to recoup invaluable political gains."
"I understand the goal you want to achieve but am I truly the best person to be the headline of such a project?" Minervina asked, not liking the scope of the spotlight Casia wanted to throw her under.
"You get first pick of any alchemical reagents on offer during the occasion and a bonus in your first allotment of Legion Contribution Points for doing a great service to the clan," Casia did not beat about the bushes with her incentives.
Minervina found that her feelings towards the whole proposal had remarkably being transformed. "What do you need me to do, Stratopedarches?"
Casia smiled broadly at Minervina's abject surrender. "How much contact have you had with the members of the Flood Dragon Gang and Bear Enslavement Sect? You'll be acting as an envoy to your peers in their senior cultivators for a little while. Start with that old blade from the bandits, we've had some interesting conversations on the nature of Mercy and Peace, him and I so I expect him to be very amenable to any entreaty."
With Minervina's buy-in, new life was breathed into a project that was the first of its kind in the new era.
###
{adamashield - 4761 words}
'Once more,' the second Builder thought. 'One of the Clan's finest calls for our work as builders. So, we will do our best to fulfill their request,' he finished, and before him his Brothers hefted their tools. Another job to their prodigious workloads, adding more to their docket. They couldn't wait to begin.
The first step was the logistic train, and the excellent roads that allow the Strength Purity Sect to reach the Spirit Oasis with speed made this job easier. The bikes by Abel Angelus made it even more so. Together, these factors made for an almost unprecedented (for the Brotherhood) speed, by the sheer number of mortals that the Brotherhood could use for the job. With bikes and ready road access, each could travel with the speed of a weaker cultivator.
The second step was resources, and this area had great food for trading, a resource that Pleuron requires in her plans for her people, as well as lots of merchants that make the trip here to trade for said food. And that is great, since those merchants sell things that would be difficult to transport, even for the Brotherhood. They can just get it from them, even given the distance involved.
The third step was manpower. The Brotherhood has the numbers to do this easily, but there were always ways to improve that, like all the (broken/crippled) cultivators that live close to the Spirit Oasis that certainly would enjoy being well paid for doing some manual work. And many of those broken cultivators retained some of the strength from their muscles that raised them above the mortal workers.
With the pre-planning done, the Brotherhood followed their simple instructions to 'build cheap but sturdy, pretty isn't a concern'. Those were their marching orders. Those would be the words that the Brotherhood will live and maybe die to live by.
They would be sure to use the boom of trading from the future tournament and from the peace with the hegemony of the Clan in the desert to make this job even cheaper in cost.
They would also use all the experts close by that make this route even safer just by existing. To allow them to reduce cost of trading and maximize what they can buy and sell in order to bring the arena building costs closer to zero.
And they would do all of this by following the 'build cheap, build fast and/or build it good, pick two' that is the (unofficial) motto of all builders, mortal or not.
Xxx
First, the Golden Devils began to raise capital so they could hire the crippled cultivators for extra labor, by selling sculptures they made in their off time. Why people want those shiny mud balls so much he had no idea, but it sold at a premium and that's all that mattered.
Then, they struck up agreements with the local merchants, bringing in materials for their money. They even offered discounts for the bulk they bought in, lowering costs further. This was good, for they could build even more cheaply now.
Furthermore, each new crippled cultivator was a source of information worth more than gold in order to find the finest material on these lands. Which was great to them, for they had alternatives to the local marketplace and could lower the cost of construction of the arena even further.
It was from these crippled cultivators that the Brotherhood had discovered the glorious sect of the first farmer was a great market to sell or buy from as well, since everything there would sell at premium too. Even the shit. Especially the shit. It was a bit crazy when they really thought about that. But the Second Builder did not care, because it sold well.
Xxx
With that settled, they selected a place close to the fortress where the Elder Grizzle Growl of Bear Enslavement lived and truly started to build.
First they leveled the ground by beating the rocks, also by using what Abel called gunpowder on the large obstacles or even by literally rolling stones pillars to flatten the ground. Only the finest foundation could be allowed to be laid here. And it was an incredible way to make the arena's maintenance cheaper. Strong foundations stood stronger than weak ones, and that let them skimp on building materials.
The arena where they would fight got the lion's share of attention for some time. The Brotherhood's alliance with the Pleuron would allow them to call her to manage a more complicated array system, and the Oasis had given the Brotherhood so many options. And made some things cheaper.
To start, this place has some very nice sand. That would make maintenance cheaper and hide a large amount of blood, while also allowing many surprises to rise from the sand from hidden trap doors and some other hidden surprises. The Brotherhood made sure to carve as many arrays as possible here (inside the budget of course) to give Pleuron options, since some defenses and seals are better to hold some misfired (or 'misfired') techniques of some strong young master. And it is cheaper that way, rather than to have all of the arrays working at the same time.
The Brotherhood also built cages for spirit beasts underneath the arena and some other stuff the Second Builder wasn't sure about. Since they had not been informed of what kind of show it was, they prepared the best they could to provide as many options as possible. And with the significant amount of help a living city could offer, they could provide many, many options. For cheap, of course. It all had to be cheap. And good. But not pretty; the orders had been clear!
They also put drains in the arena and an irrigation system for the naumachia, just in case. There could be someone that wanted to see (and pay a LOT to see) ship battles, so the decision was made by the Second Elder. Plus, the Brotherhood always felt bad for the Elder Pentekonter, may he rest in peace. The Elder Senior always wanted the Clan to have a fleet of (sea) ships so badly. Elder Pentekonter had even published his plans for his dream fleet onto the Contribution Points Board, and he did that while making it cheap and simple to get the blueprints. All because he had a dream. And the brotherhood could respect that level of dedication. Even without all the profit they got from learning from those blueprints, since there are many ways to use that knowledge in other projects. It was amazing.
Anyways, as the finishing touches for the arena, they put one of their will disks to be in charge of witnessing the battles and record those in recording jades. That was by far their greatest construction cost. But that could also be their greatest selling item, because if some proud (and very rich) parent/patron wished to have a record of some battle and/or show for some reason, the Brotherhood could provide. For a price!
They also used a clever system of mirrors and colored glasses to give each battle a bit more of life, designed by Abel of course. And to help recording said battles, and to make it easier to witness them in huge mirrors. Abel was very clever, and the plans were well worth the price, the Second Builder thought.
Oh, they also put some battle grade arrays in the arena, since the public (and the participants) could want that. They would surely love the spectacle. And those 'war arrays' could make a big spectacle, especially with Pleuron in command.
After finishing the 'ring' of the arena, they moved onto the other parts.
They gave special attention to the bleachers next. The cheapest place for the audience, the Brotherhood placed thick and large glass planes in front of them that were further reinforced by the patina and bronze donated by their brothers and sisters. And then further reinforced by arrays again. To make it safer to witness the shows. Safety first, said the Second Builder. Even if the Brotherhood ignored that rule all the time. Orders said to make it cheap and good, after all.
When they got enough caravans, they started bringing materials from Pleuron itself, and made the (official) request of help to the avatar of the city, to literally give some life to the stadium. The Second Builder had forgotten that they had already gotten Pleuron to help with some arrays earlier, but this way Pleuron got to be paid more, so it was fair for the city as well. Win-Win.
In order to do that, however, they put a huge 'good stone' to differentiate it from the evil ones (spirit stones), this good stone hold immense (for the brotherhood) amount of their own qi and they put it into the ground beneath the arena to serve as a battery for the arrays. And many stone pillars (also carved with arrays) in the region that would help Pleuron to gather Qi to make each fight or show cheaper according to the amount of evil stones (spirit stones) used. Since unlike most of the brotherhood Pleuron can use evil stones AND good stones.
The spirit of an entire city that could endure even Heaven's lightning will serve as the keystone of the arrays. And in an emergency, she will be assisted by the will disks of the Brotherhood, like to stop some 'young master' that was pissed for some reason from destroying the arena. Since that could damage the arena badly, and fixing it would be expensive. Cheap and good. Very important.
They also created some huge stone statues, simple ones in form, In the case Pleuron needed a hand on the arena to hold those 'young masters'.
With those tasks done, far ahead of schedule, they started trying to make the tournament even more lucrative.
Stuff like V.I.P (very important/snob person) 'club seating', places where rich people can pay through the nose to see the shows from. The Brotherhood made sure to make many of these places to separate the families of those young masters to keep them from fighting each other here. They also installed many additional options of glasses and lenses in those 'club seating' in the case they wanted darker or lighter glasses, for brighter techniques or a closer view. And the Builder's family also crafted menus and prepared kitchens, to provide the lots of services those VIPs would have or could pay even more to get.
After that, they made some very small palace-like booths, for the even snobbier (and richer) families who wanted them. Those palaces would be very limited in number in order to get an even greater premium cost on each 'seat'.
With these tasks done, Waycastle Pleuron and the Brotherhood made it their utmost priority to reinforce the arena with array arts and their own Blood of Bronze, as well as all the other arts they knew, in order to make the overall structure stronger by infusing as much Qi as possible into every part of the arena.
Unfortunately, though, before they could begin their plans were crushed by the cruel mistress that is reality, for they got new orders, bringing logistical hell on them. But that is the story of basically any building construction project ever. So, they adapted.
They focused first on the Auction House, where a LOT of the resources, money and prestige of the vassal clans coming here will be invested. Auctions were, after all, the place where the 'dick-measuring contests' of cultivators would happen. A tale as old as time.
More importantly for them, it was also where soft power could be used, and where smarter factions can generate interest in their products and make allies instead of enemies. So, to facilitate that, the Brotherhood would need to go even further beyond.
Now they had to be cheap, good, and pretty. A difficult task for sure, but the Green Devils got to work.
First, they started with the most important part of the Auction House; the safe all the money would go into. The Brotherhood divided it into various sections, each for different materials and reagents that usually reacted badly to one another; Pleuron mentioned that sometimes rival Cultivators would deliberately bring items meant to weaken the treasures of their rivals if not properly sealed, so they had to watch out for that. But they mainly had to be mindful of thieves, so in addition to the safe they added multiple layers of arrays and protection, drawing on Pleuron's vast experience as a Waycastle to protect the Auction House's treasures.
That part done, they then started to truly make the place as secure as they could. Thick walls to deter foolish Qi Condensation juniors from even thinking about trying, a labyrinth to delay and identify any Core Elders that might decide to challenge Old Gold's Laws. And for the ones who did it anyways, some parts of the route to the safe needed help to reach, be they large animals - like their chief of security, who is a Very Good Boy - or even Pleuron herself.
As with everything else, the Brotherhood built many arrays into the maze. Not only traps but alarms, given they were only Qi Condensation and had little hope of making anything that could really inconvenience a Core Elder. Adding to the effort, there were as many types of arrays as there were members of the Brotherhood. If they could only inconvenience thieves, the Second Builder reasoned, then they would inconvenience them to the point of death.
The Brotherhood then started to build the external structure, the only part that other Cultivators would be allowed to enter. It needed to look impressive, have great acoustics, a lot of light, and other things the Brotherhood was not certain of at the moment. Probably reinforcement, because more than one cultivator will make a spectacle of putting their riches here, and that might mean fights.
After that, with the help of Pleuron, they planted two huge golems before the first gate, and murals of thieves getting some horrible fates on the walls beside them. They also put many more golems deeper within to act as defenders in the lobby, since this place would not only need to be well guarded, but look well guarded too. And the only thing more intimidating than a statue of Old Gold was Old Gold himself, thought the Brotherhood.
All the arrays would, naturally, be linked right back to Pleuron, for her to control. She would be the final guardian of the Auction House and all its defenses - or at least, the only one the Brotherhood could afford.
On the Auction House itself, it would be the most impressive-looking structure the Brotherhood had built to date, with a great appreciation for acoustics and an eye for natural lighting. Given that an Auction House needed to present valuable treasures, they made the elevated podium at the center of it all with special care.
By Pleuron's suggestion, they also made more VIP rooms, built like theater boxes with dark glass windows and access great amenities, like arrays to control the local temperature. The rich liked to make their bets in secret, after all, and Pleuron told them to make sure it was possible to separate even people of the same Sect or Clan between each room. Having one was sure to win each VIP great prestige, Pleuron said, so the Brotherhood made it possible even if the idea of fighting their own family was alien to their minds.
Pleuron, after all, would know better.
Finally, the amenities. They would be of a higher grade than what was possible at the arena itself, if only because of location alone. From a more central position the Brotherhood could ensure that the central kitchen was better equipped, and the Brotherhood took special care to source for array-carved plates and mastercrafted rooms - themselves being the Masters. Creature comforts like these would make sure that each VIP room would be well worth their price - which would be exorbitant by design.
All in all, the Brotherhood believed this would all be excellent publicity for their services.
Xxx
Moving onto the Tournament Hall, it was built with the main idea of being a place of living and interaction among the juniors. It was to be a place they could relax between fights if they did not want to just stay in their rooms, or a place they could do some soft or hard training.
A Home away from Home, one could call it. And the Brotherhood did. They were building it, you see.
Certainly, it would be a place where different cultures could mix and where future legends would be made. And where as older, wiser experts, the competitors would recall with warm thoughts the trials they had experienced in the course of this tournament.
So, first of all, this place would have a great trophy hall, with many rooms. In each, the Brotherhood crafted a statue of each participant. Each room would be dedicated to each participant, and the Brotherhood hoped that this trophy hall would continue to be used in future tournaments, to be decorated again and again with the rooms of the victors.
That this might be the only Indomitable Aurum Competition, and that it would require that the room of everyone who didn't win would need to be demolished between tournaments, was lost on the Brotherhood. Orders were orders, and if they weren't supposed to do this then someone would have said.
They did say it needed to be pretty.
Taking special care of the trophy hall, the Brotherhood even made sure to source many recommendations from the vassal powers. It was a good thing they did, too, because otherwise there would be no pool, no cave and certainly no steam room. The Tournament Hall would be greatly different if the Brotherhood had not asked for suggestions at all - though they would admit that the ice room and the fungi room were special challenges, since they could have been dangerous if the Brotherhood had not figured out countermeasures. As they were, they would make for an eye-opening experience for competitors who weren't ready for them.
The fungi room was particularly weird to the Brotherhood. Who knew they would ever meet friendly fungi people? The only ones they knew were the scary monsters in the sewers.
The Tournament Hall, they finished off with their trademark, a great many defensive arrays and alarms for juniors to use in case they found trouble. But as it was meant to be a place for rest and recovery, Pleuron recommended the Brotherhood not build any observation arrays into this place too, despite their protests.
They would just have to trust, Pleuron had told them.
Xxx
The Contest Hall was at once simpler and harder. Since it had to be fair for all vassals, but still leave room for some unexpected challenges and trials, the Brotherhood had the unenviable task of making it all happen. Still, they relished the challenge, and took to it with great vigor.
First, they tried to expect the unexpected. Certain competition halls here would be more private, given they dealt with secret techniques or memetic dangers, while others would be more open and safer for audiences. All of them would need to be reinforced, in case a young master decided to throw a tantrum; the energy they wasted should be spent in constructive ways, though the Brotherhood, so they worked hard at making sure it would be.
For those purposes, this hall have many sport related rooms and areas, each equipped with scoreboards and prepared with meager prizes for participants who succeed at the challenges. It would be a pot system; the price of entry would be some evil stones - Spirit Stones, some might call them - so winning would grant them all the evil stones of that challenge, while losing them will get them nothing, or less than they paid.
Pleuron also suggested that every successful challenge made future challenges harder, by reducing the amount of time or whatnot, which the Brotherhood implemented at once.
With this, the Brotherhood hoped that the juniors could compete with each other in healthy, constructive ways and grow from the experience without killing one another. Working together was important, believed the brotherhood. After all, all are equal below Old Gold.
Xxx
Additional prep work was done for the trials of the supervising Elders, as requested, to the letter and to the spirit. The Brotherhood took especially special care with these, and consulted these Elders as much as they could on their trials. But it was necessary; these Ordeals could have secrets that an Elder would kill to keep, or possibly even begin impinging upon their Daos, and could potentially drive lesser Cultivators to madness as they suffer the Dao Echo of Core Formation Elders far beyond them.
That this was something only Nascent Souls did was a bit beyond the Brotherhood, but it was better safe than sorry.
Elder Grizzle Growl was an excellent example of Elders that needed special care, however, not because he was mad, but because his grief drove him mad and changed his Dao. The Brotherhood took special charge of this, and helped Elder Grizzle Growl move the bones of his beloved bear as if it belonged to their own beloved brothers. The Thirteenth Brother's experience with funerary rites proved invaluable here.
The 'Hollow Maw of Ungnyeo' was similarly taken care of in such a way, and the arrays needed for it were checked and re-checked again and again.
Because the Brotherhood understood the distinction that few failed to grasp; Elder Grizzle Growl didn't think he was a bear, Elder Grizzle Growl believed he was a Core Formation Spirit Beast Bear, and while some did not grasp the difference it was like night and day to those in the know, in skills, in intelligence and in the resources he had available to him.
Compared to Elder Grizzle Growl, Elder Hitokiri Battousai was far easier, given he could speak normally and seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. The Elder Battousai had a noble heart, if a bandit's definition of it, and he had taken a liking to the Brotherhood and the respect they paid him. In fact, he took so much of a liking that he offered the Brotherhood his wisdom, which the Brotherhood would dutifully make recordings of into a jade.
"Juniors like yourself need to be like water when faced with problems," Elder Battousai said, "Be adaptable, like when I command you guys to collect the broken blades and you all use enough equipment to protect yourselves and the blades."
Battousai continued, to the immense joy of the Brotherhood.
"You must also know how to approach a person. Always show a degree of respect to anyone, since many Elders can and will hide their powers, deep within themselves. But this is valid for mortals too. More than once, I was rewarded for my kindness, because the mortals trusted me with more treasures because they knew I would not kill them for it. Also," he added with a smirk, "They are an excellent form of information."
The mortal members of the Brotherhood nodded sagely at these words as they hid their smirks, knowing from experience that Elder Battousai was more right than most Cultivators believed.
"Always remember that your mind is your greatest skill and tool. And even simple matters must be considered, and not ignored. Don't be like a certain blockhead junior of mine, who gets punished by those simple matters."
The Brotherhood agreed to that easily. If one could sell 'shiny mud' to more than one person at a time, they needed to watch carefully for every such opportunity.
With that wisdom passed, the Brotherhood's part in the Trial of the Severing Gauntlet of Asura was complete, a name they treaded lightly around, not least because of all the evil blades the Elder had asked them to place all around the place.
The other trials were far easier to construct. It was just a matter of assigning the right people to the right jobs and getting the right materials, while making sure the Elders and Experts they consulted were in good moods before consulting them first.
The Brotherhood proved successful in this task. So successful, even, that they were trusted to craft those arrays. And they crafted them with the utmost care, inlaying them with their own blood where necessary, even borrowing one of Abel's microscopes to ensure precision alongside their most delicate tools and their Qi-enhanced muscles to prevent even the slightest shake of a finger.
Pleuron's help was largely in reserve, in case of emergencies, with barriers and golems to be deployed if any participant got put at risk. And arrays, of course, for emergency care. It was still greatly appreciated.
Xxx
The accommodations came last.
One would think this would be the easiest task. After all, it was just accommodations, and even comfortable ones would pale in comparison to the VIP booths and great arrays and labyrinths that the Brotherhood has spent literal blood and sweat to build. Yet, the Brotherhood could not and would not treat this as anything less than the most important job of all.
And it was so important that they even put a request on the Contribution Points Board for Experts experienced in diplomacy who were willing to offer their wisdom. So grave was this request that they even sent a letter requesting the support of Elder Casia, who followed the Dao of Peace, and any wisdom she might be able to share on the topic.
But while they waited for the wisdom to come, the Brotherhood began to build. First, the accommodations earmarked for the Clan.
These would be the easiest, because they were already accustomed to how the Clan liked its accommodations. It had a number of amenities that any Golden Devil would appreciate, with even array mechanisms for them to modify their rooms to their own preference, whether for privacy or security or even their personal protection.
As a special touch, they even sent out letters asking each participant and visitor who the Brotherhood knew was coming about their preferred room.
For some, they could provide feedback immediately. It is why Magnus Centennius' room was as suited for him as it was; even if it was not as opulent as he would have liked, it was still as comfortable as one could get from a group of Qi Condensation Cultivators and the avatar of a living city. And he had only really requested a cultivation room for himself, the best cultivation room that the Brotherhood had ever built so far in their own opinion.
With the existing arrays, however, any Golden Devil still had a large number of settings they could modify. Using the system, one could keep alert of many things outside their room, muffle the noise that got out of their room as much as possible, or mute the outside world as much as possible in the room.
By the time they were done with the Golden Devil accommodations, however, the feedback the Brotherhood had sought had returned, and the Brotherhood acted on it immediately and with great gusto.
Some requests were simple, only needing to mind a few cultural matters while setting up their rooms and building their beds. Others wanted things that were more specific, like sensory deprivation tanks, or wanting rooms specifically separated or extremely specific forms of art.
Some Monks were stranger than others. And the Divided Kingdoms took it too far. How was it that the fungus people were easier to accommodate than the monks?
The Brotherhood only wonders.
xxx
Even after the work was done, the Brotherhood continued to work. They worked on maintenance, reserving a large reserve of materials to rebuild any structure in the event they were damaged or needed expansion - a common thing, if one thought about it, in these sorts of competitions. They worked on their prior purchases and kept excellent track of their expenditures. They continued to make products and artworks to sell for profit, and earmarked a portion to be given to the Clan like they always did. And they continued to pay respects to Old Gold, in all they acted and did.
And they continued to do so until the Aurum Invictum Certamen Competition ended, and returned every cent they made to the sponsors that made it all possible. Despite it technically being their money.
But that unusual legal battle will be a story for another time.
###
{Insane-not-Crazy – 1573 words}
Acta Publica: Highlights of the Opening Events of the Aurum Invictum Certamen by Chronicler Julius Diurna
"If the Heavens will not acknowledge the merits of those beyond the light of its favor, then it is only fitting that those who spurn the blinkers of righteousness should recognize the achievements of those forgotten from grace. There is but one master over the wastes and oases, and by our sovereign prerogative we, the Golden Devil Clan, hegemons of the Organ Meat Desert, invite all who call the dunes home to answer our welcome and demonstrate the strength of their foundations before an audience of their peers and the mighty. Glory, honor and wealth await those who would dare grasp for triumph."
In the two hundred and sixtieth year of the rule of Archegetes Manuel Konstantinos, these stirring words went out from the Dawn Fortress to all the influences of the wastelands of the Virtuous Flipper Region, inviting them to an unprecedented occasion in the desert. Never before in living memory had one power controlled the entirety of the desert expanse, and never before had one power commanded the security and privilege to host a desert-wide gathering of notable influences. Never before, until now. The star of our Clan is ascendant and the Optimatoi Koinon had decided to share from the largesse of our rightly deserved prosperity with those in our newly enlarged shadow.
The Aurum Invictum Certamen was announced, among other purposes aforementioned, to celebrate the blossoming of a prodigious generation and to encourage those who followed in their wake. For who in the whole of the region has not heard of the Miracle at Pleuron? Who has not heard of the legend of the Indomitable Thirteen, who triumphed against desperate odds in that fateful moment, defiant juniors who leapt great realms to strike down a senior of a living sea? The first fruits of that blessed contingent, the Elder Jin Muyi once called Xiao Yi, who gave his life in glorious service defending against a fell threat to the Clan and the entirety of the desert? Who was mourned in death as befitting a great hero of the Clan.
But now we have cause to celebrate a sworn companion of his, for the newly ascended Elder Minervina Barda has accomplished a feat few in contemporary circumstances could have dared dreamed off, much more realized. Reaching beyond the limits of orthodox cultivation in Foundation Establishment, she laid an impeccable bedrock for her ascent to Core Formation and successfully coalesced a prestige core from eight Dao-Pillars. Such an accomplishment demanded acknowledgment even from the aloof Heavens and surely we of the Clan could do no less. In her honor, we have asked for the best and brightest juniors in the desert to be gathered, that they might look upon genius and be inspired in their pursuit of cultivation.
Unity and growth are the watchwords of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. Just as all noteworthy powers of the desert were invited to participate, vassals of the Clan or not, the Golden Devil Clan was glad to welcome their allies of the Flood Dragon Gang as honored guests, as are the delegates from the Bear Enslavement Sect representing the Blood Defiance Federation. These two honored factions graced the events with the presence of the venerable Elder Battousai and Elder Grizzle Growl Roar, who joined Elder Barda in overseeing the events in recognition of the Clan's deepening relationship with the powers of the Righteous Path.
These three august persons will oversee three testings of the juniors presented by invited participants, each a mighty challenge to the tripartite foundation of any competent cultivator's advancement. The wisdom of their minds shall be examined, followed by an assessment of the strength of their bodies and concluding in an interrogation of the steadfastness of their souls. As teams and individuals, the junior generation are expected to lift high the flags of their homes with daring deeds and dazzling accomplishments.
A mere two years after invitations went out into the desert, all roads led to the Spirit Oasis chosen as the site of the Aurum Invictum Certamen, as much for its central location as the face it gave guests and invited participants. If we of the Golden Devil Clan claim to be the second best power in the region in construction and array-craftsmanship, none will dare claim to be first. This was amply demonstrated by the speedy erection of event facilities in the Spirit Oasis lands from scratch.
Skilled members of the junior generation themselves, the Brotherhood of the Builder and the awakened city-spirit of that famed habitation, Pleuron, were a part of the Clan's contribution to the festivities, demonstrated as they crafted a masterful edifice to the Brutalist philosophy of the Clan, erecting infrastructure that exalted in function over form. The Clan's pride was and remained in the strength of our works, the speed of our workmanship and our ability to wring blood from the very stones of the desert. This is what we presented as hosts for the gathering, not profligate beauty or hollow ornamentation.
The official start of the events kicked off in the cool of the morning with a procession of the participating contestants before the three Elders in residence led by their chaperoning senior cultivators. The opening was well attended by an audience of persons from all over the desert coming to witness this once in a lifetime event. In order of appearance, the invitees were:
Hong Xuan Clan led by Elder Hong Xuan Teiling
Simmering Soup Sect led by Souplord Du Gu Min
Hua Empire led by Marshal Quan Dong Bei
Whipping Forge Sect led by Forgehand Three Tears Burning
Ice Maidens Sect of Hu Lin City led by Mistress Xue Shiranui
Cursed Mushroom Clan led by Shroomstalk Huang
Divided Mortal Kingdoms led by Baron Leng Wangdan
Xin Kingdom by Magister Flamescorn
Longevity Stork Clan led by Wingleader Liu Yanshu
Fecundity Stork Clan led by Wingleader Xu Gao
Fortune Stork Clan led by Wingleader Chun Xi
Seven Temples Shrine Alliance lead by Senior Disciple Rising Flood
Sunset Sect lead by Senior Brother Nine Falls
Sunrise Sect lead by Senior Sister Chrysanthemum Peony
Riverlord Sect led by Divemaster Li Wei
Tao Bandits by Raid Leader Song Chang
Gaohao Bandits by Raid Leader Wen Wei
Ghost Tree Forest Kings led by Exorcist Amari
Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom led by Bandit-Lord Zhen Li
Peng Kingdom led by Earl Cherry Blossom
Woodsplitter Sect led by Axeman Seven Logs Juggler
Crossed-Blades Cult led by Two-Bell Long Jiang
Strong-Backed Farmer Sect led by Third Farmer
Sunrise Mountain Sect led by Tunnel-Master Jia Fang
Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect led by Watchleader Obsidian Jackal
Forge Madmen Sect led by Journeyman Hong Guo
Sunset Mountain Sect led by Delve-Captain Cheng Chao
Grand Scorpion Sect led by Knight-Errant Jamukha Khan
Sixty Kingdoms Alliance by Assistant Councilor Wang Dan
Shen Kingdom led by Viscount Shen Cai
Twelve City Alliance by Council Advisor Bai Hong
Goatmen Tribes lead by Chief Cao Wei
The presence of the Hong Xuan Clan and Simmering Soup Sect at the forefront of the procession was no surprise, considering their strength among the powers of the desert, but the inclusion of the Goatmen Tribes at all even as the last members of the procession sent tongues wagging in the stands.
Long considered an inconsequential presence for their inability to produce even a singular Foundation Establishment cultivator, they were the only contingent in the procession without a cultivator beyond the first great realm. But there they were, for perhaps the unprecedented ascension of Cao Wei of the Golden Devil Legions boded a change in the winds for the Clan's attention to its least vassal, for the rising tide of the Great Era lifted up all powers, most amplified in effect amongst the least in existence. Perhaps one day a contingent of other beastmen will be recognized in such a public display as an independent power, for instance the populous Pigmen.
It was hardly the only controversy that day. The choice of the cultivators from the Grand Scorpion Sect to compete under that name alongside the partners of the Chamber of Administration and the 800th Legion, also under the banner of the Scorpion Trade Palace, have provided ample fodder for rumors of a schism in the lands of the eternal storm. The great caravan-cities are already moving across the desert and the imprimatur of Golden Devil support in the trade fair and auction organized as part of the Aurum Invictum Certamen lends credence to the position that the mercantile elements of the easternmost territory of the desert are leading their lands in this new era.
Still, the rest proved comparatively prosaic, and following after the procession was an energetic display from all three supervising powers. A dizzying martial dance by legionnaires of the Golden Devils employing the venerable Great Formations of the Clan provided an impressive spectacle of the combat prowess of the pre-eminent army in the desert. Rough and gruff, the Flood Dragon Gang put on a phenomenal show fighting ability against a veritable menagerie of Spirit Beasts from all across the desert, especially considering that no Spirit Beast was killed under the keen gaze of their Elder. Lastly, the proud Beast Tamers of the Bear Enslavement put on a moving performance of song and dance with their bonded companions, presenting a tale of primeval challenge and community in hardship. Closing of this segment was a speech from all three Elders, the evocative growls of Elder Grizzle Growl Roar standing out as filled with such overbearing intent that all were struck in their hearts.
The remainder of the day was given over to interactions between the contestants and an early sampling of the trade fair. Many of the juniors and their seniors took the opportunity to make their first exploration of the Tournament Hall set up for minor competitions between participants throughout the whole occasion.
With such a powerful start, the Aurum Invictum Certamen promised to be nothing less than a spectacular orchestration to the glory of all organizers and participants. For the juniors, there were prizes to be won, rivalries and friendships to be forged, reputations to be determined. For those more senior, here was an opportunity to market their unique resources, expand their experience of the depths of cultivation and build relationships with like-minded peers. And rest assured, we will be here throughout to catch you up on the highs and lows of the happenings of every occasion.
Aristophanes Sarantapechos trailed behind his crew leader wondering just how he'd ended up in his present position. Business had been booming back in the Dawn Fortress after he'd made sure that word had gotten out about Ferenike's patronage of Yang Fangxu's kitchen and the very special personal commission the hero of the Indomitable Thirteen had requested of the Spirit Chef. Profits had been so good in fact that he'd proposed to Yang and the rest of the kitchen crew that expansion might be in order, identifying a handful of locations he'd scouted out as possible considerations. He'd even come to tolerate Fangxu's use of the insulting nickname Fan-fan for him when she called it out in excitement at the possibility of opening up a chain of eating establishments in the Dawn Fortress. He'd even gotten the loudmouthed midget to finally name their business. Although 'Unbeatable Kitchen God's Restaurant' might have been a bit on the nose, he'd take it over constantly referring to the eatery as Yang Fangxu's place. The future had seemed rosy and life was looking pretty good so of course he should have known that the endlessly aggravating adopted clanswoman was going to find a way to make things difficult for him.
"Where exactly are we going?" Aristophanes asked after they'd spent several minutes walking seemingly aimlessly, "Whatever it is, can it not wait until we've finished setting up the kitchen? You know the thing that you sold us on as justification for leaving our very successful business in the Dawn Fortress to travel all the way to the Spirit Oasis because, and I quote your very words, 'We'll make heaps more of earnings serving the hungry attendees of the first ever all-desert junior generation competition'. We can't do any of that if we don't have our kitchen up and running, you do realize that?"
Fangxu dismissed his concerns without turning to look back at him. "We still have time. Trust me on that if only because I've been picked as lead for supervising the first actual competition event."
"Yes I know that," Aristophanes grumbled with suppressed frustration, "Which means that we're going to be down our only Expert while we try to capture an entirely new customer base made up of people who aren't members of our clan and thus likely to favor us. I don't think that you were blind enough to miss the Simmering Soup Sect setting up canteens of their own and while I like to think we're good, they are known to be great. Why are we wasting time wandering aimlessly when we could be using that opportunity to get an edge in before the preeminent Spirit Cuisine influence steals the whole market?"
"We're waiting for our secret weapon so that we can plant a flag even the Simmering Soup Sect can't shake," Fangxu replied distractedly as she continued scanning the bustling crowds of early arrivals for the Aurum Invictum Certamen. The opening ceremony was still more than a week away but the site chosen for the gathering had been transformed into a boomtown, only the flood wasn't chasing a mineral rush but the chance to stake out the potential payouts for being in attendance to the competition. What had initially been little more than a patch of bare earth notable only for being a well watered location closer to the Bearfort than any other worthwhile landmark had been transformed into a miniature town of cultivators. Apart from the forces mustered by the Golden Devil Clan as hosts to make their occasion a reality, there were several other groups swelling the local population. The resident sects of the Spirit Oasis had beat all others to arrive in force by virtue of their proximity and there was even a significant presence of cultivators from outside the desert apart from the supporting Bear Enslavement Sect membership. Those participating influences that could afford it had sent ahead advance parties to secure their presence, the Scorpion Trade Palace being the largest of these. In short, there were enough people around to make finding any one person without clear directions a nightmare.
Seeing that Fangxu was undeterred in her search and trusting that despite all appearance to the contrary, there was in fact an actual method to her madness of taking random paths, Aristophanes let himself be pulled along as he thought about the many issues waiting for him back at the base the kitchen crew had set up in the quarters for clan members. There was his personal cultivation schedule that had to be kept in mind in planning for the opening and afterwards since he was closing in on being ready to make the jump to Foundation Establishment. As regards the kitchen itself, he had to make sure that their preservation arrays kept their stock of perishable ingredients secure as well as arrange for supply from local vendors to supplement their menu. There was also the need to keep an eye on the new assistants they'd taken on since half of the more experienced crew had been left behind in the Dawn Fortress to maintain operations while they tried out Fangxu's harebrained idea. Some of the recently joined juniors needed a firm hand on them to keep them out of mind baffling mishaps. If he had a stavraton for every time one of the newer hires had mistaken the traveling container for Fangxu's Pure Current Spirit, Xiao Shaozi, for a flask and drank the familiar, he'd have two in pocket, two too many in his opinion.
Finally Fangxu spotted the target she'd been seeking, and locked on like a hound to the scent, she dragged Aristophanes after her to a tent. The tent, actually a yurt in blue and gold colours, was set out in an encampment of Scorpion Trade Palace cultivators, clearly marked so as not to be mistaken for that of the Grand Scorpion Sect, Aristophanes noted. That distinction was a spot of bother that had already provoked tense standoffs but that was a headache for the competition's organizers and not a lowly assistant like Aristophanes, said subordinate thought to himself as he directed his focus to a towering albino barbarian Fangxu was eagerly greeting in front of the tent.
"Isukhan Khatun of the Barbed Lance that Impaled the Six Headhunter Gang, I see you haven't managed to trip over your little stick and kill yourself yet," Fangxu boldly insulted a giant of a woman in pale furs wearing a toortsog over braided hair.
Isukhan seemed to take no offense from Fangxu's words but rather laughed heartily and replied in kind. "I see that you haven't grown any greater from your pygmy stature, Yang Fangxu, Fierce Chimera who Burst the Entrails of the Devouring Wyrm."
The two women cut a remarkable contrast, bronzed complexion against pale skin, tiny frame across from a gigantic physique but the two embraced with a casual warmth that spoke of an intriguing affinity.
Breaking out from the embrace, Fangxu turned towards a reluctant to approach Aristophanes and hauled him forward to present him to Isukhan. "Old bastard, this here is Aristophanes Sarantapechos, my sous chef. He's a bit of a stuck-up aristocrat but I reckon he'd gotten most of the stick out of his ass because he's the best assistant I could ever have."
Aristophanes woefully considered his circumstances that made such an insulting introduction blasé from a lengthy association with the rude mouthed Fangxu. Bowing to the other woman, a peer Expert to Fangxu as far as he could tell, he said politely, "It is a pleasure to meet a friend of my senior. Please don't pay any heed to the unflattering parts of her description of me. She tends to exaggerate with unnecessary profanity."
Guffawing loudly, Isakhun slapped Aristophanes on the back with a blow that nearly threw him to the ground. "That she does. You would never expect such a filth tongue from a little doll like her, I tell you."
"Hey, I resemble that remark," Fangxu said jokingly, before looking with serious eyes towards Isakhun, "I hope you brought the package because I'm going to be eating a hefty loss otherwise."
Isakhun snorted in mock offense. "What do you take me for? A caravan under my watch always delivered what was promised in perfect condition and on time. Follow me, your special ingredients are ready. I hope your assistant can handle them."
Aristophanes seized the hand of Fangxu as she made to follow after Isakhun into the yurt. "What special ingredients is she talking about and why is she mentioning me?"
Fangxu turned to Aristophanes, excitement burning in her gaze. "You're never going to outmatch the Simmering Soup Sect in quantity or quality of menus but you can beat them in novelty. I know the folks the Soup Sect is likely to send out and they favor hidebound traditionalism. You're going to cook up the most unique and foreign dishes anyone attending this competition has ever tasted. The key here is variety and exoticism to play off the atmosphere of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. It doesn't matter if it's disgusting or weird tasting, they'll try it because it's unfamiliar and that's what this whole occasion is about. I asked Isakhun to gather as many obscure recipes as she could find when the competition was announced. That was the first delivery she made for me. The second, this one, was an assembly of the ingredients for the recipes I identified as our chance for breaking open the market."
Aristophanes stared dully as Fangxu laid out her insane plan. "Forget the ludicrous nature of this strategy, why am I the one cooking the menu? I'm hearing a lot of 'you' and not enough 'we' in this."
Fangxu scratched the back of her head apologetically. "Hehehe, about that, I'm going to be too busy with the first competition event to help you with the bulk of the work before the opening. The clan went all out for this one and I have to populate an entire illusion with accurate targets for the Beast Hunting & Herb Gathering sub-event. Don't worry about it. I trust that you'll be able to handle everything without much trouble. You've been doing so well already and you'll have the rest of the crew to assist you."
Fangxu smiled up at Aristophanes after dropping her bomb on him and hurried into the yurt as Isakhun called for her. Aristophanes stood outside for a long moment considering what evil he had committed to be so cursed and almost wept.
***
SCENE B – Alchemy event
Supervised by Magnus Centenius (LordEdric)
RANK
ALCHEMY
Longevity Stork Clan [19]
Simmering Soup Sect [18]
Fecundity Stork Clan [12]
Strong-Backed Farmer Sect [11]
Ice Maidens Sect of Hu Lin City [10]
Peng Kingdom [10]
Sunrise Mountain Sect [10]
Fortune Stork Clan [10]
Whipping Forge Sect [9]
Seven Temples, Shrine Alliance [9]
Riverlord Sect [9]
Sunrise Sect [8]
Forge Madmen Sect [8]
Twelve City Alliance [8]
Grand Scorpion Sect [8]
Ghost Tree Forest Kings [8]
Sunset Sect [8]
Cursed Mushroom Clan [7]
Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom [7]
Woodsplitter Sect [7]
Sixty Kingdoms Alliance [6]
Xin Kingdom [6]
Gaohao Bandits [5]
Goatmen Tribes [5]
Shen Kingdom [4]
Sunset Mountain Sect [4]
Tao Bandits [4]
Hua Empire [4]
Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect [2]
Divided Mortal Kingdoms [1]
Hong Xuan Clan [1]
Crossed-Blades Cult [1]
{LordEdric: 2001 words}
Magnus waited as the competitors filled into the room. Magnus looked over the gathered Alchemists and once again cursed at getting roped into this. When he had heard the competition was to honor the new Cores of his generation, Magnus wanted to help and honor his friend Jin Muyi. What he didn't know was that Minervina had broken through the 8th Pillar and reached Core in one leap and was being honored as well. Just as he caught up to her, she leapt ahead again.
Magnus sighed loudly and channeled his disappointment at himself into his voice.
"QUIET." Magnus' Qi enhanced voice rang around the room as the contestants instantly quieted down. "Now, my name is Magnus Centennius, and no, I'm not involved with Minervina nor have I ever been. I am going to explain the rules of the Alchemy event. First we will begin with the most basic part of Alchemy; Identification."
Magnus gestured to the tables in front of each contestant. Each table was well provisioned with the materials he had asked - no, demanded - for their Event. If he had to suffer the indignity of representing the authority of that damned witch, the least he would tolerate was being supplied with components of the best quality at her expense.
"Before you all is a table with about 50 plants, minerals, and animal parts all used in Qi condensation formulas. Now, I told them that even a first year apprentice should be able to identify all of them, along with uses, origin, and best ways to harvest, but apparently I was expecting too much from all of you. So, after lowering my standards a few dozen times and giving up on your generation, you now only need to identify 25 of the 50 reagents and their uses. All these are relatively common items used in Qi Condensation rank 1 pills that can be used by mortals and those just starting on the path of immortality. Try not to be a disappointment to your homes. Begin!"
The contestants didn't even have time to be insulted by Magnus' callous attitude as they rushed to unveil their ingredients. Magnus smiled at the panic and confusion, there was something soothing about watching others panic at taking a test. Still, rank 1 ingredient and pills corresponded to the early Qi Condensation, and could only be used by those at the very beginning of their journey. Rank 2 was useful to those in the middle of QC and rank 3 was used until the peak of QC. Rank 4-6 was used in Foundation and Rank 7-9 for Core, and after that, they were just called by the realm of those who used them. Items in Rank 1 were about as simple as basic as one could get, and that is what made it secretly very difficult. Most would work on trying to get the best ingredients and most powerful reagents. Things safe for mortals were usually so weak that even the slowest cultivators would move past them within a few years and so their demand was very low as was their price. This meant that most had never seen these and would in most cases never again. Ironically, it was apprentices who started early that would do the best here as they would be some of the only people to actually use these. All too soon the hour was up and Magnus had to start grading.
"Well, I just wanted to start by saying you all surprised me. Even after lowering my expectations so much, you still found ways to disappoint me. 10 of you have failed a test that in its original form should have been simple for apprentices to pass, much less those representing their home nations and sects in this competition. One of you could not even correctly identify 1 out of 10 of the ingredients in front of you.
"Look at this," Magnus grabs a yellow stalk of grass from the table in front of the Hua Empire representative. "This is Yellow Qi Grass. It holds barely enough Qi in its stem to be used in the Rank 1 Qi Revealing Pill, but for some odd reason you wrote down it was a Gold Foundation Sprout. That particular plant can have its roots distilled into a Gold Pillar Pill that can reinforce metal and light based Dao pillars in the Foundation realm. Also, the Gold Sprout has a bright metallic sheen displaying its nature, while this Yellow Qi Grass is duller, looking like a stalk of ripe straw. So not only are you blind, but you're deaf as well, because you obviously didn't hear me say these were Qi Condensation level ingredients used in the lowest QC Rank 1 pills. Surely the great Hua Empire could have done better than a simpleton like you." Magnus throws the grass back on the table and ushers the failed competitors out of the room.
"It's like none of you want to win the prizes for the Alchemy Event. Wait," Magnus looks thoughtful for a moment, "I never mentioned what I was offering as a prize did I? Well, I'll tell you now. Third place will receive 100 low tier spirit stones and an elemental wine of your choice made by me. Second place will receive 10 Mid-tier Spirit stones and a cup of my new Sweet Regrets wine. This wine will allow you to relive a regret that haunts you and allow you to see what would happen if you had acted differently. Basically, you get a chance to fight a heart demon. First place will receive 100 mid-tier stones and a jug of the Sweet Regrets wine." Magnus had to pause here as the remaining contestants began to cheer.
"Silence!" Magnus roared.
The room quiets down again as Magnus continues the Event.
"The next test would have whittled you down to the final 8 but I don't have the patience to give you all a third test so we will finish it with this." Magnus announces as he smiles cruelly. "This should be another simple test if the lots of you are not complete worthless babes still drinking from their mother's teats." He pauses again as indignation passes through the crowd again. These are the best of your respective nations and rarely been insulted like this before, and Magnus was having a lot of fun winding these young geniuses up.
"Under the table are pill furnaces prepared for this exam. You will use the 50 ingredients in front of you to make the best pill you can. If you have more talent than a mentally idled Blood Path cultivator, you should be able to make a mortal level pill. Then again, if you aren't a completely hopeless case, you might be able to make a rank 1 pill that could boost the training of a junior. If you can make a rank 2 pill, then perhaps you are only a minor disappointment to your family instead of an embarrassment that should be locked away. Now as a special twist, you can use 1 ingredient I have on this table in front of me. Each one is a core ingredient to making a rank 2 pill. Now get started, you have 2 hours."
Magnus could see the front runners already. Out of the 22 remaining, 12 were attempting to make a Rank 2 pill, and 5 were trying to make something higher than that. Magnus himself could at best make a rank 4 pill from the ingredients here and that was because he could overload the pill with his own Qi boosting its power. Right now, all 5 sects with expertise in Alchemy were trying to make a rank 3 pill and from what Magnus could see, only 1 was heading to true failure.
The Cursed Mushroom Clan seemed to be trying to make some kind of Qi bomb rather than cultivation pill. From what Magnus understood, the pill should release a burst of Qi to help a cultivator break through any cultivation blocks, but the Qi was too violent and would probably break the user's meridians first. He pitied anyone who came to this boy for pills. Then he had to kick out the Cursed Mushroom Clan boy as his pill didn't even complete and exploded about half way through.
All too soon, the rest of the contestants finished their pills and readied them for grading.
The easy part for Magnus was kicking out everyone who made a Rank 1 pill and lower level rank 2 pills. Then he gave his verdict on the remaining 8 young scions.
"Well, it looks like we ended up with a top 8 after all. Good, now those guys won't complain about having nice looking rankings. First off, Ice Maidens Sect, Peng Kingdom, Sunrise Mountain Sect, and Fortune Stork Clan you all made Perfection Grade Rank 2 pills. Well done, that is where I was at when I was 40 years old and just starting at the path of cultivation. Now get out of here, I have to determine the winner."
The four losers accepted their loss with a good amount of grace. Their factions had no real history in Alchemy and making it this far had proven their talent and skill. Magnus himself wanted to recruit these four for his own nascent organization, but seeing as they were all from allied or vassal groups, it would be in poor taste to do so. Magnus turned his attention to the remaining four.
"In fourth place, the boy from the Strong-Backed Farmers Sect with a healing pill. Your pill barely qualifies as a Rank 3 pill and while it can heal, the effect is weak and will take several days for full effect. It doesn't even work as a good recovery pill from a hard day's labor, taking that long to work.
Next, third place is Fecundity Stork Clan with a small success Rank 3 pill. A cultivation pill of the lowest quality in Rank 3. It has so many impurities that it will be hard for anyone taking this pill to advance past the 9th Heaven stage. And the technique you used to forge this looked more like a baby mashing their food together during a meal than an Alchemist making a pill for use. Here's your prize, now move on." Magnus throws a very small jade box and moves on.
"Runner up, the lad from the Simmering Soup Sect and greatest disappointment of the lot. Your sect specializes in using Alchemy to make soups that can do everything a pill can. This cultivation pill can barely be considered in the Perfection grade if I squint at it and lower the requirements for Perfection to the point it might as well be a small success. There are not many impurities, but the ones you left behind make it difficult to absorb the full effect of the pill without setting up a long term slow acting poison in the body. Unless you were trying to kill someone in a hard to detect way, this pill can be considered useless."
"Girl from the Longevity Stock Clan, you made a life extension pill that can only be used once and can extend the life of a person maybe 20 years, maybe, if they got the full effect of the pill and flushed the impurities out properly. These impurities are relatively easy to flush out of a person's system thanks to the way it was made, but takes significant amounts of time to remove due to the quantities in it. If a person needs a life extension pill, it usually means they don't have time to waste cleaning out impurities from their bodies to continue cultivating. The only reason you won is because it is less likely to directly kill someone."
"I fear for this generation if you are the best two alchemists we have. Now go train some more so you might become less bumbling fools."
With this, Magnus drops two boxes in front of the winner and runner up and leaves the room with a swish of his cape he specifically wore for this effect.
***
SCENE C – Arrays & Talismans
Supervised by Achille Adephos (ninjastar)
RANK
ARRAYS & TALISMAN
Forge Madmen Sect [14]
Sunrise Mountain Sect [10]
Sixty Kingdoms Alliance [10]
Woodsplitter Sect [9]
Crossed-Blades Cult [9]
Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom [9]
Ghost Tree Forest Kings [9]
Hua Empire [9]
Seven Temples, Shrine Alliance [8]
Sunset Sect [8]
Gaohao Bandits [8]
Strong-Backed Farmer Sect [8]
Shen Kingdom [7]
Sunrise Sect [7]
Fecundity Stork Clan [7]
Longevity Stork Clan [7]
Divided Mortal Kingdoms [6]
Fortune Stork Clan [5]
Goatmen Tribes [5]
Grand Scorpion Sect [5]
Tao Bandits [5]
Cursed Mushroom Clan [5]
Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect [5]
Whipping Forge Sect [4]
Twelve City Alliance [3]
Peng Kingdom [3]
Riverlord Sect [3]
Ice Maidens Sect of Hu Lin City [3]
Sunset Mountain Sect [1]
Xin Kingdom [1]
Simmering Soup Sect [1]
Hong Xuan Clan [1]
{ninjastar - 1013 words}
It is said by some that revenge is a dish best served cold. Achille Adephos had long since learned to be wary of the wisdom supposedly contained in anonymous sayings and bland aphorisms. After all, why accept the lesson described earlier but reject another saying when it spoke to the same subject-matter and said to dig two graves before embarking on a journey of revenge? Inconsistent instruction aside, he was quickly coming around to appreciate the value of the teaching about delayed gratification in matters of vengeance. It might have taken the better part of two centuries but he had finally been able to express his displeasure about being entrapped in the dream realm of a Snow-Eyed Desert Fox.
