“Ah! Finally, something other than these damn trees!” One of the peddlers exclaimed from atop his cart. His eyes gleamed in relief as he stared ahead, seeing something nobody else could.
A chorus of relief swept through the caravan as that only meant one thing. They had finally reached the Blue River.
Fang stepped aside from the group, trying to get a better look at the river, but all he could see was a mirage of blue in the distance. The trees on either side of trail created a weird illusion to his eyes, as if he was staring down a tunnel enclosed by a wall of water at the far end.
Thankfully it wasn’t too long until they finally reached the river bank.
Fang approached the river, his mouth opening wide enough for a family of flies to enter. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
This is not a fucking river, it’s a goddamn ocean!
He stood on the ‘bank’, which was really a sheer cliff-face of white rock that dropped hundreds of feet below, extending north and south as far as he could see. Countless small plants and spindly trees hugged the cliff-face. An entire ecosystem seemed to live and breathe on the white rock. He saw flocks of birds fly across the blue expanse, small critters climbing along the white cliff rock, scuttling between the tree and stones alike.
Truly, it was the largest river he’d ever seen, both lives accounting.
The distant shore was non-existent, so far away that he couldn’t even get a whiff of land, even with his heightened senses.
The water was eerily blue, reminiscent of an energy drink in saturation. Glacial silt flowed down the river, pouring off the Dragons Range and painting the waters into an obfuscating icy abyss.
“First time?” A man beside him asked, a smug look on his face.
Fang could only slowly nod. His mind unable to comprehend the sheer size of the so called “river”.
“Hah, I had the same look on my face when I first laid eyes on her, who knew there could be so much water in one place, huh?” The man uncorked his water skin taking a large gulp. “And guess what?” He continued.
“Legends say… it’s deeper than it is wide! Hah! Can you believe that?” He expanded his arms out, as if his arm-span was at all enough to convey the sheer magnanimity of the Blue River.
Fang could only gulp as he peered down into the rivers depths. An uneasy feeling gripped his stomach as he stared into the unknown blue waters. For some, godforsaken reason, he felt like he could see… something. Goosebumps bubbled across his arms as a terrible thought floated to his mind.
Beasts on land means beasts in the depths.
Fang stepped away from the edge. His heart-rate rising. He turned to see the man who had talked to him returning to the caravan. He gave a quick, tentative glance back to the river, a shiver running down his spine.
Yeah, fuck that.
He quickly caught up with Yunfeng.
“Senior Yunfeng, do you perhaps know anything about bloodlines?” He asked, trying to distract himself.
Yunfeng give him a sideways glance.
“For what reason?”
Fang scratched his cheek. Uh, because I think my heaven blessed system can help me maybe change my own?
But he couldn’t exactly say that
“I was wondering if cultivators had different bloodlines to us mortals?”
Yunfeng chuckled.
“I see…”
“…Cultivators do indeed have different bloodlines. Though, the vast majority aren’t anything special—outside of having roots—do you know what spirit roots are?”
Fang nodded.
“As much I can without having one.”
Yunfeng gave a wry smile from beneath her mask.
“Yes, well, it is said that spirit roots are dependent on having immortal blood. What that really means, is that at some point in time an ancestor of theirs descended from an immortal cultivator.”
“Over millennia descendants had more descendants, and so on and so forth. There are more cultivators than you’d think, though they’re still much rarer than mortals.”
“Bloodlines are manifestations of those immortal cultivators attainments. Whether that would be affinities to a certain element, or certain… features.” She said, her eyes momentarily scanning Fang’s nails.
“One thing to note, is that not all Immortal cultivators were human.”
Fang’s brows rose in surprise.
“Huh? What? They uh, got busy with qi-beasts?”
Yunfeng laughed, her hand gently hovering over her lips.
“Not quite, though you’re not too far from the truth. At the Immortal level there is no difference between a “Qi-beast” and a human cultivator. In their eyes, we are just another beast among the millions that inhabit the world.”
“I see.” He said rubbing his chin.
“So a bloodline is unchangeable, wholly dependent on one’s ancestry?”
Yunfeng’s gaze suddenly sharpened, the air around her growing slightly cold.
