Chapter 50: The Unexpected Reunion
From the inside of the mass of darkness, Xiao Yue peeked out, squinting to discern who had called her name.
The Black Devil Spear in her hand stopped spinning to point towards the corridor and the invisible Shin Sumi.
"Who is it?" she asked in a defying voice.
Even though her own weapon produced a neverending black fog darker than her surroundings, Xiao Yue had no trouble seeing through it. Because she was the spear's master, her vision was not clouded by it. That didn't change the fact that the entire underground maze was really dark.
Xiao Yue couldn't see who called out to her and was wondering how a person would have seen her.
The sound of light footsteps echoed through the tunnel, bringing Bai Fulong into her divine sense perception range before seeing him with her eyes.
Xiao Yue grinned, thinking "a red robed guy, and he doesn't look a bit older than me."
"Are you alone?" she asked, knowing full well that it was impossible for a low level disciple to be this far in the third ring by themselves.
"Yes, Senior Sister Xiao, you don't have to worry..." started Shin Sumi.
Xiao Yue froze for half a breath when she realized that the first time the stranger had been calling her by her name.
"You need to know your place and to not lie to your senior!" she roared, jumping towards Bai Fulong for a surprise attack.
Xiao Yue pounced on Shin Sumi with all the speed of the number one orange robed disciples. The mighty black spear rumbled with the sound of thunder, it's velocity a match for the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword's.
Shin Sumi blew a little bit of air from her nose, almost laughing. Xiao Yue was terrifying but that didn't leave her stuck in place.
For the first time since the absorption of the third Vein of Hell Fire, Shin Sumi had the opportunity to test the strength she had acquired.
Her powerful legs left the ground, instantly transporting her to the other side of the tunnel. She passed by the pouncing Xiao Yue without her even realizing it.
The Black Devil Spear cut the air, not encountering the expected obstruction. Where Shin Sumi had been standing was not empty space. In two spots in the ground were cracks spread in a concentric pattern.
"Wha-
-Hey, please calm down Senior Sister Xiao, I told you I'm alone and I don't want trouble"
Xiao Yue's figure was a mixture of confusion and fury. Did this low level disciple just evade her sneak attack and pass her in a flash?
"That was definitely not the speed of a red robed disciple. Who are you and what do you want?"
If before Xiao Yue was only careful because she thought the red robed boy was part of a larger group, now she understood that she needed to be wary of him.
"I am... Bai Fulong, pleased to meet you!"
The boy in front of Xiao Yue bowed respectfully. Partly in order to hide the smile on his lips.
"Come on Sumi, you need to be more convincing. Don't let her see through you, it's not time for a reveal yet..." Shin Sumi thought.
Shin Sumi had thought about the possibility of her meeting Xiao Yue for a while now. Despite how much it pained her to not be able to tell her the truth, she had decided that it was best to leave it for the time being.
She had made a promise of helping Lan Hui and Bai Xuengen. They definitely needed her help if Chu Erlong decided to attack again. Just by recalling the small sun that had been thrown her way, she shuddered internally. No she really didn't want to involve Xiao Yue if possible.
There was also the matter of the Veins of Hell Fire. If Shin Sumi revealed herself, then Xiao Yue would never let her cultivate alone in the Veins of Hell Fire. That would mean revealing the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword and the fact that besides being Bai Fulong, Shin Sumi was also the mysterious Yan Yan of the lower valley market.
"What complicated mess have I gotten into" she sighed, but now wasn't the time to think about all that.
"What do you want?" asked Xiao Yue again, slightly impatient.
"I simply recognized you from afar Senior Sister Xiao. I wanted to meet you, that's all. I am a fan of yours. "
"So what now, you are going to ask me to tag along? I don't travel with people, even less with people that are useless to me."
"Such ruthlessness", thought Shin Sumi. She recognized the Xiao Yue that used to despise people trying to follow her.
"Isn't that a bit lonely? We've been in this trial for so long now, I thought you might enjoy a travel companion..."
Xiao Yue was taken aback. She didn't expect this Bai Fulong to touch her right where her feelings were. It's true that she had been pretty lonely, trying to find her sworn sister Shin Sumi, not knowing that she was right in front of her.
"Besides I'm not useless. I have speed and power. In fact I don't think you could get rid of me if I started following you, ah-ah."
Xiao Yue's brow twitched with anger for a second, but the young stranger was right. She had seen his speed in the quick attack earlier and knew she wasn't a match.
But she wasn't going to let that affront slide.
"Oh yeah? You want to try me?"
The Black Devil Spear pointing at Bai Fulong, Xiao Yue assumed a half fighting stance.
Shin Sumi was only joking but she only now realized that she had offended her friend. Without time for explanations or apologies, Xiao Yue attacked her.
They were so close to each other already that Shin Sumi couldn't evade like last time.
Without a second thought, the approaching tip of the black spear being the only thing in her mind, she called to her sword.
The Gold Tyrant Flying Sword appeared before Shin Sumi realized her mistake. It was too late and she was already using the golden blade to parry the black spear.
