Jing saw the powerful spell coming towards her and wondered if she should avoid it. She could use her pathetic nature and trip, avoiding the attack entirely due to luck or she could take it head on and be sent down this cliff. What else did she need to accomplish within these Treasured Plains? She pulled up her system’s menu and looked at all of her available quests. There was only 2, possibly 3, quests that she could finish before the end of the Treasured Plains. Killing 100 beings with SCP-109, having 100 cultivators take notice of SCP-109's anomalous properties, and raising a follower’s loyalty to 100%. The others would be impossible within this small-time frame.
And then it hit her. Jing made sure to turn off her pain receptors as the spell ripped through her abdominal cavity and took her over the edge. With how quick the situation turned out, Jing couldn’t let Li Li know that she would be fine. She hoped that he wouldn’t react too strongly. The boy is getting affected by the people inside the Golden Serpent Sect but she hoped to make sure that he doesn’t become a total hoodlum. Many cultivators in the Golden Serpent Sect are horrible people whose thoughts usually doing whatever they want to people weaker than them or latching on to the strong and doing whatever it takes to stay attached to them.
Neither of those is what she wishes for Li Li’s future path. Jing suddenly felt like this fall was a really long one. She turned her body around and saw that she still had some time before she hit the ground. Was that cliff always there? She didn’t remember the path to the Great Tower had a cliff like this. Jing’s memory was perfect after her refinement so, there was nothing that she couldn’t recall. It was strange.
She didn’t think too deeply about it though as she prepared herself to land. Jing put on her mask and tried to land on her feet but with how the laws of the universe function, her legs simply broke upon landing and if anyone was watching her, she’d be thoroughly embarrassed. Jing thought she could handle a fall like that with her full power, but it looks like she overestimated her true strength. She landed in an ungraceful position and had to wait for her legs to heal from the damage.
Jing’s natural healing factor was superior to the average person’s. It took no longer than 10 seconds for the injury to her legs to completely heal. The situation was slightly humiliating, but Jing focused on getting ready to complete these quests. As far as her senses could tell, this massive forest was filled with spirit beasts of all types.
Jing began reducing the spirit beast population with SCP-109. The beasts stayed between the Consolidation stage and the Core Preparation stage. Jing had no trouble dealing with either realm as the beasts didn’t have much intelligence. She did use this chance to improve and practice her martial arts. It was rare for her to find actual situations where she could use her true skills.
Jing worked on her whip art, leg art, body art, and cultivation martial art. Using the water endlessly pouring out from SCP-109, Jing shaped it into a long thorny whip for dismembering spirit beasts. The cries and death throes made by the animals didn’t excite Jing at all. They couldn’t compare to the same pain and agony made by humans. Perhaps that was her being biased as some animals can feel pain on the same wavelength as humans could but the issue was that they couldn’t express it nearly as well as humans could.
It was a shame that she couldn’t find some sexual enjoyment in this but then again, they were just simple beasts. Expecting so much out of them would be unusual. Not every animal could be as intelligent or expressive as her Li Li. He was one of the best beasts in this world. When he grew up, there would be no other animal that will be able to match him in anything. As expected of her son.
“Riek!!!” A giant disgusting frog shot its tongue towards her.
Since she was training her leg martial art, Flowering Domination, she covered her legs with the water of SCP-109 and kicked the sticky thick tongue into the sky before dashing forward. The carnivorous frog was helpless to defend itself from Jing’s rapid striking kicks. Its slimy mucus covered skin was drilled through by Jing’s attacks, holes appeared on its body everywhere Jing’s kicks landed. Jing made sure to avoid any vital areas to prolong the creature’s suffering just a bit longer. That way she would be training all three of her martial arts at once.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Her cultivation technique that, for now, can only be trained by causing other to suffer from physical pain. Flowering Domination and her body martial art, Neptune’s prophet, that allows her to control water sources other than ones created by herself. So far, there was nothing in this place that forced her to rely on her movement art. It was the only martial skill of hers that was still at the Elementary stage. With her refined senses, it was hard for any situation to require her to dodge or avoid an attack when she could simply counter with her own attack. Just like what she just did with that frog. It would be possible to train it while she was acting as her alter ego but surely someone would catch on to the number of coincidental incidents that should’ve resulted in her being injured.
Jing shrugged her shoulders and got back to looking for beasts to kill. She stored their dead bodies into a storage ring just in case she might need them for the future. For what reason would she need them later, who knows? Jing doesn’t like being wasteful.
Thanks to her mask, none of the animals could sense her until she revealed herself to them, allowing her to strike them first and in most cases, strike a fatal blow. Just like this giant monkey in front of her peacefully resting in front of a tree.
“What a dumb spirit beast. No sense of self-preservation at all. Just sleeping in the open by itself.” Jing giggled at its stupidity.
“Hmph. To think a mere human would be cocky enough to insult me to my face. Times must have changed a lot more than I thought if a human didn't acknowledge the difference between stages anymore.” The giant monkey suddenly spoke back, startling Jing greatly.
It stood up. The spirit beast was large enough to tower over most adult men. Jing herself only reached up to its crotch. She had to look up to see its face. It stared directly into her eyes, it could see her!
A strange feeling ran through Jing’s heart. A feeling that she could only remember feeling once before. A long time ago... It was back when she was inside the Immortal Forest outside Yellow Jade City. She and Li Li were making their way to the city but on their way, they were met by strange furry beast. It was that beast who taught Jing the feeling of fear. Back then, she had yet to refine herself and was still human in every sense. She could’ve easily died if it were not for Li Li bravely taking on the creature.
Jing felt that same feeling she felt back then, right now. She didn’t even realize her body was shaking as she kept her eyes on the large simian. The spirit beast was 3 major stages ahead of her. Would SCP-914 refinements be enough to handle this large of a gap in strength? What about her martial skills, would they be enough to keep her from dying here? Then the spirit beast smirked at her, sensing her fear.
“It seems you aren’t as stupid as I first thought. You can tell the difference between our strengths now can’t you.” All of his 5th stage Core realm qi flowed from his body.
Another feeling rose in protest of her fright. A feeling that yelled at her to wipe that disgusting smirk off the face of this cocky monkey. It was the same feeling that also was born on that day with the furry beast as she whipped it to death alongside Li Li. The feeling that made her want to dominate, conquer, and torture. The feeling that shapes most of her decisions today. To want to cause as much chaos as possible. To oppress the strong and unyielding. To seek the most optimal way of living for herself.
“Big words from an inferior creature. Submit yourself to me or face the consequences of insulting this Empress.” The shaking in Jing’s body stopped entirely. Her posture became straight and sturdy.
“Amusing,” It chuckled. “You must have come seeking your death to talk to me in such a way. But, I won’t let you die. It's been a while since I thoroughly enjoyed a human female.”
“You refuse to submit to this Empress? Fine. Then die, you overgrown simian.” Jing no longer hid any of her power.
Water from SCP-109 swirled around her legs like a raging vortex. She struck with a powerful kick towards its stomach. It was the first time she’s ever used all her strength in a fight. It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t excited to go all out for the first time. Hopefully he wouldn’t die too quickly.