“Such things are possible… yet tampering with bloodlines is very much abhorred by cultivators. It is seen as going against the will of the immortal ancestors, the natural way of things. Those who ignore such things are given a heavy, black label—”
An almost tangible pressure formed around her, her clothes ruffling against the easterly winds as her eyes turned a slight green.
“—demonic.”
Fang gulped. A cold sweat crawling down his neck.
Well…
shit.
—
Fang dropped the topic rather quickly, as it was clear to him Yunfeng held so called, demonic cultivators with contempt. Whether that was due to their unorthodox practices or from personal experience, he wasn’t willing to pry any further.
The caravan continued along the rivers edge, the sparkling blue waters frequently giving way to large schools of fish that lept to the air like dolphins upstream.
The road along the river had become firmer, more defined and clearly more traveled. Eventually, small road markers began to appear. They were head-height stone obelisks, the four faces inscribed with multiple scripts, some in languages Fang couldn’t even recognize.
It was clear how old they were, as some scripts had been overwritten many times, or had been there so long they had become overgrown with moss from the river humidity.
In the script he did recognize, it read: ‘RIVER-DROP PORT, TWENTY MILES, SOUTH’
The caravan stopped a little bit after the marker in an established site that was clearly, frequently used. It had a few fire-rings, deep ruts in the ground from years of cart traffic, and grass long since trampled into impacted dirt.
The routine was similar to the night before. A flurry of exhausted groans, sporadic fires and tents.
A myriad of smells, swelling into the air.
Yunfeng found a further isolated spot—Fang shared his rations once more.
After she turned in for the night, he quietly strolled a little ways back down the road, finding a spot to meditate. He leaned back against a pine, watching the moon rise and reflect over the river. Its lunar light melded into the waters, streaking across the river, forming a bridge of shimmering white.
Fang breathed deeply, savoring the sight. He stole the fresh rivers’ breeze into his lungs, as cool humid air settled on his skin.
This world… is truly beautiful. Sights like these are worth the effort, I should find a map of natural wonders, maybe go on a few scenic delights.
He closed his eyes.
Once again, he delved into his Aura-Burning Art. His chest rising in rhythmic pulses, like bellows to a forge.
Time passed, the moon rising high over the river. Rising until it was finally overhead.
Face gamiled softly as he felt the new ember settle near his heart. It hummed with power, flickering with golden flames. Suddenly, Fang immediately clamped down with his will, holding it from the larger drops pulling force. His aptly named, Core Aura. He winced, eyes still closed. As the magnetic pull was even stronger than before, over two times as great.
Fang didn’t want to fuse this drop of Aura, as he wanted to have a one on backup. Instead he forced it to sit quietly in his chest. Interestingly enough, it still provided him with a slight increase of strength, but he could tangibly tell that it was less than his Core Aura. As if together, they were greater than the sum of their parts.
Fang finally opened his eyes, smiling lightly as he saw the the moon overhead, reflecting perfectly on the river below.
Huh? What is that—
His eyes slowly widened.
A shadowy silhouette swam across the moons reflection. He could hardly see it, yet the moon clearly revealed its many sharp, angular fins, slithering along the river.
For a whole minute, Fang watched its silhouette glide through the moon. Disrupting the perfect reflection until its tail-fin finally caught up with its colossal length.
It disappeared into the night, likely descending back into the abyssal depths.
Fang could only stare ahead, wishing he hadn’t seen what he was quite sure he did.
What…
He shook his head. A small chuckle of absurdity escaping his lips.
What a wonderful world.
—
Finally, after three more days of travel the caravan came into sight of River-Drop.
Fang wasn’t sure what he was expecting, a slope down to the river perhaps, maybe a very precarious staircase carved into the cliff.
Instead he saw what he saw could only described as an engineers worst nightmare.
On the edge of the cliff, sat a large building. It stood two stories high, much wider than it was tall, with a three large barn-like entrances. Each of them had their own signboard: DROP — OFFICE — LIFT, respectively.
The stomach curling part was that the buildings butt-end was hanging freely off the cliff. As if the white rock below had eroded away from its foundations, yet it was clear this was intentionally designed. Large reinforced beams were anchored deeply into the cliff just below, bracing the end of the building aloft like a waiter holding a tray.