CLANG!
After the first contact, Xiao Yue gritted her teeth, not willing to believe that she had been parried. She attacked a second time, then a third before a blow from Shin Sumi made her retreat half a step.
Xiao Yue tried her chance another few times, not listening to Shin Sumi's tries at an apology.
"Please- Stop- Senior- Sister- Xiao-..." the sound of the weapons clashing punctuating every word.
Xiao Yue was stunned. Shin Sumi lowered her weapon, bowing and apologizing profusely for her words.
The orange robed girl didn't take advantage of her lowered guard to attack. Every one of her blows had been deflected, and during the entire exchange, not once had see succeeded in making that Bai Fulong take a step back.
"Hmpf. Fine. Tag along if you want but don't expect anything from me, okay? And I will not wait for you."
And just like that, Xiao Yue ran off in the distance.
Shin Sumi sighed. She had messed up, but it seemed like the issue was temporarily resolved.
Picking up speed, it didn't take long for Shin Sumi to catch up to her friend, who turned her head away as soon as she caught sight of the red robes.
Xiao Yue recognized the strength of the individual following her but wasn't willing to acknowledge him.
"This Bai Fulong... he has the strength to subdue me anytime but doesn't seem to have bad intentions... He has to be a yellow robe in disguise, but which one? I don't recall many friendly yellow robes."
Right behind her, Shin Sumi smiles to her friend in a reassuring manner whenever she took a glance at her. It didn't seem to have the expected effect though, Xiao Yue only reacting with a face that seemed to say "what a creep".
In her bag of holding, Shin Sumi could feel the presence of the Goldy Tyrant Flying Sword. She was relieved that Xiao Yue hadn't recognized the sword.
Although there weren't many pure golden weapons in the sect's lower valley, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword of now didn't look anything like it did before when it was in Fen Wudao's hands.
Continuing their search for the exit of the underground maze, Xiao Yue didn't do more than simply bear with the mysterious person being near her. She merely tolerated his presence, sometimes being annoyed when he stopped to look at carvings on the walls.
What pissed her off the most was that after leaving him deciphering the strange characters, he would catch up with her way too fast.
"It's like his divine sense isn't dulled by the maze like anyone else's!"
Her suspicions were confirmed a few days later when an arm blocked her way at some point during their runnings.
Xiao Yue was about to yell at Bai Fulong asking him what he was doing when she saw his eyes focused far away ahead, his hand signaling her with the universal gesture of silence.
With the darkness, Xiao Yue wasn't able to see anything, but somehow she felt like obeying this time.
A few seconds later, a dozen small creatures crawled their way from the shadows. The furry creatures moved in a bizarre way, pulling their bodies like caterpillars slowly on the ground. Bloated heads bigger than the rest of their bodies dragged along, blind white eyes lost in the distance.
"Blind Crawlers" the divine sense of Xiao Yue told Shin Sumi without a sound. "As long as we don't move or say anything they won't attack us. They may not seem like much but once they find a prey they will not stop attacking before its death... or theirs."
Shin Sumi nodded mentally, amazed by the knowledge of her sworn sister. The Blind Crawlers slowly passed between their legs, continuing their procession.
Blind Crawlers were strange creatures. They did not rely on Shinsoo at all, only using sound to hunt. With the two disciples motionless, Xiao Yue and Shin Sumi were virtually invisible to them.
"How do you know all that, Senior Sister Xiao?
-Mmmm I had a brief encounter with three of them in another part of the maze. It took me a while to get rid of them, even with the Black Devil Spear."
Once free to move, Shin Sumi let out all the air she had been afraid to breathe out. With a strange gleam in her eyes, Xiao Yue looked about to say "thank you" but ultimately turned to look at the dark tunnel.
"It's a good thing that we saw them. Blind Crawlers, strangely enough, are not an underground species. They always go out in open air to mate and they never leave for too long."
"So you mean...
-The exit is not that far from here! We are almost out!"
Shin Sumi cheered calmly, happy to see Xiao Yue smile for the first time in a while. Her seriousness reappeared quickly but at least it was an improvement of her mood.
Xiao Yue was right, the exit was near. After going through a flight of stairs and a few more galeries a red square of light appeared in their fields of vision.
After months underground, Xiao Yue's divine sense was finally free to spread as far as her cultivation allowed her to.
To her surprise, she realized that her range had undergone a massive leap, now covering hundreds of meters at the same time.
She, like Shin Sumi, could feel it in her meridians. Her entire cultivation had improved thanks to the high quality of Shinsoo in the dimension, and the further they went, the better it was.
"I should have broken through to the Liquid Realm by now, but this" she gestured wildly "doesn't allow me to... I wonder if we need to reach the end of the trial to break through."
"It makes sense" though Shin Sumi out loud, "this tournament is a great opportunity for improving our cultivation base. The longer we refine our strength before the Liquid Realm, the sturdier our base will be when we finally step across the barrier."