The current target of his ire was probably not the same Spirit Beast whose den he'd stumbled into all those years back as a junior mechanikos of the 9th Heavenstage even if the Heavens had favored it to advance to match the Foundation Establishment equivalent strength of the trapped beast. The beast currently snarling and snapping at the qi barrier projected by four Array-Flags and trapping it in a cage of Achille's making, shared the pure white fur coat and crimson eyes of the species but it was unlikely that his assailant had made it all the way from the sandy regions north of the Dawn Fortress to this quiet corner of the Spirit Oasis. Unlikely but not impossible so Achille felt no compunction as he stood outside the boundaries of the trap he'd laid and sprung on the Desert Fox without ever giving it the chance to fight back
"Be quiet and let's have an end to this trouble," Achille barked at the increasingly enraged Spirit Beast. In response to his words, the eponymous eyes of the Snow-Eyed Desert Fox turned a chilling blue and transformed into blazing lanterns projecting a cone of distorted black and white dots and dashes like a heavy fall of snow. Achille trusted the integrity of the protections against mental attacks he'd woven into the barrier of the trap array formation but he decided that there was no immediate need to perform a stress test of that functionality. Closing his eyes immediately, Achille triggered the execution operation of the Four Cornered Tomb Array. Achille had buried four carved poles of Gravebronze and Soulsteel in a wide square along the path that he'd determined from several days' observation that his quarry favored when it left its den to hunt. Those poles had risen up from concealment when he had sprung his ambush, acting as anchors for the qi barrier. Now from each of the four poles, faint threads began to appear, drifting on an unseen wind. Seeing the new threat from the trap that had it caught tight, the Desert Fox escalated its efforts to escape, physically battering the glowing walls of its cage with its body to no avail and then trying to dig a way out, only to find that the barrier extended below the earth just as it did above. With inexorable purpose, the ghostly tendrils overcame the fox's efforts to evade in the limited space of the five meter wide cage and made contact with its body. Immediately the fox froze and fell over, its movement stopped but still breathing as the tendrils sank through flesh and bone to curl around its desperately beating heart and squeezed firmly, stopping the muscle's movement. Achille waited a few minutes until the array pinged his spiritual sense to confirm that there were no longer any living signals within it. Opening his eyes, he saw the flaccid form of the Desert Fox in the ground, a powerful beast tall enough to look him straight in the eye with powerful illusion abilities and incredible physical strength killed as swiftly and impotently as any mundane animal caught in a snare.
This was the power that array-engineering could bring to bear in the hands of a competent user and he'd do his best to impress this truth upon the juniors under his supervision in the sub-event he was responsible for. All that would have to wait for afterwards though. He had unfinished work here.
Deactivating the trap, he made his way to the carcass of the Desert Fox and extracted first of all the prize that he'd come for, the perfectly preserved eyes of a Snow-Eyed Desert Fox. These were the main focus for the Spirit Beast's mind twisting abilities and were often damaged in hunts for the creature as it strained and warped the delicate natural alignments in its ocular organs in its last moments of life. The spectral means of death Achille had chosen with the Four Cornered Tomb Array was directly intended to counter that eventuality, which it had done so perfectly justifying the expenditure of the limited stock of usable Ghost Qi Achille had needed to imbue in the array-flags. After death and extraction, the eyes of the Snow-Eyed Desert Fox had transformed into iridescent clear orbs which Achille secured in a small wooden box enchanted to preserve their viability. Turning back to the corpse, he continued the grisly work of harvesting every valuable portion of the Spirit Beast. Fur, organs, meat and bones, everything that could be taken was removed and stored away. After he was done with his bloody work, Achille retrieved his trap and began the trek north towards where he'd spotted the tracks of another Snow-Eyed Desert Fox.
He had hardly believed his good fortune when his hunting efforts had turned up two of the Spirit Beasts in such close proximity. The finding had immediately made him revise his plans for the array he'd been commissioned to craft for the first event of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. Forget about just creating hologram displays for contestants to identify specimens for the competition, he'd create an instanced dream world where the contestants were immersed in a true to life illusion allowing them to be tested to the full. The Four Lantern Mirage World Array would be one of his best works yet.
***
SCENE D – Artifice
Supervised by Lihua Kokkinos (veekie)
RANK
ARTIFICE
Forge Madmen Sect [16]
Whipping Forge Sect [11]
Divided Mortal Kingdoms [10]
Cursed Mushroom Clan [10]
Riverlord Sect [10]
Fortune Stork Clan [10]
Sunrise Sect [10]
Sunrise Mountain Sect [9]
Tao Bandits [9]
Ice Maidens Sect of Hu Lin City [8]
Hong Xuan Clan [8]
Sunset Sect [8]
Sunset Mountain Sect [8]
Shen Kingdom [8]
Goatmen Tribes [7]
Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect [7]
Hua Empire [6]
Sixty Kingdoms Alliance [6]
Xin Kingdom [5]
Grand Scorpion Sect [5]
Peng Kingdom [5]
Ghost Tree Forest Kings [5]
Simmering Soup Sect [5]
Strong-Backed Farmer Sect [5]
Longevity Stork Clan [4]
Gaohao Bandits [4]
Crossed-Blades Cult [3]
Seven Temples, Shrine Alliance [2]
Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom [2]
Woodsplitter Sect [1]
Twelve City Alliance [1]
Fecundity Stork Clan [1]
{veekie – 1626 words}
Through Fire is Metal Sacrificed and Reborn. Such is the Eternal Cycle of Metal, to be made and remade.
The words run through Lihua Kokkinos' mind as she meditated upon her Dao behind her desk in her assigned quarters, thinking about the meaning in those words. It was a flawed mantra that failed to encapsulate the essence of her way, she already knew that, but sometimes it was the failures that paved the way to victory. Having formed four out of the seven Dao-Pillars needed to have a chance of successfully formed a cultivator's core, much of her current cultivation consisted of merciless self-examination. The borders of her Dao had been penciled in by her efforts so far, the shape of Commitment looming in the distance of her mind's eye. All that was left was to firm up the foundation she had already established and fill out the gaps in her personal truth.
Lihua ran her eyes once more over the sheet of delicate rice paper in her hands, breathing in the scent of Blue-Ringed Deathtouch Octopus ink as she traced the lines of the perfect calligraphy of her mothers hand. Fenghuang Feng Huo was not much of a mother but she had an eye for beauty. That was one of the things that had drawn her curmudgeon of a father to the bright flame of the wandering cultivator or so Hephaestus Kokkinos had always told his daughter when she'd asked how the union of her parents had ever come to be. For an absentee parent, her mother had an uncanny way of supplying useful aid whenever Lihua was struggling with some issue. It was unnerving how the far spaced letters and gifts arrived to meet some distant need in Lihua's life. Sure every cultivator risked their life in one way or the other so the False Phoenix Egg was always going to be useful in the way a life saving treasure functioned but this current missive was unnervingly targeted to her current situation.
Lihua read through the letter slowly, sounding out the words as she remembered hazily doing as a child in the lap of her mother. The start of the letter was the normal summary of activities and plans from her mother with questions about Lihua's present circumstances. Nothing strange there. The remainder of the letter was however unusually devoted to a reproduction of tales Lihua's mother had often told her as a child, several that she'd forgotten about until reminded of it in this letter. One of them described the journey of a nameless bird without the ability to fly, chasing after a dream to one day stand in the clouds floating in the sky. The bird went through an endless cycle of adventures and quests trying to achieve this goal and nowhere near accomplishing its goal, it was asked by a human child why it persevered in chasing after a target that constantly moved away. The response of the bird was that if it gave up today, it would certainly fail its dream but tomorrow was a new day, a new chance to realize the possibility of its dream so as long as it kept trying, its dream did not die. There were other tales included in the letter, some she'd only skimmed and others that had held her in a trance for hours reading them over and over again. Something about those stories had resonated with Lihua and the remainder of her Dao-Pillars had revealed themselves to her. Eternity, Sacrifice and Rebirth, three truths bound to the heritage of the Phoenix, an inheritance that she had lived out without realizing its dimensions. For now, these were merely hollow thoughts she kept to herself but knowing them was the difficulty of progressing in Foundation Establishment. All that these nascent concepts needed to be translated from her personal philosophy to manifest truth cemented in her being was the nurturing of the energy of heaven and earth. For that, she had every intention of wringing out the good fortune necessary from the perilous bounty of the Qiguai secret realm.
Lihua carefully folded up the fragile letter and put it away. She pulled an incense bowl from the first drawer of the desk with a single stick of incense. Placing the stick in the bowl, she lit it with a flicker of flame from her index finger. As the fragrant smoke rose up from the burning stick, she bowed her head and whispered a prayer in thanks for her mother. Placing the lit incense bowl to the side of her desk after finishing her short prayer, she reached again into the drawers of her desk and retrieved a ream of paper and a personally handcrafted fountain pen. Bending over the documents, Lihua spent the remaining hour of the slow burning joss stick's life reviewing her plans for the Artifact Forging sub-event of the Aurum Invictum Certamen.
When the joss stick had burnt itself to ashes, Lihua set down her pen and picked up her finalized outline of activity and left her quarters. Just outside her door, the noise of the activity from the prefabricated accommodations cheaply and quickly set up for Golden Devil Clan members before the start of the competition made itself known absent the protection of the sound dampening arrays she had installed in her rooms. Looking up to the sky, Lihua tugged on the familiar link she had with the Burning Light Hawk Astrape and quickly oriented herself using the bond. She spotted the faint twinkle of light that was her lightbeast companion soaring on thermals in a lazy spiral far above in the sky. Checking in with the simple-minded creature told her that Astrape was content to spend the rest of the day aloft so she left it to its idyll.
Weaving her way through the rat's warren that was her temporary home, Lihua made her way to a nearby canteen set up by a fellow legionnaire where she knew her team would be at that hour. The members of Squad Helios were gathered around the table they'd taken as their own, munching on skewers of dango and plates of pork buns and dumplings. Striding over to the table she dropped a copy of the outline in front of each of her four subordinates.
"Get familiar with these, that's the final outline for how we're supervising the Artifact Forging competition," she ordered as she sat down and pulled the remaining serving dishes in a direction to grab a bite herself.
"I see we're still doing the paper shtick," Adonis said, picking up his copy, "You do know that jade slips were invented for a reason, right boss?"
Leafing through her copy, Athelia Parouisia absently replied to Adonis without looking up. "Considering how badly you always contaminate your jade slips with amorous intent, I can see why the boss would want to favor paper documentation. Nobody wants to know just how committed you are to romantic pursuits in the imprints of your Will."
"She got you pegged right there, Adonis," Phoebe Callius said mockingly, "It's just like you to leave your slobber all over the place."
Sidestepping the conversation going on around the table, Erlitou lifted a slender eyebrow at what he was reading and asked Lihua a question. "You're going for an open-ended crafting challenge with just three prompts, I see. How much did the Chamber of Administration allocate for supply of the materials for this part of the competition."
"Check the last page," Lihua mumbled around two dumplings.
Erlitou did so as did the rest of the team curious about their funding as supervisors. Eyebrows lifted unanimously across the team at the amount listed there.
"That's a lot of money for just one event," Phoebe choked out.
"It's a bloody fortune," Adonis said, agreeing with her, "Did one of the aides have a stroke and make a mistake while giving you the numbers?"
Swallowing the food in her mouth, Lihua addressed their surprise. "The bulk of that is earmarked donations from certain houses who want to use this event as a way to get a look at the crafting methodologies of certain participating influences. This amount of money jointly given is chump change to them compared to creating a rare opportunity to tease out secrets from juniors unconscious of critical scrutiny."
"Ahh, so this competition was not in fact a wholly kindhearted celebration of the best young talents of the Organ Meat Desert," Adonis said sarcastically.
"If you ever believed that it was, I have a mansion on Turtlebone Mountain to sell you. Very beautiful place at an affordable price," Phoebe responded wittily.
"Huh," Athelia said consideringly as she factored in this new information, "I might have to change my bets on the outcomes for the Artifact Forging event. I had the Forge Madmen Sect down as the favored winners but this might give the Whipping Forge Sect a ghost of a chance."
"For shame, woman, betting on a competition you are supervising, How unprofessional of you," Erlitou teased Athelia.
Athelia snorted. "Look who's talking. Weren't you the one who came asking me about the odds for the same event just two days ago?"
All eyes on the table turned towards Erlitou who shrugged in reply. "A man needs to fund his artwork somehow."
Light-hearted jokes were thrown across the table as the squad ordered another round of food and settled in to discuss the outline Lihua had delivered. Looking around at the table at her close-knit team, Lihua smiled and thought to herself that she wouldn't give any of them up for all the wealth in the world. Okay maybe she would consider Adonis, she amended that thought on reflection, but it would have to be two worlds' worth of wealth in consideration.
###
{Insane-not-Crazy – 3217 words}
Acta Publica: Highlights of the Sagacious Adept Contest of the Aurum Invictum Certamen by Chronicler Julius Diurna
So ends the first act of the Aurum Invictum Certamen, in wild and spectacular fashion. At the close of the Sagacious Adept Contest, as we reflect on the incredible victories and dumbfounding losses that have occurred, we must remember to keep humble and recognise that victory and defeat are never certain except to Fate itself. From the thirty two participants who participated in the days-long tests of craft and artifice, several dark horses have also proven their worth. All in all, each team and each individual tested their limits time and again to defend the honour of their homes and elders, successfully for some and less so for others. But one thing is for certain, and that is that every bit of promise the Aurum Invictum Certamen promised to reveal has made itself known, not graciously but proudly and in defiance of the odds!
Now then, the various contests. The Sagacious Adept Contest itself comprised four separate all day events taking place every other day over the past week in the Contest Hall set up for that purpose. The schedule was for contestants to prepare themselves but also for assessors to gird themselves, and to provide some break in the excitement for visitors to collect themselves. First would be the Beast Hunt followed by the Herb Gathering events, then by the Alchemy Refining and then finally the Array Crafting and Talisman Writing events before concluding with perhaps the most spectacular of them all, the Artifact Forging itself. Showcasing the six most common and fundamental professions taken up by Cultivators, in this way did the Aurum Invictum Certamen demonstrate and display the best qualities of those who participated, so that the contestants with the most promise could demonstrate their worthiness to all who would dare see. As hosts, the Golden Devil Clan naturally did not participate, but it oversaw the event with the greatest due dilligence, committing some of its most accomplished Experts to supervise the proceedings, Experts who are famed far and wide across the desert and even the Region for their valour, their might, and not least of all their skills in any of the Contests themselves.
Supervising Elder Minervina Barda herself deigned to offer a brief instruction on the canons of Alchemy with a demonstration of its heights before an audience, at the start of the relevant event. In four stages, with only the assistance of her companion spirit, she brewed in her personal Pill Cauldron an Exceptional Threefold Immortal Conditioning Pill, a famously and infamously wondrous and fiendishly complex medicinal recipe that could elevate even the most untalented Qi Condensation Junior from the First Heavenstage to the Ninth in a single leap, with minimal toxicity to boot. Such was its spectularity and such was its authenticity that the Supervising Elder proceeded to offer the marvel she had just crafted as the prize received by the most outstanding contestant of the - of her Sagacious Adept Contest, as jointly determined by all three Supervising Elders. Such a worthy prize only elevated the anticipation as the competing juniors redoubled their efforts in pursuit of such a rare prize, and it was but one of several excellent and powerful items on offer to those who would demonstrate their worth as Good Seeds through their performance.
And with that, the Sagacious Adept Contest began.
A) Beast Hunting and Herb Gathering event
Centurion Yang Fanxu would serve as Chief Proctor of the Beast Hunting and Herb Gathering events, joined together as the First event of the Sagacious Adept Contest in recognition of their roots that each respective occupation shares, and it would be under the Centurion's oversight that a dazzling contest began the proceedings. The stage set for the event was an illusory world representing a microcosm of the Organ Meat Desert preserved under time dilation, maintained by fellow Proctor Achille Adephos, who crafted an array that mimicked the curious ability of the Snow-Eyed Desert Fox. The task assigned to the individual contestants put forward by the participating teams was to demonstrate their ability to extract value from the natural environment in the form of resources harvested from Spirit Herbs and Spirit Beasts. Each contestant was allocated a separate instance of the illusory world and their collected efforts projected to an eager audience.
The contestants from the Hong Xuan Clan and the Gaohao Bandits were the standout performers in this event, matching each other in points from harvests and beating out all other contestants. Hong Xuan Chen demonstrated remarkable ability with archery, her keen aim and masterful stealth on display in her hunt for the most dangerous and valuable Spirit Beasts reproduced in the testing area. From stalking an Azure-Spotted Snow Leopard for several miles through a blizzard to slay it in its lair to downing a Moon Sickle Owl on the wing with a single shot, she earned her position as the twin lead for this contest. Her fellow contestant in the top spot, Du Gu Yao, likewise pursued an aggressive campaign of claiming his points from challenging fang and claw. Unlike Hong Xuan Chen, Du Gu Yao preferred to challenge his quarry up close, wielding an impressive club that left the pelts of his targets magnificently preserved for skinning. The performance of these two impressed not just from their ability to overcome their prey but also from their display of tracking prowess and consummate huntsmanship.
Coming in third behind the two leads with just a single point difference, Southern Glory Jungle Farmer and Fan Yu demonstrated the strength of alternative approaches to meeting the event's demands. In a reversal of the focus on Beast Hunting by Chen and Yao, Jungle Farmer leaned into the teachings of his sect and concentrated on wrangling Spirit Herbs. The stout young man demonstrated a remarkable affinity for herblore, sussing out spirit vegetation from concealment, overcoming their active resistance to being harvested and returning the valuable components with minimal damage during harvest and transportation. On the other hand, Peng Wu Liang chose a balanced strategy between flora and fauna. She ranged perhaps the furthest of all the contestants, sweeping up large volumes of easily harvested plants and animals in an ever increasing spiral. She displayed a solid understanding of multiple environments from aquatic habitats to sandy wastelands, perhaps not plumbing them as deeply as other more familiar cultivators did but managing a broad competency that pushed her ahead of many.
Among other noteworthy performances of the event, Uzumaki Suigetsu although coming in fifth drew attention for continuous underwater operation from start to finish of the event. A rare example of expertise with aquatic environments in the Organ Meat Desert, the lake beds and rivers were an unmatched opportunity for him. He lost out on higher placement only because he was unlucky to draw the attention of a ravenous school of Blood-Seeking Tiger Sharks and forced out by injury.
Speaking of being unlucky, the Sunrise Mountain Sect are off to a bad start in the Aurum Invictum Certamen from the nearly immediate exit of their contestant Seven Strikes Strong when she fell victim to a battalion of Stone-Cutting Army Ants at the outset of her attempt. The dismemberment obsessed artisans of the Forge Madmen Sect apparently do not do well outside of their workshops in the natural environment as their contestant Three Hands of the Buddha fared poorly against both beast and vegetation. Weishi Long of the Woodsplitter Sect perhaps provided us all insight into the deforestation efforts of his sect as he was soundly defeated by the Bewitching Devil Jasmine he sought to claim as a prize. Our poor but hilarious showings like the inexplicable narcolepsy of Kuro from the Curshed Mushroom Clan or the confusing seppuku by Nine Blade God of the Crossed-Blades Cult certainly made the viewing experience a delight for the audience.
These are just a sampling of the excitement of the first event and you can catch it all recorded in detail on request from the contest organizers.
B) Alchemy Refining event
The second official event of the Sagacious Adept Contest had everyone's expectations tuned high from the spectacle of the Beast Hunting and Herb Gathering action, and it delivered in its own way. The Alchemy Refining competition was a return to the examination of the fundamentals of crafting after the proxy physicality of the previous event. In charge of this assessment was the famed member of the Indomitable Thirteen, Magnus Centennius, widely considered a Poison Cultivator with few peers in his realm. Harsh but firm in his evaluation of the competing juniors, his organization of the event into an elimination-style contest of demonstrating competence in both theory and practice lit a flame under the feet of all the contestants who were now competing merely for the opportunity to be noticed. To heighten the stakes, Magnus, in his position as chief proctor for the event, personally offered prized to the top three contestants from his own resources and creations. Any and all rumors that such a diligent supervisor forgot the names of the contestants he was overseeing are nothing more base gossip unfortunately common to such gatherings.
Coming in at first place, Liu Zhong of the Longevity Stork Clan demonstrated fine ability in her clan's specialty of life extension aids to clinch the top prizes. No doubt her grand-uncle, the patriarch Liu Zhang, will be pleased to see her bring honor to her clan with her performance.
Edged out barely by Liu Zhong's performance, Fat Belly Ghost of the Soupbook Life-Death Cauldron proved that the competency of the Simmering Soup Sect did not lie only in their ability to make broths and soups. The Iron Bone Fortification pill he produced was a commendable effort for any Qi Condensation alchemist.
Trailing behind the two forerunners, Beifong Wen was not as adept as her cousin Liu Zhong but nonetheless managed to just beat out the now well-known Southern Glory Jungle Farmer for the last personal prize from proctor Magnus Centennius. The meridian strengthening pill she concocted eked out a slight margin of approval over the flesh knitting pill the green-thumbed farmer presented for his efforts.
For someone who just missed the mark to win a truly excellent prize, Southern Glory Jungle Farmer took his defeat with admirable grace. We hope to see the promising junior do better in other events that allow him to show off his noteworthy talents.
The Ice Maidens Sect, Peng Kingdom, Sunrise Mountain Sect, and Fortune Stork Clan were the unfortunates of the final round of eight, coming so close but stumbling at the finish together. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery but four average recipes fora meridian cleansing pill did not do much to impress our chief proctor who considered their offerings uninspired.
Having an even worse day, the Hong Xuan Clan found themselves ranked the lowest together with the Divided Mortal Kingdoms and the Crossed-Blades Cult from their disastrous attempts to deliver as instructed in the beginning of the event. The only saving grace to the early elimination of the proud rivals of the Simmering Soup Sect was that they were ushered out with nine other partipating influences.
For those interested in a more detailed critique of the Alchemy Refining event, the chief proctor has published his remarks and copies are available on request.
C) Array-Crafting and Talisman Writing event
It would be hardly challenged to say that the third event of the Sagacious Adept Contest drew the most attention from both hosts and guests. All other events aside, this was the event where contestants were asked to make their mark before assessors who looked down from a lofty height built upon a foundation of expertise and talent that is scarcely contested in the entirety of the Virtuous Flipper Region. It was only befitting that an acclaimed expert supervise this event, an Expert whose credentials had already been established before all present in the first event. Senior Mechanikos Achille Adephos was selected as chief proctor of this event to test the contestants for their ability to demonstrate their competency in his first love, array-engineering, and talisman creation. The tasks set before the contestants for the first half of the event was threefold, decipher and interpret the function of an existing array, modify said array to given specifications and craft an array from scratch based on a random prompt. They were then to repeat the same performance only using talismans instead in the latter half of the event.
From their atrocious performance in the Beast Hunting & Herb Gathering event to their ignoble showing in the Alchemy Refining event, the prosthetic equipped artisans of the Forge Madmen stormed ahead to claim dominance in this third event, leaving their closest competition well behind. Three Hands of the Buddha might be a poor fit for the chaotic natural landscape but as a craftsman they found no peer in demonstrating an excellent grasp of the fundamentals of dealing with arrays and talismans. The three-handed cultivator blazed through the test of comprehending the workings of a Four Cardinal Beast Barrier array formation, easily transforming its operation to suppress those within as instructed by the proctors and finally, ingeniously inscribing an array-plate with a hypnotic enchantment when given the prompt 'dream'. They performed equally well with the Five Element Conflagration talisman although their production of a cacophony producing talisman at the end did not quite align with the theme of 'music' as was requested.
Trailing behind the Forge Madmen Sect, a surprising lineup of participants squabbled for second and third placements, only two rising above the fray by a slight advantage to claim second position while ridiculously five others squatted in third place. The Sunrise Mountain Sect and Sixty Kingdom Alliance were unlikely picks for second place but what contestants Granite Boulder Skull and Xia Xin lacked in originality at the latter stages of both tasks, they made up for in passable workmanship. The Woodsplitter Sect, Crossed-Blades Cult, Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom, Ghost Tree Forest Kings and Hua Empire contestants were self-sabotaging menaces who might have placed higher were they not so obviously concerned with the performance of other contestants proving equally as capable as themselves and rather focused on their own projects. It has to be a record in the history of crafting competitions where five contestants spend as much time trying to skirt the rules of non-interference with others' work as they do on actually producing their own content.
Far below these aforementioned eight in the rankings, the Hong Xuan Clan continued a disappointing streak of failure, this time born out of their incessant rivalry with the Simmering Soup Sect that got both contestants disqualified and caught the Sunset Mountain Sect and Xin Kingdom contestants in the crossfire of their rules-breaking. Unfortunately for the latter two participants, self-caused errors from distractions, even if these were explosive distractions, counted against their assessment.
In between these noteworthy positions, a surprisingly poor performing group of contestants competed for their rankings with mediocre displays which any interested parties can peruse in detail for a fee.
D) Artifact Forging event
After the decidedly very average showings on the whole from the third event, a palette cleanser was needed by the audience and it was hoped that the Artifice Forging event would provide it. After all, legends and histories of cultivators were replete with the fame and notoriety of wondrous magical treasures forged by masterful craftsman that oppress entire armies and secure victory from seemingly inevitable defeat. It would be too much to expect the grandeur of myth from juniors such as were competing but from such small seeds sprout the greatest heroes and villains so all were on the lookout for good seedlings. Chief proctor Lihua Kokkinos seemed herself a work of artifice brought to life and she certainly put forward a good challenge to the contestants. One artifact to take life, one artifact to preserve life and one last artifact to enrich life were what she asked each contestant to present and to that end, the hosts of the event generously made available a truly impressive array of reagents and components to every contestant. Ability and not supply would decide the success of each contestant. Aesthetics, functionality and durability were the metrics by which produced artifacts were to be judged.
Once again the Forge Madmen Sect took the lead, extending the gap of their victory even wider this time. For this event, unassuming Song Lingcheng stood for the artisans of the Spirit Oasis and she more than justified her election. The spear, the staff, the saber and the straightsword, these four are considered the Four Noble Weapons but before these were ever conceived there was a simpler tool of bloodshed, the common stone. Thrown or held in hand it spilled blood eons ago and still does so today. A stone was what Song Lingcheng worked at with a hand of flesh and another of iron, carving away extraneous rock and baptizing the shaped oval form in molten metal. She presented a stone that struck with the force of a cannon, an orb that could be cast forth and pulled back by a user attuned to it. For her next artifact, she went back to the basics once more, crafting a shield made of Hellscream Razorwinged Bat leather over a sturdy frame of Spirit Steel. Strike the shield's surface and a sonic assault was project towards the unwary attacker. Finally for her last artifact, she crafted a simple veil of silken weave to protect the airways and always keep the scents of home with a wearer. With these three items, she secured first place.
If there is a first, there is a last unless the Fates are playing tricks. Alas for the Woodsplitter Sect, Fecundity Stork Clan and Twelve City Alliance, the levity of fortune was not in their favor. Each contestant from these three participants was paralyzed by the possible choices open to them from the materials provided and wasted time dithering over what to craft. This lack of decisiveness cost them as the Woodsplitter Sect contestant found his ambitions exceeding his reach midway through crafting while the Fecundity Stork Clan cultivator needed remedial lessons in divination after his attempt to graft an auspicious blessing to his work reduced them to useless slag. As for the competitor from the Twelve City Alliance, the less said about the endless backtracking and modifications she attempted in the midst of her work, the better.
Much more works were presented for judging than enumerated above and they can be found in a catalogue of novelties appended as lots to the auction arranged for later in the program for the Aurum Invictum Certamen.
E) Events summary
What a week it had been, a week full of screams and groans as the audience watched contestants challenge themselves and one another in tests of skill. The Sagacious Adept Contest has been a lively spectacle that examined the ability of junior cultivators to apply knowledge, education and wisdom as a testament to their homes' ability to produce worthwhile professionals. Some impressed beyond their realm, a lot did as expected and far too many failed to satisfy. At the close of the Contest, appetites have been whetted and attention eagerly turns to the next great challenge, the testing of brawn and might. All eyes eagerly await what comes next
(A vs B) d2 rolled, 1 = A & 2 = B for winner; Pairings: Match 1 – 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5; Match 2 – 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, 5 vs 6, 7 vs 8; Match 3 – 1 vs 5, 2 vs 6, 3 vs 7, 4 vs 8; Supervised by Elder Liang (ObsidianNoir)
DIVISIONS 1-4
MATCH 1
MATCH 2
MATCH 3
Hua Empire
Whipping Forge Sect
Ice Maidens Sect of Hu Lin City
Sunset Sect
Divided Mortal Kingdoms
Strong-Backed Farmer Sect
Longevity Stork Clan
Hong Xuan Clan
1. Hua Empire beat Hong Xuan Clan
2. Longevity Stork Clan beat Whipping Forge Sect
3. Strong-Backed Farmer Sect beat Ice Maidens of Hu Lin City
4. Sunset Sect beat Divided Mortal Kingdoms
1. Whipping Forge Sect beat Hua Empire
2. Ice Maidens of Hu Lin City beat Sunset Sect
3. Strong-Backed Farmer Sect beat Divided Mortal Kingdoms
4. Hong Xuan Clan beat Longevity Stork Clan
When the first declaration about the tournament was made, it spread across the lands of the Divided Mortal Kingdoms. The Golden Devils were staunch allies of the realm, and when a celebration was announced for their most talented Minervina Barda in form of a tournament, there was much rejoicing as the news spread like a wildfire.
That of course included the Sapphire Earldom of Axes. Which of course met up with their Green counterpart, in a form of 'warmup'. Naturally that meant, fucking, fighting, drinking. The usual mingling and bonding between two sides of the same coin. What better way to enjoy the fires of combat, the matching of skills, than a tournament? Sponsored by their good ol' pals, the Golden Devils to boot! None of that Righteous crap or Blood Path psychos. Just good old genuine beatdowns with no judging or false pretenses. Amongst them, the Qi Condensation cultivators were the most excited, for the ability to gain glory and fame, especially and only in the combat part of the fighting. That included the up and rising talent Jian. Some say the young lord of the Wan Clan was the incarnation of the axe. Rippling muscles, bones of steel and a beard that would make the most hardy men swoon even. At the height of Qi Condensation, this talent was more than ready to show off his skills, to show his apex at his current stage before finally ascending to the next level.
Of course that joy didn't last for long until young Jian heard how this tournament would work. Or rather, how this tournament would go for him. He may not be a seer, but the moment he heard the explanations, the information and words, he knew for a fact that he would lose.
"Run this by me again," he asked in a cold voice, staring at his brother, with a beard just smaller than his, but just as magnificent. Zhao sighed, shaking his head before returning the glare with a flat look.
"You heard me, brother."
Sucking in air through his teeth, the blonde man leaned forward, barring his teeth.
"Nononono, I need you to repeat yourself. Because I believe my ears are crippled cause I think I heard you say I'm teaming up with someone from the Blues and someone from the Greens." Jian pointed at himself. "And none of them are fucking axe brothers."
"The bigshots decided that drawing lots would make it more…what's the bullshit they said, fair? Faster?" A beat of silence, followed by another sigh of frustration. "...What do you want me to say, Jian?
"I want you to fucking say that I'm not teaming up with the damn Yu and the damn Lei! Can you tell me any of that shit?!" He roared, slamming his fist down on the table. Naturally, it gave in immediately and broke down, spilling the drinks on them. Zhao eyed the fluids being drained away by the sand with a sorrowful expression before closing his eyes with a deep breath.
"Sorry." A reassuring grin appeared on his face before he lightly punched Jian's shoulder. Lightly in an axe context meant that the wall behind him got hit by the displacement of air. "But I believe in your strength. You can make up for the lack of teamwork. Shitheads or not, at least you know the two are tough."
Jian licked his lips. The two clans he was meant to team up were strong if nothing else. Reputable by the standards of their respective kingdoms. He closed his eyes before shrugging. Just had to make this into three one against ones instead of a teamfight. How hard could that be?
"True 'nough."
"Just make us Wan proud."
Jian snorted and flipped his brother off.
"I make ya proud with each breath I take, dick."
///
The large stage prepared for all the cultivators existing in the desert was vast to say the least. Massive structures and arenas created just for this one purpose, courtesy of the hardworking, enigmatic group only known as "The Builders". Tents were set up next to each other, kingdoms almost touching each other when before there was too much distance to even consider getting to know each other. One of those tents were marked with three names, a gathering spot for the families that would choose their representatives for the team battles.
Cerulean Blade Duchy. Green Dragon Empire. Sapphire Earldom of Axes.
Lei. Yu. Wan. Three clans. Three different philosophies, chosen by random chance to represent one third of the glorious Divided Mortal Kingdoms. It was an opportunity to show off the might of the biggest territory in the desert. A chance to represent how despite their differences, they could work together and become a lethal force even the Golden Devils would be hesitant to take on.
At least that was the public explanation why they all participated. Behind the curtains, hidden from the open eye, things were not as poetic and harmonious. To say the air was thick with tension was like saying the area they all lived in was dry. Gathered around the table, there were three clear factions. On one side, many were clothed in cerulean robes. Swords of many forms and shapes were attached to their bodies, their hips and backs. In front was an elderly man, wrinkles all over his place and hunched over, resting his hands on a staff. One could tell with ease that the Core Formation Elder was reaching the end of his life. Yet his one open eye was as sharp as ever, able to cut through people if he so desired. Next to him was a much younger, taller individual, yet just as powerful. With his wavy hair that reached his neck, he yawned once, hands not even close to his two swords unlike his companions. But for all that relaxed demeanor, nobody would try to sneak attack him, for they knew that the Formless Blade was ready to kill at any moment without any forewarning.
Then there was their opposites, seated on the other end of the table. Unlike the uniform appearance of the Lei Clan, the Yu Clan were dressed all over the place. Shirts, robes, mail armor, even not having a shirt at all. Some had crimson red hair, standing closer to the front, while others were stuck with black hair instead. The most noteworthy had long hair that seemed to glow with a crimson sheen. Armored in a form fitting black bodysuit, her cloak wrapped over her shoulders fluttered a bit as she shifted on her seat, her feet resting on the table as she smirked.
Last but not least, in the middle relatively speaking, were half naked men, all with their arms crossed, presenting yet another unified front. Bulging muscles meant to swing mighty axes, the Wan glared down both sides. It was ironic, that the ones considered the most barbaric essentially acted as mediators in this situation. The leading man, with a beard so long it could easily reach the ground, glanced at the two leaders and nodded at them. The Yu took this as her cue, chuckling a bit as she put her feet down and leaned forward, chin resting on her palm.
"Greetings. It has been a while, Gao." She looked past the Axe of the Blue to the Sword of the Blue, her smile turning even more fake as her eyes became half lidded with mockery. "Shoushan."
The old man of the sword scoffed, raising a nonexistent eyebrow at the woman.
"It sure has. You're as bloody as ever, Yun."
Yun twitched, her smile almost wavering before she pushed on with gritted teeth.
"And you are as wrinkling as ever, how is the new head progressing?"
The man with the wavy hair blinked before shooting the woman a betrayed look. The Elder jumped at the opportunity to show off, smirking openly as he poked his grandson in the side.
"Well enough. Be wary of him."
"Oh, worried about me more than your own grandson?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Shoushan laughed a bit before pointing at her instead.
"More like hoping that warning you makes you a better challenge for Guang."
Guang bit his lip, looking like he was wishing he could be anywhere else. Yun laughed loudly, shaking her head.
"Putting a lot of money on this one, old man."
She rose to her feet. Immediately, swords were partially withdrawn while the other side literally began to heat up. Black hair started to turn crimson as steam escaped their bodies.
"Really, it just makes me want to-"
A loud crack sounded. Heads snapped to the side, looking at the culprit of the noise. A massive sapphire colored axe chopped the table in half. Exhaling, the Axe Cultivator growled as he looked between them.
"Oi, you bitches. It hasn't even been ten seconds, save it with the foreplay." Sitting back down, he crossed his arms. "Who you sendin' in?"
Shoushan and Yun scoffed as one. The latter was the one who moved first, a casual hand gesture motioning for someone to move forward.
"Beidou, be a dear."
"Yes, mother!"
Stepping forward with a hurry, many would call him young. With a bright, almost fanatic smile, he almost bounced forward. Some noted the saber at his hip, unusual for the Yu Clan. With a black suit covering his body, he seemed like a disciplined individual. But those of older age and experience saw his eyes and found them wanting. Wanting of sanity, as they were filled with mindless devotion. Shoushan scoffed. His eyes wandered over the Yu Clan before smirking just a little bit as he spotted someone with a wild mane barely contained in a black ponytail. Sleeveless arms and long tubes hidden in cloth, hiding their true purpose. Not to mention a look of utter disdain for the entire room.
"Youngest son? Not oldest?"
She tried to act casual. The entire clan tried to. But the old man knew a bad egg when he saw one and how one was treated. Crossing her legs, Yun laughed it off, waving her hand casually.
"This stage isn't fitting for him. And my youngest has more than enough potential to show off the Yu Clan's glory."
The most powerful Axe Cultivator in the room eyed the boy. Compared to his, he wasn't that good. But the aura was decent enough. Not to mention it was always hard to gauge a Yu before they showed off why they were called Hell Demons. WIth a nod, he crossed his arms.
"Good enough for me." He glanced at Shoushan with narrowed eyes. "And you?"
"Feng."
The first sign something was off was the coughing and the yelping. Everyone stared at the Cerulean Blade Duchy with bated breath. They saw how most of them smiled a mocking smile, the only exceptions being Guang and one woman, who seemed a bit angry at the grins. Then she stumbled forward, covering her mouth with heavy breath. Many blinked. Many gaped. Wrapped in robes more fit for a tea ceremony, one would think she was a maiden that got lost if not for the sword at her hip. Her short blonde hair fluttered in the wind as she coughed a few times, actually wiping blood from her mouth with her pale hand. And yet, she showed a goofy smile as she bowed, not that she needed to bow much as she was already doubled over from all the coughing.
"G-Greetings. I hope this one can live up to expectations!"
As if that sickness wasn't enough, one didn't need to be an expert to feel it. Or rather, the lack of it. The lack of strength in her very Qi, her very existence.
To say that this girl was weak was an understatement. Suffice to say, natural reactions had to follow that realization.
"You are fucking shitting me."
"Pffhahahahahahahaha! You can joke after all, old man!"
Unbridled rage, only contained by shock. Unrestrained amusement, not contained at all. Yet the Cerulean Blade Duchy didn't react. Instead, they seemed to mostly share the amusement of Yu Yun, who was laughing her gut out. Soon enough, the leader of the Axe Cutlivators snarled as he reached out and grabbed Shoushan by the collar, easily raising him up in the air. Blades and axes were drawn at the same time, but stopped when Shoushan raised his arm with a calm demeanor.
"Have I done anything to upset you? Did I fuck any of your wives? Your husbands?" When no reaction came, he snarled. "Why the fuck are you sabotaging us?!"
"She'll do just fine, trust me," Shoushan responded calmly. "She may look weak but she will do for this level of a tournament."
The Sapphire Axe spat to the side and dropped him before throwing his arms up in the air.
"Not a whole lot of trust to have here!"
Wiping a tear from her eye, Yun clapped her hands a few times, like a child at a festival, absolutely giddy.
"Sending in a sick girl like that? How cruel."
The old swordmaster chuckled and glanced at a certain young man. He barred his teeth, which took guts. Smiling widely at Yun, he showed his own teeth.
"I don't wanna hear that from a woman that shuns her own son, you hellion."
The room immediately went cold. The burning hell fire turned into the freezing cold of hell. Yun's smile was completely gone, her eyes empty as veins bulged out of her skin, that has turned crimson.
"It's Hell Demon. You want to insult me, do it properly, you toothpicks."
"Describing your breakfast? And I see you are avoiding the question. How unlike you, red bull."
Sclera turning black and pupils going crimson, obsidian bones began to form over her skin as she exhaled steam. The Hell Demons behind her changed as well, mostly their hair color and their skin color. But some grew horns, wings, claws. The inhuman bloodline followed the call of their head, who was enraged beyond belief that a shame of the clan was even addressed.
"It seems like you are forgetting who broke your spine the last time we fought."
Half unsheathing his blade, the old man chuckled.
"Funny, I remember cutting your arm off." His smile fell. "It does look a bit thinner than usual. Not enough milk to regrow that ugly bone?"
"Stop diverting from the fact that you have zero interest in winning," Yun said, her voice echoign with an inhuman vibration as her whole body was covered with a black skeleton at this point. Shangshan unsheathed his blade in full at that point, the very air appearing to be ready to cut.
"I have my agendas, you have yours. Mine just have a bigger purpose than mere PR. But then again, I guess you murdering fucks need it more?"
"Oh, I get it, what you are actually saying is 'please exterminate my clan', is it?!"
A burst of blue qi, as well as a mighty roar shook the very tent. The strongest Axe Cultivator of the Blue grew twice in size, his mighty axe with its long shaft looking like a single handed sword. He growled at the two sides.
"Listen here you lil' shits. I don't care for your politics. But if you start something here and get us all kicked out, I will murder you all."
The Obsidian Demon and the Sword Saint shared a look. Then they huffed, sheathing their respective weapons, sword and bone. Sitting back down, the air cleared, just a little bit.
"Axe Duchy."
"More brutish than you."
"I take that as a compliment."
"Don't act like you fuckers are better than me after all that!" Shrinking in size, he was already walking out. "Fuck it, I'm done, we got out sorry excuse for a team! Let's get this shit over with already!"
Everyone else took this as their cue as well. Rising from their seats, making it a point to leave from the different exits without having to deal with the other clans.
Wan Jiang, Yu Beidou and Lei Feng. The first three. Suffice to say, the way Hell Demon and Axe Cultivator were glaring at the other teammates while the Sword Cultivator was smiling and staring off into empty space…none of them had a lot of confidence. Thus, they began to leave the room…
Not realizing that there was no light in this girl's eyes even as she smiled.
///
"How could you let this happen, cousin?!"
Feng flinched. She didn't like it when her beautiful older sister was angry. It made her sad. Coughing a few times, her anger disappeared for a bit, patting Feng's back. But it didn't last long, as she sent a death glare at the Formless Blade, who sighed and shook his head.
"Ying, calm down."
"How am I supposed to calm down with my sister being used like this?!"
"It's fi-"
Grabbing her shoulders, Ying went down on one knee and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It's not fine! It never has been fine and I wish everyone would pretend it is anything but fine!" She snapped back at Guang. "What is the reason for this?!"
Apologetic, Guang bit his lip before lowering his head.
"The clan refuses to send out anyone that can give away our secrets. As Feng is only trained in the basics…"
It stung. Not the way her lungs twitched as usual, not the way her head rang and hurt. No, it stung in her very soul. A part of her wanted to believe. Believe that she was deserving to stand on such a stage because she had the skill. Yet to hear it spelled out, that it was because nobody expected anything from her…she grabbed the handle of her blade even tighter. It was noted by the two of them, but she tried to distract them with the usual smile.
A smile meant that all was right, even if everyone knew otherwise.
"She's a sacrificial lamb." Ying shook her head in disbelief. "How dare you…"
Feng hit her chest, flinching at the pain, but powering through.
"It's fine, sister!" She pointed at herself. "I'll be a good girl no matter what, I promise! I'm glad this weak body gets a chance to make the clan proud!"
Yes. A good girl. She grit her teeth behind her smile. Not a bad girl that made Ying afraid. Not a bad girl that made Ying worry. Seeing her determination in her eyes perhaps, Ying calmed down somewhat. Yet she still looked right in her eyes, a plead buried in them.
"Your grand uncle wants to find out." She smiled gently. "Don't let him, okay?"
Ah. Her very soul screamed as two conflicting desires warred with each other. She wanted him to find out. She didn't want him to find out. A good girl. A bad girl. Both girls fought and fought and fought, hidden from everyone's view, until the good girl won. Her smile widened. Her grip on her blade tightened. And she nodded, obediently, an unspoken promise of not killing anyone, no matter how much she wanted to. Thus, with earnest words, she replied immediately, for not even a second went by with her inner conflict.
"Sure!"
///
Yu Qiao wanted nothing more than to start blasting. Kill as many as he could before he was killed in return. Alas, if he followed his shortsighted desire to pay everyone back for their mockery, he wouldn't be able to fulfill his goal to stick it to them in the way that matters. He rubbed the tubes on his back for comfort, little as they gave.
To think that his mother would spite him so. That her ego and pride was so frail that him announcing he wouldn't use his Hell Demon Constitution was enough to shun him so openly. Ah, such old traditions having such old, what sin, what nonsense, what idiocy. Instead of showing off his Revolution, to show that those old ways were old for a reason, he was denied. Denied a chance for the big stage. Denied his path. Instead, his foolish brother, the chained dog yipping for any small treat, was chosen. The definition of what he despised of the clan. He growled in the seats, separate from his own clan, but close enough to hear their foolish words. Hidden with a hood over his head, he leaned forward as the arena was filled with cheers and commotion.
It was a simple arena. A square centered in a massive circle, marking what was the outside and what was the inside. Vast enough to have six fighters, but small enough to force actual thinking when one moved. He just thought about how he would fight within it. Stay in the backlines, let the axe idiot and the frail sword girl take the front and deal with their enemies. He narrowed his eyes. Who were their enemies anyway? His question would be answered soon, as a Golden Devil stepped forward. Concentrating Qi in his throat, the man coughed a few times before grinning wildly as he spread his arms open.
"My fellow cultivators! My fellow mortals! Those that are shunned by Heaven! I am honored, excited, blessed, to be the one to announce this chance! To introduce these mighty warriors that defy the will of the world itself!"
He snapped his arm to his left.
"On the West! These individuals rise where the sun sets!"
"All fades with time! All disappears over the years! They recognize that truth, and live by it! The wondrous Dao of Decline! Following the instructions of the Daylight Monk by spirit and letter, they accept the End with open arms, and become even mightier warriors for it!"
Slowly, three individuals emerged from the shadowed gate. Their identities were a mystery for their hoods and masks covered their heads completely. If Qiao didn't know any better, he'd say they were triplets with how they walked at the same pace with the same breath.
"To advance quickly! To die quickly! Swift in growth and in spirit, they can easily fight on realms higher than their own and win! For what is power in the face of Weakness itself?! From the Seven Temples…the New City…! Originating from the Sunset Gardens…!"
The three stomped the ground as one, blinding light radiating from them, like a star about to disappear. Their fists raised, their stance tight, they were ready to destroy anything in their path with their fists.
"An applause! For! The! SUNSET MOOOOOOOONKS!"
The crowd exploded in cheers and Qiao growled. What he would give to be down there now. They were the perfect test subjects. Meatheads rushing ahead. He tightened his grip on the hidden tubes of his.
The announcer snapped his arm to the other side, taking another deep breath.
"Aaaaaand from the East Side! Three kingdoms of the Divided Mortal Kingdoms send a clan each for the sake of cooperation and unity, despite their differences! First and foremost, the Sapphire Earldom of Axes!"
An earthquake, followed one by the other. No, stomps. The Axe Wielders chanted, kicking down on the ground over and over again, beating their chests in rhythm like a drum.
"What makes one strong? Special techniques? Swiftness? Vast resources? No, no and no again! What makes one strong, is strength itself! And what is the representation, than the axe?!"
Emerging from the dark gate, another axe wielder beat his chest. Their hearts beat as one, the warriors spirit dousing the entire stage.
"Some might call them barbaric, some might call them uncultured, but so what?! Their will to fight, their bodies made of steel and thickness, what more do they need?! To live is to fight! To fight is to live! And he is the rising star that represents those very virtues!
The man flexed his muscles before screaming at the heavens themselves, his brethren doing the same, hollering and roaring in sync.
"Wan Jiaaaan!"
It took a while for those idiots to shut up. Qiao noted how open the guy was with his weakspots. A couple hundred metal bits embedded in his oh so wonderful muscles would definitely do the trick. He turned his attention back to the gate as the announcer spok up once more.
"And yet, axes are not the only vanguards of the Divided Mortal Kingdoms! Nay, some might say the honor of strongest front belongs to them!"
Qiao grit his teeth as he saw his foolish brother rush out immediately. His clan clapped, as if he was worthy of the applause. Then Beidou unsheathed his blade and began to swing it around, trying to look cool and failing miserably for anyone that had proper eyes.
"Their strength is in their blood! It has been said that they were cursed and blessed alike by a demon of unimaginable strength! Thus, even after thousands of years, the blood of the Hell Demon runs strong!"
His black hair turned red, filling Qiao with disgust. Like a maniac, he began to laugh as his sword was covered with fire, so crimson red it was nothing but unnatural.
"They can transform into harbingers of doom! Messengers of the depths themselves! Fire that burns even fire, they can cast aside their human masks to reveal their true demonic selves! The Hell Demons of the Green Dragon Empire, represented by…! Yu! Bei! Douuuuuu!"
More and more fire was released, forcing Jian to step away, flinching from the heat. Qiao scoffed as the cheers slowly died out. Wasting so much Qi already? His brother really had no self preservation instincts whatsoever. He glanced to the gate one last time, not exactly looking forward for this one.
"Last! But definitely! Not least at all! Where there is the strength of the axe, there has to be the grace of the sword!"
There were no cheers from the Cerulean Blade Duchy. Instead, only silence accompanied the slow footsteps.
"Sword Cultivation. There is no need to block. No need to dodge. Nay, what more does one need than to cut? To grow up from birth to adulthood! To settle disputes! To pass the time! What more does one need than the sword?! Their skills are as vast as the blue sky they are named after! Their skills so feared even the Divine Saber Palace trembles at their sight! No shield too sturdy, no enemy too fast, their edge can go through all!"
Then she finally appeared. Frail. Sick. Pale. It was a wonder she could even hold that straight sword in her hand as she covered her mouth politely.
"The Cerulean Blade Duchy…represented by Lei! Feeeeeeeng!"
She waved a few times, receiving no reaction whatsoever from her own people. The cheers sounded awkward, trailing off as they realized it too, what her treatment was and how she actually looked liked. Credits to the announcer, he didn't skip a single beat as he moved on.
"Three versus three! A fight with honor, pride and skill on the line! Leave the arena, be unconscious, one must fight until the last man!" He looked between the two sides. "Are you ready?!"
The three sides took on their stances. Swords drawn, fists raised. Emotionless white masks facing three smiling faces of different intensity. The announcer nodded with approval and leapt back, outside the arena as he cut through the air with his palm.
"Then fight!"
Two moves happened concurrently, cutting over each other and making a courageous and wondrous start a pathetic stumble. Jian rushed forward with a furious roar, trying to smash the monks down with his axe, together with the ground. His roar turned into a pained yelp however as he was brushed by a vortex of hell fire shot out by Beidou. The monks easily dodged as well, seperating. Jian snarled, spitting at Beidou's direction before taking on one monk, as the Hell Demon took on another, swinging their weapons against the unarmed opponents. The last one only waited for a moment before dashing towards Feng, who yelped and desperately swung her sword with both her hands to parry the blow aimed for her gut. The crowd cheered at the display, ignoring the terrible teamplay of Beidou.
