Pascal and Relic appeared at the summit of the mountain and standing on the opposite side, was Iris, her older sister, as well as her disciple.
“Iris… what are you doing here?” Pascal asked lowly.
“What, can I not even visit my little sister?” Iris said with a laugh.
“If there is nothing else then please leave. We were in the middle of something.”
“Oh, your words hurt me, sister. You used to always follow me around and clung to my every word. Where, has that sweet girl gone?” Iris approached her when suddenly, the pressure of her cultivation base spread across. “Perhaps you need a little reminder of respecting your elder sister.”
The pressure surround Pascal increased tremendously. She grit her teeth as the ground around her cracked and her body sunk down. She tried to combat it with her own cultivation but the difference between the Origin realm and one in the Grand Creation realm was an entire realm, a gap too large to overcome.
No matter how she tried to resist, her body continued to go lower. If she were to get on her knees, it would be a humiliating act even if it was between sisters.
There was a large smile on Iris’ face when she suddenly knitted her brow and a burst of flame erupted in front of her. In that moment, the pressure surrounding Pascal was released, and she backed off.
The fire instantly dissipated as Iris looked at the glass bead in front. She turned to Relic and said in a murderous manner: “Are you looking for death?”
“Ah, elder Iris, my deepest apologies.” Relic stepped forward and bowed deeply before continuing, “As elder knows, my cultivation is trash, and my talent is the lowest among all the disciples of the Thunderstorm sect. My Qi is often unstable, making the use of spatial rings impossible. As such, I carry all my tools and weapons on me. Unfortunately, I’m also very poor so I haven’t been able to get new clothes recently and there must have been a hole in which a flame qi bead dropped out. I humbly accept any punishment the elder sees fit.”
Relic bowed again, not ushering another word.
Iris’ eyes twitched as she held in her anger. Of course, it was obvious to everyone there the glass bead didn’t happen to just fall out, land right in front of her and causing her to lose focus.
To her, killing him would be as easy as batting an eye and his stunt could be looked at as an attack on an elder. However, his position was unique not only because he was a direct disciple of an elder; but also, because the master-disciple were notorious among the entire sect for the nefarious rumours going on. For a talentless, no name boy to be adopted by the most beautiful elder, even dumbo’s could put two and two together.
It didn’t matter whether the rumours were true, only that he was well known. It was one thing for his peers to rough him up physically but if she were to do anything as an elder, picking on such a weak disciple, it would undoubtably drag her name through the mud.
She gnashed her teeth and she said, “Forget it!”
“Many thanks, elder!” He bowed once more before returning to his master’s side.
“Master, are you okay?” He asked.
“Don’t do something so dangerous again,” she whispered as she looked into his eyes with a solemn expression.
Relic lowered his head and nodded before she turned back to Iris.
“Sister, why have you come? If you wish to duel again then I concede, and I’ll accept my loss right now.”
Iris smirked.
“You have me all wrong, sister. I merely wished to have Elaine to become reacquainted with your disciple. Afterall, as sisters, our disciples have a closer connection that others.”
The girl finally stepped up and bowed. “Elder Pascal, fellow disciple, Relic. It is good seeing you both again.”
Elaine had long braided ash colored hair and clear amber eyes. She was at an age where her beauty truly shone, eclipsing even her master and was comparable to Pascal. The male suitors hoping to woo her stretched far beyond this sect.
The tense atmosphere slowly receded as Pascal asked: “It’s been a while, Elain. How are you?”
“I’ve been well, elder.”
“Come now, Elain, no need to be humble. Tell them what stage you’ve reached,” Iris remarked.
She nodded and answers: “I’ve reached the Revolution stage of the Spirit Realm as of three days ago.”
Both Pascal and Relic were stunned silent.
“You’ve already reached the Revolution stage of the Spirit realm at the age of 15?! That’s astounding! Even I didn’t reach the last stage of the Spirit realm until I was 17.” Pascal turned to Iris and congratulated her sincerely. “Sister, you must be very proud to have such a genius of a disciple even first-rate sects would be jealous of.”
“Heh, that isn’t all. She has also just finished comprehending the 3rd level of father’s Zephyr Thunder Blade!”
“T-The third level…” Pascal muttered, too much in shock to utter another word. Their father’s legendary skill, the Zephyr Thunder Blade, was famous throughout the Divine continent. With it, he overcame his enemies much stronger than he was, dazzled those who saw his sword play, and used it to carve a sect comparable to other second-rate sects with thousands of years of histories, all within two decades.
