I've set the mood. My mental faculties has increased into the night, it is a suitable opportunity to find my third combat technique. Once again relating to the 5 Elements Philosophy, I prefer to choose a water attribute technique. Now some might say that the shadow attribute is suitable for the Darkness Pathway but don't even bother, the only Sequence that deals with shadows might just be the Nightmare Sequence, and that isn't even the main ability, almost anything else involves the mystical side of the night, such as spirits, horrors, dreams, concealment, and misfortune.
Nightmare is far away, I won't be able to reach that sequence in at least 3 months, and I'd think it be a miracle if it actually happens in that amount of time. Arriving at the Scripture Hall, I greet Elden Fa, "Greetings Elder Fa, This junior, Li Yong, became an Outer Disciple."
I presented my token to the elder.
"Good. junior, you can pick out a martial art for yourself.", Elder Fa waved his hand. He hadn't called out my name but he mentioned the word 'good', usually he doesn't recognize disciples but every time I visit the Scripture Hall, usually just to escort the new Trial Disciples, I make sure to cue in my name.
I walk through the many shelves, there were signs that point towards different attributes and more.
The section defining the single attribute water martial arts are over... here.
I already have the idea down, I need it to focus of speed and agility that focuses on avoiding and neutralizing, both defense and movement. Not only will it have good synergy with the Iron Joints Combat, it will also have good suppressing power against martial arts like Ember Knuckles that try to have the advantage.
Weapon Techniques... I do actually have spiritual stones for that but I don't think any weapon is suitable, if its about speed then a sword or blade might work but I don't need this technique to switch from attack and defense. I think a constant defense can works that in turn is able to an offense in and of itself... OH, how about a shield!
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Damn it! Where is a martial art when you need one? I was so excited to try it out but there doesn't seem to be a martial art tailored for the shield, for the water-attribute at least... huh? Oh praise the Evernight... wait, she isn't even in this dimension, uh, praise the Midnight! Yes, I should call myself as the Midnight God from now on, setting aside that someone from Earth would quickly call me mid, I don't even give one thought about the baser and toxic culture of the internet... I think I've grown a lot since the time I came from Earth, the world views of the people are more contemporary and reserved, yet at the same time barbaric and ruthless, nevertheless I learned a lot from both sides of the world to know what direction of thought I would work with.
Again, I'm off a tangent. I found the water attribute shield technique I needed and it is perfect in all of the definitions of my needs.
Sect Gate. Finally, after years I get to step out of this place. Yes, a night full of stars! Oh wow that's a lot of them, usually back at where I live on earth, I don't see much stars or none at all. This is nice, it is as beautiful as the first night I saw it, and today it now means a new mystical thing to me.
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I carry a Silver Washed Shield on my back, Silver Wash for short, maybe Silvy for a nickname. Unfortunately, the weapon isn't of the greatest quality and I could only afford this Mid-Grade Treasure Accumulate. At most, I can only keep this until I reach the Late Qi Gathering Stage.
I'm currently rushing through a forest, I'm not sure how but a group of wolves are on my tail, I think I fucked up real badly and my heart is about to jump out from my throat, "HAHAHAHAHA.", Silver Wash had been bathed in the blood of the beasts and I'm aiming to bath it in even more. One of the Whisk Wolves went from the sides to intercept me. Whisk Wolves are wind and shadow attributes so I have no idea how to deal with them, just kidding, even I know that fire can deal with shadow, of course, that hasn't been proven just yet but it good to hope.
I face the wolf head-on, I just need to dodge it lunge and th-
Swish
The wolf almost had Li Yong but the latter quickly reacted as an orange sparked at his knuckle joints. Li Yong avoided the jaw and landed his fists straight into the wolf's esophagus, he then took out his shield from the other hand and jammed the edge on the same spot, beheading the beast. The Mid Stage Qi Gathering Beast was executed.