Fang glanced over the cliff, looking below the soon to be unfortunate event of a building to see a small dock far down. Waves lapped against the wooden platform, rustling two elevator-like pulleys that ran on either side of its short length, connecting to the building high above.
He noticed a distinct lack of ferry, not a single boat anywhere to be seen. Others in the caravan had similar observations, as a wave of commotion ran through the group.
“Where’s the ferry?”
“Screw the ferry where are the dock-hands?”
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“The dock-hands? Where is ANYBODY!”
An unsettling feeling quickly took hold of them, as they slowly approached the port office. The guards took point, their hands on their spears, poised as if a bear was going to burst out the bay doors.
Fang leaned over to Yunfeng, his voice low.
“Is… something wrong?” He said, but immediately followed with a wince. He had cursed them with those simple words.
Yunfeng only nodded lightly, her eyes narrowing at the building.
“It’s usually quite busy.”
“Is everybody on some sort of holiday?”
She chuckled.
“Funny.”
Fang scratched his cheek.
How was that funny?
The guards motioned for everyone to remain behind. As five of the ten broke off to get a better look inside. Fang could see the hesitation in their steps, their feet trying desperately to make as little noise as possible.
They slowly entered the office, their figures disappearing into the shadows.
The group waited.
…
And waited, their breaths held tight.
…
Waiting, as a cold sweat built.
…
Until finally, one of the guards stepped outside. The peddler group let out a collective sigh of relief. An old man atop one of the carts shouted out.
“Well?! Anything?”
The guard took one step forwards, dragging his other as if it was weighed down by a thousand pounds. He opened his mouth, trying to reply, but only a disgusting gurgle of blood spewed from his throat.
He collapsed.
His face smashing into the cold dirt with a sickening smack. The noise cutting through the air like a record scratch.
A sickle, curved and maliciously serrated had been impaled into the guards back. A series of loud steps echoed from within. The wooden floor of the office creaking under the weight of the unknown assailants feet.
From out of the shadows a single hand reached out, grasping the sickle’s hilt and ripping it from the guards corpse with a flesh-rending rip.
Blood splayed across the ground, dripping from the sickle’s blade as it is brought to a man’s face.
“Hello, meat bags.” He said, stepping into the afternoon light.
A collective recoil washed over the group as they sight his face. The man is bald, with gruesome scars where his eyebrows should’ve been. His lips are bleeding, a maw of sharpened teeth digging into what little flesh is left. He wore nothing but a pair of ragged pants, his body lacerated in festering scars.
He smiled, his eyes curving into crescents—glowing a sinister red.
Fang felt the air near him shift. He glanced at Yunfeng, seeing her eyes scowl into daggers. Even through the mask he could see her grit her teeth, gnawing on her jaw in restrained rage.
It was the most emotion he’d ever witnessed from her.
The old man atop the cart was the first to break the silence, releasing a squealing scream of desperation.
“a-aahH!? Guards?!”
The five remaining guards stepped forwards, hands shaking in fear as they pointed their spears towards the murderer.
The mangled man gave a cold laugh at the sight. As if the bravery of the guards was a mere joke.
“We must leave.” Yunfeng whispered. “That is not a bandit.”
Fang nodded, taking a careful step backwards, trying not to trip the building tension in the air.
The mangled bald man clicked his tongue. “Oi…” he said with a raspy crawl. “Did I say you could leave?” He asked.
Immediately, more figures appeared from the darkness. Though these were, thankfully, significantly less gruesome looking. Much more in line with a stereotypical ‘bandit’, they were garbed in ragged, mismatched weapons and armor.
It was clear that they were nearly as fearful of the bald man as the peddlers were. Giving him a wide-berth as if he was liable to attack any that got too close.
Fang glanced behind him towards the trail and the subsequent forest further beyond, only to see more figures appear from out of the tree-line.
“Surrounded.” He whispered to Yunfeng. She nodded, clenching her fist as her eyes darted around looking for a way out.
The mangled man didn’t seem at all bothered. The event boringly routine for him. He took slow, casual steps towards the peddlers, his sickle swinging loosely in his bloodied hands.
“STAY BACK!” One of the guards screamed. “OR ELSE WE’LL—“
His voice was caught in his throat.