Strong swings that created so many gusts of winds one thought they were within a storm. Fire so hot that it seemed to burn the desert itself, easily overpowering the sun. And yet, faced with such destructive blows, the Sunset Monks were not lacking in the slightest in force. Their palms met axe and fire head on, tempered with combat to be as hard as steel. Their blows were powered by their own short lifeforce, actually starting to force the muscular Jian and fiery Beidou back. Then there was the third battle, which was…
"Gagh, guh, hoo!"
…something. It hasn't even been seconds and yet Lei Feng was breathing so heavily one would think she ran across the desert just now. Her form was decent enough some supposed, if not for the shivers and coughing. The monk had to be holding back for not landing a direct blow yet. A way to show off for now, surely. Qiao figured that was what the crowd thought. But he leaned forward, eyes narrowed. Something was off here. Would a Sunset Monk really hold back? He might be biased but he wouldn't think that Monks that were all about the end of things would drag things on.
Naturally, any dance had to change its tempo. Frustrated with the lack of progress, his foolish brother was the first to lose his temper. With an enraged roar, he threw his sword at his opponent, who easily parried it. Then the monk's eyes widened however as Beidou hunched over, barring his teeth as his body changed once more.
"Begone!"
Dark red skin with veins pulsating from beneath his skin. Sclera turning so dark it seemed lik they were rotting as the crimson veins came to the forefront. With a demonic like claw he leapt forward. His swings were even more wild, more wide than before. And yet, with renewed power, one swipe only scratching the monk sent him flying, hissing in pain as his skin bubbled from the momentary contact with hell fire itself. Imitating an animal, his drool was steaming as Beidou chased after the retreating monk. Qiao's ears twitched as he picked up some of the talk in the ranks of the three clans.
"Second Stage, huh? Impressive for a lil' shit like that."
"After all the resources we put into him, I'd be disappointed if he wasn't impressive."
"Pah, money doesn't solve everything. Or did you forget the Jingshen already?"
"They didn't do anything with theirs unlike me, old man."
"Can you two shut the fuck up for five minutes?! Aim for the damn balls, Jian!"
Qiao directed his attention towards the axe wielder. The barbarian roared, muscles bulging. A mere fraction of what the head could do, but his power increased as well. His swings intensified, smashing up the arena a few times as the monk ducked and weaved. To many it would seem like that the two fighters of the Divided Mortal Kingdoms were pushing them back. He, the outcast, scoffed, resting his chin on his palm. Many didn't see that they were like toys being played with. One axe. One demonic claw. They aimed for monks, yet hit each other. Their wielders' eyes widened in shock, as if surprised the other even existed on this battlefield. In total sync, the two monks switched their opponents. A palm strike hit the stomachs of them. Both spat out blood and snarled, attacking with full force again. All that did however was create a wind blast going past hell fire. Each element hit the other, causing them to yell out in pain before their mouths were shut with a kick to the chin. It was then that it happened.
The fire dimmed. The muscles shrinked. The spectators gasped as all that glorious body strength seemed to wane with each strike so easily. Qiao smiled openly, at those fools getting the snot beaten out of them by superior teamwork and superior techniques.
Raw strength was meaningless like that.
"Oi, Jian, the fuck's going on?!"
"So that's the Dao of Decline. It's more tedious than I even expected."
"Heh. What misfortune. It appears those monks are your worst matchups."
"I don't see your terminal patient doing that much better!"
Oh right, her. Qiao almost forgot about her. He glanced to her, interrupting his own joy at those meatheads getting beaten up and was severely disappointed. Lei Feng was still struggling with her opponent. Or rather was more struggling with her own health. She was coughing and heaving, barely parrying the blows aimed for her, just like befor-
Qiao almost shot up with his eyes open wide. Hang on. Just like before?
"Why yes. But that is to be expected, unlike with your lot."
"What?!"
Did nobody else see it? See what Qiao was seeing?
Yes. She was coughing. Heaving for air. Stumbling by her own swings of her sword as she parried and parried and parried. And kept on successfully parrying. Not only that, he saw no change in her health. It was bad, yes. But it was consistently bad. Her breathing didn't grow heavier. Her coughing didn't grow more bloody. Her exhaustion and sickness was on the same level as a few minutes ago. Judging from the sweat he saw underneath the monk's skin, he seemed to realize as well that something was off. But neither of them knew what Feng was doing to pull this magic performance. Qiao recognized one singular thing however, which was why he couldn't keep his eyes off that girl.
Their Dao of Recline wasn't working on Lei Feng. Qiao didn't know how, but it was a simple fact. There was no way some sick nobody like her had the capability to fight back against a direct application of a Dao, Qi Condensation the user was or not.
He ignored the other fight completely. He felt his breath stop when she dropped to one knee, eyes lowered and unfocused, as if she was looking at something else entirely. Her sword's tip was pushed against the ground as her gaze was directed at his stomach. The monk exhaled with exhaustion before throwing out a straight. She seemed to stumble forward…only to push the blow to the side. Flipping her sword, she used her own fall as acceleration to cut across his stomach. He grunted in pain covering his stomach. Feng was already on her feet before he could do anything else however, her sword hand twitching.
"That is two."
"Good work, brother. We have do-"
"Guh!"
Three bodies hit the outside of the arena. Feng was craning her head, looking at the sky as she gasped for air. Qiao narrowed his eyes as she lowered her extended right leg. He thought she wanted to stab. And he knew for a fact that he was thinking right. Yet she stopped.
The mere sight of that hesitation soured his good mood, his great opinion of this young woman. He spared his whimpering, shamed brother or the enraged axe wielder no attention. Instead he looked at the two monks, eyes wide in shock at this turn of events. They weren't the only ones. Silence reigned in the arena. Dead old mother was this close to destroying the whole arena, as was the other old fart with the axe. Meanwhile the sword cultivators were all shocked at this turn of events, except for a chosen few. That woman alongside Guang seemed to be in relief. Their current elder slowly stood up, body shaking with a twitching mouth.
"Now it's a two against one! Two Monks versus one sword! What a turn of events, but will the underdog pull this off?!"
The arena exploded in cheers, in excitement of what was happening. The sudden noise seemed to snap her out of it, as she slowly turned to the two fighters, who immediately took on their stances.
Feng breathed out and hunched over, her arms relaxed, her grip so loose she seemed to almost drop her sword. Qiao leaned forward, eyes narrowed. There was mostly confused mutterings at the sight of Feng. Scoffs, beliefs that the girl was at the end of the line, that she was long out of energy. It had to be a fluke, that she managed to beat one of them off the stage. Quantity was a quality on its own. All common sense dictated Lei Feng was not long for this match. Qiao would laugh at them, if he wasn't so focused on her shape.
Common sense dictated that she should've lost right at the start. From the corner of his eyes however, Qiao knew that a few others were maybe as smart as he was, as they also saw something else entirely.
The current clan head of the Lei Clan shot up to his feet, his grin widening, fitting a loon like him, as if finally finding gold. Guang and Chao exchanging worried looks. Meanwhile Qiao himself smirked a bit. There was no sight of the sick girl that nervously tried to be humble in front of the major powers of three clans. No longer someone knowing their place at the bottom of the ladder. Instead, Qiao licked his lips when she looked up at the Sunset Monks, a bit of her hair covering her eyes. Yet he was mesmerized by the sight of them.
Blank, yet shining. As if two souls were struggling, one of life and one of death. Light and darkness, creating a swirl of chaos in those mirrors to the mind of a person. And slowly, the darkness won over, turning the eyes into something that was completely inhuman. Not inhuman like the rage filled Hell Demon that was his little brother. Utterly inhuman. For she was eyeing the monks not as opponents. No, in that singular moment, Qiao recognized that look. He saw it plenty enough in the desert.
He was wrong to call his brother a dog. After all…the oldest son of the Yu clan recognized a proper starving mad dog when he saw one. Not a pale imitation that his brother was.
The girl started to giggle, the corners of her mouth moving. Drool began to drop out of her mouth as her eyes were wide with that empty, yearning look. The two monks began to sweat as they shifted their feet. That motion that could barely recognized as one, was the trigger.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The two warriors of the Sunset Sect weren't foolish. They recognized there was more than meets the eye when it came to this girl. It was a good distance, good enough to react. Alas, they failed to understand the depth of what Feng was hiding. She was upon the right one immediately, the tip of her blade almost reaching his throat. His brother reacted immediately, shooting out a kick, aiming to break her elbow for her audacity. Yet as if anticipating that move, the moment the knuckle touched her elbow, she spun with the force, her blade in a reverse grip now that aimed for his hip as she lowered herself. Only his fellow monk brother dragging him backwards with a jump back saved his flesh from being cut. However, the distance didn't last long, as Feng, as if riding on an invisible flow, chased after them with ease, flying above them as she spun a crescent moon at them with a loud laugh.
Each time the monks tried to counter, Feng shifted her movements, easily letting her sword move to a weakpoint created by the fighters' own movements. Teamwork that was impeccable before seemed like a frail construct now, creating gaps repeatedly as cuts and slashes began to hit. Inbetween the laughter, Feng coughed up blood. Her eyes were hazy as her skin seemed to become even paler.
And yet, the sword moved. The sword cut. And her body didn't slow down at all, as she became like a spirit that flowed with the wind.
Qiao grit his teeth at the sight. He felt the heat in his heart, which he had chained down so much. The links rattled, the heat desiring to escape. It had been a long time since he felt his grip on his damned blood loosen. Yet the sight of such swordsmanship, of such bloodlust, was enough to make him feel enraged.
Enraged that he only got to see it now.
Enraged that she was holding back still.
He saw it many times. Her twitching, her smile wavering. Each time when she had a clear shot. A clear chance to kill those monks. Yet she held back. Fighting back against her natural talent of seeing how to murder someone with ease. It happened too many times. The monks got used to her speed. Until the very end…with her back on the ground, gasping for air as two fists hovered above her head. The message was clear.
She lost. And thus, the arena exploded into noise once more, as his hand destroyed the stone of the audience stand.
"Ah! What a pity! A good fight, yet one alone cannot stand before two! The Sunset Sect has won this match, marking their first victory! But let us not disparage the Divided Mortal Kingdoms for their performance either! An applause for all six fighters please!"
The crowds began to talk amongst themselves. Leave to get some food, to check out other arenas. Qiao sat there for a moment, trying to calm down.
"This was a fuckin' disgrace! What the shit was your mad dog doing?!"
"Well, he was trying to win. If it weren't for all the dead weight around him, he'd have wiped the floor with all three of them."
"Oh please, we-"
Yeah, Qiao wasn't going to listen to any of this. He saw the Cerulean Blade Duchy contingent rising and he decided to follow them. There was zero joy left in the old man's face. Instead it was utterly blank as he was followed by his uneasy people. He shadowed them, following them, until he stopped, leaning against a wall as he saw a certain someone hide from her own people as well.
"She was more skilled than expected! We are all surprised, honored elder!"
"Meaningless bullshit."
"W-what?"
A loud dismissive scoff, followed by the shaking of his head.
"What use is all that so called skill if she doesn't use it to cut her opposition down? I don't have time for broken tools." A long suffering sigh before he continued to walk on. "What a shame. If only that sister of hers didn't ruin her."
Qiao eyed the girl they were talking about. Her smile, so utterly fake, was still on her face. Yet her fingers dug into her palms, frustration clear.
Something snapped inside him. He shot forward, grabbing her by the collar and pressing her up against the wall. He exhaled steam. The sight made him even angrier, as he had to suppress his own blood. With a deep breath, he stared the girl in the eye, who stared back at him with an empty look.
"You bitch. After all that, you're still holding back?"
"Who-"
"Yu Qiao, not important." He scoffed at her. "You disgust me."
Feng's eyebrow twitched. He heard a rattle and something softly poke him in the stomach. He smirked mockingly, at the blade aimed at him. Seeing his reaction, Feng's eyes narrowed.
"Do you make it a habit to just insult people?"
"If they sandbag so hard, yes."
"I don't know what you mean," Feng said without any emotion. Forcing a fake smile once more, she pointed at herself. "I am just talentless."
"You're a natural born killer," Qiao countered, causing her to flinch. "If you didn't fight back against your own instincts, you would've won easily."
"Your eyes must be mistaken."
Playing the fool until the end? He was tempted to just kill her right here and now, for denying Heaven's gift like this. But no, he wouldn't sink so low. Dropping her, he dusted his hand off on the wall before snarling.
"Hmph. Be that way. Guess I was getting my hopes up."
"Why didn't you participate?"
He stopped in midstep. He glanced behind him, seeing Feng rise to her feet, sheathing her sword.
"You're stronger than the other one."
Qiao grit his teeth. Then he shook his head.
"Not in the ways that matter to them. Unlike you, I'm not so blessed to have expectations laid upon me."
She was given a chance and she squandered it. Here he was, someone with the will to prove himself but wasn't even given a chance. Ah, how happy he would be to switch places with that fool. They looked into each other's eyes and found the other wanting. Thus, they stepped away from each other, until they could no longer see the other.
And yet, despite their distance, their minds and words were one, the strings of fate having connected them to another already, unbeknownst to them.
""What an idiot.""
***
SCENE B – BATTLE ROYALE (LAST TEAM STANDING)
3 battles of 4 teams each ranked highest to lowest by order of elimination; supervised by Xiao Yingzi (Quest)
The young legionary was practically shaking with nerves from the upcoming competition, but then that was understandable given her predicament. "Is something the matter?" Xiao Yingzi asked as she looked up from her paperwork to give the girl a comforting smile.
"No, ma'am!" She replied immediately and then winced, realizing how obvious her denial was. After a moment's thought, she spoke again."I guess… there is a worry, but I don't want to bother you with it given everything else that you are busy with."
Yingzi leaned towards her to stimulate a feeling of closeness. "Lantian, you are an important piece for me and for my future plans. Your worries are my worries." She told her kindly. "Now please speak freely."
She took a breath and nodded. "The Aurum Invictum is a very prestigious competition." She began, then stopped to gather her thoughts. When she finally continued however, she did so with confidence. "It has all of our vassals and even some outsiders from the righteous sects, all looking to compete."
"While we are looking to fleece them." Yingzi completed, winking at her.
"And that, yes." She agreed, giving her senior a light smile. "And we're running the Battle Royale in front of all of them. The only other people they've asked to do that are the likes of the Indomitable Thirteen! I'd have been nervous even… before, but now? I'm terrified. What if I or really, any of us reveal… that? What happens then?"
"The likes of the Indomitable Thirteen, huh." Yingzi repeated with a grin, causing Mei Lantian to panic. "Well, that's certainly flattering. Tell me, Mei. Haven't you trained for this? You've honed your will, practiced your manners all for this, haven't you?"
"Yes, ma'am. I have." She replied, biting her lips. "But-"
"I can understand the trepidation, the stage is a greater one than you expected but I wouldn't have given you this position if I didn't think you were ready." Mei Lantian looked at the ground in shame and Yingzi reached out with a finger to pull her up by the chin. "If you think you might falter in your orders, then trust in my judgment. I would never give you a task I do not think you can perform."
Mei Lantian looked at the intense gaze Xiao Yingzi leveled at her and unconsciously took a step back. Then, after taking in a deep breath she nodded. "I will live up to the trust that you place in me, ma'am!"
Yingzi grinned back. "That's the spirit." She told her before settling back. "Now then, let's discuss what your duties actually entail."
"Yes, ma'am!" She said, standing at attention.
"We have been assigned to handle the Battle Royale." Xiao Yingzi began, pausing long enough for the legionary to nod in understanding. "There will be four preliminaries with four teams of three from various vassals and allies. The winners of those matches face each other in the finals where one winning team will become the ultimate winner of the battle royale and win the grand prize."
"And I will be the one to present it." Mei Lantian said, looking downcast again. "I thought the point was to earn money, not give it away. How are we going to earn more from this competition if we are giving things away?"
Xiao Yingzi gave her a vicious smile. "They say that the best warriors win the battle before it even begins." She replied. "In keeping with that thought, what we'll be auctioning off is the right to set up the battlefield before it even begins."
Mei Lantian nodded at that. "I still wish I didn't have to be the one to present the prize."
Xiao Yingzi considered that and then nodded. "Why not? You can stay with me and we'll talk about the battles."
"And the prize?" She asked hopefully.
"I'll take care of it." Xiao Yingzi replied with an enigmatic smile.
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Preliminary 1: Hua Empire VS Tomb Defiling Justice Sect VS The Grand Scorpion Sect VS The Shen Kingdom
The first match of the Battle Royale was between… The Hua Empire! The Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect! The Grand Scorpion Sect! And the Shen Kingdom! Standing on each of the four sides of the ring, they began with a stand-off waiting for the others to make the first move. Surprisingly… It was a cultivator from the Hua Empire who charged forward!
As he moved forward, it was two cultivators from the Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect who stepped forward to match him! They moved together in synchrony, wielding giant swords carved from slabs of stone. The swords emanate a demonic aura that had been sealed shut by paper talismans stuck over them. Their companion stood at the back, forming incantation signs that causes that talismans to glow and for the aura to scream in dismay as its strength was stolen to empower its wielders!
Yet the Hua Empire cultivator only grinned. The look of expectation on the face of his allies as well caused the others to stay back and wait. Their caution was not misplaced, for the Hua Empire Cultivator retrieved a blue orb from his cloak and released it into the air, before surprisingly - he leapt out of the grounds! Behind him the orb exploded, releasing an endless stream of water that pulled the Justice Sect Cultivators into its current and then threw them out as it settled into a whirlpool.
As the qi rushed out, it wasn't just Water Qi that filled the air but the Water Qi of Lake Hua itself! The Hua Empire had brought Lake Hua into the battlefield! As the others looked on with grim expressions, the other Hua Empire cultivators stepped forward while grinning, the whole arena now set up for them perfectly. They tossed their outer gi aside and stretched, daring any of their competitors to be the first ones to attack.
It was two warriors from the Shen Kingdom who dared to step forward. One consumed a Devilish Blood Pill that caused his veins to grow dark and his mouth to froth. He bent over like a beast as his eyes shone with a manic light! The other held up two fingers and began to mutter a mantra that caused a blue aura to form around him and then settling into a stance, they both attacked at once!
Though the currents of the Hua Whirlpool pushed them back, they struggled past it with their enhanced strength. They reached the Hua Cultivators who easily stepped forward, unhindered by the waters of the whirlpool. Just as they were about to meet, one of the Hua Cultivators grinned and held up an incantation sign. Immediately the movements of the Hua Whirlpool shifted and it turned in the other direction!
Though the Shen Kingdom Cultivators had struggled mightily, they had been braced in the wrong direction. They too were unceremoniously thrown out but in their defeat, they managed to create an opening for those around them! Two cultivators from the Grand Scorpion Sect rushed forward, transforming into half-scorpions as they moved. Their stingers whipped ahead in an attempt to reach their enemies but the Hua Cultivators acted first and the Hua Whirlpool exploded!
Water rushed outwards, causing the two scorpions to be thrown out of the ring! But the Hua Cultivators had now lost their trump card and they stood against the last cultivators from each of their opponents, all who had stood back in order to ensure their team wouldn't get wiped out. Their faces wilted in dismay as all three of their opponents looked at each other and in agreement, stepped forward to deal with the Hua Empire first!
That was when the last Cultivator from the Great Scorpion Sect suddenly jumped back, while the others kept moving forward. Before anyone could react, a giant scorpion rose from the middle of the ring! Its body had been camouflaged completely and none of the cultivators noticed that it had been there before that moment. Now that they had all stepped on its back, it rose up and… with one small step for a giant scorpion… it moved all the cultivators out of the ring!
Surprisingly… the Grand Scorpion Sect ended up winning the first match!
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"The Grand Scorpion Sect won the right to interfere with the ring beforehand?" Mei Lantian asked, eyes wide as the other members of their century rushed in to reset the arena and covered it with a qi-obscuring tarp to ensure that no one else would see what other preparations were being made. "How did they even manage to sneak in a whole scorpion into the ring?"
"It dug in from underneath." Centurion Yingzi replied idly before looking at the details for the next match. "It was to be expected, the Grand Scorpion Sect has won great wealth as part of its new role as merchants. Similarly, the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect won the right for the next battle – they deal not only with the clan but the whole righteous alliance after all. Though I wonder…"
"What is it, Centurion Yingzi?" Mei Lantian asked when she saw her senior narrow her eyes.
Xiao Yingzi leaned forward to watch the next match with interest. "Nothing much, it's just that the Fortune Stork Clan seems to have never even participated in the auction at all."
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Preliminary 2:Strong-Backed Farmer Sect VS Tao Bandits VS Crossed-Blades Cult VS The Fortune Stork Clan
The second match was far less restrained! One of the Tao Bandits dueled a cultivator from the Crossed-Blades Cult. The bandit fought with a wild sort of skill and the swordsman moved with a grace worthy of a sect whose experts are said to be able to challenge Foundation Building Kings! However the one who dominated their battle was a woman from the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect wielding a hoe! Though dirty and hardly dressed her best, her beauty shone as much as her skill!
At the same time, a bandit dueled two farmers at once. Though all three of them towered over the rest of the competition, it was the bandit who was winning. His eyes narrowed with intense concentration as he faced off against them with movements not of a barbarian but of a trained martial artist! A swordsman lay upon the ground beneath them, his blade broken and completely knocked out!
In the last battle, a swordsman and a bandit did not fight each other but worked together to face the cultivators from the Fortune Stork Clan who fought them together! They lay back to back, one warrior honed through ambush warfare and the other through duels of swordsmanship. The Fortune Storks surrounded them on three sides and with synchronized motions they summoned a pyramid of energy – trapping them inside!
Then in a single breath, they forced them off of the ground using the pyramid and then unceremoniously tossed them out of the ring! Then as soon as they had a moment of freedom, they used incantation signs and suddenly an aura expanded from all three of them. Their auras blended together and surged across the battlefield, causing the other cultivators to pause as they felt a sense of doom.
The hoe-wielding beauty took a moment to frown against them, then her eyes widened as the Tao Bandit she was facing took that moment to snatch her weapon! Holding that hoe between his arms, he snapped it and an aura of wood qi filled the arena. Thousands of herbs sprouted from the earth, releasing spores into the air. The bandit stepped back out of surprise and elbowed the swordsman.
The swordsman stepped back as well and realized that he was at the edge of the stage. Grasping for support, he grabbed the Tao Bandit. The Tao Bandit grabbed the beauty and pulled her along. Though she tried to resist, a flower bloomed just under her foot and caused her to trip - all three of the cultivators fell out unceremoniously into a heap on the ground below.
Realizing what had occurred, the remaining bandit and two farmers looked at each other and attempted to team up against the storks! But the bandit tripped over the body of the swordsman he had previously defeated and pushed the farmers down as well! As they fell, their weapons broke and the same wood aura as before spread out! The ground exploded with plants and the force caused all the cultivators in the ring to be tossed out!
The fainted swordsman landed first with a thump, then the bandit landed gracefully on his feet. The two farmers who had fought him landed with their full weight, causing the ground to shake! Then the three Fortune Stork Clan Cultivators floated down, their wings open - not strong enough to fly for long yet, but strong enough to allow them to be the last to land on the ground!
The Fortune Storks won the second battle… What good fortune!
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Lantian watched with wide eyes as the Strong-backed Farmer Sect lost and the Fortune Storks were the ones to win. "Is that alright?" She asked, turning to Xiao Yingzi.
"Why wouldn't it be? We only sell an advantage, not a guarantee. Everything else depends upon their own capabilities." She said, studying the information on the next few matches. A light smile played upon her lips as she realized what was going on. "Looks like the Fortune Storks did buy something… not the right to prepare for their battle, but the right to prepare for the one that came after them!"
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Preliminary 3: Longevity Stork Clan VS Gaohao Bandits VS Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom VS Forge Mad-men Sect
In the third battle, there seemed to be a mix of the other two. Upon seeing each other, the Gaohao Bandits and the Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom immediately turned upon one another as the battle started. Their cultivators began fighting each other, ignoring their opponents in whatever enmity they had brought from their homes.
The Longevity Stork Clan and the Forge Mad-men Sect merely observed their fight before simultaneously deciding to remove both bandits from the battlefield. The Sect stepped forward, their cultivators an amalgamation of metal and flesh. Two of them rushed towards the three Gaohao Bandits and grabbed them from the back. Then, steam exploded out of their prosthetic limbs as they moved with enormous strength… and tossed them out the ring!
The Stork Clan flew forward as well, wings fully unfurled as the three of them grabbed a bandit from each of the two bandit gangs before dropping them out of the ring as well! As they turned around for another go, the Forge Mad-men Sect began a second set of assaults. Two of them engaged the remaining bandits, slowly pushing them back towards the end of the ring. The last one turned towards the storks, pointing to fingers at them as they bore down towards him.
One of the Longevity Storks suddenly flew backwards and smashed into the ground. No! He had been thrown back by a powerful projectile, shot from the smoking fingers of the Forge Mad-man. The other storks flew apart to dodge but the Mad-man paid them no more mind, instead turning away in satisfaction. Instead, he turned and began to shoot the remaining bandits who with this additional pressure were unable to fight back and were finally thrown out of the ring!
In the end, only the two storks remained flying in the sky and all three of the Forge Mad-men turned towards them and began to attack them, attempting to knock them out of the skies through sheer rate of fire. The Storks attempted to form incantation signs, but the Forge Mad-men left them no time to do so. Finally, one of the storks flew forward to bodily protect their ally as they finished their technique. Though they were knocked down, an aura emanated from the stage.
It was a familiar aura! In fact, it was the same aura that had been used by the Fortune Stork Clan in the previous match! An aura of ill luck that promised doom to all of the enemies of their clan, now used by the Longevity Stork Clan as well! Almost immediately, the Sect's Forged prosthetics began to jam and smoke. One of their cultivators tried to fire anyway… and his hand exploded! Looking at their companion and the state of their own prosthetics, the Forge Mad-man Sect immediately surrendered.
And the winner of the third match was the Longevity Stork Clan!
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"So the Fortune Stork Clan bought the rights for the third match… and helped the Longevity Stork to win?" Mei Lantian asked, frowning as the match concluded. "Why would they go through such a round-about method?"
"They likely traded it in for some internal favors." Xiao Yingzi told her, looking at the set up of the tournament with interest. "Doesn't really matter to us as long as we get paid. We'll just send the information up the chain and if it's important, someone will follow through. Who do you think won the right for the last match?"
Mei Lantian considered that for a second, looking uncertain. "It has to be either the Simmering Soup Sect or the Hong Xuan Clan, they are our most powerful vassals." She thought about that for a moment and then looked at the fighters on the field with new insight. "Were they placed against each other on purpose?"
Xiao Yingzi gave her a grin. "What do you think?"
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Preliminary 4: Hong Xuan Clan VS Simmering Soup Sect VS Peng Kingdom VS Sunset Mountain Sect
The first to step forward was a stout warrior in service to the Sunset Mountain Queen, garbed in the armor of a delver of sunless mines and hunter of subterranean beasts, a youth surely not to be mistaken for an ascetic disciple of the Sunset Sect. His expression was solemn and his bearing regal, as if the Sun King had come once more! The warriors behind him bowed as he walked into the center of the fighting ring and the other powers watched on as a deathly aura began to form around him.
The Sunset Mountain Delver was by all accounts a mere boy but with every step he seemed to darken, his visage freezing into a gray stillness and shadowy power cloaking his form! This was a technique cultivated in the dark warrens of Sunset Mountain, an attainment of Earth and Darkness developed from generations of miner-hunters plunging into the hidden depths below the sands and being transformed by their encounters therein.
The Simmering Soup Sect ignored him, instead one produced a cauldron and began to prepare a soup with ingredients that gave off an incredible qi while the other two Kitchenhands stood in front of him to ensure that he could not be interrupted. Both teams from the Peng Kingdom and the Hong Xuan Clan looked between their enemies and decided to work together to eliminate them first!
Three cultivators challenged one! Three from the Peng Kingdom rounded on the Sunset Mountain fighter while his people watched as they fought, witnessing his battle. Though Three faced One, it was the Three that was pushed back! Such was the strength of the Dao of the Umbral Deep! But then, one of their cultivators made an inscription sign and a rope bound around his waist animated to take to the air! It bound the Sunset Mountain combatant tight and though he struggled, the rope held taut!
All the bound fighter could do was struggle in horror as his strength was turned against himself, his mighty exertions to free himself merely causing the resilient rope to dig in deeper and constrict him the more! The other two warriors exchanged a tense look and with grim expressions… they simultaneously stepped back out of the ring! The Peng Clan Cultivator merely laughed at their misfortune and with his fellows, they tossed the struggling Sunset Mountain Warrior out of the ring! The rope untied him and his technique dissipated, but the toll it had taken remained. As the other two helped him up, he gave a bitter look at the stage and finally turned away.
On the other side of the ring, two greatest vassals of the Golden Devil clan faced each other! The Soup Disciples stood with resolute expressions as three Hong Xuan cultivators strode forward to face them. One of them summoned fists of fire and jumped ahead, while the other threw talismans of paper that seemed to glow with a blinding light! Vision taken by the talisman, the fire user had no issue with getting close enough to strike!
Though the Dao of Soup isn't meant for battle, its users were well acquainted with the nature of fire. Without need of sight, the Kitchenhand caught the burning fist and extinguished it! There was no smoke or burns, but simply the aroma of a well-made soup. As the last cultivator from the Hong Xuan approached, his energy building up as if to explode, the Kitchen-Hands defending knew they would lose… but the Soup behind them was done!
As the last cultivator began to drink his meal right from the cauldron, his companions rushed the enemies in front of them! The Fire-user could not fight back and found himself pushed out of the ring but the talisman user was far enough to escape their grip. With contemptuous ease, he kicked the Kitchenhand's legs and the man tripped right out of the ring, taking the Fire-user and his other ally with him! However, this is when the last Kitchen-hand stood and wiped his mouth, incredible lifeforce bursting out of him.
As the talisman-user sent spell after spell at the Kitchen-hand, the cultivators of the Peng Kingdom ganged up on the remaining Hong Xuan cultivator. Looking at them with a grimace, he glanced at his ally and realized that there was nothing he could do. Instead, he used an incantation sign and then, he slammed the ground! A symbol of fire covered the entire ring and the pressure erupted! All of his energy pulsed out as Fire Qi, causing everyone to be pushed outside!
The talisman-user barely blinked, a prepared talisman burning up to activate a shield that parted the flames around him. The Kitchenhand kicked the cauldron into his hand and with a wave of his hand, sealed all the flames coming towards him inside. It was the Peng Cultivators who were thrown outside and though two of them landed, the last summoned his magic rope and used it to tie himself to the Hong Xuan Cultivator to pull himself back into the ring before he touched the ground!
Exhausted and out of energy, the Hong Xuan cultivator fell over and there were only three cultivators left.
As the Kitchenhand strode forward, any attacks sent against him had been sealed into his cauldron. When the Talisman-user and the Rope-manipulator locked eyes, they knew that they would need to face this cultivator together. With a synchronized motion, they sent both rope and talisman against their enemy. Though the Kitchenhand managed to seal the rope, the paper talisman struck his chest and with an explosion of force, tossed him out of the ring!
The remaining cultivators looked at each other for a second, and then the Hong Xuan Cultivator retrieved a new talisman causing his opponent to grimace. With a sigh, the Peng Kingdom cultivator surrendered and walked out of the ring. In this manner, the Hong Xuan Clan took the final preliminary match!
| | | | | | | | | |
"It was the Hong Xuan Clan with their fire array." Mei Lantian realized, eyes widening. Then she frowned for a moment. "Were the Simmering Soup Sect planning to prepare that soup beforehand if they'd won the right?"
"They declined to give me specifics." Xiao Yingzi replied, shaking her head. "However, I suspect that is the case. If multiple individuals could drink that soup at the start of the match, then I wouldn't be surprised if they won rather easily."
Mei Lantian nodded for a moment, before sighing. "I feel sorry for the Sunset Monk, he seems to have lost a lot in return for nothing."
"It is what it is." Xiao Yingzi replied, shaking her head. "There is always a risk when using such dangerous techniques. I can only assume that the Sunset Mountain Sect or that particular monk had their reasons for the decision to use such a technique now."
"Are there any special preparations that we need to make for the rest of the fights? We have two more sets of these to go through, don't we?"
Xiao Yingzi simply grinned at her. "You'll see, just watch and enjoy. After demonstrating that we are willing to honor purchased advantage by competitors, I predict that we will have our hands full fighting off bids."
"The audit at the end of this though, might not be so pleasant," Xiao Yingzi grimaced.
True enough, the money flowed in as the remainder of the royal battle sets were fought. With each new set of battles, the sixteen competitors were able to refine their strategies against their opponents producing some surprise upsets and unanticipated fumbles. In the end when all was said and done, the rankings were ready to be sorted to determine the finalists. There were six competitors who had made the cutoff, the Grand Scorpion Sect and Forge Madmen Sect tying for first place while the Fortune Stork Clan, Longevity Stork Clan, Hua Empire and Strong-Backed Farmer Sect stood as equals in second place. This presented quite a headache for the Xiao Yingzi and her team seeing as it had been planned for just four competitors to move on to the next stage.
"One last fight to battle royale to settle this then, I suppose," Xiao Yingzi said with a sigh.
Looking over at Mei Lantian opening her mouth to comment, Xiao Yingzi spoke over her subordinate. "No, we are not accepting any offers to eliminate the four squatters in second place, no matter how much they're putting up. The Grand Scorpion Sect and the Forge Madmen Sect have proved themselves commendably before every gathered audience. If any of the four remaining competitors want to face off against them in the next stage, they can earn the position in battle just as the two did."
Standing up, Xiao Yingzi declared to the gathered supervisors, "As chief proctor of the Battle Royale event of the Uncrowned Usurper Tournament, I rule that there will be an elimination battle royal to determine the two competitors joining the already qualified entrants for the final event. The last two teams on the field take the win."
| | | | | | | | | |
Elimination Finals: Fortune Stork Clan VS Longevity Stork Clan VS Hua Empire VS Strong-Backed Farmer Sect
Four teams entered the combat arena from four corners eyeing one another. Moving clockwise, the Longevity Stork Clan faced the Fortune Stork Clan who stood off against the Hua Empire who in turn warily assessed the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect, the last contingent looking very isolated on a battlefield with three vassals of the Golden Devil Clan. This was to be a battle of brothers and strangers, family versus family from clans that had been partners for centuries against new neighbors! With the unfortunate injuries suffered by their rivals, it all fell to them to decide who would be the final winners of the Battle Royale event! The four faced each other with grim expressions before… a cultivator of the Golden Devil Clan stepped forward into the midst of the tense teams!
Clad in legionary armor and looking the epitome of the Bronze-Blooded with his bronze skin, golden hair and blue eyes, he walked to the center of the stage, confident and assured. Then with a glint in his eyes, he faced the cultivators of the Fortune Stork and raised his hands… to bow!? The Fortune Storks only nod at this unexpected gesture and then the Golden Devil repeated the same motion to each of the three other teams.
"I am Centurion Amadeus, referee for this final match," he announced with quiet grace, "I congratulate all of you who have come so far in this event, demonstrating your teamwork and martial ability."
"However," Amadeus said, his voice sharpening, "Your journey is not yet concluded. It is left to select which two of you will prevail in the final distance and progress to the next event. I bid you strive with all your heart and unveil all your might to seize victory. For any soldier there is only one sin – defeat – and equally only one grace, victory. It is left to you to decide which of these you will grasp today."
Gathering his feet beneath him Amadeus leapt up high into the air of the arena, rising level to the highest of the seated audience and roared out, "BATTLE START!"
Above, a cloud overshadowed Amadeus and he disappeared. Below, a massive tumult engulfed the arena. To no one's surprise, the Fortune and Longevity Stork Clans immediately joined forces and formed a united group targeting the other competitors. The Hua Empire team and that from the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect grouped together in distorted reflection to the Storks, their teamwork clearly less practiced than the opposing side. The Hua-Farmer alliance charged forwards, driving hard to close the distance and force a melee. No surprise there. Observation of their opponents over three series of battle royales had given them the notice that being blessed with flight forced compromises in other areas for the Storks, particularly their strength in a brawl due to light bones.
The first few moments of the clash heavily favored the Hua-Empire alliance as they pushed back the combined Stork teams with unprecedented physical prowess. Shouted commentary from the observing audience highlighted the swelling brawn of the Strong-Backed Farmer fighters, muscles straining against suddenly tighter clothing as they chewed down on something that had their faces puckering up in grimaces. Whatever it was it transformed the green-thumbed cultivators into rampaging hulks of overpowering might. Separate but aligned in purpose with them, the Hua Empire cultivators moved equally as swiftly and powerfully, the spectral figure of great beasts enveloping their fighters and empowering their blows.
The Storks were on the back foot and seemingly on the brink of total wipeout when their opponents stumbled in their advance. The leader Strong-Backed Farmer cultivator had inadvertently stumbled into the way of a Hua Empire warrior's attack. Whatever aid that provided such incredible strength to the Farmers appeared to have stolen away restraint in recompense as the injured Strong-Backed Farmer cultivator lashed out at his erstwhile ally. The Hua-Farmer alliance stalled and outright dissolved as others among them unluckily found themselves getting in each other's way.
That is when it happened.
The earth shook violently and there was a sound as if soup was boiling into steam. Then the very ground below the arena exploded! Flames and herbal gasses oozed outwards, causing all the combatants to be engulfed by the surprise eruption. One stork fell to the ground, overwhelmed but the rest take to the air to escape the onslaught. Vines grew from the earth to grasp their opponents and pull them to the ground, all manner of stinging and biting insects boiling forth in an unrelenting swarm from the cracks in the earth to cover those earthbound unfortunates who could not take wing!
By the century got close enough to finally save them, they already lay unmoving! Such a tragedy! Such skilled lives cut short! But perhaps this is to be expected from influences who dare to look the heavens in the eye and challenge those who bear the name Longevity and Fortune!
| | | | | | | | | |
"Don't worry, they aren't dead." Xiao Yingzi replied to her junior's look of concern. "We checked each one of them over. Whatever concoction the Storks cooked seems to be only very debilitating rather than crippling or lethal. We insisted on that when they came to us to pay for their little surprise."
"Wait, I thought we weren't taking offers to give one team an advantage," Mei Lantian asked, confused.
Xiao Yingzi laughed quietly, "We didn't accept money to give any one team an advantage. Every team in that arena paid us to allow them their own advantage so everyone got what they paid for. It was as fair a match as any since all parties had an edge. Some advantages simply go a long way together."
Mei Lantian nodded, still a bit perturbed at the sheer amount of destruction she had seen. "Now what happens, Centurion?"
"Now, we get to relax." Xiao Yingzi replied with a smile and her eyes gleamed with mischief. "After all, you no longer need to present the finalist prizes. We'll have to send them to the winners later."
Mei Lantian looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Wait, you didn't…"
"I did say I'd take care of it!" Xiao Yingzi told her, giving her an honest smile. Lantian stared into her eyes with horror. Before she could say anything, the centurion activated the Ring of the Dead and began to fade away from the eyes of her junior. The last thing she saw were her eyes, which winked at her before disappearing.
Mei Lantian blinked. "You didn't, right?" She asked to the now empty place.
There was no answer.
***
SCENE C – INDIVIDUALS
Supervised by Elder Hammers Ice Incessantly (Swordomatic)
FINALISTS
TEAMS REPRESENTING FIRST TRIAL
QUALIFIED
Grand Scorpion Sect
A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9
A9, A8, A2, A7
Forge Madmen Sect
B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9
B4, B9, B6, B8
Fortune Stork Clan
C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9
C5, C1, C9, C3
Longevity Stork Clan
D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D9
D2, D1, D5, D4
PRELIMINARIES; FIGHT 1: A9 vs C5 [A9]; FIGHT 2: B4 vs D2 [D2]; FIGHT 3: B9 vs D1 [B9]; FIGHT 4: A8 vs C1 [A8]; FIGHT 5: A2 vs D5 [A2]; FIGHT 6: B6 vs C9 [B6]; FIGHT 7: D4 vs A7 [A7]; FIGHT 8: C3 vs B8 [B8]
QUARTER FINALS; FIGHT 1: D2 vs B9 [B9]; FIGHT 2: A9 vs A8 [A8]; FIGHT 3: A2 vs A7 [A7]; FIGHT 4: B8 vs B6 [B8]
SEMI FINALS; FIGHT 1: A7 vs A8 [A7]; FIGHT 2: B9 vs B8 [B9]
FINALS: B9 vs A7 [A7]
{Swordomatic: 3294 Words}
Behold, the Spirit Oasis Neutral Lands. A piece of civilization in a crude and barbaric land, or so its nominal guardians would say. Upon the plateau, one can peer out at all the rest of the territory with impunity. To the north, the Purefort, guarding the Dawn Road, and by them the lands of the First Farmer. To their east lies the Wealth King's Devil Prison and the road being built into the former Jingshen Clan's lands, and past them and the Sunrise Mountain Sect… Past them, thought the Great Scorpion Elder thought wistfully, was home.
Know his name, for he is Jamukha Khan, adherent of the striking stinger! With lance in hand he delivers powerful blows, and like the scorpions of the sands he has mastered them to terrible extents, that they are as welcoming and as pliable as a newly drawn bath to him! He is Jamukha Khan, Core Formation of the Great Scorpion Sect! And his people are becoming placid, fat, content with petty things as spirit stones and plenty.
Atop the Bathmother as he looked down at the True Oasis in which the concluding battle of this tournament will be conducted, Jamukha sneered and spat displeasure into the blood of this dead world. There was no curse attached, but a great many intended. Not for the people of this land, but for his own people.
Trade has ever been part of their livelihoods. He was no smooth and pallid fool with jadelike skin! His was coarse and sun-baked, a golden brown almost like that of his new overlords. But those others of the Sect - of the Palace, he had to remind himself with displeasure, they treat wealth like it were the result to be desired. The amassment of resources, to live comfortable lives of plenty guarding a stretch of road!
Pathetic! Wealth was no end, but a means to an end! It was a means to gather resources, to exult the sands and the scorpion! To sharpen one's stingers, to refine one's venom, to master the baking sands to ever greater extents! Olkov's Ten Thousand know this better than they, and they are fight-hungry bastards who seek to one-up one another in shows of 'chivalry' and 'virtue'!
Right and proper folk, they are! Folk that the Great Scorpion Sect were like, once! But not anymore, and perhaps not ever again.
It chafed him to acknowledge this. The Golden Devils had spoken, and they had gifted the greedy merchants amongst them with titles and duties. One would think that a folk as militant and disciplined as the mighty Golden Devils, with their quaint Legions and their power at war, would want warriors and not merchants. But their new overlords had spoken, and so it would be.
At least they had spoken at all. The Jingshen would just raid them when they felt like it and extort them all the rest of the time.
"Jamukha! There you are!"
The Scorpion Elder turned his head sharply, his eyes dead keen, and the woman who called out to him threw the poison he spat out of them aside with an errant chop of her hand. The metal prosthetic limb sizzled as the poison boiled to nothing beneath her boiling Qi, and the old woman who had grafted it on clicked her tongue in teasing disappointment as she brought it low again, clasped behind her back. "My my, Jamukha, why do you sulk? Is the heat of your passion so great that only the great Bathmother can understand your feelings now?"
Jamukha did not scowl, for that would be a defeat on his part. But he did watch the other Elder with some disdain. The Forge Madman Elder only looked old, for she had suffered at the hands of an aging poison in her youth, but that just drove her to further ends. What kind of right-thinking person would throw away perfectly good limbs and replace them with metal prosthetics? All four limbs, even? Only madmen. And only madmen who lived in a forge. "My passions burn hotly as ever, Hammers Ice Incessantly, as you would do well to recall! Better one lives burning brightly, than be so cold that even forgefire couldn't warm you!"
Elder Hammers Ice Incessantly of the Forge Madman Sect, one who would enjoy being called Cool Your Jets by her friends, chuckled as Jamukha's half-hearted retort glanced off her icy metal wit. "Oh, you and your quips, Jamukha, they bring me much levity to my life. Tell me, what ails you? Has your mother taken ill? Is your scorpion ill?"
"Borte is fine, for your information!"
Hammers Ice Incessantly shook her head slowly, still grinning. "Your Sect has not grown soft, dear Jamukha. And if you fear it has, why not ensure it does not? Simply test them from time to time. I'm sure Olkov's lads would enjoy reminding your juniors of the value of martial prowess."
"What good is prowess without foes?" Jamukha pointedly did not complain.
"What good indeed," Hammers Ice Incessantly said behind a small smile. "But come now, such problems are for when you are Cultivating, not when you should be celebrating. Come now, Jamukha, come! The bout is starting soon!"
Jamukha Khan, who once laid low a serpent ten li long with a single thrust through its eye, narrowed his eyes at her. "I am not so old that my eyes do not work, woman! We can see our disciples battle from here!"
"But your disciple cannot see you from there," the wise old woman said kindly. "And would your passionate heat not burn him all the better, if you were there to scream it free?"
"There is truth to your words," the Khan said immediately. "Come, Cool Your Jets! We must go, to see my student destroy yours in righteous, martial exultation! As the scorpion crushes the snake!"
Hammers Ice Incessantly laughed then. "Ah, but one must mind one's sting, lest they shatter it against a core of iron…"
----
Two young men, the subject of the adulation and expectations of thousands, stood facing one another amid a sandy arena. Their backs faced a door of iron bars, where their fellow competitors, the defeated who were once hopeful for victory themselves, now looked on expectantly at the paragons of their generation and age.
Separated by two hundred paces, they were a long distance apart. Far enough that battle could be called and mortal men would take full minutes to reach one another, an eternity on the battlefield. Long enough to question one's resolve. Long enough to grasp the yawning terror that awaited them in the future.
But these two young men did not care for such petty mortal foibles. These two young men had eyes like hawks, such that they could read the other perfectly. These two young men had the speed of the wind and the power of the storm backing their limbs. These two young men would soon meet in righteous battle and pronounce the victor of the Indomitable Aurum Competition. One would be Aurum, the other Argenti. Both would be honored. But only one would be the victor.
One young man stood with a large scorpion looming at his back, the size of a large bear and easily large enough to ride upon. In one hand he carried a hooked lance that ended in a dangerously sharp point, burnished black and hewn from the stinger of an even greater scorpion. In the other hand he carried a saber, a massive chitin thing of orange and brown, carved from the claw of a similarly great scorpion. His eyes were deep brown, his hair sun-kissed blonde, his skin baked brown that spoke of a desert-born people. He was smiling. His hands were brought together, a palm meeting a fist.
The other young man stood with no weapons, for he needed none. His body was itself a weapon, and for him such a boast was no mere idle saying, parroted by generations of sect disciples. His left and right hands were burnished iron, curved with blocky approximations of muscles and clenched with rigid right-angled digits. His legs were much the same, thick-set, heavy, and powerful implements of destruction and creation alike. Though he seemed to weigh a literal ton, he hopped sometimes from side to side, raising his blood and hinting at his speed, the cornerstone of his talents. His eyes were gray and deep as the ocean, and though his skin was fair it is caked in the ash of the forge, giving it a flame-touched texture. His hair was an afterthought, for to demonstrate his piety he had shaved it bare, a clear dome of righteous postures. His hands, too, were brought together, a palm meeting a fist.
The first young man spoke, his voice booming. With every word, the sands shook. "Know my name, for I am Yesugei, the Stingblade! I and my companion, Atlan, fight as one! Fight well, for I will best you!"
The second, hearing this, laughed and responded. His words ground and grinded, like a millstone. "Know my name, for I am Spites The Hammer, he who spites hammers! My fists strike hard and fast, and they strike true in all directions! Fight well, for I will best you!"
Both young men grinned as they held their hands up before their mouth before bowing to the other. In them rests the hopes of the Great Scorpion and the Forge Madman Sects respectively, and to one another they have found a powerful, ambitious junior they could test themselves against. A friend for life, if all goes well. Neither intends to pull their punches or their blows, for it would be a disgraceful show of disrespect to their soon-to-be friend.
If death comes, so be it. Both young men knew; better to kill a friend than to lose a friend.
"Don't you fucking kill one another, you young punks!" Cried out their respective masters from the stands, to the mirth of many who watched.
The proctor, a Golden Devil resplendent in fine gravebronze panoply, then took the stands. He stood before a podium, overseeing the grand bout about to begin. He raised a hand up, palm open, and along the rafters all moved to the edge of their seats.
His hand held for one second, two seconds. Three seconds and more. Each was eternity, the parent of agony born of waiting.
His hand fell. His voice boomed. "BEGIN!" He cried.
And the young men of the desert blurred as a sandstorm came to life.
Upon his friend Atlan, Yesugei struck the first blow. Power gathered along his hooked lance and bright runes of the language of the Great Scorpion Sect burned to life upon its stinger faces. It burned, the winds wispy as they gathered around him. It conjured up images of ancient ancestors, scorpion steppe tribesmen from every generation, all striking together as one.
The lance struck forward and unleashed unreal power. Power that was matched, in equal measure, by two closed fists cast from black burnished pig iron.
"Direction Open!" Spites The Hammer declared, and Yesugei noticed too late that his opponent's legs were spread in a particular stance. The lance's strike was nullified, but the Forge Madman was not done yet. His fists retracted, and each of his arms vented a jet of hot gasses. "These fists have broken hammers and anvils alike! CLEAR SKIES! NORTHERN IMPACT!"
Spites The Hammer stepped forward, the directions auspicious and the power undeniable. One fist to the face, the other to the belly, the Northern Impact sent Yesugei from his mount and into the wall on the far end of the arena. Atlan sputtered and chittered at the loss of its companion. The great scorpion, though still a juvenile, attacked the Forge Madman at once with flashing claws and a stinger as sharp as any spearhead.
The young Forge Madman laughed as he did battle with the beast. Seven exchanges they fought, the young Cultivator stepping between deathblows as he ducked past stinger strikes and pounded claws flat. Atlan screeched with every blow, but its assault was incessant. Yet, all it could manage were seven exchanges, for in its fury it had neglected the eye of the smith.
For one must have an eye for detail if they are to master the arts of the forge.
The great scorpion struck out with its stinger once again, but this time the disciple was ready for it. With one hand it caught the stinger head on. Though it plunged through his hand, he felt no pain from the prosthetic. Instead the palm closed tightly, and the other hand quickly grabbed its side. Too late, the great scorpion tried to draw its tail back. Instead, the Forge Madman threw the scorpion aside, with unreal strength and the grace of a dancer.
Spites The Hammer then laughed skyward and he pounded his metal fists against a fleshy chest, yet the gongs were as heavy as any bell. "COME FORTH, YESUGEI! YOUR FIGHT HAS NOT ENDED YET!"
