I kept feeling this weird itching sensation whenever I looked behind me, but chalked it up to my nerves. Jia and I were walking through the humid jungle talking about our childhoods.
"So you really spent your whole childhood growing up in a stuffy city lord’s mansion??" I asked her. She nodded.
"Yes, though I have fond memories of living there so I’m not sure stuffy is the best word. I’m more impressed that you were able to survive on your own for so long, that must have been difficult." She said. I stretched my arms above me and yawned.
"Yeah it was hard sometimes, but I got used to being alone so it wasn’t too bad." I said.
Suddenly we heard the loud explosion and saw a qi blast fly into the air from ahead of us. We sped up our movements to get to the scene rapidly. When we arrived, some unrecognizable figures in robes were facing off against Ban Li, the young scion of the fire fist family.
"Applicant Ban Li, release applicant Du Cang at once. He has surrendered. You may take his treasures, but any further actions taken against applicant Du Cang will be considered a violation of the rules of the tests and you will be disqualified."
Ban Li got a sour look on his face but relented. He rummaged through the young man’s pockets of his robes, pulled out some items and threw the man to the ground. He was swept up by one of the robed figures and the others dispersed.
"Well well well, if it isn’t the ice princess and the blue haired body cultivator." Ban Li said as he turned to take us in.
"Come to give me your treasures too? How gracious of both of you!" He continued.
"We didn’t come to give you anything, and you can’t handle both of us together you big old fiery mean guy! Isn’t that right Jia?" I said.
I heard a loud hissing noise but couldn’t find its source when I looked around.
When Jia said nothing I frowned and wondered if she went all no talkey on me again because Ban Li was around. Instead, when I turned to look at her I saw two robed figures next to us both frozen in place with Jia also frozen. I looked back to Ban Li but he wasn’t moving either, a look of horror on his face.
I felt a murderous aura coming from behind me and whirled around. A snake the size of a small house launched itself from within the jungle from where we had come from. Its vibrant purple scales shined iridescent in the midday sun. I dodged its sneak attack and punched out at its hide with a qi infused punch. Contrary to my hopes I didn’t make a dent in it, but it must have been hurt by the punch because a hiss of pain escaped from its mouth as it slithered off back into the jungle. I looked around, trying to spot any sign of it, but its size belied its stealth abilities.
I went over to Jia and shook her by the shoulders attempting to wake her up from whatever stupor she was in.
"Hey! Jia wake up! What’s going on with you? What’s going on with all of you!" I asked.
Receiving no answer, I decided the snake must have done something to them when I wasn’t looking and decided it was time for the snake to die.
Again I felt a murderous intent towards me and I readied myself for another attack. The attack never came however and I was about to assume the snake had run away when the guttural scream of Ban Li belted out from behind me. I whirled around and gasped at the horror of the sight that met me. Ban Li’s form was hidden within the coiling purple form of the snake, its teeth sunk deeply within his torso. As I watched, his body visibly lost muscle density, his screams never ending. I moved toward the snake, trying to save Ban Li’s life but as I approached, the snake let go of him and slithered back into the jungle disappearing from sight.
Ban Li slumped to the ground and I checked on him, he was still alive, but he needed medical assistance soon.
"Text, I’m not fast enough to beat that snake, any solutions?" I asked, hoping beyond hope that the omniscient text would have a solution.
"ANSWER: The user can combine treasures into a movement technique with the gathered treasures from the hunt. Would the user like to create a movement technique?"
"Yes, yes , yes!" I said. A loading bar popping up in the corner of my vision, it seemed to adapt to me being in battle.
I kept an eye on the jungle, manifesting my swords of qi and taking two in hand to increase my speed and power. I felt that familiar murderous intent and whirled around first to Jia and the robed figures I didn’t know, I picked correctly and was able to catch the snake launching itself from within the depths of the jungle, a purple arrow flying true for Jia. I launched myself as fast as I could and was able to dig three furrows in the hide of the snake, the boiling blood from within its body gushing out at the cuts I caused. It fled back into the jungle and I witnessed in horror that the slashes I had made were already regenerating.
The damage I dealt to it bought me some time and by the time the next attack came, my new technique was already completed.
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"*DING*: Combination of techniques has completed, now uploading to the user."
I felt white hot pain in my head but did my best to keep my wits about me. I was unable to react fast enough however as the snake attacked one of the robed men. Similar to Ban Li, the man visibly lost muscle mass as the snake sank its fangs into him. The pain in my head soon subsided and I was now able to react again. I batted the snake away from the man as I considered how best to use my new technique. It wasn’t like Jia’s technique exactly, but it was similar and I was excited to try it out. I had the one remaining sword I wasn’t holding roving the edges of the jungle, dissuading the snake from attacking me from behind.
I heard a menacing hiss come from my left, but when I looked that direction I saw nothing. I barely caught the faintest glimpse of movement from my right as I looked to the left and I was able to dodge the snake’s attack just in time. It launched itself past me and I again raked its body with my two swords, coating myself in even more of the burning blood. I pushed through the pain of the blood hitting my exposed skin and soaking through my robes. I liked those robes!