Run, run, run, I don't have time to loot the corpses, I don't care anyway. This is exciting and scary, I feel alive, I feel the wind on my skin. I leap through the forest as a clearing is opened up to my sights. Its a flat land, but it also means that the wolves can catch up faster. Then I have to fight here.
5 wolves, 1 injured, 4 in good condition, I had wounded the leader and took off but the pack is a persistent and coordinated bunch. I, an Early Stage Qi Gathering, up against 4 Mid Stage Qi Gathering and 1 injured Late Stage Qi Gathering.
Here comes two of them at the same time, I block one with my shield as I swift went under the second and used my open palm to target the wolf's lower jaw, making it shut up and suffer a heavy blow. Once again, the first wolf pounces with him mauling mouth but I ram me and my shield right into the incoming.
Bang
The wolf 's nose and head both suffered significant damage. Its disoriented so Li Yong circled in for the kill.
"There is only room for one demonic wolf!", I roar out pull my who weight into my shield, I crushed the Whisk Wolf' head. Not stopping, I let gravity pull me as I roll forward and regain footing. I swing my leg and hit the side of another wolf that followed after me with enough force that push myself away from its jaws, the said wolf barreled to the side only for another wolf behind it to come after. Another wolf also went to my side.
I block the wolf and deflect him with all my might towards the one in front of me. Urgh, the physical strength needed to carry the weight of these mutts. My legs have endured a lot after running so much, I'm probably only coping through the natural qi that enter through me and the system that most likely is leveling up my stats.
I dodge the leader of the pack and run towards the barreled wolf which stood up and confronted me. Too bad, its already midnight, I should finish this quickly. I swing to the side introduced the edge of my shield to the 'passionate' gaze of the wolf's eye, too bad a one night stand is only for a moment.
I had three wolves behind me so I continued through and faced the quick leader of the pack with a shield full of momentum, the leader title wasn't for nothing as it had dodge to the side. I roll with the momentum, dodging the vicious wolf, and met with two wolves in the front. Once again, I bash one and try to backhand the other but I was only successful in the first part, the second wolf bit on my shoulder, I decisively let go of my shield and puncture my knuckle right through its eye, I dig deep and hatefully as I made sure to damage whatever dogshit it had for brains.
"hooh-", I breath out and bring my knee up to the side, this time I waited patiently for that wolf leader to come close, so that he had no chance to dodge. I crush its nose then I follow up with an elbow to the side of its skull. I drop and roll out of instinct since I still knew another wolf was behind me, Gahrk!
The side of Li Yong's ass was clawed and the lone wolf of the pack gave chase.
"Your leader is dead, you have no home to live for!", Suddenly I feel like the villain but honestly I just wanted to say those villainous lines. On the way, I picked up Silver Wash and blocked another attack by the desperate wolf, I slid and rolled back but I regained stability swiftly, I prepare one last attack and aimed to split the snout of the wolf in half.
Thud
"WOO!", Yes! Its over! AHAHAHA! Oh gosh it was thrilling, but I might have died! Oh, praise the Midnight, literally. I'm not a werewolf but I had the urge to howl, very much so. yup I'm doing it, It's freeing, I'm like a wild wolf away from my pack!
"I'M MAKING OUT OF THIS ONE", Ahaha, I feel real better, stronger even, even more energetic too.
[
* Sleepless Lv.12/100
* Nocturnality Lv.16/100
* Night Vision Lv.8/100
* Evening Spirituality Lv.8/100
* Evernight Lv.12/100
]
It's time to be resourceful, who said being the son of a hunter is a waste? I can dismantle beasts efficiently and loot the most valuable part for sale, not only do I not damage the goods but I can also limit the load I'm carrying to the city.
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I'm a day away from Sky Fall City, I had placed strong repellent herbs on my body and went to climb the tallest tree I could find. I usually place repellent herbs on my body as it was a habit when I was a hunter, as a mortal, even insects nourished by qi had killing potential. I'm still a Qi Gathering Cultivator so I wouldn't take any chances.