And indeed, Yesugei answered. A sword broke free from the sands, orange and brown and hewn from a massive claw. It struck at Spites The Hammer's inner thigh. Though it drew no blood, it hurt the prosthetic and stole the strength from it. The Forge Madman flipped back to avoid the worst of the strike, but the damage was done, and the student of the Grand Scorpion Sect rose from the earth up to the waist, his lance discarded but his saber still well in hand.
"Many thanks, my friend!" Yesugei cried out to his friend. "And you! That was a marvelous blow! But you will not unleash its like again, this I so declare!"
"So you've deduced the secret of my technique! Very good!" Spites The Hammer laughed again, louder this time. He drove his fists against each other, the heavy thump of hammer on anvil. "SO COME! SHOW ME THE SHAPE OF YOUR VICTORY, SO I MAY CRAFT YOU ITS IMAGE ON THE CRUX OF MINE! THIS ONE DOES NOT NEED HANDS TO MAKE WONDERS!"
Yesugei shot out of the sands, spun head over heels as he did so, and swung down against Spites The Hammer's crossed arms. They exchanged a dozen blows in a third as many seconds, their movements a blur and clearly measured. Yesugei clearly learned from his companion's example as he measured each blow. The heat of the desert burned brightly, but it was its haze that blurred the keen eye of the craftsman. Each tested the blows of the other, ripping and tattering cloth in the slipstream of slashing strikes and straight punches, yet neither took a second blow.
Their twelve exchange struck, a headlong thrust matched perfectly by a hand-clasped index finger stab, and each was launched ten paces back. Yesugei laughed, as did Spites The Hammer, as each shook off the tension of their prior bout. But the tension in the air was dense enough to cut, and as energetic as lightning. The climax of the match was about to come, and it would come with roaring thunder.
This, Yesugei heralded, his blonde hair whipping in a sudden wind. "Know this and weep, opponent of mine! Behold, my final blow!"
Yesugei rose up in a column of sand with a sweep of his saber, and as he swung his sword back and forth he gathered the winds and grains that followed in his wake. Here the truth of his strangely oversized saber, his Stingblade, was revealed as he unleashed the dust storm against his foe. Yet, Spites The Hammer was not deterred in the slightest. Though his leg was now damaged, he knew just as well that Yesugei's greatest attack could not be done alone, not properly. That he would commit this reserve power now spoke to his desperation.
And the Forge Madman grinned like a madman as he brought his arms together and stabbed one foot into the ground up to the heel, to better steady himself for his own final strike. "Direction open!" He cried out again, and this time his limbs burned with orange runes, the heat of the forgefire. His fists began to glow white-hot, bleeding orange around the edges, as he drew up the might of the Madmen. "Come, lord of the winds! Come and see what fuels the FORGE!"
Yesugei obliged. He descended with a mighty clap, a twisting drill of sand grains and wind blades. Spites The Hammer met it head on, his hands together for a supreme strike. They made contact, and the Forge Madman unleashed a second blast of flame as the sandstorm enveloped him entirely.
"EVERSTORM FALL!"
"SEASON OF FIRE!"
For a long moment, what could only be a few seconds but felt like eternity, a storm of flame and grain and wind and will raged where the young men clashed, a sphere of frightful molten heat. And then all at once, the sphere broke like the skin of a bubble.
And in the aftermath, the one who stood was the Great Scorpion, and the one who knelt was the Forge Madman.
With baited breath, the crowds watched, anticipating a continuation of the bout.
Then, Spites The Hammer raised a hand, an open palm that closed into a fist.
"WINNER," the proctor bellowed, but even his voice was drowned out by the crowds in the rafters. But it did not matter, because the outcome was clear.
The winner stood Yesugei, Stingblade of the Great Scorpion Sect.
----
As praise upon praise was heaped upon the young man Yesugei, the one he raised up was the young man with smoking metal fists and a limp. Their hands clasped, the young steppe tribesman pulled his opponent-turned-friend to his feet, as the great scorpion Atlan recovered from where he was tossed into a heap and strode over to his bond-brother.
"A great battle, my friend!" Yesugei cheered and he clapped his friend on the back of his shoulder. "Marvelous indeed! I could not have asked for better!"
"Nor I, friend," Spites The Hammer responded with his own grin, unmarred by his own disappointment. To lose to the best is an honor that few could ask for, after all. "But tell me this, if you would: that blow, marvelous as it was, could have certainly killed me, yes?"
"Naturally! The Everstorm is not something to be called upon lightly, after all!"
"Then why didn't it?"
Yesugei looked at his new friend, and then he shook his head. "It is because this is no battle, my friend. It is a test of our mettle, not merely to take life but to measure it. And I have little desire to cut yours short! It would be remiss of me, to break my Virtuous Oath so soon!"
"An Oath, my friend?"
"An Oath indeed!" Yesugei replied enthusiastically. "A most Virtuous one, to not claim the life of a righteous man! And you, Spites The Hammer, are righteous indeed!"
Spites The Hammer grinned. He clasped Yesugei's hand tighter, and both of them grinned as they held their hands up, a symbol of their newfound friendship. "Then I look forward to demonstrating my righteousness, Yesugei! The Indomitable Aurum!"
"And I mine, Peerless Argenti!"
They laughed together, basking in a new friendship for life. A moment shared, and cut too short when they were both greeted by their masters. One, picked up in a large bear hug by a man who was certainly not crying. The other, gently chided for coming in second, but praised for his grace in defeat.
So ends the Indomitable Aurum Competition. A demonstration of unity, a formation of bonds. A reminder that the desert is vast, but that all walk it as equals.
Just as planned.
***
{Insane-not-Crazy – 6151 words}
Acta Publica: Highlights of the Young Usurper Tournament of the Aurum Invictum Certamen by Chronicler Julius Diurna
"The paths of Cultivation are manifold and multitudinous. Some say they are a pursuit of enlightenment through the ineffable mysteries of the Dao. Others claim they are all ultimately a search for what lies beyond mortality. Others still claim that it is all a matter of self-improvement, betterment with each passing day.
"All who say such are fools. All who claim such are hothouse flowers who have never known the world around them, all cursed with naivety that I will be happy to relieve them of. Cultivation is none of those things, for it is the sweat off the brow from bodies straining to surpass their limits. It is the blood spilled in the heat of battle to expunge the sin of weakness from ourselves. It is pain and misery - no, it is to make pain and misery brothers, comrades in truth and in deed, to hold death tightly to our breast and nurse. Cultivation is Conflict. Conflict is the truth that all who dare seek to harness the energies of Heaven and Earth are underpinned by. Wealth is secured by power, life is secured by strength, but both are won through hardship."
These were the words of Elder Battousai of the Flood Dragon Gang as he stood to commence the Young Usurper Tournament, his comments cutting deep with the sure edge of truth. After a week of seeing our contestants test their intellects in the challenges of the Sagacious Adept Contest, the Aurum Invictum Certamen pivoted to examine them in the rigors of combat. As teams and individuals, they struggled against one another, pitting the techniques and weapons of the Organ Meat Desert against one another to determine which was stronger or more fortunate. There were desperate tussles, tumultuous brawls and tyrannical routs, but in the end it came down to the one crown to be claimed, a single Young Usurper enthroned.
Elder Battousai as the supervising Elder for this set of events graced all attendees with a lesson on the martial path at the start of each of the three events of the tournament. He lectured briefly on the unity of combat, demonstrating that whether unarmed, with weapon in hand or employing comprehensions of the Dao a single thread united all battles, the intent to act. The climax of his teaching was a single strike that combined all the tripartite fundamentals he established beforehand, preserved in a moment of frozen time to be given to the ultimate winner of the tournament as their prize for overcoming all contestants, an excellent life saving treasure for any junior. In between these teachings, the audience of the tournament were on the edge of their seats as the participants were progressively eliminated in three stages, first in the Team Trio Rounds, then in the Battle Royale Sets and finally concluding in the Single Fighter Bouts
A) Team Trio Rounds
The combat events kicked off with the division team fights, all thirty two participants having being divided into four divisions by means of lots cast by the supervising Elder. In each division, the nine contestants representing each participating influence were divided into three teams of three cultivators each. Every team fought once against another team from an opposing participant in their division, no influence fighting the same opponent twice. Ranking the tally of wins and losses by the representative teams within each division determined which participating influences would continue to the next event with half of all participants slated to be eliminated at this stage. Where multiple participants shared a tally and competed for a qualifying slot, their teams' performances in their fights was reviewed by the supervising Elders and the disputing participants ranked according to the quality of their displayed martial prowess. Elder Liang of the Golden Devils was the chief proctor for this event.
In Division 1, the Hua Empire, Whipping Forge Sect, Ice Maidens Sect, Sunset Sect, Divided Mortal Kingdoms, Strong-Backed Farmer Sect, Longevity Stork Clan and Hong Xuan Clan faced off against each other. The Strong-Backed Farmer Sect made a surprisingly dominating showing, sweeping all three of their matches. Southern Glory Jungle Farmer was the anchor of his team in his sect's opening fight, his bark-covered frame resolutely accepting the increasing frantic blows from the two Ice Maiden cultivators he quickly isolated at the start of the match and allowing his colleagues to quickly defeat the lone woman cut off from support before pivoting to assisting Jungle Farmer in taking down the remainder of the opposing team. The other Strong-Backed Farmer Sect teams were less impressive in tactics but they nonetheless soundly defeated their opponents and became the first participants to qualify to continue. On the opposite end of things, the Divided Mortal Kingdoms had an ignoble exit in the very first event after being soundly trounced in all three of their matches. Confusion and in-fighting plagued the representatives of the True Dragon Emperor as feuds from home apparently continued in the tournament. The Hua Empire, Hong Xuan Clan and Longevity-Stork Clan joined the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect as the qualifying participants from Division with only one loss each to their names. The Hong Xuan Clan's attempt to achieve as tyrannical a performance as the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect managed was hobbled out of the gate by a surprise loss to the Hua Empire, whose NineFlame Sparrow burst onto the attention of the audience with a masterful display of Fire Qi techniques. The Dao of Decline is a powerful tool when mastered but for the youths of the Sunset Sect, their grasp of this strength proved too loose as they joined the Whipping Forge Sect, and Ice Maidens Sect to follow the Divided Mortal Kingdoms in elimination. Their fellow participants in the division with only one victory at the end were overmatched by their opponents, Whipping Forge finding that their blood-quenched armaments did not make up for a lack of adequate fighting spirit while the Ice Maidens could not lock down and sap the strength of their opponents quickly enough to claim victory in more than one match.
Following up that early excitement the particpants of Division 2 stepped into the arena, the Simmering Soup Sect, Fecundity Stork Clan, Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect, Cursed Mushroom Clan, Seven Temples Shrine Alliance, Riverlord Sect, Tao Bandits and Gaohao Bandits trying to outdo those that had taken the lead. The Simmering Soup Sect claimed a win over their perennial rivals in the Hong Xuan Clan by managing to complete a full set of victorious matches. Hundred-Catty Belly, Whistling Kettle and Soulful Chicken Soup led each of their teams to a crushing victory, wielding massive ladles like mauls to batter their opponents into submission. The three disciples of the Recipe Book Flush-Faced Rage proved the truth of their order's reputation as the foremost warriors of the Simmering Soup Sect on the stage of the combat arena. The raiders of the Gaohao Bandits demonstrated that their prowess in battle had not gone soft in the peace of recent times as they defeated their fellow rogues of the Tao Bandits in a match that showed off the polished heights of practiced dirty fighting and overcame the poisons and curses of the Cursed Mushroom Clan with stalwart hardiness. The veiled fighters of the Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect put up a dizzying display of acrobatic combat maneuvers as the dervishes feinted and danced their way to victory over the Tao Bandits and Cursed Mushroom Clan, but their hypnotic gyrations failed against the lead of Blind Bao from the Riverlord Sect. Luck certainly favors scoundrels and rascals because the Tao Bandits managed to slip ahead of the Fecundity Stork Clan, Cursed Mushroom Clan, Seven Temples Shrine Alliance, and Riverlord Sect into the last qualifying spot on account of a tie-breaking vote in their favor by Elder Grizzle Growl who found their underhanded antics humorous. The Fecundity Stork Clan proved to be better lovers than fighters as they only managed a single win, a victory against the Riverlord Sect obtained by a hilarious application of aphrodisiacs to disorient their opponents. Likewise the Seven Temples Shrine Alliance was unable to overcome the handicap of being away from the flowing waters that were the source of their strength and barely eked out a single win against their fellow sect from Seven Temples City on the basis of familiarity with their techniques.
In the beginning of the latter half of the division team fights, the Ghost Tree Forest Kings, Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom, Peng Kingdom, Grand Scorpion Sect, Crossed-Blades Cult, Xin Kingdom, Sunrise Mountain Sect and Twelve City Alliance put on some of the most interesting fights yet seen in the tournament. The Grand Scorpion Sect with three wins and no losses proved on a desert-wide stage why the warriors who survive under the relentless fury of the Everstorm are considered among the best melee combatants in the desert. Any concerns that their ongoing transition to mercantile activity as the Scorpion Trade Palace have weakened their edge in battle have been soundly put to bed as the chitin armored lancers rode into the fray, lance in hand upon their arachnid Spirit Beast companions, and laid low every team set against them. In stark contrast to this invigorating display of dominance, Division 3 managed to produce not one but two participants who were utterly demolished by their opponents. The teams from the Ghost Tree Forest Kings fell prey to competent teamwork, blatant trickery and fierce swordsmanship. It would seem that the strength of Spectral Cultivation only came into its own at higher realms and the juniors employing bound spirits had to struggle as much against their unruly servants as against their mortal opponents. The Xin Kingdom, on the other hand, demonstrated the danger in focusing only on one's strengths to the exclusion of other areas. The elemental qi-sorceries of the Xin Kingdom teams were certainly potent techniques but they did not make up for lacking physical conditioning and they were forced into exhaustion by stubborn defenses, and pushed into unfavorable melee engagements. The Twelve City Alliance found themselves unlucky with the judges as they were ranked least of the four participants competing for three qualifying spots on the basis of shared scores. The Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom, Peng Kingdom, and Crossed-Blades Cult made it successfully past the guillotine of elimination but the Twelve City Alliance's participation in the tournament was halted by a unanimous decision from the supervising Elders on their overall unspirited showing. The middling performance of the Sunrise Mountain Sect similarly consigned them to elimination after an initial victory failed to be extended into further success.
Coming in at the tail end of the matches, Division 4 was perhaps the most contested of the four groupings. Of these eight participants, the Fortune Stork Clan, Forge Madmen Sect, Sunset Mountain Sect, Woodsplitter Sect, Sixty Kingdoms Alliance, Goatmen Tribes, Sunrise Sect, and Shen Kingdom, none managed a full set of victories unlike in the other three divisions. Starting from the bottom, the Woodsplitter Sect would have been better served from greater devotion to the contemplation of Axe Dao by their juniors rather than their exploration of the Dao of Drunkenness. The ruddy-faced axe wielders of the Woodsplitter Sect put up a hopeless but also belly-achingly hilarious display in their flailing defense against their opponents, which ultimately proved an ineffective effort as they lost all three of their matches. The gentle and peaceful monks of the Sunrise Sect fared little better against their more violent counterparts in the division. The Dao of Renewal did not lend itself well to combat but the pacifist monks of the Sunrise Sect demonstrated that pacifism does not map perfectly to non-aggression as their team led by Disciple Tai Minyan managed a surprise win against the Forge Madmen Sect using talismans to bind and knock out the unwary opposing team who struck first without committing to their attack. Another surprising performance came from the Goatmen Tribes who defied expectations to do better than the Woodsplitter Sect and steal a victory from one of the qualifying participants. Earthern Grave Statue of Sunset Mountain Sect and his team did not expect the beastmen led by Eat-All Drink-All to put up a spirited fight, and overcome the gap of better equipment and techniques with sheer obstinate will. Although they fail to make the qualifying grade, the Goatmen Tribes have proven that their presence in the Aurum Invictum Certamen is not undeserved. Five participants contesting for four qualifying spots became just four when the Sixty Kingdom Alliance in a surprising turn of events withdrew from consideration when the supervising Elders were about to begin their evaluations. The only reason given for this decision from their presiding senior cultivator, Councilor Rang Min, was that the Alliance had judged that their prospects going forward were not favorable and discretion would be the better part of valor in their circumstances. No credence needs to be given to unfounded speculation that this decision was actually motivated by joint consideration for their withdrawal paid by the four qualifying participants to the Alliance and the hosts. From Division 4, the Fortune Stork Clan, Forge Madmen Sect, Sunset Mountain Sect and the Shen Kingdom qualify to move onwards to the next stage with two wins each after the withdrawal of the Sixty Kingdom Alliance.
At the close of the division team fights, sixteen participants stand triumphant and ready to progress while sixteen others are relegated to the audience to watch what could have been their glory had their means been that much greater. All participants who survived elimination received victory tokens entitling them to the first tier of minor rewards for coming this far. However greater prizes were in wait for those who prevailed in the latter stages.
B) Battle Royale Sets
The division team fights were constructed around the reality that combat is often a collaborative affair. Cultivators must regularly go up against assemblies of opponents, small groups working together to overcome the gathered enemy and the combined efforts of many such groups across different battlefields counting for or against a side. But that is not the totality of joint combat. Sometimes there is only one battlefield and all possible force must be brought to be at once to secure victory against every opposition present. The Battle Royale Sets were designed to simulate this complex multilateral scenario where massed combat is the name of the game.
Sixteen participants advanced from the division team fights to the battle royale stage: Hua Empire, Strong-Backed Farmer Sect, Longevity Stork Clan, Hong Xuan Clan, Simmering Soup Sect, Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect, Tao Bandits, Gaohao Bandits, Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom, Peng Kingdom, Grand Scorpion Sect, Crossed-Blades Cult, Fortune Stork Clan, Forge Madmen Sect, Sunset Mountain Sect, and Shen Kingdom. These sixteen were organized in three sets consisting of four battles between four participants. The first set of battles were preliminary encounters with only three contestants fighting from each participant at a time and no terrain alteration. Sets two and three on the other hand had each participant fielding their full complement of contestants against one another at the same time. Each set beyond the first introduced escalating environmental threats to increase the variables participants had to take into consideration. Participants were ranked in the order of their complete removal from the field of play by the incapacitation or surrender of their contesting juniors. The ranking of each participant from all three sets was combined and the lowest total rankings determined the four teams who would be eligible to move ahead to the final stage of fights. These war games were supervised by a team of referees from the Golden Devil Clan under the leadership of centurion Xiao Yingzi. The duty of the referees was to monitor the free-for-all of the battle royale and call out incapacitation as well as prevent grievous injury to contestants from the excitement of combat.
The first set of battles kicked off with a match between the Hua Empire, Tomb Defiling Justice Sect, Grand Scorpion Sect and the Shen Kingdom. The opener was a brisk affair as the four teams hit it off like cats stuffed in a large box which is to say there was a bit of hesitation before everything devolved into a flurry of caterwauling and enthusiastic mauling. The Hua Empire got the worst of it despite a powerful start with a magical treasure to make the terrain more favorable for themselves as they were knocked out first. The three remaining teams slugged it out with the Shen Kingdom managing to come out on top with one cultivator standing at the end by dint of the Grand Scorpion Sect attracting the bulk of the attention in the brawl.
In the next match, the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect continued revealing hidden depths of combat potential as they took the win, managing to overcome the evil eye set upon the field by the Fortune Stork Clan while giving as good as they got to the Tao Bandits and Crossed-Blades Cult. The bad luck the Fortune Stork Clan sowed for their opponents reaped for them a good harvest in the quick exit of the later two teams but the hardy farmhands made their own luck as they stood strong until the Fortune Stork efforts were exhausted and then the fieldhands pummeled their last opponents to claim the victory.
The newcomers to the desert, the Longevity Stork Clan, demonstrated that the refugees forced from the Great Battlefield have a bite to be wary off as they overcame the Gaohao Bandits, Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom and Forge Madmen Sect to stand last. Wielding Spiritual Tools integrated into their bodies, the Forge Madmen dominated the early fighting of the match, but made the mistake of focusing too much on the indigenous desert teams, allowing the Longevity Storks to take them out after the artisans had wearied themselves defeating bandits.
Closing off set one, the Hong Xuan Clan met their rivals in the Simmering Soup Sect in the last match and failed to overcome them despite a valiant effort. Sunset Mountain Sect and Peng Kingdom were happy to let the two rivals have at it while they tussled among themselves with the Peng cultivators coming out the lesser. Against a triumphant Simmering Soup Sect, the Sunset Mountain Sect gamely struggled but were beaten out by the disciples of the Soup Dao.
The start of the second set of the battle royales turned up the heat on the battlefield from the simmering warmth of the preliminaries to a roiling boil in the full war mode, quite literally in some cases. Before each match, Elder Battousai picked from a random list of environmental conditions, the referees shaping the arena to match his selection. For the first match, the pick was Marsh Wetlands, terrain that handily favored the Hua Empire and helped secure their first place position ahead of the Tao Bandits, Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom and Sunset Mountain Sect. The mountain-dwellers of the Sunset Mountain adapted gamely to the sucking mud and swampy water of the transformed arena but like the other two teams proved little match for the lakeside dwelling Hua fighters who defeated their opponents in detail.
The Misty Plains of the second match were the fog of war come to life as a thick haze of vapor blinded all teams to their opponents' movements and distorted sound carried in the thick soup of air. The four teams managed to bumble into one another after disoriented wandering in the mists and after the confused brawl that ensued ended with all contestants unconscious, the referees ruled that in order of last cultivator knocked out the order of ranking was the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect in first place, followed by the Shen Kingdom, Peng Kingdom and Gaohao Bandits.
The reputation of the Simmering Soup Sect turned against them as the three other teams in their match focused on eliminating them first in their match. The scorching winds, blistering heat and scouring sands of the Noontime Desert arena did not work to their favor either or any one else really apart from the Grand Scorpion Sect. The cousins of the Fortune and Longevity Stork Clan proved unable to overcome the cavaliers of the scorpion-inspired fighters even working together and the Grand Scorpion Sect took first place.
Moving awaying from the heat of the third match, the final match concluded set two in a chilling flurry of snow and hail as the blizzard conditions of the Winter Freeze took effect. The cold proved no trouble to the able artisans of the Forge Madmen Sect who blazed with the heat of their crucibles as opposed to fighters from the Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect who found their light clothing offered little protection from the biting chill. Slowed and numbed they were knocked out quickly. Protected by talismans from the effects of the weather, the Hong Xuan Clan struggled with the Forge Madmen and Crossed-Blades Cult but having to split their resources between battle and the environment cost them the match. Alone and weakened from the earlier three-way tussle, the Crossed-Blades Cult were defeated leaving the Forge Madmen to take first place.
The pressure piled on in the third and final set of battle royale matches. In addition to the altered weather conditions randomly picked for each match, qi projections of harassing enemies were added to each arena in the form of Spirit Beasts complementary to each environment. First up were the Hua Empire, the Crossed-Blades Cult, Longevity Stork Clan and Peng Kingdom facing off in the Misty Plains with unicorns and tigers in tow. All the teams fighting on the foggy grounds had come with means to mitigate the obfuscation of the field which placed them on roughly even grounds. In the end it came down to skill in formation work and environmental affinity as the Hua Empire deployed the Cerulean Lake Serpent formation, to defeat in detail their opponents who were more distracted by constant attacks from charging unicorns and stalking tigers.
Away from disabling cold, the Hong Xuan Clan were able to hold their own against all comers in the parching wastelands of the Noontime Desert. In an unfortunate turn of events, the starting position of Strong-Backed Farmer Sect led to them being bogged down dealing with several concealed antlion nests which left the Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom to be whittled away by the twin threats of the Hong Xuan Clan and the Grand Scorpion Sect. Caught in position without their full strength, the proud farmers quickly went the way of the bandits before them, leaving only two teams on the field. Attacks from venomous serpents striking from the sands were the backdrop to a headlong clash between the two remaining teams, the eponymous Grand Scorpion formation matched against the War God formation of the Hong Xuan and losing out to give first place to the Hong Xuan Clan.
The Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect reclaimed their honor in the Marsh Wetlands as they swept past clouds of stinging flies and swarms of sucking leeches to hammer the Gaohao Bandits into a quick knockout moments after the match started. The Wind Thief formation the Justice Sect employed did not offer much improvement to their offensive output but the hastened movement it afforded them in the difficult to traverse wetland environment allowed them to take out the Sunset Mountain Sect before the latter could react to the swift defeat of the Gaohao Bandits. Alone, the Fortune Stork Clan tried to bunker down behind talisman barriers and treasures but the blade-wielding skirmishers threatened every direction and prevented the luck manipulators from working their rituals or moving away from their unfortunate choice of position near a large swarm of tenacious leeches. Harassed incessantly, the Fortune Storks fell to the victors from the Justice Sect.
Wolves and bears, oh my. These were the threats in addition to a powerful blizzard that the teams of the last match of set three had to contend with. Unable to brew up their battlefield broths between the cold and attacks from roving packs of wolves, the chefs from the Simmering Soup Sect were snuffed out first as the teams assaulted each other. The Shen Kingdom managed the misfortune of attracting the attention of two mammoth bears after the gourmands fell that distracted them enough for the Tao Bandits to come in from behind and overwhelm the team. The Forge Madmen attempted to turn the bandits' trick on them by attacking in a pincer maneuver as the Tao Bandits finished off the Shen Kingdom but their divided forces broke against the solid center of the raiders and while the artisans were attempting to recover, the Tao Bandits pushed back viciously on them to win the match.
Tallying up the scores at the end of all three sets, two teams were clear to pass through to the next stage, these being the Grand Scorpion Sect and the Forge Madmen Sect. However there were four teams who had done equally well in the battle royales after the sects and an elimination match was held to determine the last two qualifying teams. Battling in alliances agreed before the match, the Strong-Backed Farmer Sect and Hua Empire united against the Longevity and Fortune Stork Clans. Historical familiarity proved stronger than newfound companionship and the Stork Clans sailed through to the finals.
Before Elder Battousai called the intermediate stage of the Young Usurper Tournament to a close, he had one final challenge for the qualifying teams. The Single Fighter bouts would accept sixteen contestants, four from each qualifying team. To select these four, each team was provided with a fresh pot of Bandit-Finding Soup. The last four cultivators from each team to remain conscious after ingesting the meal would earn the right to compete in the Single Fighter event as well as be marked as honorary Righteous Bandits. The selection process was messy and noisome to an audience who were not spared the aroma of the Bandit-Finding Soup or its effects on the contestants but the sixteen valiant youths who prevailed were set apart to prove their individual mettle in the final event of the tournament.
C) Single Fighter Bouts
From two hundred and eighty eight contestants to just sixteen, the Young Usurper Tournament tested the brawn and prowess of every cultivator to find their limits. They fought as teams and bands but there could only be one Young Usurper. Sixteen of the best, the strongest, the most resilient and the most cunning competed for the title of ultimate winner of the tournament. Temulin, Alakhai Bekhi, Jochi and Yesugei from the Grand Scorpion Sect; Three Hands of the Buddha, Spites the Hammer, Song Lingcheng and Lingfan from the Forge Madmen Sect; Chun Fen, Song Ling, Xiaofeng and Wu Xia of Fecundity Stork Clan; Liu Zhong, Tenshi Hofan, Baolai Deng and Chow Yun Fat of the Longevity Stork Clan; these were the contestants who presented themselves before supervising Elder for the final event of the Young Usurper Tournament. Elder Battousai received their bows and responded with one of his own. Before the final fights, he exhorted the assembled contestants to give their all in the matches ahead and show the strength of their fighting spirit to all those gathered. Centurion Theodoros Agamemnon presented the fixtures for the preliminary matches as chief proctor and the Single Fighter bouts commenced.
Starting things off, Temulin was matched against Chun Fen. A duel between lance and war fans ensued, Chu Fen fighting against two opponents between Temulin and his bonded companion, the Glass Shell Scorpion Helagu. The natural advantage of Beast Taming arts and adept weapons training easily won the victory for Temulin despite a masterful display of Metal Qi arts for a junior from Chun Fen.
Competitors in the crafting contests, Three Hands of the Buddha and Liu Zhong met in the ring, this time not testing their skill in craftsmanship but in the arts of violence. Wielding a magical treasure in the form of a jian, Liu Zhong found her swordsmanship countered by a body cultivator who had augmented their physical ability with prosthetics and was thus able to disarm her of her blade with just their arms. Weaponless, Liu Zhong fell back against the inexorable blows of the three-armed pugilist and victory would have gone to the fighter from the Forge Madmen Sect but for the security protections on Liu Zhong's jian activating belatedly on her command and stunning Three Hands long enough for Liu Zhong to hurl her opponent out of the ring which was quite a feat considering the size of the marked out area.
Spite the Hammer avenged the loss of his colleague in a swift beatdown from his metal fists that forced Tenshi Hofan on the backfoot from the start of the fight. Unable to break free from merely defending, Hofan was forced to walk back to the borders of the ring, unable to break out for even a moment and finally blasted out of the ring with a blistering upper body blow from Spites the Hammer.
Wary of her colleague's defeat to the warrior arts of the Grand Scorpion Sect, Song Ling began her fight with Alakhai Bekhi by seeking to open the range and assaulting the duo of Spirit Beast and cultivator with talismans from afar. Alas she was mistaken in thinking that Bekhi was limited to close combat and was caught off guard by a charge in the midst of her barrage that saw Bekhi's lance plant itself in her gut. The wound proved too much for her to continue and the match was called for Alakhai Bekhi.
Baolai Deng attempted an all out offensive against Jochi from the commencement of the match, managing to disable Jochi's Spirit Beast companion quickly with a paralyzing talisman. The first of the Grand Scorpion Sect fighters caught out without their bonded companion, Jochi was put on the back ropes as she defended a dizzying flurry of attacks from her opponent. Deng however could not keep up the strength of her assault long enough to clinch the victory and Jochi seized victory from the jaws of defeat as her opponent faltered, and beat Deng unconscious with the hilt of her sword.
Song Lingcheng versus Xiaofeng was a match that continued the trend of a strong showing from the Forge Madmen Sect. Both cultivators in this fight were sword users, Lingcheng wielding a broadsword while Xiaofeng favored the saber. The two women disdained subtlety in combat and simply cut at each other, the heavy blows of their respective weapon styles ringing against each other. In the end it was not the wielder that faltered but the weapon. Xiaofeng's blade snapped off near the hilt where Lingcheng had hammered at a flaw she'd detected in its structure with precise force from the start of their clash. Weaponless, Xiaofeng conceded victory, bowing to a swordswoman who was one with the blade.
In the penultimate fight of the preliminaries Yesugei and his companion Atlan wielded stinger and saber against the halberd of the girthy Chow Yun Fat. The extended reach of the polearm allowed the Longevity Stork Clan cultivator to keep the bonded duo away from him but that advantage did not extend to allowing him to press the attack. Patient and cunning, Yesugei kept his distance without breaking calm and as the time allotted for the bout began to run out, it was Chow Yun Fat who gave in to the pressure and unwisely pushed forward to attack. The companions form the Grand Scorpion Sect had been waiting for that break and in the gap when Chow Yun Fat switched from defense to offense, they struck like lightning, bowling over the off balance giant and knocking him to the ground where envenomed blows felled him.
The outcome of the final fight of the preliminaries was a foregone conclusion in the eyes of much of the audience. The Forge Madmen and Grand Scorpion Sect had taken all but one of the prior matches and the former was expected to do so again. Wu Xia seemed undaunted by the sentiment against him as he entered the ring and bowed to Lingfan before the start bell rang. The Storkblood cultivator gave a good account of himself against the favored opponent and the odds shifted back and forth for both fighters across the full length of the bout. Gauntlets against dagger and longsword, the two went at it all around the ring and victory came to Lingfan who maneuvered her back to the setting sun, and caught out Wu Xia when the glare of the waning afternoon paused him for a moment too long. Gracefully accepting his defeat, the two shook hands in the ring and the preliminaries were at an end.
The quarter finals picked up where the preliminaries had left off with Spites the Hammer duelling Liu Zhong. The lone Storkblood cultivator left in the tournament fought hard, blade in hand but the undeniable strength of the metallic fists of the Forge Madmen prevailed and the Storks were out of the running.
The first fight between participants from the same influence took place Alakhai Bekhi and Temulin. This was a four-way fight between two pairs of combatants in the tradition of the Grand Scorpion Sect, Spirit Beast versus Spirit Beast and cultivator versus cultivator. Bekhi edged out the more skilled Temulin by resorting to holding her ground and trusting in her companion to win its fight, a trust that was justified when the scorpion overcame Temulin's bonded beast and joined Bekhi in attacking Temulin. Alone, the grounded cavalier forced the duo to claim their victory with a smile on his face, fighting ardently to the end.
In a mirror of the previous match, Jochi and Yesugei faced off but this fight came to a much speedier conclusion than the other. Yesugei and Atlan dominated the fight from the start and quickly overpowered Jochi and her companion both, scant minutes after the fight began.
To close off the quarter-finals we had another in-house duel. The fight between Song Lingcheng and Lingfan was a testament to the promise of the next generation. Transformed into raging bonfires from the heat of their sect techniques, the two sect sisters showered the ring with sparks from the impact of their weapons. The end seemed nigh for Lingcheng when Lingfan caught her blade and hammered a trio of blows into Lingcheng's abdomen that lifted her off her feet but Lingcheng recovered from that punishing assault and abandoned her blade to pull Lingfan close into an inescapable bear hug and hammered her opponent senseless with successive headbutts.
On the third and last day of the Single Fighter Bouts, the semi-finals and final matches were held in the morning and afternoon respectively. Alakhai Bekhi lifted her lance in salute to Yesugei in the first semi-final match. The two Grand Scorpion Sect cultivators restricted their battle to a contest of superior martial artistry, foregoing external qi use. Lances tilting against each other, it was Yesugei who was knocked off his mount first, but feet planted on the ground his saber brought home the victory.
Rounding off the semi-finals, Spites the Hammer and Song Lingcheng abandoned conventional combat and settled their match on the determination of which of them could stand against the strongest blow of the other. Committing all their strength to a single exchange of attacks, the fiery blade of Lingcheng scorched a deep wound across the chest of Spites the Hammer, leaving him pained but still standing but the thunderous straight jab from the pugilist knocked Lingcheng unconscious on her feet.
As for the final fight of the tournament, little needs to be said. Pugilist and cavalier strove against each other on a field prepared for them to show off the foulness of their abilities and the son of the Everstorm overcame the iron-handed blacksmith to claim his victory and the title of the Young Usurper.
D) Event Summary
From start to finish the Young Usurper Tournament promised to thrill all those who had gathered to witness the event and it more than delivered. No tournament can be a perfect representation of the reality of unrestrained combat and the Young Usurper Tournament was no different. However it gave several promising juniors the chance to see how much their strength matched against peers from all over the desert. Victorious or defeated, the tournament pointed contestants onward to greater heights they had yet to climb in the demonstration by Elder Battousai of the power possible for those who dared to grasp for it. Beyond conflict however, this tournament has encouraged bonds and unexpected alliances as teams made quick friends on the battlefield against shared enemies and cheered on past enemies from the audience against rivals. The greatest reward perhaps the participating juniors left with might be the knowledge that their potential is not yet realized and more is possible for them.
(x)d2 where x equal number of entrants (start at 9) and 1-Pass, 2-Fail; supervised by Eirene of Nowhere (Liliet) & Cao Wei (TheFourthMonado) & Simon Euaerizo (Sol Zagato)
Cleansing Pool of Lethe
Severing Gauntlet of Asura
Hollow Maw of Ungnyeo
Hua Empire
5
1
0
Whipping Forge Sect
6
5
3
Ice Maidens Sect of Hu Lin City
5
3
2
Seven Temples, Shrine Alliance
8
6
3
Divided Mortal Kingdoms
5
2
0
Strong-Backed Farmer Sect
5
1
1
Longevity Stork Clan
4
3
2
Hong Xuan Clan
6
2
1
Simmering Soup Sect
4
2
2
Fecundity Stork Clan
2
1
0
Tomb-Defiling Justice Sect
5
5
2
Cursed Mushroom Clan
5
4
4
Sunset Sect
7
3
1
Riverlord Sect
5
2
2
Tao Bandits
4
1
1
Gaohao Bandits
4
3
2
Ghost Tree Forest Kings
4
1
0
Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom
6
3
0
Peng Kingdom
6
5
2
Grand Scorpion Sect
4
2
2
Crossed-Blades Cult
4
1
0
Xin Kingdom
8
2
2
Sunrise Mountain Sect
5
3
2
Twelve City Alliance
6
2
0
Fortune Stork Clan
5
2
1
Forge Madmen Sect
4
2
2
Sunset Mountain Sect
6
4
3
Woodsplitter Sect
2
1
1
Sixty Kingdoms Alliance
4
1
1
Goatmen Tribes
3
3
0
Sunrise Sect
7
4
1
Shen Kingdom
5
4
2
{Sol Zagato - 1369 words}
The power of a Core Formation cultivator was great and terrifying to those who bore witness to it. Great rather than ineffable because it could work wonders at a scale more readily accessible than the nigh unattainable peak of cultivation in the Third Sea that was the Nascent Soul realm. Terrifying because one man's creation of wonder was another's nightmare realized. Strength and speed equal to that of hundreds of the finest mortal warriors and endurance fit to outlast a score of relay teams made up of the greatest mortal athletes, these were the base abilities provided by the third great realm and the advantage only grew from there. Forget about access to oceans of spiritual energy, the limited ability to touch upon a fraction of the Grand Dao in the form of a manifest personal Truth that possessing a physical core gave to a cultivator was perhaps the greatest quality that separated the accomplished from the masses.
This was not a new realization to Simon Euaerizo. After all, when he had been much younger and bore the name of Qirong, he had lived in the household of such a cultivator. His birth mother Berserk Slayer had been a cunning if generally unsubtle woman. In the scheming man-eat-man society of Blood Path cannibalism, it was essential to balance the need to demonstrate your strength to keep the knives pointed towards weaker prey without being too open about your capabilities and invite hungry bellies to try their means against you after taking your measure. Berserk Slayer had approached this challenge with a manner of casual physical brutality, twisting off limbs and heads with the ease of a child playing with a doll but reserving displays of her Dao unless she absolutely had to and leaving as little witness as possible. Her precautions had not saved her in the end, as the viper she'd nursed from her breast had turned on her and cut through the Gordian knot of figuring out a way to kill his mother committing suicide in the process by letting the overwhelming power of another enemy soften Berserk Slayer sufficiently. Mad Dog has always had a skill for playing his opponents off against each other while he stood on the sidelines eyeing the best place to plant his dagger in an exposed back.
The workmanship of Minervina Barda, on the other hand, was a testament to mastery of skill over brute force. Simon sat calmly in the rest area set up after the exit from the first trial of the Stalwart Heart Ordeal, studying the portal that fed into the room he was in and the chamber beyond that. There were no doors delineating the transition between the separate spaces but some force kept the billowing mists within the first trial chamber contained as though by an invisible barrier. Danger was surprisingly beautiful, Simon mused, as he contemplated the swirls of bilious green and lurid purple that were just a couple of the bright colors swirling together in an opaque fog in the Cleansing Pool of Lethe. As the supervisor for this trial, he'd walked the chamber to get a feel for its effect and even with the alchemical agents suffusing the atmosphere watered down to be a difficult but not insurmountable challenge for juniors, he'd felt the weight of confusion and distraction pressing down noticeably on him. The shallow pools along the floor filled with colorful volatile poison that vaporized at room temperature were a beautiful construction of ruthless attack. Every step wading through the contents thereof, every breath inhaled from the mist wafting off the pools allowed the cruel poison to sleep into the body and work its malevolent agenda. Fear responses would trigger without warning as nerve agents attacked the body. There were more depths to the afflictions caused by the product of Elder Barda's cauldron, spiritual poisons that introduced creeping doubt and potent hallucinogens that made reality itself seem like a false dream. All of these effects were precisely tailored to a threshold of mental resistance that was the standard of fortitude and overcoming will expected of successful contestants. Having experienced it firsthand, Simon wished all the teams attempting the ordeal the best of luck because they would sorely need it if not in the victory then in the recovery.
As he stared into the mists, the movement of the colored patterns within sped up and he began to make out vague shadows approaching. Standing up, Simon moved towards the doorway and was ready when the first figure stumbled out of the trial, silently crying. He took the contestant, a young woman by the hand and led her back to where he had been seated. There were several cots prepared for the juniors attempting the trial, set up in a rough semicircle and he led her to sit on one. In the middle of the arc of the cots, the Poison-Nullifying Incense Burner was placed in the floor and Simon lit the brazier, a cloud of purifying smoke rising up from the artifact. As the smoke reached the woman on the cot, clarity slowly came over her face and she actually paid attention to her current location.
"Who are you?" She hoarsely asked, her hands clawing at the white linen of the bedsheets.
Simon favored her with a smile and answered her. "Contestant Fa Linling of the Ice Maiden Sect, I am proctor Simon Euaerizo. Congratulations on passing through the first trial of the Stalwart Heart Ordeal. Per the rules of this event, you are permitted to take a break to rest after which you can continue on to the next trial or inform me of your decision to withdraw from further participation in the event."
"...," a confused moan was the best Fa Linling could manage at that moment in reply as nausea gripped her.
"Take a moment to gather yourself. I see other members of your team approaching so let me receive them and then you can all be on the same page," Simon said, turning back to the chamber of poisonous vapor.
One by one, Simon escorted five young women from the doorway to the cots.They were all in states of discomfiture upon their exit but quickly began recovering while in the rest area, the purifying smoke still rising from the Poison-Nullifying Incense Burner clearing out the lingering effects of the first trial. After checking off the five recovered women, Simon lifted a jade earcuff to his ear and spoke into a thumb's length of jade mounted onto a metal scepter the length of a forearm covered in intricate etching.
"Received five persons from the Ice Maiden Sect team, please confirm that remaining members retrieved from the trial chamber," Simon said.
A faint voice replied, whispering from the ear cuff. "Four retrievals confirmed. The Ice Maiden Sect team has completed its attempt at the first trial. Countdown for next trial commencing."
Simon returned to the five successful participants of the Ice Maiden Sect.
"I believe you should all be recovered now and it is time to make your choice," he said, not unkindly.
"Do you wish to continue with the next trial?" He said pointing at a doorway on the opposite end of the room as the way the women had entered. Impenetrable darkness obscured sight of anything beyond that doorway, darkness that resisted the illumination of the rest areas lighting.
"Or do wish to concede now and withdraw?" Simon offered pointing to a small wooden door set into the length of the wall between the two mysterious doorways.
The Ice Maiden Sect cultivators exchanged glances and one junior shakily rose to her feet.
"I… I wish to withdraw," she said hesitantly at first but picking up conviction towards the end, "I can't go through another trial like that. It was too much, too maddening."
"You may leave through the exit indicated," Simon said, accepting her surrender and looked to the others after she'd left, quietly waiting for their decision.
Another round of shared looks ensued and the remaining four stood up together. Fa Linling first entrant and most recovered spoke for them.
"We intend to continue with the remaining trials," she said.
Simon smiled faintly. "I commend you on your courage and wish you the best of luck in your next trial. You may rest here for another five minutes before proceeding to the next trial. I encourage you to make the best use of this time by reflecting on your experience in the first trial and reviewing how you succeeded in that challenge."
Simon watched the quartet huddle briefly to share information and then they broke off into quiet individual meditation. He nodded approvingly. The challenge of the next trial would be greater than the first and they were not starting fresh.
Simon considered the two doorways behind which a single Core Formation each had marked the world in reflection of their understanding of how to assault the spirit and weaken the heart. Awe-inspiring power indeed. What would his touch create if he managed to bridge the steadily narrowing gap between his abilities and such strength. He could only wait to find out.
***
{Liliet - 1103 words}
Cut down a hundred souls at your left side with the scathing edge of your tongue and reap a thousand lives at your right with the bludgeon of your pen. The path of slaughter is not walked just by those who clutch weapons in their hands or deal death with the mastery of their bodies. Discord and carnage sprout from the seeds of casual comments and grow to overshadow nations. Men are undone in their hearts by the whispers of whispering shadows and laughing mockers. A man can be broken utterly by destroying the foundation of his identity merely by showing him a distorted reflection of himself he comes to accept as true.
Eirene of Nowhere thought about these words from the lips of Elder Battousai as she carried the last failures of the Xin Kingdom team out of the room containing the second trial of the Stalwart Heart Ordeal. They had been lingering in her min ever since she'd spoken with the Elder when she had been assigned to help supervise this particular sub-event. Nagging as they were, she had little time to focus on them as she completed clearing the second trial chamber. She carried two large men over her shoulders with the ease of porting sacks of potatoes, not at all concerned for their comfort as the disparity between their size and hers caused her shoulders to grind into certain tender locations with their unconscious flailing. Speed in departure was her pressing thought here.
Despite being a Foundation Establishment Expert and possessing a talisman personally crafted by Elder Battousai himself, Eirene had no intentions of lingering in the chamber ominously named the Severing Gauntlet of Asura. Perhaps after the competition was over, she would return to contemplate the philosophy underlying the construction of the trial but presently she just wanted to be away from the storm of phantasmal attacks ceaselessly spiraling around her, kept away only by the thin protection of the talisman and her own tempering. Even with those defenses, looking at the edges of any of the blades liberally planted in every surface caused immediate pain to flash in her mind. Closing your eyes to avoid that hazard only pulled you further into the mire. Discordant emotions battered at the mind from the blades, howling saws of bloodlust transforming the darkness behind one's eyelids into visions of savagery while piercing stilettos of fright caught unlucky occupants of the room in a vice of conflicting emotional manipulation. Where the guest elder from the Flood Dragon Gang had sourced so many cursed weapons or the bloody arrays scrawled along the room's surfaces, Eirene did not know but his collection had transformed a simple chamber into a hellish nightmare to traverse as six Xin Kingdom juniors had learned to their misfortune.
Initially there had been eight of them, flushed with confidence after passing through Minervina's trial and seeing that only one of their number had failed to overcome the Poison Witch's craft. From the report Simon Euaerizo had sent to the other proctors, none of them had taken the offer to withdraw and rather pressed on boldly into the second trial. To give them credit where it was due, two of the group had managed to make it safely out and then continued gamely to the last trial. The other six had managed to make it close to the exit on her end before gibbering insensibility had overcome them and the trial protections had knocked them unconscious for their own protection. Being the closest supervisor, she had been responsible for extricating them and moving them to the rest area in between the second and third trials.
In contrast to her rough handling while transporting them, Eirene gently placed the two men on mattresses laid on the floor when she blessedly left the second trial, laying them alongside the four other members of their team. All of them were still unconscious and she let them rest while she informed the other proctors that the second trial was free and ready to receive more victims.
Taking a seat beside the fitfully slumbering juniors, Eirene picked up the lute she'd left beside her chair and experimentally strummed the cords. She'd been trying out various musical instruments ever since her flute had broken, building upon technical knowledge to try and develop a modicum of the familiarity she'd had with her childhood wind instrument. Fidelity to one tool left other possibilities unexplored, an oversight which her congealing personal philosophy could not overlook. This year it was the lute and her hands had grown familiar with the ways of the thin-necked string instrument.
Pleased with the notes sounding from the test of the instrument, Eirene launched into a soft tune, humming wordlessly in accompaniment. The song drifted over the forms of the somnolent team, still clutched in the grip of the harrowing that had assailed them from their failed challenge. Not merely sound but suffused with her qi and comprehension, the song slipped into the ears of the juniors and slowly their stirring stilled as calm was poured like oil over the roiling waters of their spirits. Eirene's efforts would have been easier and far more effective if she'd managed to retain hold of her attainment of the 12th Heavenstage but despite having had and lost it, a shade of that potential still lingered in her practice of Demonic Tunes.
Eirene soothed the spiritual wounds of the juniors for a while, letting them rest a bit before escorting them out ahead of the next team. As she played for them, her thoughts returned to the statement from the smiling demon that was Hitokiri Battousai. She thought she understood the thrust of his perspective. Eirene was a trained physician and that education had taught her that the knowledge and means of healing could be turned as easily to the taking of life. In a similar manner, the arts of diplomacy and peacemaking could be bent to the ends of bloodshed and conflict. Thinking on the matter, Eirene frowned as her mind lingered on those words. To kill by striking at the heart, wounding the mind and sundering the spirit. That was a more direct aggression, more akin to poisoning with speech than turning relationships sour. It brought to mind the idea of deliberately engendering a Heart Demon in another, turning spiritual malaise into tangible damage. Eirene considered the forms of the juniors at her feet, scarred without ever taking a physical wound and thought further on the matter. There was no question of the fact that she would be speaking at length with Elder Battousai after this.
***
{TheFourthMonado – 1178 words}
Cao Wei sighed and broke off another stalk of lettuce, wondering how he'd ever come to be in this position. Sitting in an austere chamber sparsely decorated with a single desk and some chairs with just a few bundles of mattresses to round out the furnishings was not his idea of a fun time. The tortured growls and whimpering cries that occasionally leaked out from behind the bars of yellowed bone securing the massive entrance to the west of the room he was in didn't make him any happier.
"Crazy bastards from the Chamber of Administration roping in innocent clansmen for nefarious deeds," Cao Wei muttered in complaint to himself, "What's the use of being a centurion if it just means I get pulled into more weird stuff?"
The beastman had been minding his business, keeping his head down running missions and occasionally meeting up with that madman Auspicious Nine to discuss their ever so slowly developing cultivation manual for goatmen. His lingering injuries had firmly put him off the idea of any excitement in the near future and he'd spent expensively out of pocket to purchase a talisman that should protect him from most threats to his life like say the sky turning to blood and everyone running amok with a hankering for cannibalism. He'd heard about the Aurum Invictum Certamen when the competition had initially been announced and thought it a fine idea, particularly when the Goatmen Tribes had preposterously received an invitation to participate alongside the likes of the Hong Xuan Clan and the Simmering Soup Sect.
Somehow being the only goatman known to have reached Foundation Establishment had translated into an annoying position as a sort of figurehead of the Goatmen Tribes. The status was annoying because it didn't exactly correlate with any formal authority – not that he wanted it, but it would have been nice to have – and he just kept being pester by random letters and actual goatmen showing up asking to become his disciple. He'd mostly responded by telling to go join the Legions, a sure way in his mind of getting them out of his hair and killing off the stream of supplicants when the Legions inevitably rejected them and they went back home with their dreams crushed. Unfortunately he hadn't counted on the impenetrable madness of the Master of Disciples who had made a special provision for any applying goatmen who managed the bare minimum possible to be infused with the Blood of Bronze and admitted into the rolls of the Legions. The crazy woman hadn't stopped but had also made it a practice of giving very favorable conditions for those goatmen who failed the Legions' standards to become auxiliaries who were really experimental subjects she handed off to her subordinates. The idiots that were his fellow goatmen considered this a sign of favorable disposition from the most powerful influence in the Organ Meat Desert and trooped over in notable numbers to sign up.
