Jack was a bigger idiot than she thought he was.
Bia’xx was concerned from the get-go when he mentioned the feast was ‘lacking in excitement’ but she never thought he was this lacking in brain cells too.
Standing face-to-face with Cura’xx on the newly dubbed sparring ground, Jack smiled with his head held high and back straight. He bent his back low when it came time to bow to each other, something unthinkable from the Sovereign of Arrogance himself.
When your only form of self-defence is a weak and easily dealt with Emotional Aura, you would usually be more careful with who you picked fights with, but not Jack. He was apparently too smart and powerful for that.
Bia’xx should have known things would turn out like this from the start, especially when the disciples turned up and started sparring. He was being far too nice and complimentary towards them, as well as to Cira’xx, whom he previously referred to as ‘the useless man with useless disciples’ to his face during his prior visits.
Cira’xx gathered the 10 best disciples the Rei Ui had to present, but most of them were at the 4th level of the Mortal Realm, with only 2 of them at the 5th and one at the 6th. Not the best roster, which is to be expected from a middling Mayor Clan, yet all Jack had for them was kind words of praise. Even Bia’xx would have let a word of scorn or two slip, so the fact that Jack of all people did not was downright strange.
They were not particularly talented in combat or Martial Techniques either besides from Cura’xx.
This is what Bia’xx thought Jack meant when he said he wanted to regain face for himself; be nice to the Rei Ui for once despite his distaste for them and gain their respect and support that way. Naïve, especially for him, but could have been somewhat effective. More so than whatever this is.
But only now, whilst watching the two face off on the hall grounds, did she understand what he meant.
‘Such an impressive performance from the Young Master, enough to get even this prince’s own blood boiling and eager to fight!’
When he saw Cura’xx win against one of the level 5’s with relative ease, Jack seemed very interested in joining in on the spars himself. With Cura’xx specifically no less!
Of course, she and the entire room stood opposed. The deep, deep shit the Rei Ui might have been in if they accidently severely injured Jack…
And that was a real risk. No matter how much Cura’xx held back, he was still a mid-stage Mortal Realm Cultivator fighting someone with a body slightly above level 1 and the inability to use energy properly. He could use his pinkie finger for the fight and still do massive damage. But that wouldn’t do. Jack asked for a genuine fight, thus Cura’xx was expected to give him one.
She had been sending Jack transmissions for a good 2 minutes now, calling him a variety of names and pleading with him to sit down and stop being an idiot, but he ignored them all.
“Jack, do you mind not being an idiot? You cannot fight Cura’xx! The only reason you can spar with us is because we can control our energy so that we do not turn you into mulch when we do so much as sneeze in your general direction! And even then, you struggle!”
If only she could get away with tying him down or something, but she was not permitted to restrain the prince in any way unless they were in a life-or-death situation. Her best chances were in convincing him with words, though it was not working.
“He is at the 6th level of the Mortal Realm, near the late-stages of it no less. But he is still young and incapable of controlling energy like we do, so no matter how much he holds back, his strikes will do more damage than Dra’xx has ever done to you!”
At the mention of Dra’xx, Jack’s eyebrows twitch in concern and his smile becomes strained, but his mask of absolute confidence and his air of superiority stayed strong.
“If you still insist on fighting such an unnecessary and dangerous bout, at least consider the consequences! You want to regain face? Then act like all this was a joke and sit back down!”
Jack thought he was invincible, and to the Rei Ui, he might very well be, but to the rest of the Empire, the Emperor leaving his status as prince vague was all they needed to make their own conclusions. He did not know just how rocky his status was. The only thing keeping assassins off his doorstep were the Imperial Guardsmen stationed at the Manor.
“It’ll be fine, promise.”
Jack responded, but not in the way she would have liked. She exhaled through her nose as her shoulders slumped. There really was no convincing him.
Was this maybe a result of his inner desire to be revered by others being unleashed by the no small helping of wine he was drinking?
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Cira’xx also sighed not nearly as covertly as Bia’xx, then swept Jack with his powerful spiritual senses which nothing under heaven could hide from. Was he looking for signs of illness, perhaps of the brain?
No, who was she kidding? Jack may have beeen weak, but he still had the robust vitality of a cultivator which made him immune to almost all ailments. This was just a result of his stupidity and eagerness to show off after all.
Much to her surprise, Cira’xx’s reaction was not that of bitter disappointment or concern but of unbridled shock.
Bia’xx stretched her spiritual senses towards Jack and searched his body for any abnormalities only to realise his entire body had turned into one. His meridians were practically bursting at the seams with energy.
And that energy was dense, far denser than it should have been!
Though it was unstable, and the circulation was rough and slow, no matter how many times she scanned Jack’s body the result was the same. Energy at the 6th level of the Mortal Realm flowed through his meridians.
“What!?” one elder exclaimed.
“His Highness’ energy!” another shouted.