Hmm, I look at the distant lights, not only in the sky but also the few villages I see in the horizon, I wouldn't recognize them but it is a natural thing as villages don't last long in rough environments, the only reason their out of the cities is because they can't afford to live there, making it so that they have to fend for themselves. In the end, there are still numerous villages that join together, maybe even some that rest their hope in some young child who has a potential to become a cultivator, I'm sure there are cases like that... as for me, I don't think there is a village for me to come home to.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
I sigh in melancholy, no, my village wasn't destroyed but I actually lost my way in the forest one day and was captured, I'm not sure where my village was specifically so I had no idea where to head home to. It wasn't all too bad as my hunter of a father had passed away before I'd gone from the village, at most, the village might have thought that I wanted to move to someplace else. It didn't matter as I'm not too acquainted with them. Maybe its because I found them a bit boring because of their lack of knowledge? At least they could keep me up by telling me the stories of Immortals, Sages, and Fairies. There were Tales of Demons and Gods while there were Myths about Creatures and Ghosts, just about every kind of legend you would expect in a Xianxia world, but this time, there were possibilities in the stories being real.
Enough of that, the more I dream, the more excited I am...oh that could also be a principle, While other dream at night, I fulfil them in the wake of stars. Ugh, I wanna use this in a poem so badly, I wanna advance to a Midnight Poet already arghhhhhh...
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I guess some things never change, I rolled down somewhere steep and fell to the bottom, I immediately related to the woes of a certain Mr. Poet. Oh well, I believe he is a good model for is one to dream, dream to be the star. Oh how much of a tragedy that was... Enough of Lord of the Mysteries, I have my story to tell.
I decided not to wait till I became a Midnight Poet since I could just do 'acting' in advance, which results in me starting the next sequence at a higher level.
While others dream at night; Dance in wake of stars call;
While others dream of stars; Wake in mid of night's toll;
Shine the dream, o dreamer; Sleep in when the stars fall;
Hm, I'm satisfied with that simple wordplay, it's just there, what I want to say...wait why am I still rhyming?
That aside, I have reached one of the village at the break of dawn... it seems to be quiet... where, where is my Spirit Coin. I bought it alongside my Silver Wash at the Sect's night market, I knew that I had to do some kind of divination sooner or later so I had it just in case.
'The villagers of this village are currently in danger', I stay by the periphery of the village and repeat my divination thought for 7 times. I flip the coin, heads.
The villager are in danger, I don't know what. The keyword is the 'villagers', they are most likely mortals, and for them to be in danger and is a bad omen, the village doesn't seem to be overrun by beasts so it could be bandits or a demonic cultivator. They are currently in danger, so this means that the danger is nearby or the perpetrator has left a problem or danger to the villagers... divination isn't all knowing so I have to try a few more times.
'The villagers are dead', tails. I can still save them. The perpetrator isn't a demonic cultivator...right?
'The village still has the perpetrator inside.' heads. If it's bandits then they should have left to not get tracked down by righteous cultivators. If it is a demonic cultivator then a ritual of some sort is happening at this moment. It could be a rogue group of cultivators but there wouldn't be any reason to spare the mortals...
Damn it, it might just be a demonic cultivator.
'The village is housing an ongoing ritual', as long as my divination is about the village then my divination might still work even if the demonic cultivator nor the ritual aren't at my periphery...
Heads... This is the best time to interrupt the ritual, the person will get a backlash. One more divination.
'The village has a demonic cultivator that can be killed by me.', heads. It's time.
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"AHAHAHA! With these sacrifices I can finally attain the Thousand Demonic Lifeblood. It will boost my cultivation by a complete realm!", A madman was babbling by the center of the village. Typical but also something I'm thankful for. I climb the roof of a house and launch an ambush straight for his head, "ARGHH!"
Tch, I only cut of a part of his arm from his elbow to his hand, a completely lengthwise cut, eugh. He spat blood from his mouth and wheezed.