"Stupid mad scientists from the Office of Disciples giving me a headache," Cao Wei mumbled angrily as he finished off the lettuce and picked up a head of cabbage, chewing aggressively as he imagined the head of Destascia Duca between his teeth. Surviving the Blood Mists had left some unfortunate tendencies when he got stressed.
That little initiative by the Chartoularios Tou Kanikleiou had somehow marked him as a figure of influence regarding the Goatmen Tribes and the Chamber of Adminstration, had come calling. Through cajoling, bribery and no few hints of sluggish bureaucratic response in the future from them if he wasn't responsive to their appeals, they had managed to rope Cao Wei into serving as a stand-in for the Goatmen Tribes in the Aurum Invictum Certamen. True it hadn't been all that bad in the beginning, standing around where he could be pointed as the miracle of the much slighted race of beastmen. It said a lot about a people's status in the desert of the Virtuous Flipper Region when the enslaved pigmen and rapacious pillagers of the waspfolk were considered in higher regard than them on the basis of average advancement in cultivation. Strength was everything in this world, might as manifested the form of successful cultivators and the goatmen were consistently scraping the bottom of the barrel in their offerings.
"Foolish idiot that I am, accepting responsibility in this Fates forsaken trial," Cao Wei groaned as the Hollow Maw of Ungnyeo rang out with the cries of an entire menagerie of tormented beasts. He waited a moment and shook his head when the noise died down within a minute. That was the sign he'd come to learn indicated a complete wipe of whichever poor bastards had challenged the last trial of the Stalwart Heart Ordeal.
Having gone through his supplies of cabbage and lettuce, Cao Wei started on the basket of carrots, letting the crunch of the orange roots calm him. He was a battle tested legionary of the Golden Clan. He'd seen war against the Jingshen Clan without retreating, fought off Blood Path cannibals without losing his calm and faced down a Heavenly Tribulation with laughter on his lips. Being in the chamber of the third trial pricked at his nerves in a way he'd never felt before. It was no strange thing to feel like prey when the Blood Path used to be neighbors to your home but walking the length of the Maw had felt like being caught in the jaws of a terrible inescapable predator stalking you relentlessly. The chamber shaped by the hands of Elder Grizzle Growl was a mausoleum of bone and ivory, a testament to the mortality of all things. In it, the grief and sorrow of those unable to outrun that final hunter overwhelmed all sense while the chilly breath of the inexorable end caressed the nape.
He'd protested being shanghaied into having the role of a proctor for the final event, pointing to the reputation of links to the Goatmen Tribe that had being built up around him as a likely source of accusations of conflict of interest. He'd gotten blank stares from senior officials who considered that par for the course and had thus found himself stuck in this room, waiting to receive the most preserving of the juniors competing in the Aurum Invictum Certamen. The only saving grace was that everyone who was going to fail did so very quickly into their attempt making them the problem of the immediately receding proctor. He only had to deal with the successes. Let the hero of the Indomitable Thirteen deal with the aura of the maw, it seemed right up the alley of someone with such a grand legend.
Sighing once again, Cao Wei resolved to find a quiet hole to bury himself after this. It was the quiet life for him as he recuperated, not crazy missions like say joining an expedition to Turtlebone Mine. A cold shiver run down Cao Wei's spine in that instant and he eyed the empty room warily, before shrugging when nothing came of the premonition.
###
{Insane-Not-Crazy - 1168 words}
Acta Publica: Highlights of the Stalwart Heart Ordeal of the Aurum Invictum Certamen by Chronicler Julius Diurna
Mind. Body. Spirit. The three foundations ot the Cultivator. Through the mind one finds focus, through the body one harnesses Qi, and through the spirit one anchors the Dao. Only by mastering all three can the Cultivator advance towards, and perhaps beyond, their limits.
Throughout the Aurum Invictum Certamen, participating young cultivators were pushed and tested in every possible way regarding the first two of the aforementioned qualities, and they were not spared a critical examination as regards the last either.
Elder Grizzle Growl of the Bear Enslavement Sect took up the role of the last remaining supervising Elder, and oversaw the harrowing of the hearts and spirits of the finest of the Organ Meat Desert's young generation. The honored Elder gave short shrift to the notion of lectures or demonstrations like the other supervising Elders had provided. Leaping from the balcony seating shared by the supervising Elders, the Core Formation cultivator landed on the arena before the assembled teams and expressed his desire to see true grit and conviction demonstrated by the juniors present in the trials ahead, his grunts and growls helpfully translated by his aide-de-camp Yip Yap. Unveiling his aura by a fraction, the master of the Bearfort conceded to show an example of a mastered spirit, projecting the strength of his Dao-Heart to the spiritual sense of all gathered that day. Returning to his seat, the supervising Elder offered a token of his regard as a prize to the most impressive traversal of the ordeal. The prize on offer was a Heart Kindling Ember, a fragment of the eggshell from a nine times resurrected Sable Eclipse Phoenix that could be used in a ritual of spiritual tempering to birth an undying flame of Will in the spirits of cultivators who survived the heat of their Dao-Heart's ignition.
The requirement to successfully complete the Stalwart Heart Ordeal was simple. Walk forward. Advance in turn through the chambers prepared personally by each of the three supervising Elders without assistance and overcome the gauntlet each Elder had placed in the path of those who sought passage. Hold on to self and identity in the Cleansing Pool of Lethe. Weather the cutting scorn and enraging wrath within the Severing Gauntlet of Asura. Escape the crushing grief and piercing loss that assailed in the Hollow Maw of Ungnyeo. Three Experts from the Golden Devils, Simon Euaerizo, Eirene of Nowhere and Cao Wei, were on hand to retrieve failed participants from the trials as well as to offer rest and the chance to concede between cleared chambers to more successful contestants. The more chambers cleared, the greater the rewards earned by the participants.
The Hua Empire team won the right to challenge the ordeal first. Of the nine juniors who attempted the poisonous mists of Elder Barda's handiwork five made it out on their own power. Another four more contestants fell within the second trial and only Shen Tian of the Hua Empire had the chance to try the Hollow Maw of Ungnyeo. The young man declined the opportunity, ending the Hua Empire's participation in the ordeal.
A third of the Whipping Forge Sect's complement were defeated by the first trial but the remaining group proved themselves mostly made of sterner stuff as only one of their cultivators could not clear the second trial, overcome by the bloodlust of the cursed blades within the chamber. Three cultivators of the quintet proved their obstinacy of spirit and were the first cultivators to complete all three trials. Scarlet Lily, Tuo Ling and Nanshu earned applause from the entire audience at their accomplishment.
Further down the order of entry, the Seven Temples Shrine Alliance had the best performance in the first trial, equaled only by the Xin Kingdom. Eight out of nine cultivators walked though stupefying fog without pause and memory-erasing toxins lapped at their feet without unraveling their egos. The lone failure to complete the trial faltered at the final threshold, swept away by illusions of bliss and reverie. Pressing forward without any concessions, the shrines' disciples forced their way through the second trial only losing two teammates to stabbing mockery. With two chambers behind them, the remaining two-thirds of the Shrine Alliance's pushed on to the last trial and three of them made it through to the end. Wu Zetian, Shotoku and Hulagu walked out of the final exit of the Hollow Maw, trembling and stumbling but triumphant.
Starting off as strong as the Seven Temples Shrine Alliance with eight successful juniors completing the first trial, the Xin Kingdom saw their chances of success threatened by the loss of seventy-five percent of their continuing team to the creation of Elder Battousai, that slaughtered the wills of the juniors. However, those two who persevered proved themselves the cream of the crop of the elemental sorcerers as all two forded the flood of sorrow within the Maw and successfully cleared all three trials. Han Dan and Mai Kyong proved that uninspiring physical ability belied true strength of spirit.
In contrast to these strong starts, the Woodsplitter Sect and Fecundity Stork Clan had the worst initial performance of any of the participating teams. Both teams only had two cultivators each successfully complete the first trial. Their poor performance did not end there as the second trial halved both teams remaining participation leaving them with only a single junior to challenge the third trial. The Storkblood scion fell halfway through his attempt of the Maw but the Woodsplitter Sect claimed a full clear through Red Leaf Oak, giving them boasting rights against other more initially successful teams.
Other noteworthy performances included the success of the Goatmen Tribes in clearing the first two trials with a determined trio of cultivators. What stood out about these three beastmen was the fact that they were among the least advanced cultivators in their own team, not to talk of the full roster of participating juniors. Guangzhou, Gao Gu and Pei Yuan demonstrated admirable conviction and resilience of will, crawling across blades, wriggling through brackish fluid and using every means possible to cross the chambers. Though they were defeated by the Hollow Maw of Ungnyeo, they set an honorable example of boldness and bravery.
Thirty two teams undertook the ordeal, twenty four of these impressively managing to have at least one cultivator clear all three trials. Many more managed the first two trials but not all their stories can be recounted here. The Stalwart Heart Ordeal underlined a simple but pivotal truth not just for the young generation but for all who attended. A weak body can house a strong spirit and all the physical might in the world is of little value if the heart is frail. With the conclusion of the last of the three main segments, the Aurum Invictum Certamen ended, the tests and challenges of all three necessary pillars of successful cultivation came to a close.
When the Aurum Invictum Certamen was over and done with, Maia Atalante would sleep for a week. She didn't care if she did it after winning a glut of Contribution Points or after choking on enough alcohol to give an entire Legion rest, just to drown her sorrows. She would sleep, one way or another.
Currently, the odds favored closed cultivation but the odds lied as easily as men breathed. She should know, as a centurion of the 800th Legion she'd seen firsthand how the Fates first lifted up those whom they would see humbled.
"Good morning to you, Asperios, Melia," she greeted a pair of old colleagues from the Hands of Midas standing guard as she entered the sub-basement level carrying a wrapped package, "I've got another haul for the vault on the legate's orders."
"Halt and present yourself for inspection!" Dark-haired Asperios commanded, stiff as ever in his bronze lamellar armor and helmet, without relaxing an inch from his sentry position beside the massive vault door he was guarding as he looked her over, probing her forcefully with his aura and sweeping the space around her for any hidden surprises.
In contrast to the cold response from Asperios, Melia,his fellow guard on the other side of the vault door, smiled and waved at Maia, cheeringly returning her greetings. "Good morning to you too, Maia. Don't mind Asperios, you know how he is. We'll be quick this time."
Maia placed her package on a nearby table and stepped to the side, standing stock still as Asperios withdrew his spiritual sense while Melia approached. The guard circled Maia slowly, waving a divination wand in an examination for contraband materials on her person. While Melia was doing this, Asperios was inspecting the package, activating the detection array integrated into the table's surface.
"What is in the package, centurion Maia?" He asked tersely, peering at the projection from the array as the results came into focus.
"It's a collection of erotic paraphernalia, mostly artifact sexual aids, some practice manuals and an inflatable dummy," Maia said straight faced, unlike Melia who giggled in the middle of her continuing examination, "The Chamber of Administration picked them up in the looting of the Underworld Spirit Palace and they sat on some shelf getting dusty. Now they want to offload them and think they'll get better value outside the Clan so they're putting it in the auction lots."
Asperios shot his colleague a sharp look at her break in professional character, finishing up his inspection. "The detection array's scan shows nothing untoward. Your package is clear to be entered into the vault."
Melia stepped back from Maia, cheerfully adding her voice to Asperios'. "All clear here as well, nothing to report."
Asperios and Melia returned to their stations beside the vault door, facing it this time as they placed their right hands into shallow recesses on the door itself. A heavy pulse of qi flashed through the air as the vault examined their blood, qi and intent against its permissions. Satisfied with what it found, the security warding built into the vault unlocked the vault door swinging inwards. Asperios resumed his station outside the vault door while Melia escorted Maia inside.
The interior of the vault was a vast space, large enough to hold three fecund generations of mortals comfortably. Arranged within were the chattel goods entrusted into the care of the 800th Legion as lots for the upcoming auctions. Shelves and stands carried pill boxes, crates of preserved Spirit Herbs, metal ingots and more. Some of these were merely stored as is in the vault but more valuable items had their own protections within the vault, humming anti-theft wards carefully arranged not to interfere with each other. The package Maia was storing that day was a low priority item so it was a simple matter of finding an empty space on shelving labeled for minor artifacts and leaving it there, tagged.
"Are you coming out with the rest of the centurions for a drink tonight?" Melia asked Maia as they exited the vault.
"Unfortunately I'll have to skip tonight," Maia said as she appended a confirmation of her deposit to an entry report created on a jade tablet by Asperios. The report, once confirmed, was backed up immediately by transmission to two read-only data storage artifacts, one in the vault and the other under the control of the Legate.
"Legate Hermeia needs me to work late getting all you layabouts' work properly coordinated for the week while she wrangles the caravan-masters of the Tower-Camel Clan over dinner. They are digging in their heels about expanding their cut from the auctions and market trade during the competition.
Apparently seeing the patronage even before the competition starts in force has them counting Spirit Stones in their dreams. The Legate is going to use her silver hand in the velvel glove to remind them firmly to stick to the pre-agreed terms or she's going to make their lives difficult."
Everyone in the sub-basement, even hard-faced Asperios, shuddered as they recalled what being on the receiving end of Kuan Yu Hermeia's displeasure looked like. The installment of a new Legate in the 800th Legion hadn't gone smoothly despite the commanding presence of the Silverlord. Even a magnetic personality faced a serious challenge from long seated faults in the Legion's organisation especially when the charm was not in immediate proximity.
"Aiee, the life of the Legate's adjunct never ends, huh. Maybe next time then," Melia said to Maia before she left the sub-basement.
Moving up, Maia found herself in a basement where less secure storage for bulk goods was watched over by four contubernium of legionnaires, nine common cultivators and a senior legionary as decanus. They saluted the adjunct as she passed through the area and climbed up again to the main floors of activity for the Hands of Midas. All throughout the multistory building, legion functionaries were busy organizing market permits for traders, receiving taxes from registered merchants, organizing betting games for the major events if the competition as well as minor contests ongoing in the Tournament Hall, and much more.
Maia climbed through the bustle to her office on the top floor of the building. Her office was an adjoining room that connected to the office of the 800th Legion's legate, befitting her role as gatekeeper to the dragon. Maia sat down behind her desk, sighing at the pile of papers and jade slips in her inbox that seemed to have multiplied by a magnitude in her short departure to store the artifacts.
"It will all be worth it one day when you become a legate yourself," Maia said, shaking her head in conviction as she looked towards the closed door of her superior. Her gaze drifted out the window where she could see the spire of the Auction House close by. The first lots would start being auctioned in a few days, the plans of the entire Legion culminating in the first major project after their downward spiral had been halted by the adoption of their Legion by the Silver-Blooded Kuan Yu. In the time remaining before that moment, attendance lists needed to be checked, delivery of invitations and replies confirmed and goods transported to the less defensible vaults in the Auction House itself.
"Alright that's enough lollygagging, back to work Maia," she told herself, and turned her attention to the waiting labor in front of her.
The hours ran away from Maia as she worked, the pile of work she was responsible for shrinking and expanding again over the period as she completed files and sent them down only to receive more trucked up by juniors. The sun had gone down over the horizon well beforehand when Maia judged that it was just about time to call it a day.
Looking up from her desk at the nervous junior who'd made it to her office just shy of her closing shop, Maia lifted an impatient eyebrow to the young woman. "Well what's the issue this time?"
Stepping forward, the junior - Albia Saducea, Maia believed it was - placed a small bundle onto her desk and unwrapped it. Within the cocoon of cloth was what appeared to be a shriveled hand cut off cleanly at the wrist. The severed limb was frozen in a strange gesture, middle finger pointing upwards while the others were folded into the palm.
Speaking softly, Albia said, "The Goatmen Tribes included this as part of the items they want to put up for sale through us. Most of it is pretty much what you'd expect, Lowly Spirit Herbs, harvests from minor Spirit Beasts and the like. However they also brought an assortment of items they've dug up from ruins, scrounged from the wastelands around their home or found from anywhere else, that they think might be valuable. It's mostly been a collection of random junk like the Spirit Severing Imperial Tiger urine that turned out to be just the piss of a Spotted Shadow Lynx in the first great realm. There have, however, been a few gems mixed in among the lot, rare treasures like the amber of a Royal Goldwood Elm."
Pointing to the shriveled hand, Albia continued speaking, "This one we don't know how to categorize. It appears to be the severed paw of a monkey, fixed into that gesture you can see. It doesn't give off any readings that the arrays can detect as indicating any useful value and no one can place the origin of the beast. On the other hand, nothing has been able to make the fingers move or even leave a mark on the things. It's like an invulnerable paperweight. We didn't know how to value it down in intake so we were told to bring it up to you."
Maia poked the monkey's hand with the tip of her pen noting the firmness of the surface she touched. "Hmm, an invulnerable paperweight, you say? What's the seller asking for it?"
"Fifty low-grade Spirit Stones up front or a reserve price of thirty low-grade Spirit Stones on auction," Albia replied.
"Pay the upfront price. I have a good feeling about this one," Maia instructed, picking up the severed hand.
"We'll do that immediately, senior," Albia said, bowing and leaving the office.
"You're an ugly thing but cute also. I'll have you checked out in depth and if you're nothing more than oddly durable, you'll make a decent paperweight," Maia said to the monkey's paw and then put it away.
Office business completed for the day, Maia locked up and left the office waving to the unfortunate juniors left to burn the midnight oil with the second shift of security staff. Her work unfortunately wasn't complete though. Being the Legate's adjunct meant doing as much work outside of the office as in it.
Looking up at the full moon pregnant in the sky above, Maia whispered a wish to the distant celestial. "I could do with some good fortune down here if you have any to spare."
The silent sentinel of the night sky gave no reply and Maia went on her way.
Several weeks later Maia was slumped face down on her desk wailing quietly into the wood of her table.
By chance as she was venting to the deaf surface of her desk, the door to the legate's office opened and a head of silver hair looked out, orienting towards the distressed adjunct.
"My my my, why do the plaintive cries of some lass assault my ears," Kuan Yu Hermeia asked jovially, the dulcet song of her voice easily reaching Maia.
The instinctive deference of the Bronze-Blooded to those who were called Silverlord was a thing of bone deep inheritance but it was not absolute or infallible in the thin-blooded generations of the current era as the recent history of the 800th Legion had demonstrated. It also didn't quite work as well when the recipient of that aura had seen said Silverlord in every possible compromising position possible and uncovered an irrepressible childish nature concealed beneath silver gilt.
Without raising her head, Maia groaned out her response. "You know exactly why,you evil witch. You egged me on to make that bet on the outcomes of the preliminaries of the Battle Royale matches."
Lifting her head, Maia glared at a laughing Hermeia, "I got taken to the cleaners on all but one of them and the winnings from that will hardly put a dent in my losses."
Grinning broadly, Hermeia said semi-seriously, "Loss is a wonderful teacher for any cultivator or merchant. The sting of remembered pain hones one's discernment and the promise of unrepeated regret exercises to faculties to better outcomes. You are an Expert undertaking the quest of Philosophy. You can't be afraid to test your boundaries and find the limits of your wish."
Twisting her face in a frown, Maia picked up Stumpy as she'd nicknamed the hand. Nothing had come of the assays into the properties of the shrunken hand so Maia had been free to purchase the morbid artifact she'd become enamored with. Holding it with the middle finger pointing to Hermeia, Maia complained to the desk ornament, " See how mean she is to me? I wish I had won all those bets so that she had to pay out the bonus she promised me for getting them all correct."
Maia blinked as she held the closed fist of Stumpy to her lips, pulling the preserved limb from.her mouth. She'd been too excited to eat that afternoon as the final preliminary Battle Royale was fought but she didn't think she'd been hungry enough to consider taking a bite of the shrunken monkey's paw. How had she been planning on getting the whole balled up fist down anyway? The shriveled limb had been curled up ever since it arrived at the Hand of Midas' base and the peculiar durability of the thing extended to a resistance to open up the fist.
Placing the limb on her desk, she spied her legate peering out of her office and smiled at the sulk on Hermeia's face.
"I think you owe me something, boss, a bonus I believe it was," Maia crowed out, leaning back arms crossed behind her head with a smile like a cat that got the cream.
Hermeia shook her head and smiled slowly, "I must admit I was surprised that you called all the rankings for the preliminaries. You might actually have the eye.and heart to take up the Dao of the Gambler."
Stuffed to bursting with satisfaction, Maia gladly accepted the praise from her legate and considered her next options. There was no way she was risking her new winnings on another bet. She'd seen how chasing the lucky streak always ended for those who forgot their place in the regard of the Fates. Nope, that nice bonus was going to pay for as lengthy a cultivation retreat as she could afford. Translating wealth into personal strength hardly ever failed as a sound investment.
She ran her hands over the knuckles of the hand, whispering happily to it. "What do you know? It looks like fortune is with me now. Aren't you a lucky monkey's paw?"
Observant readers who actually read this abomination of a collaboration would have noticed that the official outcomes for the preliminaries of the Battle Royale matches do not match the narrative expansion. There was miscommunication between central collaboration coordination and contributing authors which caused the discrepancy. The memory altering shenanigans above are the slapdash fix provided for the issue. Don't look too hard into it because the solution only works if you don't think too much about it and that's all you're getting because nobody has enough time to spare on this trainwreck. Carry on.
***
{Quest, Insane-not-Crazy – 800 words}
Lot Listings for the Imperial Scorpion's Gilded Scales All Desert Auction
All buyers should be aware that descriptions herein are provided by sellers and may not reflect the exact nature and potency of the listed items. The Auction Master only guarantees the provenance of the lots. For listings with guarantees of quality assurance by the Golden Devil Clan and Scorpion Trade Palace, see the red-paged section of the catalog.
Category A: Consumables
Meridian-Cleansing Soup – Useful for Qi condensation bottlenecks, but incredibly potent. At one sip per junior, a single offering can feed a hundred juniors and grant insight into their bodies. [Provided by Simmering Soup Sect]
Devil-Reflecting Soup – Reflects an image of the drinker that is ugly and grotesque. In truth, it is highlighting their own doubts and open drinking it, allows them to face that image within and potentially to conquer it allowing incredible growth for those in the Foundation Building Realm of Philosophy. [Provided by Simmering Soup Sect]
Elder's Sigh – The melancholic sigh of a Core Formation Elder as they reminisced of their days as a young expert was captured and cooked into soup. The drinker is forced into nostalgic daydreams of their own life but seen through experienced eyes that grasp what was considered truly important by their elders. This allows them a chance to see their lives through another perspective and through that grasp enlightenment. [Provided by Simmering Soup Sect]
Limb Restoration Herb – A powerful Immaculate-quality Spirit Herb that provides a century's worth of regenerative energies to ones limbs if swallowed. [Provided by Strong-Backed Farmer Sect]
...
Category C: Artifacts, Professions
The Haunted Ifrit's Cauldron – Once there was a master pill refiner of the Shanqu who was a genius alchemist of a previous generation. In the Shanqu Clan's defense against the Golden Devil Clan, he caused endless vexation to the invading legions. The poisons he brewed pushed them back from the walls and the pills refined in his cauldron brought back the defenders from even the direst of wounds. When his clan finally fell despite his efforts, the alchemist cast himself into his cauldron, consuming himself rather than die at the hands of the conquerors. His act of suicide left an imprint of his Will in the bound spirit that animated his pill cauldron. Now, the spirit can instantaneously reproduce with ninety percent fidelity any pill that its attuned user has ever successfully created before if it is provided with the necessary ingredients and a donation of life essence from the alchemist equivalent to the desired pill's strength. [Provided by Shen Kingdom]
Eternal Frozen Coffin – This is a six feet long, two feet wide and three feet high chest made of magical black ice. The box is a storage device optimized for the preservation of organic material suitable to store for transport all harvests from Spirit Herbs and Spirit Beasts up to Core Formation-grade quality without any loss of potency from time of harvest to retrieval for up to one hundred years. [Provided by Ice Maiden Sect]
One-Ton Ironforge Hammer – A blacksmith's hammer possessing a variable weight of up to one ton, this is a tool for craftsmen desiring to work with the toughest metals and alloys. Once attuned to a craftsman, it can be wielded as easily as lifting a mundane blacksmith's hammer while exerting the full impact of the adjusted weight. The One-Ton Ironforge Hammer can be used to fashion all manner of artifacts but works best with products made primarily from Spirit Iron and alloys of that metal. The weight changing function of the artifact is not suitable for use in combat as it is vulnerable to subversion by other cultivators. [Provided by Forge Madmen Sect]
…
Category F: Artifacts, Weapons
Heart-Seeking Bloodquenched Spear – This is a weapon personally handcrafted by the Forgemaster of the Whipping Forge Sect. It guarantees the certain death of any single target of Foundation Establishment cultivation or lower upon a successfully landed strike by shattering the blade in the target's body and directing the splintered fragments towards the heart of the target. [Provided by Whipping Forge Sect]
Spirit-Man-Beast Binding Rope – A lasso made of human hair treated with sacred oils, this weapon coils around targets at the command of its attuned user and is resilient enough to resist escape from any prisoner below Core Formation. The rope has also been treated to be able to affect the form of spiritual entities, spectral or elemental in origin. [Provided by Northern Heavenly Bandit Kingdom]
…
Category J: Artifacts, Transport
Bronze Thunderwheeled Chariot – This is a powerful antique chariot supposedly dating back to the time of the Sea-Conquering Army. The chariot has no self-propulsion function and requires motive ability to be sourced elsewhere. Once in motion however and moving at the speed of a mortal horse's gallop, the chariot produces an electrified aura over the moving chariot team that protects and amplifies the chariot's charge. [Provided by Grand Scorpion Sect]
Acta Publica: Highlights of the Closing Ceremony of the Aurum Invictum Certamen by Chronicler Julius Diurna
All things must eventually come to an end and the Aurum Invictum Certamen was no different. These were weeks filled with conflict and trade, opportunities to build relationships and expand the horizons of knowledge, a time of excitement that culminated in victory for the triumphant few and defeat for a great many unfortunates.
The purpose of this occasion had been to gather all the desert in one place and celebrate the dawn of a new era in the political landscape of the Organ Meat Desert of the Virtuous Flipper Region. Thirty two influences from all across the sub-region had been invited by the Golden Devil Clan, major and minor powers among them. The host of the event together with its allies and trade partners, offered its guests the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to set onto a stage before as many peers as could be gathered and demonstrate the strength of their foundations in the form of the best of their younger generation. Two hundred and eighty eight Qi Condensation juniors participated in ruelling tests of their minds, bodies and spirits, competing not just against one another but against themselves to showcase their talents and promise to all the world.
The Sagacious Adept Contest had queried the juniors' knowledge of the most basic professions practiced by cultivators. The examiners from the host tested the selected cultivators representing each team in six different areas during four sub-events, giving them every opportunity to demonstrate their experience and expertise. The Hong Xuan Clan & Gaohao Bandits, the Longevity Stork Clan, and the Forge Madmen Sect took home the prize for victory in these sub-events, the latter doing so twice over. These accomplishments were rewarded with prizes befitting the feat, the highest ranking participants taking the best of pills, potions, recipes, artifacts and reagents but others less covered in glory but still displaying commendable effort received their lesser rewards. For sterling performance among all the participants, Three Hands of the Buddha from the Forge Madmen Sect received a Threefold Immortal Conditioning Pill personally refined by Elder Minervina Barda.
Yesugei of the Grand Scorpion Sect, the final victor of the Young Usurper Tournament took home a Shard of Frozen Time containing a full-strength attack struck by Elder Battousai, receiving his prize from the very hands of that selfsame cultivator as his prize for climbing over all the other contestants with his team and by his own merit to bear the appellation of the Youthful Usurper. The young man might have been the foremost victor of the martial tournament but the sub-events of the tournament had not been lacking for awesome scenes of incredible combat ability. As each participant cut away the opposition to rise higher and higher in the tournament, the gains from their winnings added on themselves, participants receiving artifact armaments and armor, as well as auxiliary combat aids. The greatest prize given to the sixteen finalists of the last sub-event was the gift of a single visit to the Golden Devil Clan's Technique Palace.
Away from the Contest Hall and Combat Arena, the tripartite gauntlet of the Stalwart Heart Ordeal presented a quieter but no less thrilling experience to cap off the competitive events of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. Wealth was no aid in the ordeal and flashy qi techniques were little in evidence as contestants were challenged to hold up against the successive assault of three Elders testing the strengths of their spirits. It was individual attainments that permitted participants to accomplish the task set before them and as individuals they received their prizes, access to hallowed sites for spiritual tempering, blessings to strengthen the heart and more. For drawing the eye of Elder Grizzle Growl with the fortitude of his spirit, Red Leaf Oak received the Heart Kindling Ember, a prize that offered a great opportunity hand in hand with deadly risk.
In between these spectacles, the business of networking and ordinary mercantilism took place. The newly formed Scorpion Trade Palace was publicly endorsed by the Golden Devil Clan, heralding a new future of intra-desert trade and commerce. Beyond the prosaic mercantilism of the trade fairs and bazaars organized by the Trade Palace, the Imperial Scorpion's Gilded Scales Auction was a spectacle to match anything in the competitions of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. Senior cultivators escorting their juniors to the competitions brought with them the valuable trade goods of their home influences and bargained with each other for rare wealth from all across the desert. Strange artifacts dug up from beneath the qi-deserting sands were on offer beside the workmanship of the acclaimed artisans of the desert alongside uncommon raw and finished products from beyond the sub-region. In collaboration with the 800th Legion of the Golden Devil Clan, the Scorpion Trade Palace gathered in one place an impressive arrangement of merchandise, established their credentials for all the desert and undoubtedly made envious profits.
The closing ceremony of the Aurum Invictum Certamen was a much more restrained affair compared to the commencement. The three supervising Elders from the Golden Devil Clan, Flood Dragon Gang and Bear Enslavement Sect, presented their personal awards to the juniors who'd impressed them and gave brief closing remarks. The essence of their speeches was best captured in that of Elder Barda who spoke last. She encouraged the gathered juniors to look higher up the path of cultivation they had yet to climb and seeing that distant peak, advance towards it without looking back. To the senior cultivators chaperoning the contestants, she thanked them for their participation and congratulated them on the performance of their juniors, a performance that left no doubt about the future of the sub-region. With the Golden Devil Clan rising from victory to victory and the strength of its vassals secure, the Thirsting Desert can now begin to shake off its reputation within the region and seriously consider its place against the Quiet Peaks, Verdant South and Great Battlefield. An era of great change has dawned upon the Third Sea and under the wing of the Golden Devils, opportunity awaits.
Publicare et propagare.
***
{Insane-not-Crazy – 1608 words}
"To the Imperator and Old Gold!"
The cheer rung out in chorus across the packed room, mugs lifted up from sticky tables and held aloft in bronzed arms as the centurions of the Golden Devil Clan celebrated the end of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. The canteen run by one of their very own, Yang Fanxu, had been requisitioned and provisioned with every supply needed to host scores of satisfied Foundation Establishment Experts looking to let down their hair and blow off steam together for one night. The various proctors, organizers, supervisors and contributors to the weeks-long chimera of trade conference, martial competition and diplomatic assembly mingled and conversed, tickling their throat with excellent brews and spirits as well as feasting on a buffet of handfood. There were juniors in the midst of the crowd, as servers and guests to the Experts but the moment was for the senior cultivators who were taking advantage of every second. Music from recording arrays played from the corners of the room and lanterns banished the darkness of the evening.
In a corner of the room standing around a stomach-high table, Squad Helios slammed down their mugs in a thunderous beat one after the other after challenging each other to see who could gulp down their drinks first.
Licking froth from the top of her lip, Lihua smiled in satisfaction and declared, "First! You guys are really slow, you know that right?"
"Second!" "Second!"
Athelia and Phoebe glared daggers at each other as they simultaneously made a claim for second place.
"Hey pipsqueak, I said it first so I get the spot, got it?" Phoebe slapped her hands on the table, leaning towards Athelia.
The shorter woman was unimpressed, adjusting her spectacles with her left hand and meeting Phoebe's look unflinchingly. "I don't think so. The alcohol must be hitting you very fast, lightweight, if you're getting confused this early into the night."
"Ladies ladies, why don't we cool off the competition," Adonis smoothly interrupted, sipping on his mug with a self-satisfied look, "There's no need to race to finish off this fine lager. Relax, take your time and enjoy the flavor. The night is still young and we've got more fun to look forward to."
"Adonis is right, forget about the drinking contest," Lihua agreed, eyeing Erlitou and Adonis who had eliminated themselves by pacing their drinking, "It doesn't really have the right feel to it if the boys are conceding from the start."
Eriltou lifted a delicately trimmed eyebrow as he took a swallow from his mug. "What you consider a concession might perhaps be a bit more maturity, something I'd hope our dear leader possessed in sufficient quantity."
"Tonight is about being off duty and loosening up. I think this squad can survive one night of minor immaturity," Lihua said, rolling her eyes grabbing her mug and the two others on the table, "I'm getting another refill. Don't do anything I wouldn't do before I get back."
Lihua wound her way through the standing crowd, exchanging greetings with other centurions she'd come to know over the course of the Aurum Invictum Certamen. Cao Wei, the famed goatman received a nod from her in passing in the midst of his retelling of some adventure in his days as an ordinary legionary. Lihua stopped at a table where the chief proctors of the Young Usurper Tournament had gathered to converse and borrowed Xiao Yingzi from Theodoros Agamemnon and Mu Liang to have a brief word with her about a minor artifact the other centurion had commissioned from Lihua. After confirming delivery of the commission within the month to Xiao Yingzi, Lihua moved on, making her way to the open bar where several kegs of beer and wine containers were stocked. Manning the bar with a smile on her face, Yang Fangxu called out to Lihua.
"Another refill? You guys are really packing it away," Fangxu said even as she reached for the mugs Lihua placed on the bar counter.
"What can I say? You managed to provide an excellent selection of liquor and we want to express our appreciation in committed patronage," Lihua said, flashing a smile, as she nodded to the empty cups "Give us the Crushed Mountain Glacier Cider this time, let's see how it compares to the Royal Golden Sting Mead."
"Coming right at you," Fangxu promised, turning to the kegs.
While waiting for the drinks, Lihua turned as she noticed a familiar figure approaching the bar.
"Hey, how's your evening going?" She asked Simon Euaerizo, greeting one of the mentors of her disciple Lipita Delphi.
"Tasting delicious," Simon replied, lifting up the napkin in the palm of his left hand piled high with a variety of handfoods.
Picking up a piece of sausage on a toothpick, he commended Fangxu who had brought Lihua's drinks before eating. "Your buffet table is a delight. I can't decide which is my favorite so far between the sausages, fish balls and the chicken nuggets."
"That's just what a chef likes to hear. Enjoy yourself, there's more of everything to last the whole night," Fangxu said and then turned to deal with another party attendee.
Simon moved closer to Lihua, biting down on a golden brown fish ball this time. "So when are you leaving for Qiguai? Lipita sent word that she's almost ready and wants to travel with me."
Lihua smiled at the mention of the precocious junior. "I should be ready to head off in a couple of months. I have some commissions to finish up while I wait for a new set of armor from my father. The little princess can wait that long for us."
"You'd think that her past experience with secret realms had been a relaxing vacation with the way she's suddenly all raring to go," Simon said, "This promises to be quite the adventure for all of us."
"Speaking of adventure," Lihua said, "Is the buffet spread really that good? I haven't tried any this evening."
Simon mock recoiled in faux shock. "That's absolutely criminal! We must correct that oversight immediately!"
Laughing Lihua picked up the refilled mugs and said, "Let me drop these off and I'll let you be my able guide through the wonders of the buffet menu."
While the two associates made their way back to Squad Helios' table, another assembly of cultivators quite familiar with each other was meeting around a table. They weren't off in a corner but there was a clear space around their gathering. Even among the veteran cultivators of the centurions present, the legend of the Indomitable Thirteen still had weight.
"Allow me to give you my personal congratulations on overcoming your bottleneck, Eirene," Achille Adephos said, a mug of beer untouched on the table in front of him, "I know I sent a message earlier but it deserves to be said again in person."
"Thank you for that," Eirene replied, finishing off a plate she'd brought over from the buffet table, "Everyone still around from the old gang sent their regards but it's always flattering to be be treated special."
Achille turned his focus to the third person at their table and asked Eirene a question. "How long do you think he's going to be staring into that beer?"
Glancing to the side at the form of Magnus Centennius holding a tall mug of beer in his hands looking blankly into the golden liquid, Eirene shrugged. "Who knows? He was talking about stealing a conversation with Minervina tonight but the Core Formation Elders are having their own private occasion so he brought along a sample of a new product of his to try it out himself tonight. I don't know exactly how it's going but it's certainly keeping him occupied."
"What a shame then, that I came all the way to find my old friends distracted," A voice quietly said at the table across from Eirene. The air shimmered and Minervina Barda joined her old companions, face veiled in silk but her identity unmistakable to those around her.
She lifted a finger to her lips as Eirene and Achille were startled by her sudden appearance. "Keep it quiet you two, I'm keeping eyes off this table but cause a commotion and everyone will notice. If I wanted a crowd, I wouldn't have sneaked in."
Magnus finally reacted to his environment, looking up and whispering a name, "Minervina?"
When she smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, he groaned and raised the mug in his hands to his lips, draining it dry in one gulp. Eirene and Achille joined Minervina in laughing at his antics and the foursome began to chat in the manner of old friends long separated meeting again.
"Coming through, make way, coming through," Maia Atalante cut through the crowd and beelined for the bar. Slapping her hand on the counter, she barked out her order to the bartender, Fangxu, "Get your spirits ready, I want a shot of all of them starting with your strongest and keep them coming."
"Coming right up," Fangxu replied, happy to provide.
Turning her back to the counter and looking out onto the crowd, Maia sighed in relief. Work was over and it was blessedly finally her time to play. She spun around at the sound of glass hitting wood and grabbed a shot glass to throw the first of many shots down her throat. Around the room, others danced, ate and made merry, all throughout the night. When the morning came, a trail of staggering and stumbling party-goers made their exit. With the Aurum Invictum Certamen behind them all, they looked to the future, searching for the promise of what was yet to be.
AN: Act VI wordcount - 2703 words
AN 2: Fifty-four thousand, six hundred and three words. Here's to a bouncing baby abomination of poorly edited writing, random lot lines and ludicrous character generation. This collaboration began as a wishful idea some three months or so ago and only manifested because some incredible authors threw in their time, energy and motivation behind this stubborn bastard. Thank you to every contributor who wrote hundreds of words or just gave permission for their good seed to be featured in here. Sorry that you got this mess but I needed to get rid of this distraction and focus on better dreams. Hopefully it doesn't entirely disappoint apart from the excellent work of the other contributors. All responsiblity for editing issues land at my doorstep.
AN 3: Addressing the elephant in the room, the table are the skeleton of this whole project. In fact they tell more of the story than anything any one contributor wrote though i tried to make up for that with the highlights.
as agree I will only take two 'e' (from the word count) one for each of my good seed. To help us getting one more core elder in the next trial.
the joke
is 'Rush E' (I like that song)
Many thanks for Insane for the opportunity. and HUGE thanks for Swordo edition and grammar checks on my part of the omake. It become a complete different kind of beast in my mind thanks to his help.
[word count= 2 words]. so one for each good seed
edit: and now I discovered we had a spoil button and did not make the code by typing it.
AURUM INVICTUM CERTAMEN ACT 1 – PROLOGUE {Katana1515 – 1555 words} “Elder Minervina Barda.” The words rolled smoothly off her tongue. Her voice was calm and measured, giving no hint as to the almost irrepressible giddiness that bubbled up in her belly every time she heard those syllables...
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
AN: Wordcount 15,000 words. 0k to Single Pillar King
ACT 3 – YOUNG USURPER TOURNAMENT SCENE A - DIVISION TEAM FIGHTS {ObsidianNoir - 7544 Words} When the first declaration about the tournament was made, it spread across the lands of the Divided Mortal Kingdoms. The Golden Devils were staunch allies of the realm, and when a celebration was...
Amaranth Castellanos
Fate: In the Yuan Realm, Amaranth Castellanos found himself fighting a Giant Toad within the Core Formation realm who seemed to think that Amaranth's fiery leg and arm would make him an easy target and snack, as well as being offended by Amaranth's toad boot. After a brief but inconclusive exchange where the Toad attacked Amaranth with a number of powerful water techniques, Amaranth's qi flows disrupted when the Water Qi in them embedded and clashed with his own Fire Qi where they managed glancing hits, while the Giant Toad suffered significant wounds where Amaranth's own techniques struck with unusual accuracy and luck. The Giant Toad was forced away from Amaranth when their techniques clashed, fire and water qi combining into steam qi for an instant and blasting both combatants away from the other, the Giant Toad croaking in outrage at the unlikely turn of events.
Continuing his journey through the Yuan clan, Amaranth arrived just in time to save Lexus Macer as he was attacked by a blazing fire elemental. Repeating a plan he had carried out in the past, Amaranth consumed the entirety of the fire elemental, using it as fuel for his cultivation (+30 CY). However, too late, Amaranth's earlier Qi disruption by giant toad proved to be a far more damaging vulnerability than he had initially believed. The sudden surge of Fire Qi unevenly burst through his meridians instead of being cleanly absorbed as it should have been, which was compounded upon by an activating water curse technique the Toad had hidden in one of it's attacks on Amaranth earlier, forcing the use a treasure to survive (Killed, LST Used, Badly Wounded)
Impact: 13 (+0)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 3 (Earth Below)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 400 (+55)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Auspicious Nine
Fate: Auspicious Nine had spent the better part of a decade seeking to cultivate insects and cultured fauna for the sake of advancing his own alchemical research. Reaching the limit of what could be done at the early stages of Foundation Establishment, he entered the Qiguai Secret Realm in search of inspiration, or at the very least opportunity.
Within the first day the eyes of his ancestor appeared to be looking upon him; he had encountered a Centipede of surpassing potency despite being in the upper reaches of Qi Condensation strength. A remarkable find, and if he could secure a breeding population, then the possibilities-!
Over the course of ten months, three weeks, four days, and two mysterious nights he tracked the Centipede to its home - aided in no small part to his own nature, to be sure. A small hole in a cliff wall, a tunnel that lead into a vast, glittering cavern. Within which lay an atmosphere thick in ambient qi, and rich in potent lichens and plants to feed the glittering swarms of beetles that fed on them. Excited, he began taking samples en masse, determined to swiftly take back enough to Clan territories to remake the environment in miniature.
He did not notice the Core Formation Patriarch Centipede until it was too late. A barbed stinger smashing him into unconsciousness with an injection of paralytic venom.
"Invader." Was the word he heard first, dripping with scorn as he was brought to wakefulness.
"The likes of you is not welcome here, let alone to steal from this Realm to empower those who carry your befouled blood," Mandibles chittered in reprimand, "But fortunate as you are, Invader, that I lack the time to mete out proper punishment. As it happens, there is a great deal of waste from this time's…Well it doesn't matter to you, the Heavens have more important matters to manage. Survive and leave. Or don't."
Auspicious Nine was left, chained into a tunnel deep within the Array. Subjected to intense amounts of pressure fell upon him, trapped within a whorl of crushing sea that assaulted him with the terrors of the deep. In desperation the Treeman sought to desperately swim along the current back to air, but his unnatural physiology could only endure so much, forcing the usage of a treasure to find the nearest pocket of air. (-1 LST). When Auspicious Nine awoke, he found himself upon an island drenched in perpetual twilight, where no light nor stars could be found. Hesitantly, he sought to use his talents and body to take from the land and heal, but it was not to be. The island was host to a den of Reverse Sea Eels, creatures that could only live above the waters as their bodies channeled the might of Heavenly Qi perhaps too strongly. They struck the Treeman deeply, fangs and scales seeking to tear apart their first meal in years, and in desperation Auspicious Nine was forced to use another treasure to retain his life, if only barely. (-1 LST).
The whorls of space churned, even as he desperately sought to flee the blind seas in which he had been entrapped. But the gifts he had been given could only do so much in the Qiguai Secret Realm, and it was only through the usage of a third treasure that he managed to breach back into the relatively safe territories of Realm, finally free of the terrors of the Reverse Sea in which he had been trapped. (-1 LST).
Horribly injured, he returned to Clan lands. Far poorer, but perhaps wiser for the harrowing experiences he had faced in the Qiguai Secret Realm.
Impact: 5 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment True 1-Pillar (Fortified Pillar)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 120 (+10)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (End of Turn)
Chang
Fate: Chang entered the Yuan Realm, and had a run of surprisingly consistent luck. Rather than simply seizing items from others, he ended up being lured into a group of Trial-Takers who competed with one another with who could accomplish the most in each Trial, and ended up winning four prizes. First was the Core Apple - the core of an Apple that was from a Core Formation tree, (+20 CY). Secondly he ended up winning a contest of wit, gaining +20 CY as he was presented with a rather powerful Spirit Stone the size of his head. In the third, he faced a flurry of Foundation Honourbound Beetles, each attempting to teach the Trial participants to dance. By winning the dance-off three of the Beetles committed suicide in front of him, ritually disembowling themselves and presenting him with their Beast-Cores (+20 CY). Finally, after his group left the Yuan Realm, Chang quietly stole the most annoying member's - the Strength Purity scion Hardabs Thornbody - prize, the Glorious Pomegranate (+20 CY) and fled into the night.
Impact: 2 (+0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 276 (+109)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy
Demetrius Ceres
Fate: Demetrius, seeking to match the suffocating presence of the Single-Pillar Kings, ventured through the Yuan Mountains in search of such knowledge. Braving trial after trial, he found nestled in a long-forgotten cave a shrine, hewn from beetle chitin and inscribed on pages of skin-papyrus, the words an unknown script written in dried blood that thrummed with power. Despite the dangers, Demetrius attempted to claim the wisdom of the shrine, yet as the years passed he remained unable to dig the channels into his Dao Pillar. Then, in his meditations, he discovered a piece of wisdom, and to emulate the presence of a King one must emulate the unshakable will of a King. Becoming absolutely certain in his path, Demetrius applied pressure upon five points on his Dao Pillar. The pressure proved too much for his Dantian, nearly rupturing it, and the Qi overflow nearly put an end to his intentions but for the use of a treasure (Badly Wounded -> LST -> Lightly Wounded). Continuing on his certain path, Demetrius carved channels into his Dao Pillar as he did so, leaving lasting wounds on his dantian in his pursuit. The pain was excruciating, but he continued, using another treasure to endure (Wounded -> LST -> Healthy). Finally, on the final step, he faltered, applying just a hair too much pressure, the difference akin to less than a hair of deviation. Yet, it was enough, and his Pillar shattered into five pieces. This proved fatal, even with the use of a Treasure (Death -> LST -> Badly Wounded), but the wisdom Demetrius had uncovered had not gone to waste. Reversing course in an instant, Demetrius forged four more Dao Pillars from the fragments even as he fortified the first, accomplishing in weeks what he hadn't managed before in decades (+120 CY). When the Yuan Contest ended, Demetrius Ceres emerged, a 6-Pillar Expert of the Clan, yet his wounds were grave and he was unable to build a channelled Pillar as he had hoped. But though the strange book he left behind in the mountains, he still remembered its wisdom. And he had learned much. Where one was insufficient, six might not be...
Impact: 15 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 6-Pillar (Late)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 277 (+138)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Diomedes Cestus
Fate: When Diomedes stepped through the Qiguai portal, he was lucky - of course he was, he had chosen to be. However, luck takes many forms, some less manageable than others. Diomedes ended up warped into the Core Formation version of the realm, and specifically into the lair of a Gorgon.
Amused by the unusual circumstances and not seeing a mere Expert as a threat, the Gorgon gave Diomedes a challenge: test his luck further by finding the key to his survival within her lair. With a split-second glance, she riddled Diomedes' body with stone tumors, slowly growing and spreading and threatening to tear him apart from within. The Centurion raced through the lair day and night, growing weaker bit by bit, until he found two things on a corpse that he could make use of. (Wounded -> LST used -> Healthy)
First was the Bracelet Of Self-Mastery. Just as life is not complete without the trifecta of Soul, Body and Qi, so too is the trinity fundamentally linked. By tapping into this treasure, Diomedes can directly convert qi into either body or soul. In the case of the soul, this simply replenishes a soul which has been diminished. In the case of the body, it can close wounds by simply filling in the gaps with new flesh. However, such brute force methods of healing are imperfect in the face of complex spiritual injuries. More peculiar, though, is that Diomedes can simply make more of his own body, growing in size and strength bit by bit as he dumps qi into the process. There is something to be said of the value of simply being very large.(+2 Impact)
The second part of the set was the Bracelet Of Self-Sacrifice. The counterpart to the Bracelet of Self-Mastery, this treasure allows the bearer to return themself to the primordial forge, burning away the body or the soul to produce more qi. This ensures that Diomedes always has a reliable supply of qi to fall back on in a pinch. In addition, by using one of these bracelets followed by the other, flesh can become soul, or vice versa. He can even stockpile qi in an unconventional way, by using it to grow in size, then burning that size away later when he needs more. (+2 Impact)
Diomedes learned to make use of both bracelets by continuously burning away the tumors inside his body as they grew, granting him an impressive amount of qi with which to cultivate. (+10 CY) After a year, the disease had finally passed, and Diomedes' time in the Secret Realm was up. As he left, the Gorgon chuckled, telling Diomedes that what he'd found wasn't even the antidote she'd intended him to use, and that Devils were just as stubborn as she remembered.
Impact: 19 (+4)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 4-Pillar
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 209 (+27)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)
Ferenike
Fate: For some, the Qiguai Realm was merely dangerous, for Ferenike it was simply a fated land of opportunity. Others suffered, but it seemed in this generation with the Favored rising so too did some of the Clan. The Realm shook and shuddered at her entrance, and spat her out - throwing her far into the sky-sea, and into another place entirely. Where she had come to stood above even the sky-sea, situated on the back of what after many months she realised was a giant whale of some sort, massive beyond belief - perhaps, she figured, even outscaling the entire Virtuous Flipper Region. Only the sound of its blowhole allowed her to realise this, and carved into its back was a peculiar lakebed. She stepped into it, and was immediately split into seven. The Mirrorlake split her into seven, and the seven dueled, each willing to slay the other - or absorb them, rather. Seven became six became five and eventually became one, the Mirrorlake heightening her willingness to slay the parts of herself that stood against her success (+30 CY).
From the Mirrorlake she travelled onwards, finding a shrine made of pearl entirely. In it sat a single congealed droplet of water, having been sitting there for what must have been centuries. Ferenike drank it, and in a single moment gained decades of cultivation (+40 CY).
