章 31: Challenges, Trials And Confusion
Without even realizing, Shin Sumi fell asleep. She had been physically and mentally exhausted to the point where not even a drop of Shinsoo remained in her dantian.
The nut released invisible healing waves, rippling soundlessly through the water continuously.
Thankfully Shin Sumi had long since reached the point where her Shinsoo levels were being replenished automatically, although it was nowhere near as efficient as when she was actively in Shinsoo Gathering.
Besides, the chasm she had found all these months ago was filled with Yin type Shinsoo and was a good place to cultivate or at least heal her wounds peacefully.
Shin Sumi woke up in the middle of day. It was hard to tell because of the constant darkness but the Copper Bell at her side instantaneously activated itself upon sensing its master's awakening.
Her body was still aching all over and she grunted when she raised her arms to lift herself out of the natural pool.
"Ouch! My bruises are gone but I can still feel my forearm..."
Her arm had been badly hurt in the fight with the Stone Leaf Tortoise.
"It was broken for sure. I don't know what state I would be in, had the nut not been here. Well anyway, I'm better now, and there is still four days left before the beginning of the Rising Star Tournament!"
Shin Sumi was not the type to lament on her current state. Sending a sliver of Divine Sense into her bag of holding, she patted it happily when she saw the remains of the Stone Leaf Tortoise.
Taking out one chunk of pink grey meat at a time, Shin Sumi gaped at the amount.
"How did I even cut that tortoise in so many pieces in my half unconscious state?! There is a whole mountain of meat in my bag! But... Where is the core?!!"
Shin Sumi started panicking for a second before her memory reminded her that she had given the beautiful green gem to the nut before passing out.
Turning the nut into a book in one motion, Shin Sumi checked the newly formed page.
As expected, in the middle of the old book, a shockingly realistic image of the beast core was displayed, next to an inscription.
"Stone Leaf Tortoise... A shell shaped like a leaf... Its weakness is turning around and its neck. All soft parts composing the legs and such are as hard as rocks but extremely sensitive to flames! I knew it!"
She made a grasping motion at the page, the dazzling green gem seemingly appearing from nowhere and making contact with her soft digits.
"Oh, twelve hours have passed already? I didn't know I slept until after midday" she thought, keeping in mind the way the nut worked its magic.
Shin Sumi took a long look at the green beast core. It seemed so pure that you could almost see through it. She hesitated for a long while before putting in away in the bag at her waist.
"I will ruin too much energy if I absorb it now. I am still recovering and it would be a waste if all the Shinsoo in the beast core was not used to open doors."
Instead, Shin Sumi turned her head towards her bag. Her line of sight ended abruptly, given than a mountain of flesh about three times her size was obscuring the view.
"Hmmm. I'm sure it tastes great roasted..."
Shin Sumi quickly started a fire and moved on to cutting the pieces of meat to a reasonable size. Even though she was famished, there was no way she could eat even a hundredth of the tortoise in one meal.
She first tried to carve out a chunk of seemingly soft flesh from what she believed had been the thigh of the beast, but Chao Long's dagger was as efficient as a blade of grass.
Under her finger, the meat was soft enough to be squished a little bit but the metal blade was still unable to cut through.
In fact the elasticity of the flesh was unavoidable, given the fact that the tortoise could move around but Shin Sumi was not expecting such toughness from the inside of the tortoise's body.
"If there is no other choice, I guess I have to resort to that!"
Shin Sumi summoned the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword into her hand. She was worried that without the power of the Copper Bell changing her Shinsoo attribute, the sword wouldn't cut, but its sharpness still remained from the previous fight.
"Thank the Heavens. I found be dangerously close to empty again if I had to sustain the powers of the bell for long" she sighed, relieved.
Nothing like Chao Long's weak and normal looking dagger, the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword was not an usual blade. Now that the sword had been tricked into believing she was worth its powers, it cut perfectly.
In fact it was so easy for Shin Sumi to carve the meat that she almost cut her fingers off on the other side of the pink chunk.