"Insolent Brat! You dare interrupt my ritual?", Oh? A Peak Qi Condensing Realm Cultivator? How do I fight that?
"What ritual? You must be kidding me right? A Thousand Demonic Lifeblood should be cultivated using the highest quality cultivators! You call yourself a demonic cultivator when you're such a coward?", I'm completely pulling this out of my ass but it sounds reasonable to me.
"You also know of the Thousand Demonic Lifeblood?", Yeah, I heard it from some loose mouth from like a few minutes ago. I approach speedily and reach him, only block him as he retaliated in close range. Mid-block I aim at his knees but he dodges backward, I roll forward using the strong momentum of a Qi Condensing Realm and lunge forward with a jab straight for his groin. He responded by back handing my knuckle and I retaliate with an elbow to his chest, blocked with his other hand again then tripped under my feet, despicable! Only I can do underhanded means! I block with my shield as I fall since the demonic cultivator took the chance to hit me while I fell.
"Kh!", I aim my again at his knee joints, "Rhk!", It was effective. He fled once again. I regain my bearings.
Ok, Unusual strength and instinct, average speed and agility, and weak constitution and defense. I can deal with this one. I glance at my shield, there is solidified splattered, return my gaze immediately at my opponent, his hand is had blood flowing and solidifying. I have no time to waste, close the distance, don't give him time to rest, Qi Condensation has attribute manifestations so I shouldn't give him time to manifest it completely.
We exchanged blows frequently, his strength and instincts are hard to deal with, and I'm also sweating under the sun. I feel fatigued but I push on, my defense may not be the strongest but I can absolutely block his every move, I mustn't let this demonic cultivator wound me, the blood attribute isn't one I want to mess with due to its strange nature.
In a moment of insight, I expertly performed a feint with my shield and brought my momentum down with my open palm, directly at the side of his temple and planting him on the ground, I don't relent as I plant my shield on the ground, he moves to the side I kick the shield and crush it against his head, this time, it wasn't a martial technique, it was just absolute savagery.
"Ah, that was tiring...", I slump and grab my shield and then thoroughly crush and mush the dead body of the demonic cultivator. I ain't risking any demonic techniques, blood is synonymous to life, I'd rather abuse his dead corpse than having a chance that he resurrects.
"Anyway, how are you people? Doing well?", I look over at the villagers, a lot of them were anemic and a good number of parents were at the verge of becoming dried corpses, I had witnessed the ritual happen, the parents did their best to shield their children as blood seeped from them due to the ritual.
"Thank you Immortal!"
"The Immortal was sent from the Heavens!"
"Praise the Immortal!"
I raise my hand, making the villagers quiet down, "It's best that you drink some chicken soup and take your rest. You might just die and make my journey in vain.", They nod at me.
I flash them a smile, "Actually, I am the Saint sent by the the Midnight God, if you wish, then you can send your thanks, prayer, and faith to my patron. And if you wish to refer to me then you can call me Saint Sleepless, I Sleeplessly and Tirelessly do God's work on this mortal plane.", I raise I hands as I say that, "Now let me take care of this filthy demonic body, the Midnight God despises heretics.", yep, more nonsense.
"Y-yes Saint Sleepless!"
"You have our gratitude Saint Sleepless!"
"Praise the Midnight God!"
For now I'll rest by this village, unlike at night, I'm more fatigued and weak in the day. It seems the children of the village became lively once again, I was able to tell them 'tales' and 'feats' that the Midnight God is capable of doing. I also told of my deeds that painted me as an eternal servant of the Midnight God, who is capable of not sleeping at all!
Acting is effective when working on principles but it can also be more effective when one witnesses or gives feedback on Acting. In this case, I've convinced them that I'm a Sleepless. Later on at higher sequences, the feedback can also been to the scale of faith, and faith is an anchor that stops an Angel or God from losing control and becoming a monster.
These mortals are mortals after all, having the favor of any deity is a blessing to them. I'm sure I can do the same to other villages in the future, and by that time I can bring much more 'miracles' in store for them.