In her attempt to chart where she was she travelled many, many leagues, and found a small city of mermaids, living on the back of the whale. An ancient prophecy said a travelled would come and rescue their holy priestess from a tribe of sharkfolk, and Ferenike saw no reason to gainsay them. Rescuing the priestess through a series of dangerous adventures, she was rewarded with a pot of fine soup made from the whale's own cast-off flesh (+20 CY).
The same prophecy told her where to return to the Qiguai Realm from - she would need to venture to the blowhole itself, a hole larger than entire provinces of the Clan's territory, and let it throw her back. She did so, avoiding three guardian beasts and making it just in time. The blast of water should have killed her, but left her untouched instead, filling her with Qi (+40 CY) and returning her to the exit of the Qiguai Secret Realm just before it closed.
Impact: 16 (+3)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 7 Pillar (Great Circle)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 357 (+150)
Health: Healthy --> Healthy
Gaius Antonius
Fate: Gaius trod towards the Qiguai Realm, yet this tale involves it not at all. Instead, upon arriving, the Realm itself rejected him entirely, seemingly trying to kill him multiple times. Each attempt was not enough to slay him, but valuable treasures were used twice to defend himself. Bereft of treasures, he was thrown into a space between spaces, a place in which space was not merely twisted in on itself, but where direction and momentum had no meaning. Only the mastery of the Dao itself would allow you to move, and Gaius was lacking. Yet in this place a dream came upon him, a dream of a strict taskmaster, a kind teacher. A man whose face he could not remember who simply spoke a few words. He did not remember the words themselves, but with the first, he felt himself enlightened (+30 CY) greatly. With the second, he rose into the next realm of the Single Pillar, Human Between (+50 CY). When he awoke, he was standing outside the entrance to the Qiguai Secret Realm. The doorway shuddered and spat wisps of shattered space at him, trying to kill him even now, but he easily avoided it. The path he was on was narrowing, it seemed.
Impact: 33 (+5)
Cultivation: Single Pillar 4 (Human Between)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 525 (+92)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST) --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)
Kakos Alexikeravno
Fate: Upon entering the Qiguai Secret Realm, Kakos was flung into a deep, dark ravine, which itself led down into an even deeper cave, tucked away in a corner of the realm where no one would intentionally look. But since Kakos was already in a hole, he decided to find the bottom, just in case something was buried. Something was, indeed, buried. In that place lay the tomb of Zhu Li the Exhumer, a long dead Nascent Soul, reviled for her cruel and blasphemous practices. Killed by an ancient dragon known only as the Blue Dream, whom she had angered many times, her body was sealed away in a chain-bound coffin, the coffin sealed in a tomb of qi-draining stone, and the tomb surrounded by rings of heavenly lightning. All of this, to ensure the old witch would not rise from the dead in any form. Evidently, it had ended up here, in the Qiguai Realm. At first, Kakos had no interest in the contents, only the lightning itself, from which he spent the year drinking greedily. The lightning that remained was only a long-faded remnant of the original defense, but the effect was still enormous. (+50 CY)
After depleting all of the lightning, Kakos entered the tomb and found it had already been ransacked before, save for a hidden compartment beneath the coffin. When he picked the lock and got it open, one last trap sprung, blasting him with yet more lightning. Unprepared, he was overwhelmed immediately, his protective talismans shattering under the strain. (Wounded -> LST -> Healthy)
After a moment, however, Kakos regained his bearings and consumed this lightning too, advancing even further. (+20 CY)
From the now open compartment, Kakos retrieved the Seven Roads Ten Crowns Manual, a book of Ghost Arts written by Zhu Li. The crafting of arrays and the manipulation of blood, curses and hatred naturally brush close to the territory of Ghost Arts, but the Golden Devils don't have many Ghost Artists of their own. With the foundational techniques detailed in this manual, Kakos found himself able to bind vengeful apparitions with arrays. Once so bound, he can manipulate their essence and forms, enhance the potency of crafted objects, or command them to attack a target. None of this is revolutionary, but they expand his toolset significantly. (+2 Impact)
Out of time, the Legionnaire returned home to his family to share this new knowledge. Kakos now stands teetering at the precipice of the Eleventh Heavenstage; a commendable bounty.
Impact: 6 (+2)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 187 (+94)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LST) --> Healthy (EoT)
Lexus Macer, Tax Man
Fate: Lexus Macer had a poor time in the Yuan Man-As-The-Mountain Array. Aside from seemingly worthless spirit tokens, jade tokens which he couldn't access with his senses, there were furious challenges he was poorly equipped to deal with. One of them, a blazing fire elemental attacked Lexus Macer on sight, burning him horribly and nearly killing him (Killed -> LST used -> Badly Wounded), were it not for the timely aid of Amaranth. Fortunately for Lexus, one of the Jade tokens he found in the Yuan Realm later proved instrumental in solving a case of tax discrepancy among another Clan member, and Lexus was rewarded as a result (+20 CY).
Lihua Kokkinos
Fate: Lihua's Qiguai journey was uneventful for the first two months, before she stumbled upon a garden, nestled away in a floating temple. After some exploration, she found the hidden array mechanism that could transport her to that place, and found herself in a small realm of plenty, an oasis amongst the chaos of the Qiguai Realm. This was the Garden of Respite. Built by a Xuanwu long ago, it was now abandoned, tended to only by the lesser Wood Spirits that had been tasked with its maintenance. Every herb, every fruit and vegetable, even the grass and weeds which stubbornly grew between the more valuable plants, was incredibly dense in qi. What was more, they grew back at three times the usual speed after being harvested.
Naturally, Lihua got to work, rendering down the plants that she knew how to work with into pills and simply eating the rest raw. She even smoked the grass. The first harvest was the most bountiful, growing Lihua two entirely new pillars in an exhilarating rush of self-enlightenment. (+70 CY) The second harvest was less extreme, but was enough to construct most of the notoriously difficult Seventh Pillar in one go. Her health began to decline as the work of many decades was done in months and so many different powerful plants were consumed, but still Lihua pressed on. (+50 CY) The third harvest was an anemic one.
Taxed to the limits of what it could manage, the Garden of Respite produced less than half of its usual full capacity. The spirits which maintained the place began to grow angry with Lihua - such excessive harvesting was dangerous for the quality of the soil. Nevertheless, this was more than enough to complete her Seventh Pillar. (+30 CY) Having eaten up the entire output of the Garden of Respite for nearly a year, the inevitable happened - Lihua suffered a massive overdose. Frankly, it was surprising she had lasted so long without such a thing happened. She became violently ill for nearly a month, eventually using a mighty protective charm to bolster her health for long enough to go home(Wounded -> LST -> Healthy). Upon her return, Lipita eventually recovered from the overdose with all of her progress intact, and set about reaching the Great Circle before the Centennial Trial. She managed it handily, stepping into the peak of Foundation Building with time to spare.
Impact: 16 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 7 Pillar (Great Circle)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 374 (+183)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)
Lipita Delphi
Fate: The Qiguai Realm's portal seemed to have a mind of its own with Lipita. It brought the Delphi scion exactly where she needed to be, as if she were guided on wings of benediction. She found herself brought forth into a nexus of meta-space, several dimensions above our paltry three. There, she overlapped with all of her alternate selves, receiving maddening wisdom and terrifying warnings. That her mind could take the strain without breaking entirely came down to her uniquely strong-hearted disposition, equal parts nature and nurture. In order to become the greatest possible version of herself, Lipita received two revelations: First was the Incarnated Greater Self Method. Often lethal, the spiraling patterns of this cycling method involve extending the scope of the breath outside of the body, drawing on the principle that the self is an illusion. When used incorrectly, it can lead to heavy qi drain, burst blood vessels, hemorrhaging through the pores, or even turning inside-out. When applied correctly over a long enough period of time, however, this method creates a permanent aura around the user which stores additional qi beyond the limits of what their meridians can hold. An especially adept user can effectively double their capacity, creating a dense field of raw qi around themselves with a radius of a few feet which not only serves as a spare battery, but a potent tool for offense and defense. (+4 Impact)
The second revelation was even more dangerous to use than the first. The Trial Of Perfected Purification is thought by many to be a simple act of madness. A sort of "super Eleventh Heavenstage", it repeats the ordeal of purifying the meridian network anywhere between four and a dozen times over(depending on one's starting meridian quality) rather than just once. While most would call such an act not worth the cost, thanks to the sheer amount of additional qi required, the results speak for themselves. The so-called 'Perfect Qi' nurtured by the body of a survivor carries double the amount of potential energy as that of an ordinary Eleventh Heavenstager, and thus four times more than an orthodox cultivator. (+4 Impact) Lipita saw her chance, one which would not come again should it be squandered. Perhaps emboldened by the bravery of the rest of her generation, or by the thread of the oncoming Trials, Lipita took the plunge.
Adrift in space and time, the Delphi scion sank into a sea of infinite possibility, a cosmic stream of primordial qi drawn together from trickles across the multiverse. She offered a stalwart plea to the cosmos, a primordial yearning at the heart of mankind. "Give me more strength." She received it, and her body paid the price. Torn up and twisted from within, Lipita endured the pain of surpassing her limits over and over, pushing what felt like an endless stream of qi through herself, within and without, over and over. The massive meridian network of a Delphi body is a difficult thing to perfect, and so she attained the Eleventh Heavenstage a dozen times over, making of herself something divine, something beyond human. That she survived was more a matter of Will than anything else. (Badly Wounded) When the Perfected Purification had finally passed, Lipita allowed her cultivation to actually advance once more, and advance it did, rocketing past the Twelfth Heavenstage at unfathomable speed. Even with the time limit imposed by the Qiguai Realm, she just barely managed to take in enough Qi to Purify her Dao and ascend to the Thirteenth Heavenstage before getting booted out. (+90 CY)
Lipita returned to her family as a true champion, a marvel of human potential. Between her family constitution, the perfected Eleventh Heavenstage, and her aura, Lipita's maximum capacity now stands at twenty times that of an ordinary Tenth Heavenstager, or ten times that of an ordinary Eleventh. The destructive capability of this energy is a pain to reign in, but her performance on the battlefield and in the workshop is as ludicrous as one would expect.
Impact: 22 (+8)
Cultivation: 13th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 288 (+129)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Wounded (EoT)
Lipp Galanis
Fate: Traveling into the Yuan Man-As-World Mountain Array, Lipp Galanis walks past the many creatures and challenges available to him, barely glancing at any of them. Instead, he is drawn towards a sealed labyrinth at the edge of the Array ignored by any others seeking their fortune. Though warned by another cultivator that it is seemingly impossible to solve and unbreakable even to a nascent soul, Lipp cannot turn away from it and resolves to attempt it anyways.
The labyrinth is strangely familiar to him, not as if he had been there before but as if all of its twists and turns had been concocted by a mind that was kin to his own. Traveling through it as if it were his own home, Lipp Galanis suddenly finds himself at the center of the maze. Before he can even manage a glimpse of what lay inside, he feels a death blow about to strike. Only the timely use of a treasure saves him from death, but he still finds himself wounded badly. (Death roll to badly wounded with LST)
Upon his survival, he finds no second strike forthcoming. Rising warily, he finds himself under the curious gaze of a nascent soul. Somehow, he instinctively understands that the man is dead yet he stands before him as if living flesh and blood. Lipp was a golden devil, the man apologetically explained as if talking about a minor faux pas. They had been one of the man's ancient enemies and so he decided to strike him instinctively. It was only at the final instant that he decided to stay his hand.
For even if Lipp was a devil, he still managed to cross the labyrinth. They shared the same madness to some day revive the third turtle-child and that crime at least, was not one that could be placed at the feet of the Sea Conquering Army. Beckoning him closer, the man began to teach him a glimmer of his secrets - certainly not his true inheritance, but enough to grant him a chance of success in his quest.
What the man teaches him are the secrets of time. There are cracks across the firmament, Lipp Galanis learns, damage to the laws of heaven that the man used in his life to seek an answer to their shared goals. With quiet but firm instructions, he teaches the attentive legionary the ability to sense this damage and then to see through it - looking across great distances or watching events now long past. Heavily reliant on location, nonetheless the Fractured World Divination Art (+6 Impact) was a powerful investigative tool.
Somewhat impressed by Lipp's undivided attention but still unwilling to teach him more, the man decides to give him what he considered a worthless technique. The Space-Time Gauze Seal (+2 Impact) was an early attempt by the man to bandage the cracks in the hopes that they could someday heal naturally. Though an utter failure for the purpose it was designed for, it still served to temporarily paper over the cracks, hindering any divinatory or temporal arts relying upon this damage to the heavens.
It is at this moment that Lipp's newfound knowledge and his familarity with the man's methods bears fruit. Though the man is careful not to teach Lipp any of his personal techniques, the legionary manages to glean the barest of insights anyway. The man is certainly dead, but he is also present. This paradox is made possible by his inheritance - a technique of time that not only looks through the cracks in time, but manipulates them to preserving the nascent soul in the moment before his death in order to deliver his inheritance to the future.
Amused by the junior's audacity and comprehension, the man finally relents and teaches him the basics of the Fractured World Transcendence Art (+4) a technique that utilizes the cracks to affect the future. Using this, so long as Lipp knows when to strike and is able to spend time setting up the location, he can launch an attack into the future allowing great advantages in battle so long as he is on prepared ground. After this he sends the boy out of the labyrinth, depositing him outside the Array with a warning to not return.
Impact: 16 (+12)
Cultivation: 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 112 (+2)
Health: Healthy --> Dead --> Badly Wounded (LST) --> Wounded (EoT)
Paulus
Fate: The first lesson of Weakness is yielding, and with this heavy in his heart Paulus set forth to the Qiguai Secret Realm. In the twisting realm he sought to broaden his understanding of Weakness and to become less so, if only by a small amount. However, Qiguai had other plans. Upon his arrival, Paulus was beset upon by a den of Spatial-Burrow Rabbits, offended by his sudden and destructive landing upon their burrow, and would be pursued by them for the rest of his time in Qiguai, even suffering a wound that would take a Treasure to mend (Wounded -> LST -> Healthy).
However, he would not return empty-handed; in the time-twisted plains the rabbits resided in, Paulus found an old burial mound, over and over again as he tried to shake off his pursuers. On his last attempt, the rabbits struck through it, rending apart space and breaking the tomb open. Within, Paulus found it was the tomb of the Thirteenth Generation Wei Princess, a man known for his hatred of the Blood Path, but also for his eccentric sense of dress.
Roused from slumber, the Will of the Thirteenth Wei Princess arose and cast the rabbits aside with a glare, but before he could do the same to Paulus, the Centurion managed to make his hatred of the Blood Path clear. Satisfied by this Junior's dedication to the cause, even despite his bloodline, the Thirteenth Wei Princess bequeathed a gift upon him; a set of Nine-Shade Nightshade Paints (+4 Impact) that, when applied, sap the strength of those who gain strength through the consumption of others. Applied to himself, Paulus could enforce Weakness upon Cannibals with ease through his fists and perhaps even with a look in the future, and applied to a follower of the Blood Path, it would make them nauseous and eventually steal their power, a slow-acting but formidable poison.
So gifted, Paulus gave thanks, but did so in an insufficiently respectful way to the Thirteenth Wei Princess, who was also known to be temperamental. The outrage of the Will would cast Paulus from the Realm, the same way he entered.
Impact: 17 (+4)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 6-Pillar (Late)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 264 (+28)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Healthy (LST)
Qinglong Shu
Fate: A fated battle had come for Qinglong Shu - the retribution against the maddened self proclaimed Dragon of the Center, a potent and crazed Blood Path technique thief that had plagued the lands of the Virtuous Flipper for over a century at this point. Having been ambushed in Clan Lands as a target of convenience by the Cultivator, Qinglong Shu gave chase into the Yuan Man-As-Mountain Array - the nature of the structure enabling a mere Qi Condensation Junior to pursue one a full Great Realm beyond them, suicidal as the very concept may seem. Rumors had traveled with the advent of the Era; tales of a wondrous source of Qi that could advance one to Nascent Soul, if only they possessed the qualifications to grasp it. It was these that lead the Dragon to enter the Array in spite of her notoriety, the Blood Path rebellions leaving the Yuan Clan too weak to properly guard against her.
But in this manner, Qinglong Shu was fortunate. While the Thief had entered in order to search for something hidden, she was in no way subtle. A trail of carnage and destruction marked the whimsical passage of her delusional mind, and what would have normally been an insurmountable lead became a gap well within the grasp of Qinglong Shu and her potent Eyes. Tracking her fallen relative deep within the Yuan Secret Realm over the course of years in that vast territory, the two confronted one another. At the very last - They dueled.
With a Great Realm's difference there had been little doubt as to the result of a notorious Blood Path such as the Dragon and the Centurion. Largely fresh and gorged on her victims, as compared to Shu's own exhaustion from her unceasing chase. At a critical moment, the Azure Dragonblood attempted to call upon her inheritances, to strike down the betrayer in a storm of fury and lightning. But in the face of a mad dream made real, Sapphire was struck down by Gold in a flash of yellowed tribulation. Heaven loathed the blood path, but for some reason its fulmination carried the weight of True Tribulation behind its strike.
An inherited reverse scale shattered, and experience proved the difference between certain death and grievous wounds. (-1 LST, Badly Wounded). So was Qinglong Shu left for dead, the great revelation of her Aunt's delusion made manifest. For three years she lay comatose, processing and seeking understanding. An infection had seared itself into her developing Dao of Understanding, a memetic hazard which decreed that it was the Path of the King that all be taken in, uncompromising. A glorious resplendent yellow that united all the cosmos, all knowledge, all possibility for its own use. A madness which brooked no compromise in its pursuit of the treasure of wisdom.
It was only at the end of considerable effort that Shu was able to cast off the attack, refining her Meridians and Dantian endlessly until her internal Qi was capable of flushing the corrosive Qi of the Yellow Dragon from her mind, and with it she stepped into the 11th Heavenstage. (+60 Cultivation Years). Her eyes now improved, she saw the signs of her quarries passage almost immediately. Three years of contemplation providing her with a peerless grasp of the woman's mentality. Within Shu's consciousness a lingering echo of the King whispered, telling Shu the story of her aunt's journey in the intervening years. Finding the Blood Path traitor once again was as simple as overturning her hand, the woman's mind already laid bare with the contempt of intimate familiarity.
Ming, the Dragon of the Center had continued her search towards an active volcano deep within the Man-As-Mountain Array, at the far end of a Core Formation Trial. But Ming's passage had been unsubtle and reckless, reaching beyond her grasp to overcome it's challenges and finding herself exhausted for the effort. Alas, what lay upon that Caldera was not the power she sought, merely the faint sound of bells echoing.
And death.
Qinglong Shu ascended the fiery mountain, her eyes blazing as they found their quarry at last. She had been foolish before, trying to grasp Ming as a traitor, and then a fanatic. The insights granted by the 11th Heavenstage had revealed the truth, however; the former Qinglong Ming had become Huanglong Ming in truth - a vessel for the Four Directions to Guide to the Center. A temple within which the Yellow Dragon would take roost upon reaching the bare minimum precipice of power to sustain his shadow and existence in the Turtle World.
A guidepost, broadcasting its intent to the wider cosmos to reach across time and space and realms.
The natural prey of Qinglong Shu and her Understanding. A hollowed out vessel is nothing once its surface has been breached, and at the end of a titanic struggle Ming was marred. Yellow tarnished by Azure in an ineffable reversal of the order, and the nature of the guidepost was ruined. No more would the Yellow Dragon find its way to her. It had been that simple.
All that remained was the diminished, weakened Qinglong Ming - traitor to the Four Beasts Alliance, before the rising fury of the Azure Dragon, empowered by its inheritor.
At the end of the battle, the Four Beast Treasures recognized Qinglong Shu for her struggles and success, anointing her as the inheritor of the Alliance. Her deeds proving sufficient to overcome the Bronze that flowed through her veins. In the end, they were all traitors of a kind, and in that recognition Shu was empowered once again - reaching the 12th Heavenstage and purifying her Soul to unseen heights. (+40 Cultivation Years).
But the Trial remained uncompleted, and so on a flight of fancy followed the path to its end. Where at the heart of the Caldera, was a cave of the deepest frost. Proof against even the hottest magma that surrounded it, sinking a deep chill into Shu's own bones. A grasping, hungering cold that sapped even the heat from the heart of the world. Sealed beneath many bindings lay a single staff, but something in the seals reacted to Shu's blood. Like was drawn to like, and the staff threw forth considerable power to break its prison. With a flash of light the bindings were destroyed, leaving behind the weapon - now revealed to be crafted of bleached draconic bone, its strength reduced to that of Qi Condensation from its previous heights. (+6 Impact).
With her gains and accomplishments in hand, Qinglong Shu descended from the Yuan Lands, her mind adrift with the fulfillment of her life's goal.
Rina Callista
Fate: The Law of Shattered Time had left its mark on the world, and even in the Qiguai Secret Realm there were points in which time did not quite flow properly, where causality seemed almost broken. For Rina Callista, one such point saw her step through into the past, where another Rina seemed to be missing. Yet all accepted her as the missing girl, seeing no difference between her and her long-dead ancestor.
In truth, Rina Callista of those millions of years ago had died, and on her entry into the past, she felt herself die, and her body crumpled into near-nothing, the world demanding that she die. Only the use of her Dao allowed her to survive, nearly dying - suffering terrible wounds to weaken her to the level of her past namesake.
It was then that she met her ancestor, newly-ascended into Law Creation. Jovi Callista smiled at her, and spoke words to her, both kind and cruel. At the end, he left her only with thoughts. She could not speak - could not act, peculiarly enough. She stood back in time and yet to move even a muscle was beyond her.
"As far ahead as I look, as much of time as I break, girl, I only see doom. In every future that coalesces into being in my eyes, I am dead and the Sea-Conquering Army scattered and destroyed. Perhaps I can shatter the world enough to avert it - if I harm the world enough and shed enough blood it might well be possible. Yet lately I have come to see you, and I not know why. An old man with the blood of a peasant and a face wreathed in darkness, and a young woman with my blood. There are other images flickering in my eyes, but those two are the strongest."
He grimaced at that.
"I have left a marker for you, a gravestone if I do not survive. You will need to be lucky to grasp it, but only lucky in future. I have twisted that piece of time around so that you can ignore the tyranny of cause and effect if for only this one. I do not know if it will be enough, but I have left such contigencies across all the Seas I can, caches to help us in future, to slow our destruction. This one, however, was meant for you. I peered across all time I could and saw the last Callista, the pivotal one upon whom it would all turn. If you can save us, do so. If you cannot... well, if this task falls to you I could do no better, so do not blame yourself overmuch. Simply remember that the Nine Seas are your enemies, no matter the face they put on. To survive... whatever cruelties must be wrought by your hand are justifiable."
With that, she faded away, returning to the present. Luck guided her footsteps from that very moment, and she found herself directed across a series of impossible trials, past monsters in Spirit Severing that guarded the tomb of a hated enemy, and to a small cache sitting under a gravestone. There she found three items, and only too late saw the sign of a ladle scratched upon the grave.
A hankerchief spotted with blood sat there, and she reached out it crossed the space between them, the bloodstains touching themselves to her hand before she could react. As she touched it the droplets spun themselves into her body, raw Blood Qi integrating into her very being. A curse to cultivators to be set upon the Blood Path, searing itself into her bloodline, (+80 CY), a gibbering madman screaming in her head as he ceased to be.
She found herself fighting off his personalities, endlessly screaming at her for her betrayal, her foolishness.
"Walk the path. Walk the path. Walk the path.", it repeated endlessly.
The second and third items were manacles, leaping out of the grave and wrapping themselves around her arms. Even one as strong as she could not resist. The Sinister Binding of Consumption fed her (+30 CY), and the Dextral Binding of Absorption taught her to absorb more and more (+30 CY). Pushing her forcibly forward, her cultivation grew and grew, and she found the desire to consume everything rising.
Her desire for blood was brought to a peak, and she saw the path laid out before her. To take all the power from the Bindings, to consume the madman, and to rise to be the true master of the One-Pillar Path.
Somehow, she resisted. The flow of power ceased, and Rina managed to escape the Bindings, though shattering them was beyond her. The madman leapt easily out of her head, gibbering about her ungrateful ways. Despite her indomitable nature, it had been luck, at the last. The Bindings were impossible to escape unless you knew the exact sequence to do so, and in her struggles she had managed it. Forced into Luck-Seizing, she was now a cultivator of the Blood Path entirely. Never again would she advance without consuming the Qi of others... unless she found some other road forward.
Samson Murus
Fate: Samson's relatively short life has thus far been a meteoric climb. Perhaps growing complacent in his continued success, the new Centurion went straight to another Secret Realm trip before he had even perfected his First Pillar. The results spoke to the dangers of unrestrained hubris.
The trip began with success, as Samson sunk to the bottom of a stagnant, toxic swamp. By his assessment, the mineral wealth down here would be untouched, thanks to how utterly hostile to human life it was. With his water arts, Samson breathed under the water, and with his self-purifying arts, he continuously purged the toxins before they could hurt him. Entombed beneath the swamp, he meditated for two months, making use of the countless raw spirit stones beneath the muck. (+10 CY)
Disturbed by a cataclysmic shaking up above, Samson surfaced to find two mighty Experts, one Righteous and the other Demonic, fighting furiously. Coated with an unfathomable amount of grime, Samson was mistaken by the Experts as some kind of disgusting, hostile swamp monster, and they put off their fight to take him down together. By the time Samson explained himself, their combined assault had already injured him and destroyed one of his precious protective charms. On the bright side, the three warriors managed to share some drinks and reach a sort of rapport in the aftermath, with the Righteous and Demonic Experts burying their feud, and each of them promising Samson one favor in the future to make up for nearly killing him. (Badly Wounded, LST used, becomes Lightly Wounded)
Unable to delve into the swamp without risking deadly infection thanks to his wounds, Samson spent the rest of the year failing to find anything useful, returning home with only modest gains.
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 1-Pillar (Early)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 113 (+13)
Health: Healthy --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LSW) --> Healthy (EoT)
Simon Euaerizo
Fate: Simon, who has girded his soul and body beyond reason, has been laughed off by some as paranoid. And yet, who else could have survived the misfortune he stumbled upon?
The Qiguai Realm, known as the stranger of the region's two major secret realms, never seems to run out of unexplored secrets no matter how many people visit. Simon found one of these, navigating through a maze of carnivorous plants and giant insects through both guile and luck. At the center, Simon received a Celestial Violet, a miraculous bloom which nearly never occurs in nature, because it is incredibly delicate. This was no doubt intended to serve as the central regent for a truly incredible alchemical concoction, but he lacked the means to safely transport the flower, and went for a brute force strategy instead. Freezing the flower in time, Simon slowed the moment of its destruction a thousandfold, giving him an hour to take in its energy. In that single hour, he received enough energy and great enough insights to construct his entire Seventh Pillar from start to finish. (+60 CY)
Brute force, of course, is not always the right way to do things. Enraged at the thoughtless destruction of such a precious blessing by a hated enemy, Heaven's power broke through into the Qiguai Realm in an attack powerful enough to serve as an Emperor's tribulation. The entire maze was obliterated, as was the mountain upon which it stood. Simon was assailed in body and soul by forces he could not even hope to understand, obliterating nearly all the defenses he had built up for decades upon decades. (Crippled -> LST -> Wounded -> Overkilled -> two LST's -> Crippled)
Simon was not even given the dignify to walk out. The force of the impact rent the secret realm apart, shunting him and a thousand tons of rubble back out into the real world and destroying much of the Qiguai Doorway Palace.
Impact: 8 (+0)
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment 7-Pillar (Pillar Alignment)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 325 (+67)
Health: Healthy --> Crippled --> Wounded (LST) --> Dead (overkilled) --> Crippled (LST)
Spiros Wan
Fate: Spiros Wan is possessed of a strange fate, it seems. Born of two eccentric failed researchers, he had inherited a great kyojin, forged in the manner of a Panoplia of the Clan. Determined to prove the worthiness of his family's craft and his own skill as a member of the Clan he entered the Qiguai Secret Realm, ensconced within the armor itself. Strangely, the chaotic whorls of the Secret Realm appeared to be subdued by the incredible bulk of the giant and so Aspirant Wan proceeded deeper into Qiguai in search of opportunity.
But the presence of the armor, perhaps triggering some unknown will of the Secret Realm, awakened a hill of raw stone deep within it, struck by lightning and animated by the light of heaven which even now warped the space. Arising in terror, the great mass of living stone attacked Aspirant Wan within his kyojin, and in a great battle lasting seven days and seven nights, eventually broke the construct apart with empowered bronze fists in a great explosion of power!
The backwash of energies from the creatures death permeated the armor, enriching his dantian slightly and helping to advance him past the First Heavenstage (+10 CY). But the true miracle of the encounter was that the living mountain had not merely been one of animate stone; buried within it had been two great seams of ore: Raw Living Tin (+2 Impact) which struck into the heart of the giant in an attempt to skewer it, joined by a wildly undulating mass of Seven Colored Copper Gemstones (+5 Impact) which battered relentlessly against the Aspirant's protections, until the energies surrounding the combatants proved too much for the materials to bear - ultimately resulting in a massive detonation that enveloped the kyojin itself..
Heat and pressure proved too much for Aspirant Wan, and he was forced to use a hard-earned treasure to evacuate the Realm, saving himself and his parents legacy from being destroyed at the cost of minor wounds to his person (-1 LST). Still, he returned from Qiguai with his life and treasure intact; greatly empowered for his experience. With ample proof that his inheritance was a mighty one indeed.
COOL THING: Increased qi perception (harder to take by surprise, higher chance to notice hidden treasures)
SPECIALTY: Demonic Tunes/Healing/Diplomacy
BACKSTORY: Born to unknown parents, given to the carnival by legionaries pursuing the bandits who destroyed her home(?) settlement;
- Until age 17 was with the carnival, wandering among the smaller settlements of the Golden Devil core territories, alternating playing to flute to accompany performances and healing poor people for free in the healer's tent under her teacher;
- Became a cultivator on her own, meditating while playing her flute;
- After a legionary the carnival met told her she was a cultivator, went to the Golden Devils for training; spent the following years training and doing missions for the clan;
APPEARANCE: Short, fat, long golden curly hair, Greek nose, brown eyes with greenish tint, upon achieving 10th Heavenstage awakened Blood of Bronze – bronze, metallic skin. When walking among mortals employs illusions to make it look more like her old human skin, though somewhat darker.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
- Healer Xia Fan, mortal teacher died of old age during Turn 6;
- Healer Han Jiao, mortal junior brother;
- unnamed music cultivator ghost in the mountains, teacher;
- Andronike Kairos, 9th Heavenstage, best friend died during Turn 5 Trials;
- Andromeda and Daphne, twins, friends;
- Diophantos, beastmaster, friend;
- Xia Zing, a friend from the Greensand Oasis (see the drugs omake);
- Mesmerizing Cat from an odd dreamscape.
- has a loose friend group of 8th to 9th Heavenstage cultivators who spar together in the capital training halls, often or periodically;
- on the verge of Trials joined the Hammerhead Initiative - peak Qi Condensation cultivators forming a plan to save as many juniors as possible at the cost of personal risks;
- a part of the Indomitable Thirteen, mentor to Aliki Floros, friends with Rina Callista.
IMPACT (Orthodox/Unorthodox): 13/13
[Orthodox: 12 (Turn 13 Start) > 13 (Turn 15 End) Truce Talisman (+6 Impact) - In the Qiguai Secret Realm. Eirene met two warring clans of Spirit Beasts, Sea Snakes and Sharks. After learning their languages, she was able to broker a hundred-year truce, both the greatest of the sharks and her friend among the serpents fusing two teeth together into a magical artifact. The power of the mediated peace is able to force others to listen to her words and consider her cries for peace, no matter their original intentions. Qi Transferring Needle (+1 Impact) - A magical needle that could drain Qi from one and give it to another that a Core Formation Will offered to Eirene as thanks for saving a descendant and as a means of continuing it's legacy. Useless in combat, as it acted slowly, the sheer precision with which it could be used on a specific meridian or acupoint meant that it allowed Eirene to be even more precise and better at healing that she had been before. Glimmering Star Scarf (+3 Impact) - A treasure of renown. When used in soul-effecting powers like Eirene's, it empowers them greatly, allowing her to impose peace on those beyond her own level. See her Dance Before The Walls that held an entire enemy army at bay for a day during the Miracle at Pleuron. Mesmerizing Dance Illusion Technique (+1 Impact) – Eirene moves and the motion demands attention, fixing the eyes of observers upon her so long as she continues. She can hold in place individuals or groups equally so long as they maintain sight. Even breaking line of sight does not automatically disrupt the effect, a fast fading compulsion to seek her remaining moments afterwards. Cosmic Harmony Enlightenment (+1 Impact) – In her early journeys Eirene went up a great mountain, and into a cave, where the ghost of a long-gone Golden Devil was playing the flute. His music enlightened her, and drew in Qi from across the mountains, granting her a powerful legacy, shattering all barriers in front of her cultivation. He taught her the tiniest fragment of his Dao, so that she might draw in Qi with her music. No use for cultivation, but certainly of use to recover a little more Qi than usual. Chiming Blood (+1 Impact) - A small piece of the metal from a bell of the Old Bronzegate merged with Eirene's blood. She could now naturally use music to help calm or agitate those around her.
Unorthodox: 13 Body Purification Stage, 10th Heavenstage (+9 Impact) - Cultivator's body is cleansed of all impurities, gains considerable strength, speed, and toughness.) 10th Heavenstage is of immense benefit to Foundation Building (offering one small realm worth of strength) and of mild benefit Core Formation cultivators (offering roughly a quarter of a small realm), but falls away during Nascent Soul. Qi Purification Stage, 11th Heavenstage (+4 Impact) - Cultivator gains pure Qi that flows through a pure body. This pure Qi allows them to fuel more powerful techniques, and makes a cultivator unparalleled in their small realm.) 11th Heavenstage is of mild benefit to Foundation Building (offering half a small realm), and Core Formation (offering half a small realm), but falls away during Nascent Soul.]
TRAITS, TECHNIQUES & SKILLS:
Flute playing, healing arts, master in mortal medicine, dabbler in most mundane professions;
INVENTORY:
An old flute, lovingly painted and lacquered; Glimmering Star Scarf; Mesmerizing Cat Summoning Token (Currently expended).
HISTORY
FATES:
Eirene of Nowhere 4:
Omake Reward: Impact Boost.
Fate - While wandering outside, heard a fragment of ancient music. This led her up a great mountain, and into a cave, where the ghost of a long-gone Golden Devil was playing the flute. His music enlightened her, and drew in Qi from across the mountains, granting her a powerful legacy, shattering all barriers in front of her cultivation. He taught her the tiniest fragment of his Dao, so that she might too draw in Qi with her music. No use for cultivation, but certainly of use to recover a little more Qi than usual.
Cultivation - Rose from 1st Heavenstage to 9th Heavenstage. 4 turns from breaking through.
Health - Currently healthy.
Eirene of Nowhere 5:
Omake Reward: Impact Boost.
Fate - In her travels, mastered her Mesmerizing Dance, and found a Glimmering Star Scarf, a treasure of renown. When used in soul-effecting powers like Eirene's, it empowers them greatly, allowing her to impose peace on those beyond her own level. Her Dance Before The Walls held an entire enemy army at bay for a day, and the impact on the battle - well, we all know, do we not?
Cultivation - 10th Heavenstage. (-4 to 11)
Health - Currently healthy.
Eirene of Nowhere 6
Omake Reward - LST
Fate - Eirene was able to spend much time in meditation, much time seeking her Dao. She travelled for some time as a wandering healer, assisting villages and places in need. On saving a young girl from an infection, a mysterious voice called her into a cave. It was the girl's ancestor, who had sought to give the last of his legacy away to a worthy heir. The Core Formation will was about to dissipate, and saw her as the last option. It offered her the Qi Transferring Needle (+1 Impact), a magical needle that could drain Qi from one and give it to another. Useless in combat, as it acted slowly, the sheer precision with which it could be used on a specific meridian or acupoint meant that it allowed Eirene to be even more precise and better at healing that she had been before.
Impact: 5 -> 6
Cultivation - 10th Heavenstage -> 10th Heavenstage
Cultivation-Year Equivalent - 129 Years (+21)
Health - Healthy -> Healthy
Eirene of Nowhere 7
Omake Reward - Cultivation Boost
Fate - From nowhere did she come, yet it was not nowhere she was sent. Eirene wandered north and south, and west and east, and into the Qiguai Secret Realm. There she found herself flung into peculiarity, like so many others. Into the sky she went, and was hunted by a massive sea-serpent, a fanged mouth with grasping hands reaching out from it, gorging itself on those around her. Although she found the method to kill it, she chose not to, and attempted to bring Peace to a creature of consumption. For a year she was hunted, and for a year she tried to get through to the serpent. She failed every time. Yet even as a tooth punctured her stomach, and only a treasure kept her alive, leaving her Badly Wounded, the snake seemed to understand. It took her far into the sea-sky, further than any other cultivator of her realm could get without absurd risks. There in the deep sea above the sky of a shattered world lived a great family of such serpents,, ten in number. These she befriended, and despite their desire to eat her, they understood one another. Where they had once hunted the cultivators who had come in, they now sat with her and contemplated. One of them returned with a Ten Venoms, Thousand Steps of the Journey Pill (+60 cultivation-years), something the creatures had hoarded since long ago. Over time, she learned they fought a war with great monster sharks, and Eirene attempted to mediate. After learning their languages, she was able to broker a hundred-year truce, both the greatest of the sharks and her friend among the serpents fusing two teeth together into a magical Truce Talisman (+6 Impact), the power of the mediated peace able to force others to listen to her words and consider her cries for peace, no matter their original intentions.
Lastly as she returned, she was gifted a Seaweed Meridian Tea (+10 cultivation-years), boiled from Spiritual Seaweed. With this, she stepped into the 12th Heavenstage.
Impact - 6 (+12)
Cultivation - 12th Heavenstage
Cultivation-Year Equivalent - 209 years (+80 years)
Health - Healthy -> Dead -> (LST used) -> Badly Wounded
Eirene of Nowhere 8
Fate: Eirene meditiated. With her newfound confidence from mediating wars between great creatures in the sea above the sky in the Qiguai Secret Realm, she mediated wars between mortals powers, conflicts between Clan cultivators, and reconciled a king with his daughter. The following day she reconciled a peasant and his son, and saw both as important. It was during a mission she was given to placate a great serpent that she failed, the beast inflicting minor wounds on her - nothing too serious, but her prior terrible wounds reopened, and she found herself unable to recover much if at all.
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage (14 turns from FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 209 (+0)
Health: Badly Wounded --> Badly Wounded
Eirene of Nowhere 9
Fate: Eirene began to recover, slowly finding her way up towards health once more. She did not deploy on any missions, and did little beyond mediating between a few village heads here and there. A restful few decades.
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage (13 turns from FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 209 (+0)
Health: Badly Wounded --> Wounded
Eirene of Nowhere 10
Fate: Eirene meditated on her Dao, seeking to break through. She was a very long time away, and shattered the tokens of many who sought her out to slay her. Still... ascension was so far away. Would she ever reach it?
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage (12 turns from FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 209 (+0)
Health: Wounded --> Lightly Wounded
Eirene of Nowhere 11
Bonus: nan
Fate: Eirene attempted to mediate a conflict between two cities, but upon coming up with a treaty both could be happy with was poisoned by malcontents, and barely survived with the use of a powerful treasure.
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage (12 turns from FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 209 (+0)
Health: Lightly Wounded --> Badly Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (LST Interrupt) --> Healthy
Eirene of Nowhere 12
Fate: Eirene of Nowhere, member of the storied Thirteen and exceptional diplomat. As she hovered near the end of her natural life, her developing first Pillar for her Dao of Peace was shaken horribly by the events of the past two decades. An almost unprovoked war by the Clan. The Blood Eclipse that marked Gaius' Ascent and victory over the Jingshen. Though her path has lead her to many successes over her centuries of life, do the times that are coming truly need the pacificism that has been her strength for so long? Meditating on these questions, Eirene of Nowhere greets the new era.
Impact: 12 (+0)
Cultivation: 12th Heavenstage (12 turns from FB)
Cultivation Year-Equivalent: 209 (0)
Health: Healthy --> Wounded --> Lightly Wounded (EoT)'
Eirene of Nowhere 13
Eirene was the second to be forced back, facing the first Lightbeast. A tremendous creature of claws and fang, the massive Clawed Furious Light Wolf batted apart the party, smashing them towards dangerous eddies of Qi-drain. She managed to slow and distract the creature, letting them pass even as it chased her into one such eddy. There, both she and it were drained, though she managed to escape, using a greater velocity on entering to allow her to leave suddenly, while the wolf died. Her loss of Qi meant that she was forced to return to the expedition's entrance, though she managed to snag the wolf's peculiar Light Core, a Beast Core made from Light that she was able to trade for many useful cultivation resources (+20 CY).
Eirene of Nowhere 14
While mining, managed to negotiate passage with a powerful Core Formation Mole who was fleeing a lizard and offered to trade three Lizard Beast Cores in return for assistance from her healing it. She was able to assist, and the Beast Cores (+40 CY) were useful as well. However, she was then brought to the home of the Mole Clan, a tribe of beasts who had begun a grand war with the Elemental Lizards. Offering to mediate, she managed to find out the true cause of the nascent war - a thief who the lizards clamied had been sent by the moles, and had fled into mole territory. Nonetheless, she managed to negotiate a peace, and so thankful were both parties they paid her in her currency of choice - ten times her bodyweight of the highest-grade Turtleblood Ore.
Eirene of Nowhere 15
"Eirene of Nowhere was sent to the furthest north of the Pass, to the Old Bronzegate. Her task was to recover a sliver of metal from one of the older bells there, because it contained the power that would let the Clan use those bells briefly, helping them with any potential battles in that area. The cultivators who lived in the Gate were generally more suspicious than most, and they made it difficult for Eirene to get what she needed: They refused to let her enter the bellhouses, even as she posed as a smith seeking to repair some of the more mundane aspects of the Bronzegate.
Instad, to steal the sliver she was forced to use her wits, sneaking in after disguising herself as a local mortal smith. This required considerable effort, but Eirene had plenty of time. She snuck well enough to give her plenty of time in the belltower, allowing her to remove the sliver without alerting anyone. As she did, a small piece of the metal entered her blood, giving her the Chiming Blood (+1 Impact). She could now naturally use music to help calm or agitate those around her."
AURUM INVICTUM CERTAMEN ACT 1 – PROLOGUE {Katana1515 – 1555 words} “Elder Minervina Barda.” The words rolled smoothly off her tongue. Her voice was calm and measured, giving no hint as to the almost irrepressible giddiness that bubbled up in her belly every time she heard those syllables...
AURUM INVICTUM CERTAMEN ACT 1 – PROLOGUE {Katana1515 – 1555 words} “Elder Minervina Barda.” The words rolled smoothly off her tongue. Her voice was calm and measured, giving no hint as to the almost irrepressible giddiness that bubbled up in her belly every time she heard those syllables...
The first thing Shu noticed upon approaching the entrance to Yuan's Secret Realm was the color red. Next was the stench of iron. A natural consequence from the massacres and the chaos that occured within the territory of Yuan. Blood Path, Golden Devils and everything inbetween wanted a piece out of these rich lands, for one reason or another. It would be surprising if there was any decent oversight when it came to those that held a ticket to enter the wondrous dimension, filled with mysteries and riches. On one hand, it was annoying, Shu thought with a click of her tongue. Giving Ming the opportunity to get her fill would make an already impossible fight even harder. Not only that, it was unlikely they even made a dent into Ming's stamina and resources. On the other hand…she grinned a bit as she casually stepped over the bodies, ignoring the wet noises her soles made. At least this way she had Ming all to herself. Under normal, better circumstances, Shu would care more about her surroundings. The majesty of the mountain itself, a natural wonder created over eons by wind and time. The individuals that would gather here to discover new heights. The nature of the portal, how it differentiated from Qiguai.
Unfortunately, Shu only had one thing, one person, in mind. Thus, she didn't waste any time as she leapt through the portal, courting death. The differences hit her immediately. Instead of a mish mash of elements, of territories being seperated, it was a singular, mighty mountain range. Enormous. Gigantic. Titanic. None of those words could give its sheer size justice. If there were other forms of 'nature' in this realm, Shu was not even remotely high enough to see them. The biome she was within now was practically devoid of color. Grey, as if all life was sucked out of it. No sign of plant life anywhere, except some dried out twigs that glowed in a faint red light. Then she looked up from the ground level and saw smoke. Smoke rising from dozens upon dozens of towering mounds, spewing out the heat of the earth itself. If anything flew through that, they had to be a special Spirit Beast that didn't need to breathe, among a lot of other traits. For now, there was no monster trying to eat her face. So all things considered, at the very least she landed in the right 'spot'. Lucky her, she thought wryly. According to the rumors, a massive Qi spring of some sorts was located here. How did the poem go again?
In the heart of the Earth.
As one looks upon the Heavens.
The Star shall reveal itself.
And grant thee the privilege
To be the Center's Fragment.
Right. She cracked her neck. If Shu was right with her gut instinct when it came to flowery language, it meant that whatever Ming was looking for, it had to be within or on top of one of those many magma spitting mountains. It narrowed down the possible locations the damned traitor was by a large margin. However, it didn't change a simple fact.
Shu arrived later than her. Thus, the distance between them was not only one of distance, but of time. Worst case, Ming already reached her goal and would be impossible to stop at her current level. Fury flared up in her heart when she thought of 'the Center'. If it was remotely true, this rumor, then Ming would definitely beeline for it. Worst case scenario…Ming might jump up to the mythical Spirit Severing Stage. But even if it was just reaching Core Formation, she would leap beyond Shu's reach. Trying to track down Ming, who had this massive headstart on Shu, would be a pipe dream. Would be, if it weren't for the unnatural trail she found. The Qinglong went down on one knee, touching one of the many scars in the ground. No, the cut. Unnatural. Human made. Raising her fingers to smell them, she licked her lips.
The faint smell of blood. She looked around, before her eyes settled on a group of massive vultures. Their eyes looked at her with curiosity as they tilted their heads. They salivated a bit, but not as much as she would expect. Which meant they were fed. Fed with the bodies Ming oh so gracefully provided them. She exhaled, flaring up her Qi for a moment. Figuring she was more trouble than it was worth it, the birds flapped their wings and moved on, to easier targets. Rolling her shoulders, she raised her blindfold, unveiling her eyes to reality.
No broken weapons. Righteous martial artists, un armed. Surrounding Ming upon entering. Light imprints in the rocks, dried salt. Circle formation, sweating nervously. Ming laughing, not moving from her spot. Speed beyond her opponents, cutting them from where she stood, a whirlwind of death. Blood and guts everywhere, before she moved on, leaving the corpses behind, more important matters. Went....
Shu put her blindfold back on. South, huh? Rolling her shoulders she jumped forward, pressing her feet against a slope and dashing off from there like a bouncy ball. Her senses were honed to the limit, intending to not miss a singular detail. She had to use her eyes sparingly, or else the migraine would unnecessarily delay her. Fortunately for her, Ming did not know the meaning of subtlety. She left her mess all over the place, leading to a disgusting trail of carnage. The further she got, the more 'fresh' the trail became. Mere sword carvings gave way to blood. Blood gave way to shattered bones and pieces of flesh. Those in turn created mutilated corpses. Who were they? What were their motivation? Did they chase after Ming like Shu did or were they just victims that were in the way? None of that mattered. All that mattered was the information their carcasses gave her. Which way were they cut? Did the cuts scorch, drown, or simply cleaved through? How far did the guts and blood splatter, in which direction? All those were hints her eyes gathered up, to further complete her mental image of Ming. Of course, it wasn't smooth sailing all the way. With more intact bodies came more hungry beasts seeing opportunity. It was annoying, it was bothersome, it irked Shu to no extent as she violently tore them apart with her hands. It was wasted energy, wasted time. She didn't register what sort of animals were standing in her path.
Bipedal, fur, wings, none of those traits mattered. All that mattered was that they had to die so Shu could move on. She had no idea how many times the pattern repeated itself. Run, stop, fight, analyze, run. Over and over again, her body piled up damage and exhaustion. Every rest she took was an insult to her existence, as it meant the gap widened. At some point despair began to fill her heart. How long was she navigating this volcano mountain range? All looked the damned same. How far did it span? How many bodies did Ming leave in her wake, how many monsters did she have to kill? And yet, just as darkness threatened to engulf her heart, for Shu didn't even get any treasures or insights from this Secret Realm…she saw it. The slight movement just from the corner of her eyes. Her head snapped towards the direction as her ears picked up the faint sound of metal cutting through flesh and air.
Looking annoyed more than anything. Grimacing slightly as she pulled her right blade out of the beast, unsuited for her Blood Path cultivation. Tapping her shoulder with a sigh as she shook her head. Her left hand and left leg holding onto small bulges in the wall she was hanging off from. Right there, on the side of the mountain, that was more vertical than anything. The shape of her teeth, the glowing aura from having gorged on so many victims. The Four Treasures dangling off her body.
Shu was exhausted. That was a fact. She ran and ran and fought and fought, having only taken the most necessary of breaks. But the moment she saw her, from this distance? Shu didn't give a shit. And to be honest? Rage could be one hell of a doping drug.
Her legs bent down, coiling like metal springs to their utmost limit. Qi formed by intent, an imaginary ball floating before her. Gravity bent to her will. Her muscles screamed as they pushed her forward, her scales growing, her teeth sharpening. The hybrid roared, uncaring that it gave her away, for her speed was beyond what regular Qi Condensation cultivators could bring forth. Not to mention that the build up gave her away anyway, as Ming, from miles away, snapped her head at her direction, forehead furrowed in confusion.
Despite the forewarning, Ming barely managed to raise her blades in time in a cross pattern. Shu soared forth like a spear made of Metal, her right foot smashing right into the swords. She grit her teeth as the metal dug into her sole. Yet with the sheer force behind her draconic dive, as well as Ming's decision to defend head on, she snarled a vicious grin as cracks sounded in the air. The traitor's eyes widened as she let go of her weapons just as they shattered from the sheer weight and force from Shu's dive kick. Growling in irritation, Ming raised her hands to form claws while she leaned against the wall, her body seemingly sticking to the rock. Shu smashed her other leg into the wall to get a proper foothold, raising her own claws with her slitted eyes fueled with murderous fury directed at the traitor.
"Do you have to scream every time, you brat?!" Ming scoffed with a taunting grin as she extended her right claw forward just as Shu did with her left, her other hand raised high next to her head. Mirroring each other's stances, Ming tilted her head backwards to look down on her niece. "And my poor blades! They were high quality too!"