A short time after, Shin Sumi skewered the meat on a sharpened bone she had found on one of the piles the other side of the waterfall.
As a rich smell full of flavors arose from the orange flames licking the meat now turning brown, Shin Sumi was thinking about the sword in her hand.
She hoped that the way she had used to unlock the sword's sharpness would not be a problem in the future. She felt a little bit bad about the trick she had used, although involuntarily, but at the same time she was happy.
"This way I don't have to cross the line and do something that is against my morals. Who cares if that stupid sword wants me to be as tyrannic as it is? If I didn't possess a way to make my Shinsoo of the Yang type, who knows what I would have needed to do for the sword to accept me... It is unfair."
The sword had probably been made by a male cultivator and then used by countless tyrannic figures to become what it was now. Just thinking about it, Shin Sumi was filled with a sentiment of disgust. If she had been a man, it would have taken way less time to gain mastership of the sword.
"I wonder how Senior Brother Fen wanted me to succeed the sword's challenges" she pondered deeply.
Testing the meat a few times, Shin Sumi evaluated that she still had a lot of time to kill before she could start eating.
Closing her eyes and concentrating, Shin Sumi put the radiant blade of the Gold Tyrant Flaming Sword to her forehead.
Once again she entered the mysterious space inside the sword. She had finally succeeded in awakening the real appearance and power of the weapon, now was the time to complete the first challenge.
She recalled the ancient looking dark gold plate that had appeared when she had entered this space the first time. The sentence on it left by Fen Wudao was simple.
"Use the sword to carve a new handle."
Shin Sumi opened her eyes once more. An idea had just came into existence within her mind.
Next to her, the roasting remains of the Stone Leaf Tortoise was dripping meat juice on the red embers. The bone on which it was resting was still a spotless white, seemingly untainted by the heat of the flames.
The bone had been in the chasm for long enough to retain some of its Yin type Shinsoo. Shin Sumi knew that without the Copper Bell at her side, flames would not have been able to burn in such a cold and Yin type place.
Opening her bag of holding, Shin Sumi extracted a four meters long white thing that looked like an articulated whip.
It was the spine of the Stone Leaf Tortoise. Just like the rest of its body the tortoise had an insanely strong bone structure. Shin Sumi didn't know what to do with it after she had removed the meat around it, but now, an inkling of an idea had formed.
Using the tip of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword as thin as a leaf, Shin Sumi separated the longest vertebrae from the rest of the spine. Patiently but with a lot of care, she removed all the excess material around the bone until is was the perfect diameter to fit in her hand.
The vertebrae was hollowed quickly, its marrow easily pushed out.
"There it is. A new handle" she whispered while she approached the naked hilt of the sword and the carved vertebrae.
A dazzling golden light spilled everywhere the instant the two pieces made contact. By magic, the new handle stuck perfectly to the metal.
The snakes that were just outside the Copper Bell's perimeter were surprised by the clear and powerful light. Some of them even got burnt slightly by the strength of the Yang Shinsoo emitted by the sword.
In Shin Sumi's mind, the ancient metal plate's first line of engraving slowly faded away, revealing another line.
Fen Wudao's voice sprung up from the void of the space within the sword, full of excitation and praise.
The message had been pre recorded via Divine Sense imprint, but the emotion in the youth's voice was clear.
"Congratulations, Junior Sister! It seems like you have completed the first challenge of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword. By now the sword should have returned to its previous appearance."
Shin Sumi held her breath. She was waiting for the second challenge to be announced. The Rising Star Tournament of the Dark Sky Starry Sect was just around the corner. The reason why Fen Wudao had given her his precious sword was so that she fared the best possible in the trial by fire. Given the limited time left, as soon as Shin Sumi could start working on the second challenge, the better it would be.
"The second challenge you have to pass in order to gain mastership of this blade is the following."
The Liquid Realm cultivator's voice suddenly turned serious. A cold and formless intent slowly rose up from within the sword.