Within the blink of an eye the mangled man exploded out with a single swift slash, the air in front of him screaming as he released a finger-thick line of blood from his sickle. The guard’s eyes barely opened in surprise before he fell to his knees. A gurgling sound filled the air as he clawed at his throat. Blood poured from his mouth, before his head tilted over and fell to the floor. His body following shortly after.
“Did I say?” The mangled man growled, as he swept a bloodied hand across his bald head, smearing crimson blood along his scalp.
“You could speak?”
Chaos erupted. The guards shot forwards with trained agility, their spears moving in tandem. The mangled man growled in glee, easily leaping back to to avoid the attacks.
“KILL THE MEN! HAMSTRING THE WOMEN!”
The peddlers screamed in fear, most abandoning their valuables and running for their lives, dispersing like headless chickens. Some, however, pulled out weapons of their own, determined to defend their livelihoods to the bitter end.
A roar of excitement poured out from the bandits. Hellish decrees of violence as they charged the fleeing peddlers. They drove steel into flesh, rending life from the desperate people.
Yunfeng stared at the chaos, watching listlessly as blood spewed into the air. Her heart thundered in her chest, a terrible nostalgia stunning her into indecision.
“ng—“
“feng—!”
“YUNFENG!” Fang screamed at her.
Her mind snapped back to reality, she turned to see Fang’s muddied eyes staring at her, small specks of gold floating in their depths. She turned to the demonic cultivator, the source of her nightmares. The man had already killed two more guards, practically playing with the men, torturing them with a thousand cuts.
This was a lost battle. Out numbered, caught off guard, and as she felt the waves of Qi emanating from the demonic cultivators attacks, she knew she was weaker in pure cultivation.
Do I run again? She though to herself, but before she could reply to herself, Fang answered for her.
“We need to fight.” He declared. “Can you hold off the bald fucker?” She gave a short nod.
“Barely-“
Before she could finish her reply he vanished from vision. His backpack slammed to the ground as her eyes widened into saucers. The earth beside her exploded into a small crater, the wind whipping as Fang launched himself towards the nearest bandit. Yunfeng couldn’t believe her eyes, such speeds were nearly impossible, for a mortal…
—
Fang grit his teeth as he strode forwards, his hand twitching as an odd feeling gripped his chest.
His eyes focused on a bandit that was busy bashing a peddlers skull into the ground.
I’ve never killed a person…
The sheer thought made him slightly queasy. He’d killed beasts before, hell, he’d kill his murderer if he had the chance, but actually doing it? The line of right and wrong was a razors edge in this world, he knew that. But the moment he awoke in this foreign body, in this world—he knew more so—it wasn’t a matter of if he’d kill, but a matter of when.
Fang shot forwards, digging his toes into the ground as he accelerated to eye watering speeds. The bandit didn’t even react, completely ignorant of the idea that anybody in the peddler group could’ve been a threat. How foolish, was this a world where things couldn’t go awry?
Fang appeared from within a blur, his hand swiftly stabbing into his back, sinking into the man’s chest cavity like it was butter. The sensation was stomach churning, as hot blood and organs brushed against his hand.
The man stilled, looking down at the sudden pain. His eyes widened as his mind registered the feeling of incoming death far too late. Fang twisted his hand. A rupturing force imploding from his technique. The bandit’s scream cut short as his chest burst open in a flurry of blood and guts. His organs ripped free of his chest, flying to the wayside as he fell to his knees.
The commotion was a record scratch. Bandits and peddlers alike stared at Fang in confusion.
What? A kid? They thought.
A cold voice spoke up.
“Well, well, well… would you look at that? Hmm? A little kid, playing a righteous hero!” The mangled baldy cackled. His voice grating on the ears. He kicked a guard to the side, the body rolling across the ground lifelessly.
“Come here little boy, come and fight the big bad—“
“Can you shut the fuck up?”
The bald man choked, as if he had been punched in the gut. His face incredulous to what he just heard. His eyes turned sharp, a visage of rage enveloping his face.
“What did you just say?”
Fang turned to face the man. His heart hammered in his chest, a five-fused drop of Aura pulsed immense strength into his limbs. He had one loose drop, practically screaming at him to be burned. But he knew he had to save his strength—revealing all of his cards right away would be stupid.
Fang raised a single hand at the bald man. Then flipped his middle finger up.
The bald man growled, unsure as to the meaning of the gesture, but the context was palpable.