Slowly, ever so slowly, Ming approached. Their arms outstretched, it was like two fated soulmates meeting at last. Agonizingly, as if time itself was sluggish, their finger tips, their claw tips, touched each other. Revulsion. Disgust. And yet, they held their position, their limbs connected by their hands as they stared into each other's eyes with fury, with outrage and a burning fire that wanted to reduce the other into ashes.
A tiny pebble loosened itself free. It fell off before bouncing off the wall. That tiny noise, that little motion, was their unspoken signal. It was Shu that moved first.
"Too good for you then!" Shu snarled back and pulled her legs out of the wall. Ming's eyes widened in surprise as Shu fell for just a moment, their hands no longer touching. The pebble stopped its descent and suddenly flew away from the wall. Gravity was rejected. She barely got her right arm in position in time to block the claw Shu threw as an uppercut. It was like Water rising from a geyser after suddenly changing directions in mid air, just like its user. It dug into her flesh, causing the former swordswoman to hiss. Swaying backwards to let her pass, Ming threw out a kick to get rid of Shu, but she merely jumped to the side on the empty air before rising up again. Then, she descended down with a right Wood axe kick way too heavy than it had any right to. The mountain side gave way, Ming's feet grinding down the rock as she slid down. She felt the qi invading her body. For a moment, she was confused, as it didn't seem to do anything. Shu's mistake then, she thought as she absorbed it and was ready to counter attack, to open her arms and forcing Shu away.
Then she lost contact with the wall as gravity pulled her away from it. She grit her teeth, reinforcing the wall itself and strengthening the connection between her and her support. It was a mere moment of a distraction, but it was enough of an opening. Shu spun her body around, using the momentum of her downwards kick to reach Ming's back. A claw hand shot out, fueled with Fire and hit the more stable target right in the spine. Her opponent spat out blood and pain before she let go of her connection to go with the rest of the blow's flow before the hand could penetrate deeper and burn her flesh. She slid down in a diagonal manner, trying to create some room as she pushed her back against the wall. Her eyes widened when Shu didn't allow her to escape, utilizing Gravity and Earth to give chase just as swiftly. maybe even more. The sight made Ming scoff before she raised her left arm, sliding with only her other hand and leg as support.
"Tch, Wuxing? How basic!"
Water gathered in Ming's palm, ready to counter the attack. Yet Shu was counting on that. The Earth created the minerals to make metal. Thus, the Metal Fist caught the Water Palm. The fluids tried to rust her hand, but it didn't matter, for the Metal Qi was meant to contain it in the first place. That left only two limbs of flesh fighting over physical force. Pushing against each other, they both roared. But then, Shu suddenly shifted directions once more. Ming almost stumbled forward before her head cracked the wall as a side kick of Water crashed into it like a whip.
Shu burned through her resources quickly. The Gravity Reversing Stomp and the Five Elemental Wheel technique, to increase her agility and the force behind her hits with each move. Yet it was necessary in order to win. What use was conserving her energy in this moment, if this was the best chance she was going to get?
Different cultivation level or not, Body Purification made a big difference between mere Qi Condensation and those that excelled. With Shu on the offensive like this, as well as the superior maneuverability, one could say their speeds were equal as Ming was pushed back on the backfoot. She had to finish this before Ming could recover. At least part of Shu rationalized it that way, to explain why she hit her from above, from behind, left and right, never staying in one place. A minor part wondered why she didn't just go all out, but she dismissed it.
After all, punishment must be given out. Shu was breathing heavily, gasping for air, but she didn't let up, feeling grim satisfaction at the blood spilling out, if only ever so slightly, as her Qi invaded the Foundation Establishment body. Ming roared, almost in a panic, unleashing a blast of energy from her body. Then she leapt towards a small platform, serving as an entrance to a cave of some sorts. Not on her watch.
"重力!"
Space and time distorted in a stream of destruction. The platform was destroyed and Ming was sent tumbling. She barely managed to dig her fingers into the wall, but then Shu was already back on her again.
A spinning right elbow. Ducking under a wild swing. Headbutt from below against chin. Zigzagging against a retaliation blade hand of metal. Kick against the supporting hand with her heel. Back away from sudden downpour of water, circle around, then throw several jabs, finished with a kick against her knee. Each time Shu attacked, she immediately backed away to avoid retaliation. A dance, of back and forth, between success of Shu and failure of Ming.
In three dimensional combat like this, Shu with her Gravity Reversing Stomp reigned supreme. Not limited to the wall as a way to have a steady hold, she was akin to a dragonfly. She whirred around Ming as she repeatedly attacked her from all sorts of angles, usually impossible in such a combat scenario, unbothered by the Lawless Winds. She roared as the cycle in her body picked up even more speed. Fire burst forward, fueled by the elements from before it, increasing velocity as she aimed for Ming's head with a burning knuckle. Her body screamed for rest. Her mind yearned for peace, as her dantian, her meridians, were straining from the effort to keep the Cycle running. Yet Shu ignored it, wishing for more power, for more blows to hit Ming, for her to be tortured even more!
Suddenly a small smirk appeared, despite the battering she was receiving.
"Your movements are so dull."
Shu reigned supreme in three dimensional combat…in Qi Condensation level at least. Ming tilted her head ever so slightly. Then, as the punch landed on solid rock and through it, she grabbed Shu's face with one hand. Bone began to creak underneath her grasp. The younger Qinglong screamed in agony as her skull was being squeezed like that. She threw out kicks and punches, aiming for the vitals she could reach, trying to keep the circle up. But Ming casually parried them with her free hand. It was as if all the damage and hits she landed before was just her aunt humoring her.
"I have to admit, you are fast." Ming shrugged nonchalantly, licking the blood off her lips. "But your attacks are so disgustingly straightforward…I almost enjoyed this before I realized this was it. So boring in the end."
Her smile turned more vicious as her grip intensified.
"You're running out. Playtime is over, child."
Thus, Shu's head was violently shaken. At rapid speeds, her brain bounced around in her skull. Her hold on her techniques broke down almost immediately as the world became a mere blur to her. The next moment, she was thrown away like a piece of garbage. Only the last willpower she had left caused her hand to reach out and barely grab onto a ledge. Blood flowed out of every hole of her face, nose, eyes, mouth and ears as she breathed heavily, half conscious at best. She weakly looked up, only to see Ming dusting her hands off. Disbelief filled her heart. No way. After all those blows, Ming had to be more hurt. Had to have spilled more blood than that. And yet, she seemed barely bruised. Her noise bloodied akin to a child having stumbled and fallen on the ground at best.
"I told you. I am the Chosen One. And you…are a mere fool." Ming huffed, shaking her head. "Honestly, if you really wanted me dead, you would've at least gotten reinforcements or more treasures. This is almost insulting, to call this your best revenge act.
She snapped her fingers in demonstration. The Four Treasures transformed into their Beast forms immediately, surrounding Shu in an instance. Something cracked in Shu's mind. The notion of help, the notion of having done escaped her completely. All she saw was a last light in the darkness. Her last shot. This was her only chance. One last attack before they piled onto her like pack animals. She threw her right arm up, aiming at Ming. She put every last bit of energy she had left into this, her form shifting as far as it could towards the Azure Dragon. At this point she had more than enough practice to create the wonder of Heaven in a heartbeat.
"Thunderbolt Fantasy!"
Blue lightning shot out, aiming straight for Ming's center. Yet in that moment, that mere flick of a wrist, Ming already moved herself. Her grin threatened to split her face as she mirrored Shu's movement, way faster than she could. What the legionnaire saw almost broke her mind.
"True Crashing Lightning."
She could barely see the yellow light before it hit her. She felt nothing. No pain. No burning. She barely recognized that her body was twitching, as something shifted in her heart, that her hand let go of the ledge, her last lifeline. How much time passed as she slowly fell down? Hours? Years? Millenia? Either way…eventually…her brain managed to catch up with reality.
And the full force of agony hit her, as well as realization.
She was struck with True Tribulation Lightning. An art meant for those that ascended far beyond Foundation Establishment, unless they had the support of the world. And Ming, being Blood Path, surely didn't have Heaven's Favor. And yet…the yellow light…it couldn't be!
"I'd say it has been fun, but it really hasn't, ignorant niece of mine!"
The beasts followed by Ming's lead rushed down at her. Shu couldn't move anything. And yet, despite being a Golden Devil, fortune at least smiled down at her once. After all…A Life Saving Treasure was useless if it couldn't be used in such a moment. Ming's eyes barely managed to widen at the sight of a fan floating out of Shu's clothes, as if controlled by an invisible force. Then, a gust of wind smashed against her and the treasures, sending her flying far beyond the horizon. The fan broke after having done its deed.
Saved from the attack, Shu's limb body crashed down on the ground violently, only her natural defenses of the Dragonfish Scales prevented any more damage than what was already inflicted. She survived…and yet, at what cost? Her chest barely moved, a beggar's amount of air entering her lungs. Face down, her eyes were half lidded, barely no strength to keep them open, strength that was fleeting ever so quickly with each second. She felt the spasms in her body, the foreign energy invading her body, her soul, that cursed yellow light and energy creeping around like centipedes in the earth. And yet, Shu could do nothing, nothing but try to talk to herself in her head.
She had to stay awake. As yellow, blinding yellow creeped into her sight, more and more, she repeated that sentence in her head over and over again. She couldn't lose. Mustn't lose. Ming didn't pay for her sins yet. Her fingers twitched as Shu tried to crawl, to pull herself forward, but lacking the strength to do so. Her eyes became more and more dull. She had to…make Ming suffer…more… She had to…had to…
…become…King…?
….be…come…Their…servant? Who was…their…?
…who was she…?
…
…
…
"A fine mess you got us into, Shu. Hah…"
Shu, the remnants of her, couldn't place why the young voice sounded so familiar.
In this deep yellow, of Their radiance, there was a single shadow.
She couldn't make out the details of the small shape in front of her.
But she knew…her? That thing? But it was just an invader to Their glory and yet…
"...Who… ?"
"Kinda obvious, don't you think? Ah, forget it. Let's focus. We're already losing it…"
The shadow sighed before a wry chuckle escaped her.
"Well, upside, we get to clean up in here a little early. Multitasking, ho!"
"…what…?"
"The infection. Now shut up and let's go on a trip. Remember who we are."
The shadow grinned sharp teeth, almost dragon like as its darkness spread out against the yellow.
"Remember who the King is in here."
///
Huanglong Ming was displeased to say the least. Silver lining, she was shot towards the direction she wanted to be. On the other hand, she passed by her intended location by at least a couple of miles, so walking all the way back there was not exactly a casual walk. Especially with having no swords anymore. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she finally, finally found the right volcano. Took more years than she wanted to, having to deal with so many more beasts and other cultivators than she would have liked. If it weren't for the damned brat…Ming felt a faint sensation of pain, of the times Shu managed to hit her. Her clothes were more tatters than intact by now and the bruises remained, as she long ran out of medicine and blood bags to heal with. It was nothing major, but every bit mattered for the trials she was surely to face now. Body Purification truly was heavy in a way. It was certainly an annoying distraction. At least now she was dead. With all the beasts running around, on top of those injuries, Ming was at last, the final one. Anticlimactic, boring even, but at least the annoyance was done with. Now, the Chosen of God, the future True Avatar of the Center, was free of the shackles of her past at last. She expected to feel more elevated…then again, it was just a taste. A snack of true freedom. She looked up at the tallest of caldera. A perfect circle, unnatural in nature, yet natural. Like a massive cup of power and heat made by the heavens themselves. Surprisingly enough, it was surrounded by a massive natural ring of water, steaming and bubbling. Smirking to herself, she walked forwards, uncaring for the scorching fluids that could even burn someone on her level. After all…she was the Chosen One. Just as she thought that, a platform rose from the lake of destruction, like a carpet rolled out for a king. The entrance opened up into the caldera.Information that flooded into her mind. Her mouth twitched but it turned into an easy smile again. Really? Trials? Wasn't she already worthy, a perfect vessel? Oh well, she couldn't fault God for being through. It was gonna be Their body after all. What were five trials in exchange of reaching the Center? Cracking her neck, she stepped inside with a wild grin, her fingers cracking in anticipation.
The world warped around her, as the might of the mountain, of the volcano, twisted reality and material. Blinking away the spots in her eye, she looked up…and up. She whistled impressed before crouching forward, her body tense. Then the first vine snapped forward out of thousands. Like a Boddhisvitta of destruction, the titanic bloodstained tree began to attack viciously, creating a storm of thorns. Ming laughed maniacally. What an excellent meal! Not caring for preserving her strength, she let her yellow soul flare up, her pillars roaring to life to turn that oversized weed into a nice tasty salad, with the help of the Four Beasts she summoned without hesitation.
///
Qinglong Ming was born in one of many branches of the Qinglong Clan. Suffice to say, her circumstances were…average, for a cultivator. No tragedy that struck her parents or anything like that. An only child who got great care and love from her mother and father. When the world was bright and beautiful, so colorful. She paid great attention to their lessons. Of the purpose of the clans.
"We gather knowledge and power, to give to the Center."
Her youthful mind didn't quite understand what it meant. But what she knew was, that she had to excel. After all, if she did good, then everyone else would do good. A childish, pure line of thought. Even romantic in a way. With such young determination, Ming would throw herself at training, in order to claim even a spark of the glory she had heard of in stories.
Stories of the Four Deaths, the legendary figures that protected their lands from the foreign invaders. Of swordmasters that could cut down mountains, of beast tamers that raised armies. Picking up a sword herself, she was determined to become great. Some other children mocked her, for having a thin bloodline, for having average talent at best, but she ignored them. Hard work would prevail after all! Thus, every morning, with a hearty laugh and will, she swung her wooden weapon over and over, to instill power and talent into her body through sheer effort.
Such peaceful days. The yard was her paradise, her safe haven as she improved her skills slowly and surely. With cultivation aids, she would rise quickly through Qi Condensation, soon reaching even the Second Heavenstage at the young age of twenty four! Despite her advanced age, she never lost any of her luster. One day, as her father observed as she struck a boulder repeatedly, Ming decided to do something different. A sudden blast and her father blinked owlishly at the shattered remains. Wincing, the young woman shook her hand before flashing a grin with a thumb.
"Secret Technique! Whaddya think?"
"That was amazing!" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But unexpected."
Puffing out her chest, Ming put her knuckles against her fists, nodding to herself a few times.
"Hehe! That's why it's my hidden killer move!" She made a dramatic pose before punching the air a few times. "Every great hero needs one, bam bam!"
For some reason, her father's smile wavered. Then he knelt down and ruffled her hair.
"Just temper your expectations a bit, Ming. Fly too high and you might crash down."
Ming merely tilted her head, almost like an owl, blinking a bit. Then she giggled and waved his concerns off.
"It'll be fine, daddy~! I'll crush that tournament with ease in ten years! Easy peasy!"
Of course…every dream had to end. Those who would step out into the world would be faced with the harsh reality eventually.
"So innocent…how…"
"It's called being human."
"She's a monster."
"You think she was born that way? Pah. Besides, we're also monsters, we we got no room to talk."
"Wha-"
"Moving on. We are barely ten percent through here."
///
Well. That was…surprising. And unpleasant to say the least. To have her mind split between past and present like that. It certainly made things a bit trickier than they had to be. She spat out blood to the side before ramming her fingers into the wooden carcass. At least she could heal up a bit from this, but she exerted more than she would get back. She frowned deeply. Ming wondered what the point was of seeing her own past. In the end she shrugged it off. Just one more part of the trials perhaps. Maybe a way to 'truly see one's taint' before getting rid of it? Exhaling a bit, she cracked her neck before moving forward, onto the next stage, leaving behind the torn up area that the tree resided in. She kicked the stony gate open, only to be suddenly grabbed by vertigo, gravity itself pulling her. It brought worth bad memories, from that damned brat with her stupid gravity manipulation!
As she was dragged and thrown like a ragdoll, she landed on her knees. She hissed, as her skin was sweating profusely, trying to protect her body from the scorching heat she was within. Looking around, she saw she was surrounded by the molten eart. Hah. Fire Trial, huh? Just as she thought that, something bubbled in the lava. She raised her arms at the same time when it emerged. She blinked before scoffing as that thing roared at her.
An oversized lizard? Really? The tree was more terrifying than this! With that mocking thought in mind, she jumped forward at the four legged beast, looking forward to a nice steak.
///
The tournament was in full blast and Ming was having the time of her life. So many different clans gathered, from the mountains, from the plains, from the desert even. The prizes were great, but what Ming truly interested were her opponents, her peers. At the sixth Heavenstage, she truly was far beyond most of her competition. Her blade, forged by the bones of a powerful alpha wolf, cut through her opposition swiftly. And yet, she remained humble, in a good mood. She thanked her defeated opponents for advancing her understanding, even sharing tricks and tips. In that event, Ming felt she was truly living up to the Four Beast Clan Alliance's ideal. Growing with each match, in mind and in cultivation.
And then, her final opponent in the tournament would step in front of her. A young woman, just like her, with long red hair that seemed to glow almost. A Body cultivator from what she had seen, she used no orthodox martial arts at all. Matter of fact, that demonic cultivator almost seemed too wild to have any sort of martial arts. Watching her matches, her wild swings, it was like a beast trying to hold back. Well, she was going to crack that shell open and see what was behind that stoic expression!
"Next up! Qinglong Ming against Yu Yun! We all know those contestants, so I will skip the foreplay! Will the Azure Blade cut down her opponent's dreams once more?! Or will the Demon of the Green Dragon smash down all that stands in her path?!"
Drawing her blade, Ming laughed lightly before grasping its handle in both of her hands.
"Hm hm, this hero shall take down the demon! Have at thee!"
Without further ado, she rushed forward. The only reaction she received was a raised eyebrow. Swiftly, her blade cut through the air like a dancing whip, the cuts seemingly never separated. Yun tried to parry as best as she could, but she had no chance against such a mighty flurry of attacks! Transitioning to stabs, she forced Yun into the backfoot. For some reason, her opponent sighed before cracking her neck, her eyes glowing. Then she exploded into fire as her skin turned scarlet as well. Ming let out a squawk at the sudden flames. Then she laughed, excited at the challenge. She pointed forwards with her blade before exhaling and covering her sword with Water Qi. It wasn't her best element, but a true Four Beast Clan Alliance cultivator knew how to use any element!
"What scorching heat! But alas, my blade has no need to be reforged just yet!"
The swings, added with fire, were mighty. But brawling was brawling. Against the precise arts that Ming used, she slowly but surely penetrated the inferno storm over and over again. After an eternity of combat, Ming breathed heavily. But she enjoyed the sight of the flames weakening, as blood trickled down from her opponent's skin.
"I shall grant you a chance to surrender, mighty demon!"
Still with a blank look, Yun stared at her. Ming gulped unconsciously, starting to feel strange. Btu she shook it off, putting back her grin and tapping her shoulder with her sword.
"Nothing? Pity, a silent opponent! Very well, I'll just have to-"
Ming's spine shivered. A screeching, rusty nail cut through her mind, causing great agony. It was more than enough warning for her to raise her blade over her head, supporting the back of it with her left hand. Then the blur occured and Ming lost all sensation in her right arm as she was forced to her knees.
The world became faint around her, the colors dulling just a bit. She could barely process what just happened, as she stared at her broken treasure, her mighty weapon, shattered in tiny, molten pieces.
….What…?
A weary sigh sounded in the silent arena. Ming weakly looked up, in disbelief, staring at the steaming, crimson figure that slowly put her foot back on the ground.
"I knew this tournament was takin' a piss on my time…rep and what not, but honestly…"
Yun was mostly talking to herself. But then, she glanced at Ming, with utter contempt. The prey within her urged her to retreat, and like a bullied child, she scrambled backwards, to gain any sort of distance. That only intensified the disgust in Yun's eyes before she spread her legs a bit as well as her hands forming claws. It was followed up with a mighty roar and a nightmare manifested in reality.
A transformation cursed by hell itself. It was perfect. Her body and qi were utterly pure in its demonic glory. Skin ripped open, to allow the blackened bone to cover her body. It was meant to be an armor, but it looked more like her skin melted off. In the end, a flaming skull stared right at Ming.
"Y'wanna know why I didn't respond to any of ya shit lines?" The monster's distorted voice echoed in the area before it pointed at her. Ming hyperventilated, utterly pale. She rose to her feet, unable to take it anymore. Thus, she made a fatal mistake as a cultivator.
She turned her back on a predator.
"It's because ya weak 'n borin' as fuck."
Ming bent in an instance, her spine giving in to the foot embedded into it. She couldn't even scream in agony as she was shot into a wall, face first. Her breath was taken away, her body became limb as if the strings were cut. But the worst wasn't her being crippled. It wasn't being faced with such a monster.
They were two little words that utterly broke the girl that was Qinglong Ming.
"Talentless fuck…"
That day, Qinglong Ming was crippled…in body…and in spirit. In that moment, the world lost all its color.
"How sad…"
"Stop feeling pity for the enemy."
"Why is she your enemy?!"
"Got some spunk back, huh? Well, cause we decided she was, duh."
"And that makes it alright?!"
"Of course. After all…it's our decision."
"Who is we?!"
"We is we, dumbass. Now stop being a brat, you're slipping."
///
Drinking the blood like a nice cool cocktail, Ming's eyebrow twitched profusely. The movement made her burns hurt even more, but she didn't care at the moment. Right. That bitch. Wasn't she the head of her clan now? Well, first thing she'd do after ascending, break her spine for some good ol' karmic retribution. It'd be easy enough. What level was she now? Core? A simple matter for a true Avatar of God. Swallowing the last bit of her meal, she winced as she rolled her shoulders. Alright, she wasted enough time with that damned lizard. With that in mind, she climbed up the stairs to the next level.
Suffice to say, it was rather cliche. A golem like construct? Really? At least it was three at once, Earth, Metal and Water. It meant she could speed this up!
///
So grey. As she recovered her injuries, as she healed up her cultivation, the world still remained so colorless. And how could it not be? Ming was faced with the truth. Effort was meaningless at the face of such monstrous talent. Hard work didn't matter if she was a mere speck in the dust. A hero? What a fucking joke. Time passed by like the swift wind. Nobody could truly understand her plight. They were satisfied that she was alive, that she did her duties. For the clan. For the center.
She did it because what else would she do? It was a meaningless task. What she would offer…was nothing. Thus, she stood alone in a world without color, without anyone caring. And why should they? She was just Qinglong Ming. The former fool, now the utterly average cultivator. Even reaching Foundation Establishment didn't elate her. It was reached in a time span that was to be expected. Expected of one face of billions. Her passion was a thing of the past. And nobody would even try to bring back the color in her life.
"Why isn't-"
"Anyone helping? Why should they? She never asked for it."
"But she-"
"Stop getting distracted by meaningless things."
One of those aimless days, Ming saw her. The heir of the Qinglong. Of the main branch. She heard rumors, of the little girl having almost killed someone. As expected of someone blessed. She remembered when she first laid eyes on her. It was an exhibition match, with Ming in the middle of it. She did what was asked of her, to show off a little. No heroic lines though. No grandstanding. Just simple basics to show, that one could find in one of many books. It was a coincidence that she looked at Qinglong Shu.
In that moment, she saw the little girl's eyes. And perhaps for the first time in forever, her heart beat just a little faster. Eyes that young shouldn't be capable to be so open. Not with wonder or joy…but complete and utter, emotionless focus. It was like a beast staring at a juicy piece of meat. Of a scribe spending their life to analyze ancient texts. For a singular instance, Ming saw azure color. Just like when the crimson demon destroyed her.
Ming looked away, dismissing it. It had to be a trick of her eyes. The desperate yearning left in her soul, for something exciting to happen. For her life to have proper meaning. After all…
a child couldn't have such eyes.
It was too unnatural to exist.
"...Did she really see me like this…?"
"Anyone would. We're special like that."
"But…it's like I'm…a monster…"
"And what's wrong with that?"
"...Why didn't I see her suffering?"
"Because it didn't matter. What mattered were her skills."
"..."
Time flowed, meaningless, until at last, she had her revelation. The realization that she too, was Chosen. No, more Chosen than that crimson bitch. Her only mistake was her method of cultivation. Hard work was meaningless indeed. If she wanted power…she needed to take it. It was a simple realization, after escaping the clans. There was a simple way, a crime of the heavens, to ascend, to become worthy as quick as possible.
She remembered the first time she partook of blood for cultivation's sake. It was a pathetic sight. A random cultivator, Qi Condensation, was easy prey. But the shame of her actions. How she was disgusted by the taste. How she cried and puked, as if what she did was a crime. Fortunately, she pushed through. Pushed through and got used to the taste, focusing on the energy, the power, the sheer color it showed her. Ah, she wasted so much time…if only she knew beforehand…of the blessings of the Blood Path! She was truly reforging her pathetic, meaningless self with the flesh of her prey!
"How could anyone do this?!"
"Power makes the world move. We know that."
"You do but I-"
"No you. No I. Only we. Almost there, idiot. Last one and then most of it should be purified."
"I can't keep watching this-"
"Don't you dare look away. This is our Dao. This is who we are. This is who we yearned to kill so much."
Huanglong Ming could not be stopped anymore. She was like a flood that descended from the mountains. It didn't matter who or what. They were all cut down and farmed, for their blood, for their power. Soon enough, she gathered followers. Some forced, some willing. Delegation was a wondrous thing. Efficiency rose and Ming started to enjoy the colors of the world once more. Entertaining herself with how to increase the taste of her victims. She found out that true despair was quite the seasoning. To break everything around them before breaking them…it truly intensified the feelings of the food. To make the most out of it for her cultivation. So she became quite good at it. To research, to find loved ones, to cripple and torture them, before finally killing the goose she was feeding. And yet, for all the speed the Blood Path offered her…it wasn't remotely enough. Not good enough, not fast enough. Even the Four Treasures didn't give her enough insight, enough speed in killing high priority targets. Fortunately, God chose her and granted her a blessing, a prophecy. To truly become the vessel of Their greatness. Ming licked her lips.
Yuan, huh?
"Aaaand there we go. That's the last bit. Mostly. Lil' snack for me, yum yum."
"...Why aren't you bothered by this?"
"Cause we knew all along. We aren't facing some monster that was born from hell."
"...If I had reached out…if anyone tried…she wouldn't have…"
"What ifs, what ifs. It's too late now. The paths we are on cannot be escaped now."
The shadow smirked in the darkness, devoid of the yellow radiance.
"What matters is finishing it. After all…we Understand her now."
A childish laugh escaped it as it pushed Shu off, into the abyss of reality.
"We have no use for her anymore~!"
///
When was the last time Ming was ever so exhausted? Bleeding so much, bruising so much? It was a rhetorical question, as she was forced to go through her memories. Suffice to say, she clutched her right arm as she stumbled to the top of the caldera, taking in the fresh air amongst the smog. The Four Beasts obediently followed her as she stood there, just resting for just a moment. But Ming then refocused with a laugh. She could rest later. Not now, when she was right before Them. She looked up. Tears glistened in her eyes as she nodded slowly, almost choking on the elated emotions in her heart.
With the volcano spewing ashes and heat into the air, the sight Ming saw was meant to be impossible. However, that only proved that she finally made it. An innocent, almost childish giggle escaped her. The faint ringing bells sounded like a celebration. Were they real? Well, they were real enough to her. She looked up at the night sky. No, at the hole that was carved into reality, into the Heavens themselves.
At last, she has reached it. The gateway. The grand stage. She could feel it, the moment she stepped onto the ledge of this massive volcano. Her body was straining under the exhaustion she put herself through. The wounds and injuries burned. And yet, in that moment, Ming knew that her body finally became what she worked for so hard.
A True Temple of the Yellow Dragon. The Perfect Vessel. The fact that the sky split, that the stars parted, were proof enough that it was time. That she was ready. She spread her arms open with a blissful expression, barely making out the faintest of shadows, the dullest of yellow. The fact she barely perceived Their greatness meant she reached the bare minimum required. That was all she wanted, right here, right now.
The place where she could intake God in full and in truth. A title becoming reality. A name becoming embedded in the stars itself. At last…Huanglong Ming would be reborn! She would become-
"King."
The emotionless voice sounded right behind her. Ming's head snapped behind her, eyes wide. Her mouth slowly opened, gaping, at the impossible sight.
She was bloodied. Her robes barely tatters that clung to her body. Her hands were stuck in her pockets. And yet…there she was. Breathing. Staring blankly at Ming with half lidded eyes, her blindfold acting as a bandana around her forehead. Those damned draconic eyes, glowing with blue light. They felt familiar. A creeping feeling grew in her heart that she didn't notice just yet.
"Honestly? There has to be a limit to self hype. Bad enough when I was actually hearing it."
Qinglong Shu sounded tired. Even burned out. Something about the way she was lacking her usual anger, her usual hatred…Ming unconsciously took a step back. The still figure of Shu…just staring at her with no vitriol in her voice…the jarring difference in attitude was…
Wrath bubbled up, dismissing that thought, instead giving way to outrage as Ming pointed at Shu as the Four Beasts surrounded her on this apex of a mountain.
"How are you alive?! How did you find this place?!"
"Doesn't matter, I'm here now." Shu shrugged, too nonchalantly given everything. "And you left quite the trail. Even more obvious than before." She closed her eyes before opening them again. "You really want this."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A…resigned statement? As if she knew Ming, predicted this? How dare she act so uppity?! Growling, the Avatar grit her teeth, wracking her brain at this illogical event, repeating the events that happened years ago.
She saw how her lightning was redirected ever so slightly, towards Shu's heart. A hidden treasure of some sorts? Pah, it didn't mattered. What mattered was that this blight, this infection, was in her way once more! Her body tensed, knowing she couldn't afford to be distracted whatsoever for this, ready to defend her life goal, her right for the last time. She expected many moves on Shu's part.
Merely standing there with a blank expression and twirling her hand that she pulled out at Ming was not one of them.
"Go ahead. Let's get this over with."
Ming blinked slowly. Repeated the words in her head. She waited, for a surprise attack, for anything. And yet…nothing happened. Qinglong Shu was actually going to let this happen? What was she playing at-
"You're going to fail anyway."
Veins pulsated on her skin, her face turning red as steam escaped her mouth, her qi heating up in response to her emotions.
"Haaaaaaaahhh??!!"
Despite her own exhaustion, her aura cracked the very ground around her. And yet…that damned brat remained calm. Utterly unfazed. Ming wanted to tear that stoic face off that girl... but she took a deep breath. If this idiot really wanted to stand around and do nothing…who was she to judge?!
"Fail, huh?! We'll see about that!"
With that, she turned her back at the stupid girl and spread her arms open.
"This humble temple is ready for your descent, o God!"
The very stars, already separated, began to move. In a circle, they moved slowly at first. Then faster, ever so faster. Moving stars became a vortex of light, aimed straight at Ming. She laughed maniacally as she saw the slightest shadow. The very faint outline of the being that brought color back into her life.
The Yellow Dragon's shadow was there and was slowly descending! The light of the stars, the heavens themselves, poured their energy into Ming. She screamed her throat out, laughing and laughing at the rush of energy. It filled her body, straining her flesh/ She felt like she was about to explode, as she was pushed to her utter limits and beyond. She laughed out blood, remembering the fool behind her. She heard some movement, but she ignored it, focusing on taking in the energy into every crevice of her blood and bones. It was too late! Wasting time to wait out of all things she could've done! Well, that was yet another mistake on her foolish niece's part! Shu was muttering something, but it was irrelevant, as the Shadow came ever so closer! She was this close to become the Avatar, she could taste it!
Ming grinned as she felt her energy surge, breaking through and ascending her-
"...ree…two, one…done."
At least that was what was supposed to happen. The moment Shu uttered her last word, things suddenly changed. The shadow, the hint of the Yellow Dragon, moved for the first time…away from her. For a singular instance, Ming could've sworn she saw a slight open eye of disdain. Instead of the full might of the heavens blessing her…a searing pain overpowered all previous sensation, as if a trickle of water was washed away by a flood. It was not agony from tribulation. Not burning from ascension. No, Ming was all too familiar with this feeling.
It was the pain of failure. She crashed down on the ground, clawing at her chest as millions of needles tore up her insides. She screamed and screamed, in horror, in agony. Her vision was blurring, was getting faint, but she had enough desperation, enough willpower to look up at the sky. At the sight, she froze.
Everything was gone. The gate between heaven and earth. The stars. The Shadow, her right. All that was left was an ashen cloud that covered all. The…the connection was gone. The ritual was finished…and Ming received nothing but a battered cultivation base for it.
"It finally triggered, huh?"
A voice from the material realm. It brought Ming out of the depths of despair and back into reality, as her head snapped towards the culprit, the sinner, the cause, with such swiftiness her neck almost broke even at her cultivation level. Slowly, ever so slowly, she rose to her feet, her building fury overpowering the almost crippling pain she was feeling.
"What triggered?!" She hissed out, teeth grinding into each other as she leaned forward with her hands forming claws. Shu was unphased by such unyielding hatred and anger. Instead of stepping back or shuddering in fear, she calmly pointed at her aunt with the same damned emotionless expression.
"My poison."
Ming froze at the two words. What? Shu continued on, unheeding of her utter incomprehension.
"It took ages to get it right. To be honest I had doubts it would even work on you." She looked up, still with that damned emotionless state. "I envy those poison masters. If they have to do this every time, I'm glad I'm not one."
"When did you possibly poison me?! I didn't see any poison!" Ming shouted. There was never any poison used on her! Not on her limbs, or her fingers! She would've recognized it miles away! And yet, Shu still spoke, countering her words with ease once again.
"I mixed it inside you." Pushing on through Ming's silence and disbelief, she let her Qi glow at her finger tips. "Bit by bit, I injected my Qi into you. I'm glad you didn't notice. After all, on their own, they wouldn't do anything. The trigger was you exerting yourself far beyond your limits. I was counting on pushing you to that level myself but I'm not going to curse the Heavens for blessing me with such a chance."
Ignoring the impossibility, the sheer insanity behind that explanation. Ming's eye twitched, as she fully processed what happened. It was Shu's fault. Her fault she missed the once in a life time opportunity. Her fault that God rejected her in this moment of weakness, of imperfection.
That damned brat. That damned brat. Thatbratthatbratthatbratthatbratthatbratthatbrat
THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!
The volcano erupted next to them, spewing magma into the air. In that moment, Ming's very own anger exploded. Not into savage mindless rampage. But the madness and rage looped back right into sanity. Laughing, laughter filled with wrath she leaned forward, like a hungry beast, looking for the food called satisfaction.
"Yes. I am injured now because of your fucking stunt. Yes, I lost the blessings of God for now…" Grinning wildly, she pointed at Shu."But I'm not the only one that took a bad hit, am I now?! Nothing has changed!"
Injuries. Losing her the progress on her Yellow Dragon Constitution. She could always begin anew. It was infuriating, but it was a simple fact. But Shu sustained severe burns as well. Holes in her body that dripped with blood. They both knew the state of the other.
Sweat dripped down Ming's skin. So why…why…?!
"Give me back the treasures."
Why was that fucker still so calm?! Did she go insane?! Was that it?! To ask that asinine question?! Ming bit out a laugh, for how could this be anything but a comedy?
"You really think asking would work?" She cut the air with her hand, creating a windblast. The Four Beasts tensed up, snarling and ready to cut down their enemy. "My answer remains, is and will always be no!"
Muscles bulged. Talons, claws, teeth were brandished. They were about to blur into motion…when Shu spoke up once more in that cursed blank voice.
"Conditions set. Rejection received. Demand Succession Ritual By Combat."
The Four Treasures froze all of a sudden. Ming's eyes widened. She tugged at the connection, demanding Shu's corpse over and over again… and yet they didn't respond. Instead, they jumped away from the two of them. Landing on the edges of the caldera, in the four Cardinal directions, they sat down, energy bursting forth from them. To Ming's shock, a barrier suddenly expanded from their bodies, spreading around the entirety of the volcano. She looked around with wide eyes over and over, before they landed on Shu.
"What did you do?!"
"Figures someone like you didn't know," Shu explained calmly. "In case the Four Beast Alliance had issues…this is one way to make it clear who would become the true heir."
So she was stuck here now. With one more card up her sleeve taken. This damned thief…how much was Shu going to steal from her? How many insults must she commit on Ming's existence?!
"Chasing after me like a dog chasing a cart. Why? What pushes you to such asinine levels?" Ming asked quietly, her eyes glowing with rage. "Is it for revenge? Is it for grief? Or for love? What meaningless emotion urges you on, what fantasy pushes you to such levels?! What deludes you so hard, what make you court death so much, why are you doing this?! Why, why, why, why do you persist, oh niece of mine?!"
Ming breathed heavily as her volume rose and rose, reaching nearly hysterical levels. She felt her blood boil when Shu, once more, always, again and again, showed no emotions whatsoever.
"You are no Huanglong," Shu stated, as if it was a fact of reality. Before Ming could bristle up however, Shu reached for the tattered robe barely clinging to her shoulder. "But you know what? You can keep your delusional nickname. But know this, that it won't change any of the facts. You are a Qinglong. And that means, we have to fight until one of us dies."
"And who are you to say that?" Ming asked, eyes narrowed.
Shu threw away her robes. At that moment, Ming saw it on her naked upper body, barely having any modesty with the black shirt, only connected around her neck. The Qinglong tattoo, meant for the heir of the clan. With the Dragonfish Scales, they glimmered with the light of the lava next to them. With her back revealed, Shu leaned forward, right shoulder first, eyes narrowed themselves for the first time as she entered her Hybrid Mode.
"There is not enough room for two Qinglong heirs.. This is the way it has to be."
She dared call her a Qinglong?! Her, the Chosen One?! A deep breath. In and out. Ah, Ming truly reached new heights of rage. She tilted her head ever so slightly.
"So is that your answer? You chase after me because it is fate?"
"It is the fate I have chosen. It is my duty I have on my shoulders."
"Foolishness. Foolishness!" Ming gestured at herself, pushing her hands against her chest. "Look at me! Think about who is truly worthy! Who is the chosen one deserving of possessing the treasures, the only connection to God?!" She pointed forward with her right hand. "Shu, the unworthy cannot even be allowed to touch them!"
With one swift motion, she tore off her own robes. On her back was a tattoo as well. Unlike the inferior azure lizard however, hers showed off true majesty, of golden yellow light. Then, she mirrored Shu's stance and leaned forward, left shoulder first.
Qinglong Shu. Last Head of the Qinglong Clan.
Qinglong Ming. The Great Traitor of the Qinglong Clan.
Overseeing the world of the Secret Realm. Smog and heat around them on the caldera. The stage was set. The finale would proceed. Ming roared and they both rushed forward, smashing their shoulders into each other. The dragons on their backs seemingly came alive, trying to bite and claw at the other as their owners struggled to push the other. With one final push, they seperated. Ming regained her balance and rushed forward first, throwing out jabs with her hand claw. She grinned as she pushed forward and forward, forcing Shu on the backfoot. As her mind worked faster than Shu's, she took her time with aiming. She gave the girl credit, for parrying as well as she did, but it wasn't enough, even with similar parameters! Jugular, solar plexus, kidney, over and over she aimed for vitals that Shu barely protected by shifting her body. Yet the glancing blows drew blood. Ming's grin widened as she saw the edge and with a mighty forward kick she intended to knock that girl off the damn caldera.
Suddenly, Shu disappeared from view. Ming could only blink before she felt the world lurch around her. Shu, having swayed back, moved her leg forward and hooked her arm around Ming's other leg, before pulling. Flipping the traitor in the air, she landed on her back. Shu jumped onto her stomach and began smashing her fist down. Ming took some, cracking some of her bones before she roared and shot her hip up, throwing Shu off of her. Jumping to her feet, she turned around only to cross her arms, blocking a strong backhand. Skidding over the ground, Ming growled before tilting her head at the unfamiliar stance.
Shu exhaled, holding her left arm in front of her, elbow bent as if it was holding a shield. The other arm was straight like a spear, next to her head. Before Ming could question it, the girl leapt forward, as if japping her nonexistent weapon at her. With reach far beyond that was possible, Ming was pushed back. She grabbed onto the 'staff', only for the 'shield' to smash against her chin. She leapt backwards before the spearhand could penetrate her stomach. Instead of landing however, her feet only met air. Reacting quickly, she threw her arms out. Holding onto the ledge, she was stiff as a plank, hissing in annoyance. Then her legs forcefully smashed against the wall, as gravity increased on them. She bit back a scream before swinging herself sideways, just as Shu threw her spear down on her hands. Back at the top, Shu abandoned her Bronze Style and threw her arms forwards like whips, as swords, as hammers, as anything. At the same time, Ming could feel the escalating qi within Shu and almost gaped before she refocused on defense from the barrage of elements directed at her.
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. Not just a cycle, but jumping across the cycle as well. Water to Fire to create steam, steam that dampened the earth into mud, mud that treated a metal spearhead attached to wood. It was less seeing a wheel running than it was seeing a ball bounce around in a small box. As if the elements were all the same to her, as if Qi was just Qi with different colors to seamlessly change.
Something stirred in Ming's heart, but she dismissed it, tried to reject the reality that she was facing. It was impossible. With those injuries Ming inflicted upon her, there was no way Shu was in any state to cultivate. And yet, the truth faced her, trying to punch her skull in, as Shu cycled through her elements, as well as manipulated gravity for a punch so heavy it made her bones creak from the overhead punch.
The old Shu would've run out of energy long ago at this point. And yet, right now, she was fine as a fiddle. There was only one explanation. For an instant, Ming's spine shivered, as an image of a redhead overlapped over Shu. She burned it out of her sight, but had to admit a single truth.
Qi Purification. The optimized flow, devoid of foreign substance, the bright glow. There was no denying it. While half dead, Qinglong Shu had evolved once more. It was unfair. It was monstrous. And it was irrelevant, Ming thought furiously. Crossing high kicks, they held their position for a moment, straining in power against each other. She still had the superior mind! So what if speed and powerwise, Shu was rivaling her?! So what if Ming was lacking compared to their last fight?! She was still superior! With that in mind, she moved and closing the distance to-
"Left elbow blow at right temple."
Ming coughed violently, when her attack missed. Shu, having ducked under it, threw a quick jab towards her throat. Holding the sore spot with her left hand, she reared back her right to-
"Feint with right swing, throw left straight."
She moved before she could correct herself. The straight missed with ease, earning Ming hook heel kick to her temple. Dazed, she screamed and-
"Use falling momentum for wide uppercut. Get parried, right knee up, fail, low sweep, fail, back away with broken nose."
The words were a prophecy, for that was exactly what happened. Her uppercut was countered with a downwards punch, forcing her to the ground. On the ground. she forced her entire body to leap up, knee first, only to miss and get a chop down to her stomach, forcing her back again. She spun, trying to take Shu's legs away, only for her to step just outside of range, the backstep used as momentum for a soccer kick against her very face. She spun, clutching her face as she rose to her feet midstep, stopping just short of the ledge leading to lava. Snorting the blood out of the nostrils and forcing the nose back into place, she snarled, pointing at Shu for her stupid play.
""What are you playing at?!""
Her furious voice was echoed by a bland tone. Ming blinked before realizing that Shu spoke at the same time as Ming. Bristling up, she took a step forward just as Shu did.
""Are you actually-Stop doing that! Enough with the gam-AGGGH!""
For some godforsaken reason, Shu repeated exactly what Ming was going to say. Predicted what she was going to do. Which was…difficult to deal with to say the least. Ming was still thinking faster than Shu. That was a fact. It had to be. So to be on the backfoot like that meant one thing. First, Shu's instincts evolved to levels that could react to her Foundation Level moves. But that was impossible. Or rather, the aching, the shiver in her body, told her it was the wrong conclusion. Unlike a certain iron vanguard she could not possibly think of, Shu wasn't the same type, have the same talent. So how-
"I understand you."
The words uttered, as if commenting that the sky was blue, threw Ming for a loop. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?! She rushed forward, trying to go for sheer brute force. And yet-
"Right eye, left knee, dantian, hand nerve-"
Before her fist was even targeting the spot, Shu spoke and reacted. In that small gap between action and thought, in that time span in which Ming couldn't correct her actions, the damned brat moved somehow! And with each miss, with each parry and guarded blow, for every tiny bit of blood Ming drew…Shu hit her back in full. At some point, Ming didn't know when, her breath was heavier than Shu's. AS she caught her breath, putting up her guard, Shu spoke up, with a weary sigh.
"I understand you. Which is why I am certain... " She shook her head slowly. "That I don't want you to live a minute longer."
Understanding meant her death?! Ming slapped her chest a few times, trying to get some stress relief from hitting at least something. Yet her anger, and that foreign emotion, boiled over as she screeched her throat hoarse.
"You cannot judge me! What right do you have to judge me?! We are the same! We both desire the same thing! To reach the Center! But unlike you, I am not bound by petty earthly bindings! Unlike you, I am giving it my all, my soul and my life, to complete the task given by our ancestors, to reach God!"
Shu didn't react. It only served to fuel the fire within Ming's heart.
"My existence and my success brings meaning to all the deaths and suffering of our clans! Nay, I say that I am doing everyone a favor! I am freeing everyone of a curse that is a past promise, by fulfilling it at last! How are you any different from me?!"
Silence stretched out between them. Shu wiped her mouth from the blood that was flowing out. Then she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, the first sign of emotion. Ming should've felt elated to finally elicit a reaction out of her.
Instead, the strange feeling overpowered her anger and she took a step back.
"I don't judge you. Judgment isn't my thing. But you are wrong in one aspect."
Shu cracked her neck and began rolling her shoulders as she leaned forward, as if starting up a machine.
"You don't care about anyone at all. In the end, it's all about yourself. You, who only cares for the result. You only gather techniques, steal knowledge, take every shortcut in existence, but never understand. Don't see how they could come in harmony, how they could be improved. They are all stepping stones for some nebulous light you have seen, the result you consider your fate."
She gestured at the Four Treasures, silent, observing, her shoulders never ceasing their almost hypnotic motions.
"Your very existence is anathema to the Truth that the Four Beasts yearn for. We do not take shortcuts. We do not rush it. Even if we die, we will pass on our findings, our results, turning them into new steps for the next generation. Over and over, for all eternity, until the Truth has been reached."
She scoffed, almost in sorrow as she shook her head.
"I understand why you are who you are. If our places were switched, if I were someone stuck in the darkness only to find a singular light, I would be just like you. But I am not. And thus, we fight."
Shu ceased her movements all of a sudden.
"You've been doing all for God, you say? Well, let me tell you something right now." Shu spat to the side as she spread her arms open, raising a singular eyebrow, as if challenging Ming. "Rejoice, mortal. Your God is right in front of you. And she finds you wanting."
"You dare?!"
Ming burst forth, ignoring the thing in her heart, her soul, her spine, that told her to stay away. Instead she stomped on the ground, using the footing for a overhead punch with her right spine. Yet before it could hit, Shu clashed against her and threw her arms around Ming, almost as if hugging her.
Then.
The sound of flesh and bones being pierced. No, not pierced. Eaten. The sound of crunching and squelching. A flash of pain around her shoulder. The sight of Shu's cheeks moving in a rhythmic matter. Ming screamed, not only out of agony but out of-
Shu let go before Ming could smash her down on the ground. She clutched the missing pound of flesh, blood and bones. She looked at Shu, with wide eyes and gritted teeth, as she was…chewing. Slowly. Deliberately.
Castellanos. To feed on the world.
Ming was of the Blood Path. She partook in flesh herself. She's seen others gorge themselves on crying infants, on begging lovers. It was a common sight. And yet…Ming's breath became more erratic. She shouldn't feel this disgust. This, this…
Tasting the strain, the scars, the training of her flesh.
The roots of her bone, their strength, the amount of times they cracked and healed over.
The taste of blood, of the Qinglong, of a traitor, of the essence of Qinglong Ming.
And through all that…no joy. No excitement that Blood Path would have. No.
No emotions.
Just chewing.
Just tasting.
Just staring like back then.
…horror.
The moment the mere idea of that emotion entered her mind, she roared, trying to push it away and ran forward once more. In that moment, Shu spit it all out, no interest in partaking in the sin of Heaven, in cultivating with such a method. The mix of smashed down flesh, bone and blood, a cocktail that is Ming, landed straight into her face. Unable to see, she could only throw a wild swing.
Shu slid through beneath her legs. She shot her hand up when she was right beneath her. A pole of poisoned wood and Ming screamed, leaping forward before it penetrated completely. Yet the basic poison entered her system and she had to purge it quickly.
Auspicious Nine. To grow outside expectations.
In that moment of wiping the blood from her face and purifying the poison, Shu charged her Qi up, hardening it.
Ninth Prince. A strong foundation.
Then, she let her body become limp, as if a puppet lost its string. It collapsed…before suddenly springing into action. Ming turned her head, eyes open, just in time to get a violent leg whip against her solar plexus. She gasped for air, dazed as the lack of oxygen affected her brain.
Barda. A crashing flow.
Shu's foot touched the ground. Ming threw out a desperate headbutt. Yet suddenly, the girl disappeared. Not into the air, but with the ground, to reappear right behind Ming.
Antonius. To glide with the Earth.
Grabbing onto Ming's hair, she was forcefully twisted and bend over. Then, a knee met her face, over and over again. Every time she tried to break free, Shu turned her hold just the right way before continuing whaling on her aunt with wild haymakers and knees against her head.
Chang. A desire for a brutal death.
Finally breaking free with a strong blow to Shu's kidney, Ming backed away. Shu grunted in pain, before lowering her center of gravity. The traitor reared back her right, prepared to counter. And yet, the charge of Shu was way too fast, the chop coming down like a mighty blade and cut right into the bite wound of Ming.
Theodoros. Destroy the enemies of the Imperator.
However, Shu couldn't break her hand out of the flesh. Tensed to the extreme, it was trapped. With her right arm, Ming smashed her fist into the imprisoned arm, intending to break it. Shu grit her teeth and threw out her left arm, only to be suddenly caught by Ming's own teeth. Chomping down as hard as she could to maintain a hold, she forcefully tugged and shoved Shu, making her unable to kick. But Shu wasn't restricted to just her limbs for combat. She took in a deep breath. Then, she screamed loud enough to cause tremors in the very air itself. Ming's ears spurt out blood from the raw volume, weakening her body.
Myia. Shake the Heavens with a song.
Shu ripped out her limbs, torn and bruised, but not broken. She spat out blood when Ming, despite her body being shaken, kicked her into the stomach, to create distance. Shu barely managed to leap backwards, but the force still caused some internal damage. Nothing broken, but it was something at least. Both coughed out blood, barely able to stay on their feet. And yet, despite their states closer to death than life…Ming's eyes twitched as she looked at Shu. Her eyes were half open out of exhaustion but they were still…still…
…completely focused and emotionless. An image of a small girl looking at her and only her, dissecting her every move, her whole essence. As if she wasn't human. The memory resurfacing cause Ming to choke up. That stirring in her heart. The shiver. The cold sweat. Ming heaved, pale as a pathetic noise escaped her throat. She couldn't run away from the truth anymore.