Pascal was stunned as the Zephyr Thunder Blade was incredibly difficult to master. Having been created by the sect master, he had used it to make a name for himself and instill fear in his enemies. Even half step to immortal ascension cultivators had to be extra cautious of that move lest they lose their life.
To truly master the Zephyr Thunder Blade, one had to master all 4 levels and Pascal had always been stuck at the third. However, it wasn’t her lack of comprehension which prohibited from mastering it, but her deficient spirit root.
The Zephyr Thunder Blade utilized the essence of lightning, one of the foundational essences which govern the world. It was said that qi itself was a culmination of all the essences in perfect balance.
However, not everyone could absorb the essences directly. Even among a group of cultivators, an essence cultivator was not so easily found. Perhaps only 1 in a 1000, would be born with a spirit root naturally aligned to an essence. To be aligned with one of the world essences allowed them to cultivate and utilize the essences directly.
The true Zephyr Thunder Blade was useable only by those with affinity with the lightning essences. The sect master of the Thunderstorm sect naturally had affinity with the lightning essences and perhaps by pure luck and coincidence, both of his daughters were born with affinity to the lightning essence. However, not all spirit roots were the same and while they both had affinity to the lightning essence, Iris only had low affinity while Pascal had high affinity. Yet, she would never be able to realize her true potential due to her deficient spirit root.
Iris already had a look of superiority as she waited to relish in Pascal’s look of awe and jealousy. However, the satisfaction would never come as Pascal simply smiled.
“Elaine, you are the most talented disciple of the sect. With your talent, it won’t take long for you to comprehend the final level of the Zephyr Thunder Blade. I wonder, do you mind showing me your weapon?”
“My weapon?” Elaine wondered why the elder wanted to see her weapon, but she complied anyway. A battered steel sword appeared in her hands.
She passed the sword to Pascal who gently touched across the sword before handing it back. She waved her hand and took out a round white disc shaped whet stone which exuded a cold aura.
“Elaine, this is a frost gilded whetstone. Passing the sword across the stone will reinforce the metal and increase the sharpness greatly. I hope you will use it well.”
“You are giving this to me?” Elaine asked in surprise.
“Mn,” she nodded. “The Zephyr Thunder Blade places heavy burden on your weapon and without constant care you may end up breaking it.“
Elaine looked at the sword in her hand. She had indeed used it just this morning to train and had neglected to treat it. However, it was just part of her normal routine as she would just replace it once the sword was finished.
Pascal could see the confusion on her face and explained: “The Zephyr Thunder Blade is so destructive that it will destroy the sword if used in its true form. However, that isn’t the correct way to utilize the technique. Like in cultivation, we temper our bodies to further our cultivation and better handle our qi. If we neglect our bodies, we risk the possibilities on our qi wrecking havoc and causing us backlash when we cultivate. Sword cultivators often treat their swords better than they treat themselves because they know in the field of battle, there is no one else they could trust with their lives as much as with their weapon.”
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Pascal suddenly withdrew her weapon which had a pristine shine to it and almost looked like it was new. Yet, in front of Elain, she could sense an incredibly sharp aura coming from the blade which had been honed through countless hours practice and battle. To describe it in words, it was beautiful.
She continued: “The Zephyr Thunder Blade is a powerful technique but, in a life and death situation, if your opponent survives and continues to pursue, you are left vulnerable as your weapon could shatter at any moment. The technique, though destructive, can also temper your sword and so long as you care for your weapon as you do yourself, you will have a partner who will never give up on you.”
Elaine stared at Pascal with wide eyes, her thoughts in scramble yet, a new appreciation for the elder in front of her. Though she was touted as a genius, that was mostly due to her talent in cultivating lightning qi. In terms of the other areas of cultivation, she could also be touted as being top tier but in terms of comprehension, she found herself a tad behind this elder.
She looked at the whet stone in her hands. Though the gift itself was not extraordinarily expensive compared to what she had received from others, she felt gratitude for this gift had such thought behind it.
Since she first arrived, she had been showered with gifts from just about every influential person in the sect as well as many of her fellow senior disciples. Every gift she had ever received were simply resources meant to help or advance her in cultivation.