“I’m going to flay your fucking entrails around your neck.”
He stomped on the ground, shooting towards Fang with mind-numbing speed. He screamed as he charged towards him, his eyes ferally focused, so focused that he didn’t see the massive translucent jade fist barreling towards him.
WHAM!
At the last moment his eyes dilated. He brought his arms to his chest, but the force of the blow still sent him flying into the port office. Wood exploded as the structure groaned under impact. The materialized fist dissipated into a beautiful cloud of jade Qi, the green mist parting to reveal Yunfeng.
She walked slowly towards the port office. Her arms draped in bands of jade Qi. A faint shimmer of pure power emanating off her form. She turned to Fang, giving him a nod before dashing into the port office.
I fucking knew it.
Fang grinned, turning to the bandits’ stunned faces. Their confusion quickly turned to rage, as they roared at him. They all but forgot about the peddlers, charging at him with wild abandon.
Fang didn’t wait for them to reach him. He lifted his leg and sent it crashing into the earth below. A wave of force blasted towards the bandits’ sending many of them tumbling to their knees as it lifted a large cloud of obfuscating dirt into the air.
Fang dashed into the cloud, quickly planting a foot into an unguarded chest. He felt the man’s sternum give way as a bone curling snap rang out, sending the bandit flying into his friends.
Fang stepped back, dodging the wild swing of an axe. He felt the wind brush past his face, his arm snapped upwards catching the flat of the axe in an uppercut. The metal buckled as the weapon was ripped from its wielder who screamed in surprise as his axe spun into the air.
Fang snapped forwards, sinking his hand in the man’s throat. Hot blood sept in-between his fingers as he pulled back. His pupils dilated as a saber tried to take his arm, missing by a hairsbreadth. Fang immediately retaliated, slapping the saber down, forcing it into the dirt. The bandit let go of hilt, launching a wild fist at Fangs face.
Fang easily grabbed the bandits incoming arm, his nails clamping into skin like a tigers claw before twisting harshly. The bandit pleaded as he felt his arm bend.
“NO NO NO!”
POP!
“AAGH!” He screamed.
Fang pulled the man close before kicking his torso with so much strength he tore his arm off. Blood spray from his stump as he collapsed.
The whistle of a sword caught his ear, making him instinctively duck down. The blade cut by, nearly scalping him bald. Fang spun low, sweeping the stolen arm around him as he did so.
The stolen limb caught the attacker by the knees, snapping his legs sideways. Fang went in to finish him off, but had to roll away as a warhammer crushed into the dirt only moments later.
Fang deftly leapt to his feet, staring down the bandits as he landed.
The air was thick with the smell of blood, the injured bandits screamed hell as they clutched their wounds. The armless man rolled along the ground, digging dirt into his bleeding stump as he wailed, his slow death grating on his comrades ears.
There was hesitation in their eyes. A kid, barely a young man had taken out a quarter of them in the span of a single breath. The sounds of their dying comrades doing little to quell their nerves. They stared at Fang, trying to swallow their fear.
A bandit suddenly screamed, leaping to the side as an axe fell from the sky, nearly decapitating his head.
Fang stood stock still, his eyes baring at them like knives. His hair, wet with blood stuck to his skin, glistened in the sun settling day.
“Ah, I missed.” He said with a wolfish grin.
“Fuck this!” The bandit who dodged decapitation shouted. He stumbled to his feet, fleeing into the forest.
It only took one, a catalyst to set their cowardice aflame. Like dominos they all began to turn tail and flee.
Their dying comrades screamed at them to take them with. The man with broken knees crawled after them, whimpering as he dragged his useless legs behind him.
Fang glanced at the nearby surviving peddlers.
“Finish them off, I need to help with the ugly one.” Fang turned, and shot towards the port office.
The survivors stared gobsmacked at the carnage left behind. Their eyes turning vicious as they spied the remaining bandits.
—
Yunfeng twisted away from a blade of blood sent her way. The demonic blood art whipped past her hat, taking a large chunk of the brim in the process. She maintained her momentum, spinning gracefully into a low punch. Her fist trembled as Qi raged through her arms. Another translucent fist of jade formed, launching itself towards her attacker.