As the snake slithered towards the jungle, I activated my new technique.
"Soft Steps On The Halcyonic Sea" I said as I took a step forward, the ground rippled underneath my footfall like waves on a lake and I moved right next to the snake’s head with my single step. It dodged the scything of my swords, narrowly avoiding death, but with each step I took the ground rippled with waves and I again appeared next to the snake. I was running out of qi fast while using this technique, but the snake didn’t expect me to keep up with it so well and its dodging wasn’t perfect. I traced deep gouges with my swords from its neck and the snake coiled upon itself attempting to protect its vulnerable head from further damage. I sent my one floating sword high into the air and launched it as fast I could down at where I thought the snake’s head to be. It hit the ground with a loud crash and the body of the snake in front of me slackened in death.
The mysterious power that seemed to be holding Jia and the others vanished with the death of the snake and they all dropped to the ground panting with exhaustion. I ran over to Jui and noted that the robed men were now joined by two more robed individuals, one checking on each of Ban Li and the fallen robed individual.
"Hey Jia! You’re back, what happened, why couldn’t you move?" I asked. She panted a few more times before taking my hand to help her stand.
"Astra, that was a qi devouring python. They are an apex predator. That one was at least in the early stages of the core formation realm, a tier four demon beast. It hunts its prey by causing the qi within their body to go out of control, preventing cultivators from moving. It's one of the most dangerous demon beasts for soul cultivators. Were you not affected because of your body cultivation?" She asked.
I shook my head and shrugged. I honestly had no idea.
"Text, any idea why it wouldn’t have affected me?" I asked under my breath, Jia again giving me a strange look at my words.
"ANSWER: The myriad elemental halcyonic scripture relies on the user’s qi being in a perfectly harmonious state. Any outside disruption would be difficult for anyone not significantly stronger than the user. A difference of at least two realms would most likely be required." Text answered. That made sense, my spirals were too stable to be disrupted.
I decided revealing my secrets in front of all of these strangers didn’t make sense so I just gave Jia a non-committal answer.
"It might be because of my body cultivation, but we can talk about that more later, let’s check on the others and make sure they’re alright first." I said. Jia nodded reluctantly and we both went to the two victims of the snake to ensure they were alright. The other inner disciples assured us that they would be taken care of and thanked me for taking care of the python. Jia helped me fish its core out of its body and she handed it over to me without protest.
"You killed it after all, its core belongs to you. That’s most likely the best treasure to be found in this whole hidden realm at this point." She told me.
I smiled and looked at the red orb in my hands. The inner sect disciples bid us farewell taking Ban Li and the injured inner disciple with them. Jia and I searched around for a bit longer but were unable to find any additional treasures. We weren’t allowed to take Ban Li’s treasures which sucked, I bet I could have used them to create a new technique.
Soon enough a loud ringing sounded out through the entire hidden realm marking the end. We were teleported back onto the stone formation and I noticed a marked difference in the amount of people on the formation. I noted that Ban Li was also present though he seemed determined to avoid eye contact with me.
"Applicants! Congratulations on making it this far. I will now call your name and you will present to me the treasures you found in the hidden realm and you will be given a score out of one hundred. Should your score not exceed fifty points, you will fail the exam. Good luck!" The proctor called out and began calling out names. Jia and I watched and waited for our names to be called. I watched Ban Li walk up to the stand and take treasures out of his pockets.
"Ban Li, points deducted due to an injury, 60 points." the proctor called out. Ban Li looked relieved to have been passed but looked back at me with a venomous look in his eyes.
Soon enough it was Jia and I’s turns. Jia went up first and the proctor whispered a few words to her that I couldn’t overhear from my position. Jia nodded and he counted her points.
"Lian Jia! Eighty points." He called out and she moved back to my side.
"Astra!" He called out and I skipped up to the table. The proctor waited expectantly and I pulled out the large red orb from within my robes. I heard gasps from the nearby onlookers and the proctor looked at me with a smile. He leaned in close to me and whispered to me.
"Thank you for saving my disciples and your fellow applicants. You’ve earned this monster core."
"Astra! Ninety points!" he called out and I skipped my way back to Jia, humming a merry tune from my childhood. Unsurprisingly, Heng Jian, and Fuan Ji both also passed the third test.'
"Alright applicants, it’s time for the final exam. As there are only seventy five of you remaining, twenty-five of you will be going home empty handed today. This will be decided during the final test. This year I cannot tell you about the final test, nor will you have any prior knowledge about the contents of the test. Applicants will be led, one by one to the testing grounds. First up, Chen Liang." The proctor said. A boy I didn’t recognize followed the proctor. About fifteen minutes later the proctor returned and the slow wait began. Finally, Jia was called back and I wished her luck. She smiled at me and we promised to meet up after the test, regardless of the outcome.
After another fifteen minutes It was my turn.
"Astra, you’re up!" the proctor said and I followed him out of the clearing.