Though they were all valuable, she felt every one of them came with strings attached, as if they all anticipated something from her. After awhile, she stopped accepting gifts all together but now, as she stared at the whet stone, she could see there were no other intention than to truly give her an item that will be of use to her.
Her hand tightened around the stone.
"Thank you-"
A flash came between them, slicing the stone in two.
"What are you doing?" Pascal exclaimed in anger.
"Humph, my disciple doesn't need such trash. What’s all this nonsense of treating your weapon like a trusted friend?” Iris snorted before continuing: A weapon is just a tool and if it gets destroyed then it only means its time to replace it with something newer and stronger. Even father knows once a weapon uses the full power of the Zephyr Thunder Blade, the weapon becomes useless after. With your pathetic cultivation, are you really qualified to teach my disciple?"
“Master, that-” Elaine tried to intervene, but Pascal interjected.
“No, you’re right. It is not my place to advise your disciple. I was only saying something in passing.”
"Hmph, as long as you know. Besides, the reason why I brought Elaine today wasn’t simply to mention her achievements. She has only stepped into the final stage of the Spirit realm and stills need to adjust her strength. I figured since you are always spouting how hard working your disciple was that perhaps your disciple could help Elaine out a bit through a spar.
“Absolutely not!” Pascal immediately rejected the proposal. “There are plenty other inner disciples of similar realm that could provide better practice. Why come all the way here simply to spar with Relic?"
"While it is true that compared to the others, your disciple wouldn't even last a single move from any one of them. Elaine doesn't have any experience against spear users and out of all the disciples, yours is the only one who chose to use a weapon preferred by mortals.
"Ridiculous!" Pascal turned and said, "If there is nothing else, please leave. We will not be participating in a spar."
Iris smirked: "Ah, I had just heard father issue out a mission for your disciple.
Pascal stopped in place.
“Father praised how much your disciple had improved and even gave him a mission to prove himself. I thought perhaps your disciple really did improve since father said so, but it seems like that is just wishful thinking. If he isn’t even willing to participate in a friendly spar, then perhaps I should inform father, after all, we wouldn’t want him to suddenly die if he were to trip over a rock,” Iris laughed sharply.
“You-!” Pascal turned in anger, ready to let her words loose.
In that same moment, before she could speak more, Relic finally spoke out: "I accept the request for a spar against fellow disciple Elaine."
The others looked at him in surprise.
"Relic, what are you doing?" She asked in concern.
"Don't worry, master, it's only a spar." He smiled assuredly. He looked over and asked: “Elder, I don’t think I will be able to offer much in terms of experience for fellow disciple. Would it be alright if we fought purely on physical prowess and skill?”
Iris scoffed: “Do you think that’ll really make a difference? Sure, sure, we’ll make it so no qi will be used. I’m curious how long you’ll last.”
Relic bowed slightly when Pascal pulled him aside.
“What are you thinking? Don’t you know how strong she is? For a cultivator in the last stage of the Spirit realm, even if they don’t train their bodies, their strength is many times stronger than early-stage cultivators. They could crush a rock into dust without putting much effort into it.” She was worried, even with all his training, she couldn’t help but worry for her disciple.
Despite her words, Relic's expression did not change. His decision had already been made. He withdrew the two spears on his back, one made of metal and one of wood. He jabbed the wooden one into the ground before lifting the metal one.
"Master, you've always been there to protect me from those who picked on me. You disregarded your status as an elder all so I could live a normal life here. Since you first found me, I will never be able to pay master back for all you’ve done for me but for today, please allow me to show all your effort hasn’t been a waste.” He bowed deeply. Only her words could sway him now.
Pascal understood clearly what he was saying. To protect her honor, he would fight with anyone, even against overwhelming odds. Her sense of worry seemingly disappeared with a sense of pride of the man he turned out to be.
"Don't make it easy."
Relic smiled and turned towards Elaine. The two disciples soon stood across from each other.
“It’s been too long since we’ve last saw each other. If you weren’t beside the elder, I almost wouldn’t have recognized you,” Relic said with a smile.
“You’ve changed a lot as well. Don’t worry, I will try to keep my skill level around that of a mortal expert. You can have the first move,” she responded indifferently.
Relic nodded, not taking offence to her words. With their perceivable gap in ability, she had already given him more respect than anyone else would.
They bowed towards each other and while Relic took a battle stance, Elaine simply held her position, sword by her side.