The demonic cultivator grunted, intercepting the attack with an uppercut, his sickle glowing blood red as it bisected the materialized fist in two in a otherworldly screech of Qi.
Immediately the demonic cultivator followed up with two more attacks, curved blades of blood Qi barrelled towards Yunfeng. She sucked in a breath, stomping her foot into the floor. The ground rumbled, a wall of jade rising to meet the incoming blood blades.
BOOM!
The building shook on impact, the jade wall taking the brunt of the attack before shattering.
Yunfeng’s eyes suddenly widened. Her instincts screamed at her as she leaned her head back. A wave of blood whipped passed her head, mere millimeters away from decapitating her.
The demonic cultivator took advantage of the moment, shooting through the dissipating Qi and driving his fist into her stomach.
Yunfeng choked as her body was thrown towards the far side of the building.
The foundations shook, cracks lacerating the wood as the building slightly teetered towards the river far below.
With a slow strut the demonic cultivator approached Yunfeng. The nails of his feet scratching across the wooden floor-boards.
“Jade Horde Bitch.” He cursed, spitting a mass blood onto the floor. “You’re on the wrong side of the river, little rat.” He said with a smile.
Yunfeng grimaced, feeling a pulsating pain emanating from her stomach.
“Shut your mouth, you hairless dog.”
The demonic cultivator laughed, cackling into the air as if he heard the funniest thing.
“My blood brothers insult me better than you.” He scorned, “I will send your tongue to your sect after I bite it out of your mouth.” He licked his lips, baring his bloodied teeth.
A shiver of disgust ran down Yunfeng’s spine. The fact of the matter was, she knew what these grotesque beings were capable of, as she’d seen such a thing happen first-hand.
I can’t die here.
She stood to her feet, willing her Qi to flood her body. Her eyes gained a fiery jade glow as translucent jade gauntlets formed over her hands. Her eyes stared the demonic cultivator down, widening slightly as she saw a flicker of shadow behind him.
She smiled behind her mask.
“Come try it, you filthy mongrel.”
“This will be fun.” He smiled, dashing forwards.
Yunfeng knew she had a single shot. She stepped forwards, her hands suddenly clasping together, as if she was squashing a bug.
“SEAL!” She shouted aloud. Her voice giving will to strengthen the technique.
Her gauntlets vanished, instantly appearing on either side of the demonic cultivator. They swelled in size, clawing towards one another with air shattering speeds.
The demonic cultivator smirked, slapping his foot against the floor and leaping into the air. The jade hands slammed together, missing their target.
“PREDICTABLE!” He screamed in glee, raising his sickle above his head. Yet he couldn’t help but feel something amiss.
A voice echoed from behind him.
“Agreed.”
Fang burned his loose drop of Aura. Power surged through his body as he coiled low. His ankles loading like cannons as he channeled the full force of his Stormquaking Strides into his legs. The floor below shattered into splinters as he shot forwards.
The demonic cultivator whipped his head around, his eyes bloodshot with panic as he tried to maneuver himself out of the air. But there simply wasn’t enough time. Was the kid a cultivator? No, there wasn’t a lick of Qi present in his body.
So how in heavens name is he so fast!
The cultivator screamed, bracing himself for impact, a barrier of blood Qi covering his arms. Fang punched forwards, the air rippling as his fist compressed the air against itself.
The Qi barrier felt like he punched a concrete wall. His mortal knuckles shattered under the impact, but Fang ignored the pain, refusing to believe Qi could stop sheer stupid strength.
He twisted his arm, channelling his Visceral Rupturing Strikes against the wall of air trapped between his fist and Qi.
BOOM!
The world shook, a sonic shockwave exploded outwards from Fang’s fist.
The demonic cultivator screamed as his Qi barrier shuddered, he stared in bloodshot disbelief as his barrier cracked, barely able to stay together.
Even so, the force of Fang’s strike sent him careening through the air, his body smashing through the far wall of the port office. The rays of the setting sun flooded into building as he unwillingly opened a window towards the river.
His voice grew distant as he arc’d towards the river below, curses echoing against the cliff face until another resounding boom smacked against water far below.
His screams cut short.
Fang’s heaving breaths filled the room as splinters fell to the port office floor.
Yunfeng dispelled her own Qi barrier, before staring at Fang with incredulous eyes.