Xiao Yue agreed, the consequences of the hypothesis becoming cleared and cleared in her head.
"The longer we stay here, the better we become. But then another disciple could reach the end before us and reap the rewards. Maybe that is why no one has finished yet."
Even more so now with the strange Bai Fulong with her, Xiao Yue was painfully aware that as strong as she was, she was still just an orange robed disciple. Yellow robes were a kind of their own and could very have reached the end already. Maybe they were waiting there as much as they could to surpass their limits, ready to exit at the right moment.
Back in the Great Hall of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, Patriarch Sen was listening in on their conversation, focused as often on the single green dot.
"These girls are clever. They have figured out the real point of the trial. Nevertheless it will be hard for Shin Sumi to surpass everyone if she doesn't pick up more speed. Cultivating with the Veins of Hell Fire is very beneficial but time consuming."
And Shin Sumi knew that. What more, she had to find the fourth Vein of Hell Fire and being with Xiao Yue at the moment would make her task even more difficult.
During the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament, upon arriving to the blood red and grey landscape, Shin Sumi had wished intensely to find her sister Xiao Yue.
But ever since, she had spent all of her time disguised as Bai Fulong and now there was no way to revert back to her original appearance. Due to her unusual strength and the highly recognizable golden sword, her identity as Bai Fulong would be pierced in an instant, did she revert to her original self.
Finally able to slow down and relax for an instant, the two girls were walking in the mountain pass separating the third ring from the fourth.
Xiao Yue didn't seem to mind Bai Fulong's presence anymore or at least not in the same way she used to, traveling together bringing people closer. She was walking leisurely when she sensed her companion stopping in place.
Seemingly lost in thoughts, Bai Fulong had raised his head towards the uniform red sunless sky.
"Bai Fulong?" Xiao Yue asked, wondering if he was okay. From what she knew of him, this comportement was very unlike the cheerful atmosphere usually about him.
"Senior Sister Xiao, so I guess this is goodbye, uh?"
Xiao Yue was at a sudden loss. She hadn't expected that, for sure. The same boy who had wanted to stay with her against her will in the maze was now departing?
A brief light of understanding flashed behind her pupils.
"Yeah... I think you are right."
They had both benefited from each other in the underground domain but now there was no reason for them to continue on together. Bai Fulong was a complete mystery to her but it was clear that he was hiding something. The red robes had the strength of a yellow level disciple, wasn't afraid of her in the slightest and surely hid many more secrets. It wasn't that unexpected for him to want to continue alone, in the end.
"Hey, just in case, you know how to contact me. May we cross paths again, Bai Fulong" Xiao Yue said while turning away before adding in a very low voice "...or whatever your real name is."
Shin Sumi smiled sadly. After longing for months to be reunited with her sister, now she had voluntarily parted with her after only a few days together.
At least they could now stay in contact. Well Shin Sumi always had the ways to do so, provided they were close enough for a divine sense transmission to each other's identification jades. But now Xiao Yue could contact Bai Fulong too. Maybe that way Shin Sumi could ascertain that her friend and sworn sister stayed safe in the fourth domain of the tournament dimension.
Resolutely watching her friend speed up in the distance, Shin Sumi collected herself and finally set foot to continue her journey.
"Two more rings, two more Veins of Hell Fire. I need to advance quickly before the yellow robes reach the exit."
Unlike for other disciples, Shin Sumi held more responsibilities regarding her success in the Rising Star Tournament. The words of Elder Zhu from her last visit to the Affairs Pavilion resounded in her mind.
"A war is looming over the Dark Sky Starry Sect. We have been at odds with the Sky Earth Sect for years. In five years time will the war start. You placing first in the upcoming tournament is our only chance."
Of course Shin Sumi didn't trust one hundred percent of what the despicable Zhu Yunhai had told her but from what she understood from the action of Fen Wudao on her behalf, she could tell that it was at least partially true.
Because she was the only green talented disciple of the lower valley, a lot of expectation had been put onto her. That was obviously the reason why Fen Wudao had gifted her his precious sword and had her refine it as her own in the Veins of Hell Fire.
But even in the grand scheme of things regarding the upcoming war, Shin Sumi also had her own goals in placing first in the tournament. That was the only way she had found to gain a good enough position to escape the realm of influence of Elder Zhu.
She was certain the Elder was set on stealing her talent and as long as she didn't protect herself enough he would find a way to do so with his higher cultivation.
The Liquid Pellet enclosed in a box in her bag of holding served as a constant reminder of that. Because of him being the Affairs Pavilion master and law enforcer of the lower valley, he was obviously seen by the administration of the sect as the one who nurtured the most the green talented girl.
Elder Zhu was protected from the rest of the sect, now she needed to protect herself from him. And the only way to do that was to gain the privileges coming with placing first in the Rising Star Tournament.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
d3trois
d3trois Wow, chapter 50 already, eh?
Thank you everybody for the amazing journey towards this milestone that is 50 chapters.
I hope you all enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it every week.
See you next friday!
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