Bia’xx could hardly supress the urge to scream out in shock either, the only thing stopping her being her pride as a stone-faced Imperial Guardswomen.
“Jack! What the fuck!”
That was all she could think to ask.
“Did you notice? Honestly, I expected you to realise earlier.”
“How the hell could I?”
Jack’s energy had sensed a little bit off since this morning, but she thought that was him pulling the slightest wisps out the seal to use in case of emergency. Not whatever the hell this was!
Worst part was that he was enjoying himself to no end seeing the reactions of Cira’xx and the Elders. Even she must have had one hell of an expression on. Cura’xx was looking at them all in confusion, having not sensed anything off about Jack.
“Have you perhaps… broken the seal?”
It was a somewhat foolish question to ask, but she had to. No matter how weak and exploitable the Emperor made the seal, it was still formed around Jack’s soul and Dantian using energy from the God Realm!
She would find it normal if even a Divine Realm cultivator took dozens of years to undo the seal, but had Jack really broken it in only 12?
“No, I’m not that world-defying. But a small crack goes a long way.”
“A crack?”
Jack must have been on crack if he expected her to believe that…
But that would explain the enormous amount of energy stored in his body. Bia’xx was not sure if he could even survive that level of energy. The strain it would put on his body to maintain an Aura using it would be crippling at the least. Never mind the mental stress attempting to control that much energy on that level would inflict. On top of that, sparring with someone powerful and skilled?
It was a recipe for utter disaster!
Bia’xx wondered if she could get away with knocking him out cold and taking him back to the Manor. That would be better than whatever would happen if she let this go on any further.
But before she could act…
“Uh,” one of the Elders began. “Your Highness and Young Master… may begin.”
Cura’xx released his spiritual pressure, this time holding back much of it with a hesitant expression. Jack seemed unaffected by it and responded by releasing his own. The two invisible bubbles of power clashed, one wildly overpowering the other and pushing it back.
Of course, the one being dominated was Jack.
Spiritual pressure was derived from one’s cultivation and was almost impossible to increase using alternative means. It was also the most effective method to tell what someone’s cultivation was when unable to sense the energy in their Dantian or the level of their soul.
Jack had the meagre spiritual pressure of someone at the 1st level of the Mortal Realm as he should, albeit a little thicker than your average genius, but what of the energy flowing in his meridians?
Was it an illusion which could fool even Heavenly Cultivators? Or the result of some overpowered, cheat artifact?
Jack was forced to take a half-step back and hold his breath due to the weight in the air, but his vicious smile did not fade one bit.
In fact, it seemed to grow even wider.
Not caring for face, or even showing the slightest concern in losing so terribly in a battle of spiritual pressure, Jack admonished Cura’xx.
“Come on, this meagre pressure is hardly enough to satisfy this prince. Or do you mean to say you think of this prince a fragile ceramic vase? Show me your strength!”
Did he have some plan in mind, or was he this arrogant and steeped in ignorance, Bia’xx could not tell, but either way, he was astronomically stupid to goad Cura’xx into releasing his true oppressive might.
Taking a quick glance at his father, looking for his approval, Cura’xx slowly began releasing more of his spiritual pressure, testing how much he could handle.
By the time he released 75% of it, the space around him was already twisting and rending, his pressure condensing and becoming visible even without using one’s spiritual senses.
Jack was drenched in sweat and could hardly lift his body beneath the weight of his power, yet he continued to provoke Cura’xx into using more until it was released in full force.
“Hurry! Does this daddy here have to tell you to release your Aura too?”
Bia’xx’s face scrunched up as she internally cringed at the possible Heir to the Divine Throne and Mantle referring to himself as ‘this daddy’. The Emperor would not be pleased if he heard.
Cura’xx stared at Jack with confusion, more confused than anyone else as he seemed to have neglected scanning him with his senses. His father peppered him with Transmissions without putting forth the effort into hiding them, likely telling him to comply with the prince and spar in earnest, all while taking care not to injure him.
A difficult line to walk.
Cura’xx let out an almost unnoticeable sigh before taking another breath, this time deep and full of intent. In a loud explosion, bright orange fire burst from his body and surrounded him in a protective blaze, heat spreading through the whole hall in a near instant. Jack took it surprisingly well, only shielding his face from the heat with his forearms.
Cura’xx’s Aura was much stronger than it was in the previous matches, and a flash of pride could be seen on Cira’xx’s face. Indeed, Cura’xx was more powerful than Bia’xx gave him credit for. Among the mid-stage of the 6th level, she could think of none who rival him.
Thank the Heavens he had not yet learned how to project emotions with it.
“Interesting, this prince can feel it all the way from here. Now, let me show you mine!”
Jack breathed in loudly through gritted teeth and strained every muscle in his body. Grunting, orange Pure Energy erupted from him in an uncontrolled blast which shook the room.
What. The. Fuck. When the hell did he learn to manifest an Aura?