Fang looked at her, then down towards the water. His eyes narrowing at the waves that smashed against the cliff face.
“You think he knows how to swim?”
Yunfeng laughed.
“That was a six-hundred stride drop, even a foundation establishment cultivator could die from impact alone.”
Fang glanced back down, seeing nothing but waves below. He stepped back, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Jesus christ…”
“Je Su Chist? Who’s that?”
Fang coughed. “Uh, just a minor spirit around my village.”
Yunfeng raised a brow, but merely shrugged, before cupping her hands at him.
“Thank you for the help, I would’ve lost that fight.”
Fang waved his hand.
“It’s fine, I doubt I could’ve beaten him either.”
Yunfeng couldn’t help but laugh. Doubted? A body cultivator beating a 8th stage Qi-gathering demonic cultivator?
If only Fang knew the amount of people who’d spew blood at his casual remark.
“Come, let’s check on the peddlers.”
—
Only a few peddlers had survived. The small group reduced to eleven.
When they spied Yunfeng and Fang they quickly dropped to their knees.
“OH GRACIOUS IMMORTALS, THANK YOU!” They said, weeping tears of joy. The prostrated themselves repeatedly, thanking the two for saving their lives.
Fang took a step back, the fervor uncomfortable to him.
Yunfeng placed a hand on his shoulder, stepping forwards.
“Your welcome, now please, continue paying respects for the dead. We should leave quickly, as the battle will surely attract beasts.”
The peddlers thanked her once more, before returning to their work.
She handled that with practiced ease.
The peddlers quickly worked, forming a small pyre for the innocent, and a corpse pile for the bandits. Others organized what remained of their merchandise.
Fang chewed on some jerky, feeling a soreness begin to wash over his body. Adrenaline subsided to reveal throbbing pains across his legs. His right hand especially hurt, the skin of his knuckles caked in shorn skin and muscle, flattened as if he’d punched a steel wall.
The strength of the Qi barrier made him frown. If I hadn’t burned that drop of Aura…
Yet, the sheer fact alone that he cracked the barrier gave him hope. Even though it wasn’t a true battle, he had fought against a cultivator and won. He relished in the weakness that dredging into his limbs, feeling his strength drop to 80%.
A small cost for survival. He thought to himself.
System, he inwardly said, before grinning.
Fang :
[Cultivation]
- *Aura-Burning Art I (Initiation)
[Technique]
- *Stormquaking Strides I (Peak Mastery)
- *Viscera Rupturing Strikes I (Small Success)
[Bloodline]
- Mortal Human
Both his techniques had increased a step despite the relatively short battle.
It’s clear that combat is the best way to improve. He mused.
His eyes lingered on his Aura-Burning Art, a little disappointed to see that it hadn’t increased. Though he speculated that it was tied to the quantity of Aura rather than usage.
Suddenly, a voice shouted aloud.
“Immortals! Our saviors called for reinforcements!” A peddler yelled in joy. He ran forwards, prostrating himself once again to the south, in the direction of Blue River Town.
Fang squinted his eyes.
No we didn’t.
Three men wearing azure colored robes appeared down the road. They strided toward the peddler group with an elegant grace in their movements. Bounding multiple meters with every step.
All of them had long, silky hair that flowed behind them, unnaturally well-kept despite their speed. The center cultivator especially, carried an air of superiority to him. Standing taller than his peers, his light-blue hair glimmered in the setting sun, his handsome face holding a small smirk on his lips as his eyes scanned the group.
Yunfeng clicked her tongue.
“Azure Lotus Sect…” she whispered to Fang. The name familiar to him, since they were apparently the big shots of the area.
“Friends?” He asked.
Yunfeng shook her head.
“I… don’t know.”
Oh, good heavens.
The lead disciple, the taller man with a waterfall of light-blue hair suddenly stopped, his momentum arresting unnaturally. Despite the sight before him, a small battlefield of death… he was smiling.
“Ah… I can’t believe this!” He said. “These dastardly bandits murdered all these innocent mortals!”
Huh?
The man feigned a pained expression on his face. Clutching the space over his chest as if his heart had been broken.
“Senior brother, we must get revenge for them!” The disciple beside him shouted, a dumb smirk on his face.
Fang face scrunched with a dumbfounded look.
The fuck?