He charged forward and as soon as he was in range, he thrust his spear.
Quite average.
She could see his movements as clear as day. She raised her sword to block the attack when suddenly, she sensed something and tilted her head away. She watched as the head of the spear pierced through the area where she was before retracting in almost instantaneously.
How-
Her thought lasted only for a second as a second spear shot out at incredible speeds. She quickly pivoted away but again; the spear retracted as fast as it shot out. Before she knew it, the spear was aimed at her head again.
Without thinking, she placed her sword in front of her head, waiting to hear the clink of the weapons which would mark the opportune time to counter. However, the sound would never come as she saw firsthand, the spear draw back mid-attack.
Her eyes widened in shock. Attacking was easy but stopping one’s own attack was incredibly difficult. She watched as the spear retracted as if the concept of momentum didn’t exist. The amount of control and power required to perform such a seamless pull back was almost inhuman.
In that moment, her sense of danger rose another level as she quickly tried to retreat but by now, she was already caught in his pace. He burst out in speed and matched her footsteps, making sure to mirror her moves as he continued to attack with the spear.
Dozens of strikes occurred in the span of a few moments, and she didn’t have time to think of what was going on.
She didn’t have the time to think about anything going on and reacted solely based on her experience to barely predict and meet the attack of the spears. It could be said that without her cultivation, her body may not be able to contest this spear.
As she blocked his next attack, she noticed something.
He has slowed down!
Her hands moved as she parried the spear away and tried to swing her sword but without her noticing, he had suddenly appeared right in front of her, their faces barely inches apart.
A feint!
He was too close, should she retreat or strike? Her mind was in a mess, never having fought against an opponent like this. She yelled and raised her arm as the sword tried to slash down only to suddenly halt mid way.
On the summit, in front of the two elders, the disciples stopped. The tip of the spear stopping right before the neck of the girl.
There was silence all around.
I… lost…?
Elain dropped to her knees.
She didn’t even realize what had happened as she tried to play back everything in her mind.
She thought back to the start when she didn’t take Relic seriously. The moment the spar had begun, something about him had changed. His style was something she had never experienced and as she didn’t know how to react.
A hand suddenly appeared, and she turned only to see a mess of a hand with three fingers purple and bruised. They pulsated in a grotesque manner yet what went on her mind was the shock of it all.
He trained his hands to this degree so that he could control his spear to the extreme.
She looked up and saw Relic offering a hand. As their eyes met it was there where she finally understood the true reason she lost. In every fight she ever had, they were all mock fights between her and the other inner court disciples. Those who were stronger than her would go easy on her while those who were weaker than her gave up mid-way.
With her status and beauty, they all wanted something from her so they would never fight her seriously. They complimented her for she was too beautiful. They gave up for they knew they could never fight a genius. They took it easy on her for she was the pride of the sect and they wanted to get close to her.
I grew complacent and he took this fight seriously before we even began. Even with the overwhelming gap between us he fought as if his life depended on it and never believed he would lose. I lost before it even began.
She slowly came to realization of everything and and lamented: "I was arrogant."
"WHY ARE YOU SITTING DOWN LIKE A LOSER? GET UP RIGHT NOW!" Iris was yelled angrily, her fury exposed through her movements.
Elaine was taken aback.
Master has never been so angry before...
Just then, Relic walked in front of Elaine, appearing between the two.
"Elder, we have yet to begin our spar. I'm unaware of what it is but have we angered you with something?" Relic asked calmly.
Elaine and even his own master looked at him in confusion while Iris asked with an irritated tone: "Yet to spar? What non-sense are you speaking?!"
"Did elder not notice? Although it wasn't verbally spoken, I gestured to fellow disciple Elaine, asking for a warmup session first. She was kind enough to indulge me and allowed me to attack without retaliation. Otherwise, how else could I have done so much without having a scratch on me? " He laughed lightly while also shifting his head slightly. He gave Elaine a seamless wink which was only noticed by her.
Iris turned to Luci and asked solemnly: "Is this true?"
Luci's heart palpitated slightly, but she returned a calm smile: "That's right, master. We have yet to truly spar."
"Stop wasting time then and finish him quickly!" Iris turned and scoffed before returning to her spot.
Relic returned to his spot and met eyes with his master who gave him an approving nod.
The two disciples faced one another once more and bowed once more but as they did, he noticed her mouthing two simple words: 'Thank you'