Qinglong Ming…was truly afraid of Qinglong Shu. Has been from the start, as this emotionless monster overcame everything adapted and threw out so many new techniques…Once more, Ming was going to have her hopes and dreams destroyed by raw talent.
Admitting the truth broke her shackles. Facing reality, Ming could be truly honest with herself. Thus…she could finally put her entire being into this final exchange! With fear fueling her actions, her desire to live, to not die to such a monster, she soared. Rushing forward and shooting her right knee up, it caused Shu to narrow her eyes. She rushed forward as well, using her forearms to push down the knee, while still advancing. In that moment, the result was obvious.
Ming grinned a malicious, face splitting smile in that singular moment.
'I got you~!'
An attack with zero motion. A blow that gave nothing away. A technique that could be used at such point blank distance. The right fist came out of nowhere, out of sight from Shu. With such a close distance, ordinary punches would do nothing. This technique however, was different.
In some places it was called the One Inch Punch. To attack with minimal distance with maximum power. To Ming…to the child that came up with the technique and never stopped refining it, yet never using it in combat…it was the Mighty Dragon Blow. An attack fueled with Wood Qi she only ever showed her father once in her life. It was the manifestation of Ming's hard work, never skipping practice with it, never stopping using it in training. A result of foolishness. On this day, the zero motion blow that shattered boulders at a young age…
"You were awesome, Ming."
Ming's smile was frozen on her face. She looked down slowly. There she saw it. Her wrist, bent down and broken. Her arm revealing bone as it seemed to have exploded from the very same qi she used, as if it was bounced back. The shattered reminds of a fist, in the grasp of bent and broken, yet unyielding fingers. Shu exhaled, a tired smile on her face as well. A left hand holding the wrist while the wrecked right hand of hers twisted the attack away from her center.
…it completely misfired. Diveriting the direction before forcing it into an unnatural position, as well as reflecting the energy back into Ming's arm…the limb was utterly dead. At last, pain returned to Ming as she screamed and jumped away, clutching her ruined, exploded and crippled arm. Meanwhile Shu forced her bent fingers back into place with her muscles alone, flexing them a few times.
"This was the one and only move that I could respect from you." Almost wistful, Shu stepped forward. "You really practiced a long time."
"H…How…?" Ming asked quietly, stepping backwards. How could she have possibly predicted this?! She never used it in real combat! No amount of intel could've told Shui about this technique, for there was no intel! And yet…Shu smiled softly. Tired. Almost with guilt.
"Didn't you listen to a word I said?" Shu let out a sigh. "I told you I understand you."
It finally hit Ming, what it meant. That word. Understand. At that moment, Ming realized…she never stood a chance when Shu arrived at the top. She was just an ape on her palm. That calmness…came from knowledge. True knowledge of Ming. Even when she improvised…they were still actions Ming performed. Thus…Shu could read it. All of it.
Meanwhile, in Shu's mind, she was tired. Everything hurt. Her soul. Her heart. Her mind, her body. What she saw only hurt more, only exhausted her more. It was easier when she only saw a monster. But now? All she saw was a foolish little, insane girl.
Qinglong Ming just wanted to feel worthy. Worthy of something. Even if that something was a complete delusion. Like a lost child grasping for the first warmth it had felt in a cold winter mountain. Shu hated her aunt. Hated her with all her heart. But it was not just hatred. Not just anger.
Pity. Disappointment. Ah, such a waste. So much potential Shu knew that Ming had…and she didn't use any of it. Such a shame. What if she wasn't so deranged? What if someone extended a hand? Alas, what ifs didn't matter anymore.
All that mattered was, that Shu was done with Ming. Every last bit of knowledge that could be squeezed out of her aunt, was squeezed out. Shu was under no obligation anymore to keep Qinglong Ming alive. The criminal had no use for her any longer.
"As head of the Qinglong clan, with the power granted to me by our valiant ancestors…I, Qinglong Shu, sentence you to death," she said quietly, in a grave tone. Hyperventilating, Ming stood at the edge to the gaping mouth of lava behind her, like a prisoner about to be executed.
"I haven't…accomplished anything yet…!"
Utter panic and desperation fueled her forward movement. She refused to die like this. She still had so much to accomplish, to reach!
She would become a God no matter what!!!
"DON'T GET COCKY YOU LITLE SHI-"
It was so sloppy, Shu's finger easily touched Ming's throat.
"...eh…?"
With one swift movement, the dragon nail cut through the flesh. With her left hand, she tried to cover up her gash across her throat. But Shu wasn't done yet. Without looking back, she threw a back kick, right into Ming's spine. Unable to move, she collapsed, gargling and choking on her own blood. Emotionless, Shu looked down at the tears welling up in Ming's eyes, in the weak flailing that her shattered spine allowed. Pleading. Begging. Praying. The windows to Ming's soul were clear and open, as they rapidly fogged up, dulled. During all that, Shu merely stared, watching the life being sucked out of her aunt's body. Soon enough… the light disappeared from Ming's eyes, together with her hopes, delusions and sins.
The Great Traitor was dead at last. Her body was cold, the only heat it had originating from the caldera. Shu stared down at the carcass for a while. Minutes? Hours? She didn't know. What she did know was…that tradition demanded that the body would be returned home. Even the banished were given the honor of a proper burial. Death usually meant redemption.
However. Shu knew Ming. Truly knew her. And she knew for a fact…that she was beyond redemption. Beyond mercy.
She didn't deserve anything.
Thus, her body would not leave Yuan and return to their ancestral grounds, long burned down to nothing. No, Shu let out a sigh…and kicked her limp body into the volcano. Slowly, the body burned and sunk…until it was reduced to nothing. In that moment, the Four Beasts ceased their technique, making the barrier disappear. Then they bowed one time before returning into the treasure state, clattering on the ground behind Shu. She slowly turned around… before collapsing on her knees. She heaved, almost throwing up. Clenching her eyes shut, trying to stop the flow of tears, she slowly reached out to the artifacts, relief and other emotions flooding her. The moment she touched them…she was being crushed.
The world turned dark around her. She didn't see anything. She didn't feel anything but the overbearing pressure threatening to crush down her soul. She couldn't breath as the life was being choked out of her. All she knew was something impossibly massive looking down on her, judging her. The mere act of looking at her tore at her very soul. Eternity of agony, of her soul straining, screaming…but never breaking.
Until at last, she felt it. The slightest of nods.
The world returned. Back on the caldera, Shu gasped for air. She felt it. Her soul, having been put under massive treasure…has been reinforced.
She had reached the 12th Heavenstage, as the Treasures deemed her worthy of being the head of the alliance. The leader of a dead inheritance. She sniffed, before wiping her face as she glanced behind her. A staircase that wasn't there before. The trials of Ming…weren't done yet. Considering the level it was meant to be, going further was suicide.
But…anything would do to distract her. So she descended. Descended down and down. Shockingly enough, the heat gave way and Shu breathed out white fog, her body shaking and shivering, not helped by the lack of clothes. She felt her very blood slow down and frost over. Even her heart seemed to struggle to move in this area. And yet, Shu moved on, in the icy grotto, an impossible thing to exist within a volcano. She had no idea how long she moved, focusing on every detail to distract herself. Until, at last she saw it. The shrine, encasing a pure white staff. It had some jagged ends pointing at at several spots along its height that was above even Shu's. It almost looked like some sort of bone or spine even. Several chains of ice and metal kept the weapon in place. Shu wasn't even remotely close to it.
And yet.
"Gut genug."
The voice, with a language that Shu had no idea where it was from, echoed in the chambers. Then the shrine exploded into light, shattering the chains. Shu winced at the sudden brightness, before she felt something fly towards her. She grabbed it out of instinct and felt her Qi connecting to it almost automatically. She gaped as she felt the truth.
It was bone. Bone of a dragon, but not from here.
"Oh, klasse. Eine Schlange. Was für ne Scheiße aber auch…Wenigstens komme ich hier raus, auch wenn es ne dumme Dritte-See Schlampe ist."
Shu narrowed her eyes. She had no idea what those words meant. But she knew shittalk when she heard it. Shaking her head weakly, she made a mental note to look up staff fighting techniques. She turned around, but in the process of doing so, felt strength leave her legs.
After hunting her down, killing Ming...she was completely out of juice. The final act, of connecting with the artifact, was the last straw.
"Willst du mich verarschen?! Wag es bloß nicht jetzt zu sterben, du-"
With nothing more guiding her way…Shu's eyes rolled up before her face fell towards the ground, the voice silenced at the same time as her consciousness disappeared. Then further, ever further, into the dark abyss…
Auspicious Nine was left, chained into a tunnel deep within the Array. Subjected to intense amounts of pressure fell upon him, trapped within a whorl of crushing sea that assaulted him with the terrors of the deep. In desperation the Treeman sought to desperately swim along the current back to air, but his unnatural physiology could only endure so much, forcing the usage of a treasure to find the nearest pocket of air. (-1 LST). When Auspicious Nine awoke, he found himself upon an island drenched in perpetual twilight, where no light nor stars could be found. Hesitantly, he sought to use his talents and body to take from the land and heal, but it was not to be. The island was host to a den of Reverse Sea Eels, creatures that could only live above the waters as their bodies channeled the might of Heavenly Qi perhaps too strongly. They struck the Treeman deeply, fangs and scales seeking to tear apart their first meal in years, and in desperation Auspicious Nine was forced to use another treasure to retain his life, if only barely. (-1 LST).
The whorls of space churned, even as he desperately sought to flee the blind seas in which he had been entrapped. But the gifts he had been given could only do so much in the Qiguai Secret Realm, and it was only through the usage of a third treasure that he managed to breach back into the relatively safe territories of Realm, finally free of the terrors of the Reverse Sea in which he had been trapped. (-1 LST).
Horribly injured, he returned to Clan lands. Far poorer, but perhaps wiser for the harrowing experiences he had faced in the Qiguai Secret Realm.
Despite myself I can't help but laugh at how ridiculously unlucky Auspicious Nine got. He died three times over for crying out loud! That is many a lost life-saving treasure…
At least some of the juniors seemed to have a half decent turn of fate?
Cerina Polya Side Story 9, Mia & Katha Theodoros 27 - The Parable of the Board and the Nail
Mia And Katha Theodoros 27/Cerina Polya Side Story 9 - The Parable of the Board and the Nail
Swing. Sweep. Smash. She thought, her body performed, and the beasts around her died.
In the shallows of the Beast-Raising Forest, the twilight strip where civilisation ended and nature took hold, there was a young maiden. Fair of skin and lean of muscle, her long raven-black hair swept around as she whipped her body around, sweeping like the inkbrush of a painter making their mark on their canvas. And as the painter did, so did she, her inkbrush a curved and lean blade a meter long, her canvas the monsters who struck out against one who had invaded their territories.
They struck and they died against the one who aggressed, her blade ringing with iron sound from every flourish and every sheet of blood shed. With unreal power and unnatural speed, the young woman was a storm of steel, a spiral of bladed demise. For the last eight hours she fought and of the last twenty beasts to attack twenty have died. Inch by inch, blow by blow, she has staked dominion upon this place.
Painted in the blood of her quarry, dressed in the proof of her success, Mia Theodoros demonstrated upon the forest what her ancestors once demonstrated upon the world. The prowess of the Vanguard. The violence of action of the Vanguard. The power of seizing the initiative. The value of explosive force. The strength of the Vanguard and the Blood of Iron.
And with the passing of the rains and the return of the sun, she would soon turn eighteen, the age of her majority. A grown woman, a Legionnaire of the Clan, a Golden Devil without bronzed skin. The first of the Pale Devils of her generation and living proof of the Vanguard's rebirth.
Yes, she would soon turn eighteen. And already in the Twelfth Heavenstage.
As she stood beneath the twilight of the canopy, the bush intermittently lit by rays of sunlight through the gaps she punched through with her attacks, Mia stood straight-backed and motionless, not even winded by her extended battle. Fatigue was a problem for other people, not a child of Theodora. And she was no mere scion. She was worthy.
In her ears, an echo. A towering beetle, looming silhouette lit by the light of the altar.
"Mm. You will be my Worthy Aspirant. Come, child."
She smiled despite herself. Yes, she was worthy.
From the darkness of the woods, she heard shuffling and felt tremoring. She smiled and adjusted her grip on her sword, a curved design once favoured by the Ironblooded for its slashing force and its demanding characteristics. Though it demanded perfect angles on the cut, when those conditions were met it did so flawlessly, though beast-skin and through array-steel. A sword for a swordmaster. A weapon for a warrior.
There would be no worthier weapon for Mia Theodoros, scion of Theodora, niece of Katha, Vanguard of the Clan.
Then, suddenly, the tremors stopped. The beasts fell quiet, intimidated and fearful as they hid for their lives. Mia felt a sudden joy as she demonstrated her dominion, but then stopped. They were fearful, yes, she could smell it. But they were not fearful of her.
The raven-haired beauty, the flashing blade that sang forth the spring song, Mia turned around as she felt herself be watched. And Mia locked eyes with the true master of the Beast-Raising Forest.
----
Cerina had been home for maybe a few days and already the spring harvest looked to be amazing this year.
An interesting little creature had fallen into her home and created a great deal of amusement in the past few hours. Her aunt was surely shaking her head forlornly and bemoaning her family's luck. Cerina could barely suppress her laughter as she stared down at the little beast girl, watching her carve a bloody trail through the Qi Condensation beasts of this outer edge of the forest.
Little beast girl.
Mia had the posture, the temerity, and the vicious fang of a young beast establishing herself in new territory. How she acted and the toothy, snarling expression on her face was hilarious. Yet for all her funny little beastly quirks, she still moved like a human. Cerina chuckled silently as she recalled Katha asking her to keep her eye on this little scamp, and then the sneaky little girl escaping from her aunt into the forest.
Cerina was hanging upside down from a tree branch by her legs, head dangling as her arms were crossed behind it. Far away, more beasts began to move, paws and hooves and heavy scales creating an ominous rumbling and that wouldn't do at all. Her Eye opened by a sliver and a subvocal growl shivered through the Wind. The tremors ceased, retreating into the distance and under cover as the little beast girl turned to look up at Cerina, no longer concealed by the vines and ivy.
She dropped to a tall stone beneath her tree, landing upright and hands folded before her. Waiting. What to do, little beast girl?
The girl acted immediately. First, she drew a line in the dirt with her blade, scratching a shallow divot into the soil with practiced ease, using the tip of the blade to do so. Then she raised it and drew a graceful circle, tracing the line she drew. Finally, as she drew the sword up from the ground, she held it up high, pointing to the sky. The girl exhaled and lowered it until the tip of her blade was level with her eyes. As she held the hilt with both her hands, Mia awaited Cerina's response.
Little fireworks of excitement popped behind Cerina's smile as she drew an arc with her foot, turned her body to one side and rolled her arms up into her opening stance. Steady knees, a small profile, one arm ahead and one to guard in a classic stance.
Mia smirked. Then her smirk turned beastial and vicious. And then she launched sideways with unreal speed as the ground heaved upwards. Cerina maintained the illusion of her stance, her weight shifting subtly as she tracked the girl by Qi and heartbeat, sweat, and the pressure wave she pushed through the air.
Cerina's head snapped around like an owl's, lips stretched in one of her widest grins as she beheld the point of the sword glinting for her neck and the girl having just leapt into the air. Blue not-light pressed down upon the scene and slowed the scion of Iron. Cerina's arms and hands twisted, snapping up and crushing Mia's ankles like shackles as their owner ducked. Mia's sword went over Cerina, as did Mia in a blur before her face and upper body powdered the top of the boulder.
Mia twitched. The young Legionnaire shuddered. Her limbs seized, filled with sudden strength, the power of outrage and defiance. Then, just as suddenly, she went limp. Like a pile of noodles, Mia splayed out on the rock that Cerina had smashed her head-first against. Only a soft groan, like the ticking of a clock, helped prove that the girl was still alive.
Then under her, a crack began slowly tearing across the boulder.
"...eh?" Cerina said in confusion, Eye shuttered again. Was she okay? Does the little beast not have a Katha-head? She was quite befuddled as she lifted the girl up by her ankles, the boulder suddenly shifting under her giving her a start before she leapt to the ground. One hand on Mia's ankle, Cerina gave her a jiggle.
"Hey. No sleeping. Are you dead, Iron-blooded?" Cerina asked, channeling her memories of Instructor Vasto's harsh tones.
Katha always responded better to that kind of tone, so it stood to reason her niece would too. And like, come on. Unconscious after one hit? What was this? Behind them, the boulder finished collapsing into a pile of rubble.
It wasn't even a hard hit!
Face down, on the ground, Mia started crying.
"Ack!" Cerina gasped, letting Mia down quietly and then rolling her over, looking at the little girl with concern. Her nose was bleeding, squashed a bit out of shape and her face mottled with bruising. "Sheesh kid. Come on Aspirant, take a breath and fix your nose. You're fine."
Which she was. No Iron-blooded was a fragile little minx. At worst they were untempered. Just in case though Cerina had herself at a safe distance if this was a ploy.
Mia, no longer the untouchable and aloof Soldier, now looked more like a girl who was not even a third Cerina's age. Sitting up, she sniffed and nodded, rubbing desperately at her eyes with her forearms. "'M not crying," she insisted, through a clogged nose and stifled sobs. "Not crying, I'm not crying, Legionnaires don't cry…"
Cerina huffed. "Get the dirt out of your eyes and we can go again. Do not go in a ballistic arc around enemies with superior senses and reach."
Mia nodded numbly. She tried to stand, but lurched forward as she did so and only just caught herself with a hand. The other was still clutching her head, and she shut her eyes so tightly that tears were dripping free. "O-Okay… Okay, I'll…"
Without another word, Mia rolled on her back again. "I'm gonna… Mhh… Get stronger than you… Just you wait… Until… auntie Katha hears…"
Cerina smiled. "Yay! Maybe I can fight her!" She shouted excitedly. "Come on, come on. Hurry up and get up. I want to fight more!"
Mia was already out like a light, eyes scrunched shut as her head continued to pound like the Great Mountain Bell.
Cerina's arms slumped and she pouted. "Really?" She groaned. Shaking her head, she hefted the little cub up in a gentle carry and walked into the trees.
----
The ringing eventually became rustling and crackling and then Mia felt herself jolt awake as the smell of meat invaded her nostrils. Her stomach gurgled. "Ahh! You're awake, Aspirant!" A voice called and for a moment Mia was certain it was the Beetle. But then she turned her head and saw her.
Cerina sat across a fire from the little Theodoros, waving her hand as she poked at some meat with a spoon as it bubbled in a stew pot. The sudden flash of remembered pain across her face jerked Mia back to the fight she had just gotten out of and she leapt up, reaching for her sword. Which wasn't next to her, it was leaning against the stump by the fire.
"Are we gonna fight? Or are you hungry?" The spooky-woman asked cheerily.
"...Hungry." Her eyes darted to Cerina, then to the pot of stew. She quickly jerked forward and sat down, cross-legged. "N-No fight."
Cerina nodded as Mia sat and the girl loaded up her own bowl. She'd already had her meal of course, the red stained depression in the leaf litter off to one side attested to that. She kept part of her attention on the sword, and the rest on the girl.
Mia ate with the fervor and nerves of a small creature, bites disappearing rapidly as her eyes stayed fixed on Cerina. Soon the little one would make a move. Her body was already leaning towards her sword as she shoveled food into her face.
Then she did, suddenly, violently, explosively. The speed of Iron lifted her as Mia dove for her sword, a gift from her father. Who strikes first wins first, and she would not let Cerina have the initiative. They already knew what happened when she didn't have it.
All for naught, because Cerina was already ten steps ahead of her.
"Got your sword!" Cerina said happily as Mia's hand closed on nothing. The girl's eyes blew out in shock as she saw Cerina a fair distance away, holding her sword with a terrible, unpracticed grip, waving it around like it was a stick. "Come and get me!" She said and then leapt away into the trees.
Mia screamed in outrage and launched off the ground as hard as her legs could manage. Deep divots pressed into the ground where her feet previously stood as she soared into the treeline and as the chase began she pursued the gangly senior through the forest, leaping from tree to tree, branch to branch, swinging and stepping as if she lived all her life amongst the woods. And all the while, she had only three words for Cerina:
"GIVE IT BACK!" She cried out. And with every outcry, she launched attack after attack, fist-shaped impressions of Iron Qi denting tree trunks and scattering branches and foliage.
"COME GET IT!" Cerina shouted amid giggles as she ghosted ahead. While the little beast girl moved like she lived in the woods, Cerina actually did, and she did it like no human shaped body could; limbs twisting in broken angles to have her scuttle like spiders and lizards, or swing like monkeys while the wind blew at her whims.
Cerina moved like a fluttering flag before every one of Mia's blows, an infuriating spectre that refused to be hit.
How do you hit something that is not there? How do you defeat an enemy that is smoke and the wind?
Mia screamed as she pumped more blood, more sweat, more Qi into her attacks. Soon dents became chunks as she tore her way through the forest, violence of action tearing scars into the landscape. She risked exhaustion and she risked overextension, but through the haze of anger the Legionnaire saw nothing but the target, nothing but the need to enact total destruction.
To destroy the flag, destroy the flagpole. To destroy the air, destroy the world beneath its feet. If it costs everything, then so be it. Death. Death to the Enemies of the Imperator.
Mia cried out, hands clasped together. She swung and split a trench with an oversized crescent of Iron Qi, ragged and uneven, the crest wave of a juvenile sea. "DESTROY THE ENEMIES OF THE IMPERATOR!"
Canticle of Theodora: Squall Beneficence
"YEEP! Fuck!"
Wind Number 24: Dragon's Tail-Wind
Cerina jinked aside as she cried out, her body buffeted by the jetstream of wind and energy that had blasted her free and puppeted her like a leaf, half her long braid being sheared off by the Iron Wave as she threw herself out of its way. Three of the forest's massive trees collapsed into ruin as the wave raged, most of their mass falling into the trench it had ripped open.
Okay, little cub, okay. Time to chill out.
But Cerina was smiling.
What fun this was!
She juked and dodged and flit to a new branch in the chase, unsteady and arms pinwheeling. Then she was off again and Cerina zipped out of sight for a fraction of a second and scuttled into a tree burrow of some long gone beastie. Just in time for Mia to blow past, hollering like a cheeky little monkey.
That cheeky, angry little monkey yelped when Cerina snapped out like a snake and grabbed her heel. Mia yowled, writhing like a caught tiger, but with one mountain crushing hand Cerina kept hold and they were both off. The sheer incongruity of the situation probably stunned Mia for a second, as her screams sputtered with a confused hiccup. They raced out of the canopy for a moment, raucous flocks of yellow-red-green birds with long pennant like tails squawking at the interlopers in fury as they fled.
Mia felt freefall and then a blast of wind as they were forced back into the canopy, branches slapping them and snapping off in a great cacophony of breaking wood.
Mia screamed some more, her voice hoarse, her throat deathly painful. She coughed blood from the strain and her limbs shook from the exhaustion, yet she continued to claw at Cerina, hands flailing for any sort of purchase against Cerina's iron grip.
Cerina laughed. "Your aunt should let us fight more Mia!" She hollered, only to be cut off by an even angrier scream as they soared over a thick muddy swamp. Mia redoubled her efforts to escape, folding up and trying to hit Cerina with a Iron empowered kick.
Couldn't have that.
Cerina's arm whipped around and Mia's body scrapped through the meters thick mud, forcing her to hold her breath instinctively and then rip free of the muck, eyes blinking stupidly. Don't hit her in the head this time. The thought flickered through Cerina's own head as she flipped Mia up before her, the girl cartwheeling through the air. Cerina's chambered straight kick caught Mia in her Iron-blood reinforced sternum; the girl flew like she'd been shot out of a spirit cannon, breath disrupted. Stance, senses, breath, all disrupted and rage thereby shaken.
The impact of her back into a tree and the redirection of her path into a wild arc knocked the rest of it free, left it floating in a sea of confusion and disorientation until she slammed into a pair of long arms.
Cerina caught the ballistic girl, skidding through the leaf litter to a stop, and then sat on the Iron scion.
Now Mia continued to squirm, despite clearly being dazed. Anger allowed her to push through where pride had failed to provide, and even beneath her larger and stronger senior she continued to scrap and swing at the older Cultivator. More than anything, she tried to grab for her sword, believing more than anything else that it would let her even the score, even past her exhaustion and even past her weakness. Not that it would matter. Tapped of Qi, she was helpless and at Cerina's mercy.
Cerina wrestled with Mia, letting the girl exhaust herself by degrees until she was not quite unconscious, but close. Her blows weakened to the feeble pawings of a kitten, Cerina hefted the girl up and tucked her under her arm. With Mia grumbling and moaning under one arm and sword in the other, Cerina walked through the forest back to their camp site, dodging Mia's weak grabs for the sword the whole way.
When they arrived she sat the younger Cultivator down, where Mia sprawled in a heap on her hands and knees before the soup pot, breath heaving and exhausted to the point of almost immobility. "Good job so far Aspirant! Next time, be the lightning rather than destroying the earth. Would you like some soup?" Cerina asked, holding out a steaming bowl of the delicious Spirit Beast stew.
Slowly, Mia glared at Cerina. Her eyes darted to the bowl, then back to her senior. Slowly, she nodded. "...Fine. I'll have your stupid soup."
Cerina quirked an eyebrow. "So feisty, I like it!" She said, holding Mia's gaze as she handed off the full steaming bowl to the little beast girl.
Mia snatched it immediately, brusquely enough that no small amount of soup spilled onto Cerina's hand. Then she slurped it up all at once, with no care or attention given to manners or decency. She licked the bowl clean as well, before placing the bowl on the ground, its top buried into the ground.
Cerina hummed happily, licking off her own hand without a care. Still holding onto the sword as she turned slightly, opening up her flank by a hair as she reached for another bowl from a little stack beside her to load with soup. "More?" She asked as she glanced at the soup pot..
Mia nodded. Then she spat out a glob of boiling hot soup at Cerina before throwing herself right at her cyclopean senior, fingers clawed and swiping.
Klonk!
The flat of Mia's sword impacted like a board striking a nail directly between Mia's eyes. With the ringing of metal on metal, she was out like a light.
----
Mia woke up in a fright, her breath hitching as she jolted awake. Her heart was racing. She could barely see, only some flashes of orange and yellow through the darkness. She tried to move, but found she could not roll over or sit up. Laying down on her belly, chin on the ground, it was like she was being crushed by a rock.
…Given what Mia saw when she strained her neck and looked behind her, that was probably because she was. It wasn't a huge rock, only about six feet tall and taller than it was round, like a pear or a papaya. Mia could probably lift it if she got some leverage under her. But it wasn't the rock, but who was sitting on the rock that made that a problem.
Cerina sat on her carefully chosen rock, kicking her legs and humming a sweet tune as she watched the birds flit through the trees, with one ear to the breath of her little apprentice as Mia lay pinned under the stone. Rustling made her look down and she spotted the eyes of her apprentice peering through her hair up at her. "Hallo!" She called from atop her perch, giving a little wave as she smiled.
Framed in shadow and - somehow - backlit by flame, the cyclopean senior made for an inadvertently menacing sight. But to her credit, young Mia Theodoros was not afraid.
She was stupid.
"Let me out! When I get out I'm going to kick your ass and get my sword back!"
Cerina clapped. "That's the spirit! I'm looking forward to the attempt!" Reaching over, out of Mia's sight, she picked up the girl's sword and leapt down to land before her with the sword over one shoulder. Cerina assessed the rock again. "You should be able to lift this. Come get me when you do!" She ordered and turned, stepping away jauntily and leaving Mia in her geological predicament.
Immediately, before she had even vanished into the treeline, Mia was already squirming and twisting. Flat on the ground, arms and legs straight, it was difficult to get leverage and difficult to adjust. She tensed, then pushed against the rock with her hips and shoulders as leverage. No dice; she remained firmly planted to the ground.
Again she tried, harder this time. Then again, crying out in exertion. But each time, the rock did not budge. Though there was enough give in its bottom to leave Mia able to take in shallow breaths, it wasn't enough to get out. Frustration began to peak as she tried once again, fists clenched and full of grass, but it just wasn't happening. Angry, hot tears began to fill the corners of her eyes as the young Ironblood was confronted with another challenge she could not simply power through, by dint of superior breeding and overwhelming strength.
Stupid. It was so stupid! This shouldn't have happened! She just had bad luck, that's all! Bad luck to run into this stupid senior with one stupid eye that took her sword and kept not letting her hit her! All it would take is one good hit and she would be down, then Mia could just continue her training, but no now she had to deal with this nonsense, with her stupid grin and her stupid soup!
Frustrated, on the verge of tears, Mia swung one arm up, ripping up grass and weeds, and struck the ground. Her fist tore through the dirt like it was putty, her strength overwhelming. Though her body was not as strong as her aunt's, it was still forged of Celestial Iron. She had managed to unlock the Steel Sinews, giving her strength greater than any other in her Realm. If she did not watch her step, something she did intuitively as one who has lived with it all her life, the ground would be like so much air to her.
And feeling the ground falter beneath her gave Mia pause. Gave her ideas.
She swung her arms again, both this time, and dug open a trench. Narrow and shallow, it was still space. Now she had enough to prop herself by the elbows. And from that point, it was a simple matter of pushing.
And with a single shove, Mia managed to push the boulder off with a hop and a skip, followed by the heavy thump of a great weight off her shoulders and onto the ground.
Panting with exertion, now shedding tears of relief, Mia rolled onto her back, limbs out like a starfish, and watched the starry night sky above.
That was… That was hard.
She never wanted to do that again.
Over her, the stars were suddenly darkened. One took their place. One large blue star, which blinked at her once and then shuttered.
"Hmm. Good. Good!" Cerina smiled broadly with sharp teeth as she looked down at Mia. Then, Mia noticed the rock she had just tossed off being held in Cerina's outstretched hand, looming above the pair of them. The girl's sword glinted in the other by her senior's side. The stone shifted overhead.
"Now run, little nail."
Slowly, Mia rose to her feet. Though shorter than Cerina, she looked her in the eye and stood her ground. There wasn't a single part of her that wanted to run. Not one part of her that was afraid of Cerina.
There was no fear to quash, because there was no fear at all. She had not learned that instinct. Not yet.
But she would.
Weakness and the withering of her muscles choked her from one breath to the next, causing her knees to shake and joints to ache, as Cerina's terrible Eye opened and her beastly smile split her face with needle teeth. The boulder struck Mia, smearing her across its front as it launched through the forest like a massive cannonball. Mia could hear only the rushing of the wind and the blood in her ears, and she swore it sounded like laughter.
That laughter abruptly ceased as she was driven into the ground, dragged across it and then the sudden relief of weight as the boulder skipped like a stone across a lake behind her. That relief shriveled when Cerina appeared overhead, already in the midst of a scything kick, the sickly coronal blue of her Eye robbing Mia of everything.
It was so hot, ten times, a hundred times worse than the desert.
Every foundation of muscle and might and pure monkey brained stubbornness, collapsing and withering in the face of entropic decay and dissolution into ash.
And for the first time, her body began to shake. Mia felt the pit opening up inside her, yawning and endless, the inescapable void of terror. It was a new sensation, an unusual feeling. It was awful for seasoned legionnaires, who have dealt with weakness and learned to quash that feeling into something constructive, a lifesaving asset. But she was born strong, made stronger, and thought herself unbeatable.
It was the worst thing Mia Theodoros had ever felt. Not the withering. Not the weakness. Fear.
And unhoned, her instinct was raw and stupid. She crossed her arms instead of rolling and caught the attack right in the center.
The explosion of impact shook the trees and cracked their bark for dozens of meters around the two cultivators.
The cloud of dust ascended beyond the canopy in a plume of ancient soil and powdered rock, then was torn away in a shredding gale. When it cleared it revealed them again; Cerina was standing atop Mia, her foot flattening the girl's arms to her chest, the both of them standing in a crater half as deep as Cerina was tall.
Her breath hitched as Mia gasped for air that just would not come. She had gotten the wind knocked out of her, and with fractured arms and ribs it was the first real injuries she had suffered so far. She looked up at Cerina, blinking through teary eyes, eyelids twitching as she tried and failed to reconcile anger and terror towards the same figure. She held up her hands, even though they were broken, though whether in defiance or in surrender even she didn't know. But though objectively her body was still capable of fighting - no Ironblood would ever be slowed down by something as banal as fractured bones - her will had been thoroughly broken.
Unfortunately for her, Mia had spent her life up to that point ignorant of the mental phase of battle. And she was receiving a remedial session from perhaps the most brutal source short of a Nascent Soul's attention.
It would be a good lesson. But it would not be an easy lesson.
Cerina's foot lifted off her body, as her long fingers wrapped around Mia's head and lifted her up to dangle like a limp sack. Hanging from her senior's hand, Mia's face twitched, blood running from her nose and abrasions which had accumulated from their battles. That terrible blue weakness buffeted her like a sandstorm, and Cerina's voice pronounced her fate with a noise like the ringing of funeral bells.
"You will heal. You will eat what I give you. And we will repeat this until you can take your sword from me and fight me properly."
Numbly, clearly and with total sincerity, Mia now nodded. All the fight in her had gone out. She had lost the mind war, where it most mattered. The only thing left to do now was supplicate and obey.
And maybe, just maybe, learn something from the experience.
----
Days later, Cerina listened to her little beast girl sleep, pinned under yet another stone. This was not the second stone, nor the third, each one getting subtly bigger with every instance. And every time, Mia's body could just barely lift it.
Silly little girl.
Cerina knew Mia did not intellectually understand what she was trying to teach. Her brain was silly and impulsive and prone to poor decisions from a lifetime of being the strongest scorpion in the pit, with no one who could challenge her. Thankfully, the world was much bigger than her little pit! The fear had made her brain get out of the way and the girl's blood and body were eager listeners.
The sun glinted off of Mia's sword before her eye. Lowering the girl's sword, Cerina put away the cloth she had been using to clean it. Wouldn't do for it to get rusty before the girl got a hold of it again.
But. She set the sword in her lap. She recognized that she'd been mostly flying by the seat of her pants here. Intuition and memories of Katha.
…"I should probably thank my dad," Katha hummed from where she sat beside Cerina, deep in the bowels of Yuan's caves, reminiscing around good drinks and a glowing crystal for their campfire.
"Oh? Why? Did he train you?" Cerina asked.
"Yeah, since grandpa was busy with Rathos. I didn't like studying or training as a kid - shocking, I know - so he had to essentially force me to do anything until I turned twelve. I literally had my brains beaten into me as a child," her friend told her. "Of course, it helps to have a twin brother. We fought a lot, but we also learned a lot from each other."
Hmm! Well that helped her understand what her instincts and intuition were telling her. The part of her that dreamed of being a teacher was downright giddy. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing right now, but the Blunt Force method seemed to be working admirably, so she'd keep at it until it didn't.
Mia snorted through a slightly bent nose, courtesy of it being broken a dozen or so times. Cerina looked down at her student.
"Well, at least you're healing alright," she muttered. Be a pain if she was more like Katha, in this particular case.
Cerina stood and dusted off her hands, packing away her contemplations for later as she checked the rising sun through the trees. "Bout time for another round." She hopped off the stone, and another day of training began.
----
"A boulder again?! Seriously?!!"
Each and every morning, there would be another. No matter whether she slept on the ground, against a tree, or atop the tree, there would be a boulder on her. Always just short of crushing her flat, always with the slight hope of escape, but always a boulder. By this point it had stopped being frightening and started being annoying, particularly because the boulders kept getting harder to throw off.
It was also the only constant to each and every day of this demented 'training' she was being put through.
Some days, Mia would be tied to a post and fed strange things. That would be food for the day; it would be up to her to sniff out what was poisonous, what was not, what was an antidote to poison, and which antidotes were poisonous if she had not ingested the right poison earlier. It was a crash course in herbology through gastronomics that she did not want, but apparently Cerina believed she needed.
Some days, she would skip the food and just get poisoned. Those were the days for traps, cowardly things she was not interested in. Pits, snares, nets, flying logs and, of course, more poison, in the forms of clouds, mushrooms and darts. Learning those antidotes was a pain as well.
And then there were the days they ventured into the Beast-Raising Forest proper, without a weapon and without support. Sometimes Cerina would use her as bait and make her go up against monsters in Foundation, where she would have to outlast creatures a full Great Realm above her while Cerina withered them down to size. Other times, Cerina would just use her as the weapon. The insane cyclops seemed to enjoy those days the most for sadistic reasons Mia was never keen on learning.
The laughter haunted her dreams.
But then some days, she simply would not dream. Because you only dream when you sleep, and sleep was a luxury sometimes. Cerina would hound her for days straight, sometimes even an entire week, using sticks, insects, intentionally bad music and false hope to keep her up. When that failed, they simply ran laps. Mia knew there was a way you could run while sleeping, but she had never learned it, and Cerina made that impossible anyways, not with the windy, debris-ridden paths she'd get chased through.
And somehow, when she didn't realise, she'd just plant the boulder on her anyways!
How does she even do that?!
Through it all, after every beating and slip up and failure and moment of weakness, Cerina was there. Inescapably, her tormenter paradoxically had words of praise and shreds of wisdom, each moment hammered in with hammer-like blows.
----
It was near the end of their time together, Cerina figured as she sat on a branch, chewing through a ream of fruit jerky. Mia was down below, stalking through the midline canopy after Cerina. Her body was still shaped like a human's and so still bore some of its limits, but her mind had cast off other, more important limits.
Now Mia moved a little more like a beast, like a creature that knew fear down to its soul. The fear of something larger, stronger, and far more dangerous suddenly noticing you and deciding to end your life. That was the secret in Cerina's mind, though simply telling someone that would never teach it to them.
But her little beast girl had learned it admirably, and was now no longer quite so little.
Mia stopped, pausing as she noticed a glint of reflected light on a patch of leaves ahead of her. She already knew where it would lead, and so the scion of Iron was not surprised to find herself moving out of the way of the first strike as Cerina's kick split the air.
There was a smack, a crash, an exchange of blows. Mia hit the ground in a roll as Cerina landed lightly and gently, the forest's underbush ravaged as Mia skidded to a stop, eyes never leaving Cerina's. She slowly stood, battered and bruised from head to toe from all her lesser injuries up to this point, and her right hand bleeding a small trickle of fresh blood from this latest exchange.
But her left hand, unmarked, held her scabbard instead. And it took even her a moment to realise just what she held. But without looking, when she knew, Mia laughed. Mirthful, relieved laughter, the fruits of a job well done, all the suffering finally paying off.
With a flick of her thumb, she launched the blade forth and caught it with her bleeding hand. Then she drew a line in the dirt with its tip, shallowly but quickly, before drawing a circle before her. Then, when the blade was at its highest point and pointed towards the sky, she brought it level to her eye line and held it with both hands.
Once more, a challenge issued. But this time, with a full understanding of her opponent.
Cerina Polya. The Withering Witch.
The last living scion of House Paratiritis spread her arms, her feet tracing their own line as her body twisted, heart thundering like a drum. Her palm rose, thumb and fingers framing Mia Theodoros.
Wind Number 24: Dragon's Tail-Wind!
Cerina followed her extending hand, arms and legs blurred by power and force that brought her to Mia surrounded by a howling wind. Her trike flew for her student's face, one more strike to the nail.
Mia responded in kind. Eyes wide open and unblinking, she swung her sword upright, a wave of white-hot Iron Qi fanning outwards. A technique familiar to Cerina, performed by younger hands, yet done so in a far more refined fashion.
This was no guarding blow, but a counterattack. And Mia's sword sang, like it had never been apart.
Canticle of Theodora - Slayer's Sky Song
The weight of rot and timeworn dust answered the Storm Killer.
The weight of heat and decay and exhaustion caused the forming attack's course to slip. Through the eye of the needle Cerina flew, her left side screaming as her right extended to its limits and impacted. Cerina slammed to a stop, momentum arrested as Mia flew, sleeves and robes torn apart, her arm raw and bleeding from being nearly flayed. Behind her the monument trees fell like so much kindling.
Cerina's body was burning, twisting and shaking in a great tempest that roared down to her soul. Strategies aligned with instinct, knowledge of wind and mountain and fist slamming together and finding new shapes in this crucible.
This was what they needed.
"Your enemy lives Mia! DESTROY THEM!" She shouted. Match me!
Distance would only favour Cerina, whose strength was so much greater and her Withering Eye exceptional. The only solution would be to disappear and to strike in close quarters, in the shadows around the gaze of the Eye.
Mia moved immediately, the moment her feet hit the ground. In a flash she moved, her charge erratic even as she approached Cerina. It took advantage of Cerina's incredible vision to transform herself into a smear of motion blurs. Within five heartbeats she appeared before Cerina with a diagonal upwards slash.
Raindancer's Charge
The blow was warded off, yet that was expected. Surpassing the speed of thought, Mia's instincts drove her to jump when Cerina threw a sweeping chop at her, crossing behind her as she flipped head over heels and swung once again, at the neck that joined Cerina's head to the rest of her body.
Midday Mist Reversal
Cerina's gaze met Mia's. Veins bulge and muscles swelled as Cerina bloodily hacked out her improvised counter from her own muscles.
Weirding Mountain Art
Her Storm's Disregard and Mountain Tossing Art fused in her muscles, incredible strength meant to toss hills was instead focused by the wind and smashed Mia into a wild spin. Bones shattered and twisted in their flesh. Mia struck a tree, plowing through it and skipping across the stony ground before slamming to a stop.
Cerina stood, panting, her already injured arm now shattered at the wrist. A risky gambit, but worthwhile it seemed.
Mia pulled herself out with a rough shove, greeted by a shower of wood chips and debris. Panting heavily, one eye was now swollen shut, and her arms, previously fractured long ago, began to ache and shake again. It was the telltale sign of exhaustion, both mental and of Qi, yet Mia carried forward. With a snarl she launched forward again, riding the crest wave of a blast of Iron Qi.
Cloud Chaser
In a step and a breath she was in the thick of it again, a flurry of slashes against punches raining against one another like the rain against a block of steel. Cerina's strange joints spun, locking her ruined arm behind her back. Her stance was recovered and she met her student with foot and fist, darting about on one foot as she used her other leg in place of her useless arm.
Iron rang on bronze again and again. One blow for one more, two for two, three for three, three for four. Five. Six. Mia slowed, her muscles crying out as they decayed in her flesh and her bones creaked with false age.
Iron was easy to sharpen, it could be tempered. But Mia's tempering had only begun.
Bronze was harder than iron, less flexible. It weathered the hurts of the world better than iron, but even Celestial Bronze had limits.
Cerina tripped, twisting to one side as she overextended and showed her back to the Theodoros scion. Death clawed at her, just out of sight.
Breathing deeply, heavy with exertion, she had one attack left. Mia intended to make the most of it. She brought her sword low, level to the ground, then pulled it to her side. Then as Cerina began to turn, one eye closed, she made note of Cerina and the world around her.
Then, she gripped her sword harder, and with it grasped a power that existed long before and will survive long past her. Qi, raw and simple, flushed her muscles where energy would no longer suffice. And in her heart, she grasped the simplest of truths, so obvious that it often went unsaid.
Destroy the Enemies of the Imperator.
She vanished. And in her wake, the forest became a tempest.
The Canticle of Theodora - Tempest Death Dance
Cerina roared, every drop of her Qi concentrated on a single finger and her wounded arm lashed out faster than sight. A tempest was met with a cutting northern gust, the hand of a god smashing through it. The child's tempest exploded into howling rings around Cerina's attack.
Weirding Mountain Art: Northern Gust
Mia's blade shook, keening, then ripped away from her suddenly bleeding hands. Her arms were thrown up, her legs uprooted like a tree before a tornado, her limbs jerked about in a frenzy as the wind struck her sternum. Compressing her rib cage and smashing her bones against her flesh. She swung, countless slashes in an attempt to calm the winds and stir them in a favourable direction, but it was for naught.
She was out of Qi. And Cerina had a handful to spare.
Mia soared away like a leaf caught in a hurricane. She had a brief moment to wonder, images in her brain fluttering against each other as she pondered the branches racing by. And then her wild flight was caught by arms of iron.
One hand gently but firmly holding onto Mia's neck, the other wrapped around her abdomen, Katha skidded slightly as she halted her niece's backward momentum. Where it was trying for Mia, it was trivial for the older Legionnaire, who had the decades of experience at war that the gifted young Ironblood simply did not and could not have. When the dust settled and the winds calmed, it was Katha who walked up to Cerina with her niece and her niece's sword both in her arms, carried like a bed as Mia's head spun and her face went green.
"So did it work?" Katha asked, as she knew that Cerina had been putting Mia through her paces; she had wanted the opportunity, and why else would Mia be here?
"Oogh. Owie, my wrist is all floppy… fuck," Cerina first response was not reassuring. She moaned as she held up her arm, her left hand dangling pitifully from her wrist. The cuts and abrasions on her body were already healing but the bones, those would take a few days. Then she registered her friend.
"Katha! Yeah! She's done great!" She burbled happily, waving with both hands wildly, wincing as her broken one stabbed her nerves painfully. Ignoring that inconvenience, minor in the face of her excitement, she marched up to the dazed and nauseous Mia and looked down at her with genuine warmth and a smile.
"Good job kid! You started your first attack too early! Wait for the Eye," She said and then pat Mia on the head.
"So, were you entertained watching all that?" Cerina asked Katha when she looked back up.
Katha began to nod, but then she shrugged. "You probably could have hit her harder. And not let her hit you. The faster you break her down, the better we can build her back up. But I did like that you pushed her." A blink. "Did you really have to feed her poison though?"
Cerina looked at Katha like she'd grown a second head. "Yeeeesssssss? Do you not remember the Yuan Shroom Incident?"
"The… Mm. Right." Katha nodded. "Good thinking, Cerina."
"I couldn't think of any other way to teach your family how to eat properly, so poison it was." She huffed.
In her arms, Mia stirred. As she blinked blearily, her eyes suddenly widened as she saw who was carrying her. "A-Auntie? Auntie Katha?! You're here?!"
"Of course I am. I'm supposed to be watching you." At Mia, Katha tilted her head; with the eyepatch, raising an eyebrow was not going to have the desired effect. "Did you think I forgot you were here and left you alone?"
"...Yeah…"
Katha sighed. Then she dropped Mia like a sack of dumb potatoes. And as her niece's head spun and she rubbed her aching butt, she squatted next to her and flicked her in the earlobe. Mia cried out and whined, and she only got louder when Katha flicked the other ear.
"I'm not about to abandon you like that. I'm harsh, not heartless." A pause, then Katha flicked both her earlobes at the same time. "Insolent brat."
"...W-Waaah, I got bullied and I'm being scolded for it…!"
"And I'll do it again, Mia, don't think I won't!"
Cerina smiled from her position above the two Theodoroi. It was almost sibling-like! Though… she tilted her head like an owl and looked at Katha, her friend's muscles and bones and their movements traced out by her Eye. Her friend was recovering swiftly. It wouldn't be long now until she was at full readiness again, and it struck her that Katha was moving differently these days.
She moved like a judge's blade. No hesitation. No remorse. Simply movement.
The thought just… popped into her mind. Cerina hummed, and looked at Mia. And all she saw was a girl, with a beast's heart and a fang to call her own. Less refined ore. Just a girl. Maybe she wasn't that much like her aunt after all.
That girl was also teetering on the edge of exhaustion, more than a month of pain and suffering, and humiliation. She probably needed to eat. And sleep. And other human things. "Hey. Mia. It's time to eat," Cerina said, directing the kid towards a rock a decent distance away and handing her a bag full of meat jerky and fruit.
"Huh… Okay, okay…" Still dazed, Mia just took the bag with a nod and then wobbled over to a different corner. For her, her trials were finally over and done with.
----
But for her teacher and her aunt, their trials haven't even begun.
Now Katha and Cerina had privacy, reinforced as Katha activated an array that enforced it; a gift from the Spirit Oasis.
"So." Katha knew her friend well enough, and for her she would raise one eyebrow. "What did you wanna talk about?"
"You're moving differently. Is it going to be soon then?" Cerina asked, slowly unwinding from the fight by stretching her limbs. Each joint inhuman, but welded together in a vaguely human shape.
"...Right. Yeah." Katha nodded. "After the Trials. I think. The Ninth Prince is planning something, but we haven't been invited. But… Yeah." She inhaled, then exhaled. "I'm saying yeah a lot. Hopefully, I'll be ready to face Five-Element Tribulation soon. You're planning to go for it too, right?"
"Oh? Senior Snake is up to something… pmmff, and we're not invited." Cerina pouted. She shrugged. "Ah well. I'll do what I can to prepare for the trials and then… After I make another visit to Yuan, I'll start preparing. Might do Qiguai too. Depends if I get hurt." She answered.
But her eyes were on the beast girl, Mia sitting on a rock and munching her way through the tasty snacks. "She's making fantastic progress," she said, tilting her chin at the girl. But her tone was somber.
"She's always been a smart kid," Katha said, a small smile on her face. But then, her smile faded. "But she's not like us." It might be harsh to say so, but in some ways it was a relief. The Fourth Keystone was more troublesome than the previous three combined. But the Judgement was… Impartial. And it was clear.
The truth of it settled on Cerina's shoulders like a heavy cloth. "... Yeah. Born too strong to wonder at the Dao."
She sighed. "Shame. But she'll be fine without it." A little piece settled into place, one more grain of sand amongst a slow trickling avalanche. And it really did seem inevitable for her. That blind, grasping, sublime struggle.
"I told Rina during my intake that I was aiming for the Ninth. What about you Katha?" She asked, pondering the world all over again.
She nodded as well. "Me too." Katha smiled. "I guess that means we're both crazy. That'll be something! The 302nd and the 501st, with their Kings and Emperors."
"Utterly mad, the lot of us. I'm sure it will horrify all of my trainees." Cerina laughed, her expression softened by a doting look, aimed at Mia and all the students she could foresee in her future.
She shook her head. "But! Enough! I'm feeling older by the second and screw that, lets go hunt something Katha. I'm hungry!"
"Yeah, it's about time we…" Katha trailed off as a terrible thought occurred to her. Then, a sinister smirk splayed across her features.
"What?" Cerina asked, bemused as she looked over her shoulder, already heading into the forest.
"We should go hunt the Great Glacier Bear with Mia. Then eat it. In front of Mia."
Cerina's cackles sent Mia fleeing, crying out with instinctive, panicked screaming.