"While others dream at night; Dance in wake of stars call;
While others dream of stars; Wake in mid of night's toll;
Shine the dream, o dreamer; Sleep in when the stars fall;"
I faintly call out at the rising of the night...
"Saint Sleepless?", I turn to a young maiden. O, Midnight, has the time come for me?
"Yes?"
"Do you make poems?"
"Of course, Midnight loves poems and songs about the night."
"What does that poem mean?"
"It describes the will to act, To achieve a dream, one must forsake dreaming and make that dream into a reality. You can't give up on a dream till it has been achieved, that is the will of a dreamer, that is how one becomes a star above the rest.", I explain my worldview to her.
"..."
"..."
"Saint, this one dreams to become a cultivator."
"A fine dream, is that all?"
"No, may this mortal ask of you to help her become an Immortal?"
"...Your family died in the ritual, didn't they?", I saw her behind the crowd of villagers, she sat by 4 corpses, she had stared at me with an inexplicable gaze.
"...my family was always born weaker than normal, they were sick in the day of the ritual, they gave their lives to protect me...", she recounted.
"What makes you think that you can do this? Aren't you also born weak?", I shake my head. I don't have anything to bestow here. I don't think I can grant Beyonder powers too. It would also be dangerous to let Beyonder Characteristics loose into the world unless I have a tight grip of influence and power to retrieve it again without having it fall in the wrong hands. Pertaining cultivation, I have even less thought.
"I know that but... I want to pursue my dream till my last breath.", Her conviction could move mountains, unfortunately, she is a mortal and weak at that. But I can commend it, fate works in mysterious ways, I could probably try something.
"Tell me, young maiden, what is your name?", I ask gently
"Ruiyu Ai"
"Rui(Lucky)...Yu(Jade)...Ai(Love)...", Yep that name is definitely a foreboding...
"It is said that a star shines the brightest before it dies. I will make you shine through the heavens. Your dream is my dream.", Once again I'm doing things impulsively, but this is what I desire, what I dream of, in any case, I know that heaven creates all somewhat equal. Ruiyu Ai is either cursed or she has a secret inside her body. That is how tropes basically go in Xianxia, anyhow, so far I've noticed the elements of chinese tropes so I can try hoping on this fact in her case.
I take out the book I found on the demonic cultivator. I review it for a while and I widen my eyes, "Hehehe...", lo and behold, the convenience of fate and plot.
"Saint Sleepless?"
"You can call me Saint Yong, but please call me either Senior Brother Yong or Brother Yong when we in front of other people, unless I reveal it myself, understand?"
"Yes, Saint Yong!", Her eyes have lit up like starlight, damn, I'm starting to relate things to the night frequently now...
I toss the Thousand Demonic Lifeblood Technique over to her. Apparently, there is a section there pertaining to a simple test, it refers to testing if one has the BloodJade Bloodline, there is also a chance she might have something even more than that.
The ritual is simple, the ingredients are not. Fortunately, its already there. I take Ruiyu Ai to the center of the village where the a pool of blood is menacingly stagnated. She decisively bit on her finger and let the blood drip on the pool, instead of turning if one has the BloodJade Bloodline, then the Thousand Demonic Lifeblood would turn to a deep shade of dark red. Instead, the blood turn full crimson and took on a hue of purple.
I don't even know whether to laugh or cry. It seems I'll have a Demonic Cultivator as my companion on this trip. Someone with the DemonJade Bloodline. I honestly don't know anymore, the heaven sure loves to do this and that.
Ah, right, me and Ruiyu Ai had said our goodbyes to the village, the young maiden from before had cultivated the demonic technique and he cultivation flew from a mortal to Early Qi Condensation, that also meant that she's far stronger than me... in terms of cultivation of course. She also reached Early Body Transformation and Early Soul Condensation. It seems that the DemonJade Bloodline focuses on cultivating Qi and Spirituality instead of the body.
Finally, we have arrived at Sky Fall City.