"Temper the sword's blade with the Five Veins of Hell Fire."
And just like that the message ended. Shin Sumi pulled back from the sword, retracting her Divine Sense.
Shivers were running down her back. For some reason the last words had made quite an impact on her.
"The Five Veins of Hell Fire" she repeated a few times. "I have no idea what it is and where to find it but it sure sounds terrifying..."
Focusing her mind, Shin Sumi's eyes stopped their listlessness and turned more resolute than ever.
"I will definitely succeed!"
A painful grumbling from her stomach broke through her unwavering will.
"But first... let's eat!"
The tortoise meat was finally cooked. That night, Shin Sumi fested like rarely before. The flavor of the meat filled her with warmth and seemed to replenish her Shinsoo levels almost as fast as meditating with high grade spirit stones would.
The tortoise had lived for almost fifty years according to the nut's new page acquisition, and was at the green core level, of course it was filled with Shinsoo.
Shin Sumi knew she could eat like a rich aristocrat for more than a month with all the meat she possessed in her bag of holding.
At the same time as she used the Copper Bell on herself to prepare for the next Shinsoo Door opening, a brief thought flashed into her mind.
Her eyes showed a flash of nostalgia and she wished she could have her family back in East Seaside Village taste such succulent Immortal food.
Her line of thinking broke before Shin Sumi could start reminiscing about her family too much. She had given up on this kind of life already to become an Immortal anyway.
A vibration in her bag of holding luckily interrupted the thought.
It was Xiao Yue sending her a message. It had almost been a month since Shin Sumi had seen her sworn sister and she wondered how Xiao Yue's training had made her improve. Shin Sumi rejoiced about the fact that a few days from now she could see her friend again, while scanning the identification medallion with her Divine Sense.
"Sumi, are you still outside the sect? The Rising Star Tournament starts tomorrow morning when the sun rises and I wanted to bathe in your pond one last time with you..."
Wait... WHAT ?!
Shin Sumi erupted with panic. She jumped to her feet.
"Tomorrow?! Isn't there four days left?!! How long did I sleep for after the fight with the tortoise?"
This changed everything. Shin Sumi was still quite far away from the lower valley. Even with her recent improvements and her cultivation base with forty-six Shinsoo Doors opened, the walk back would still take two hours at least.
She had wanted to use the green beast core to open a few more apertures, maybe reach the Spirit Doors or more before the beginning of the trial.
But now Shin Sumi realized she had only around four hours and then the training month would be over.
Gathering all of her possessions from the chasm, Shin Sumi even when as far as putting a lot of bones in her bag of holding. The sudden rush kept her from being able to think straight.
Only twenty minutes had passed since she finished eating and she received Xiao Yue's message and Shin Sumi was on her way.
It had become so common for her to borrow the powers of the Copper Bell that she didn't even think about retracting it from her dantian.
Her internal Shinsoo bubbled up with a red tinge as she sped along the trees. Soon enough she had crossed the borders restricting the orange robed disciples.
"I better eat a Confusion Pill now" she said to herself as she hears distant sounds of human activity.
She hadn't seen another disciple in a month and the last thing Shin Sumi wanted was for someone to know about her physical abilities.
"Everybody knows that Yan Yan has received the appraisal of Senior Brother Fen, whereas I would prefer to be a nobody!"
She felt the familiar effects of the Confusion Pill on her body right as she was about to surpass a group of three red robed youths.
Fwooosh.
A gentle looking kid who seemed even younger than Shin Sumi saw a red blur as his hair flowed with the speed of Shin Sumi.
"Who... who was that?!" he exclaimed out loud. He barely had the time to make out the facial features of the person passing by before they were gone.
"What are you saying Han Gu? Hurry up or we will be late for the tournament" replied one of his friends who had not even seen Shin Sumi due to her speed.
"No-Nothing... Hey guys, wait up!"
Shin Sumi slowed down right before the Western gate appeared in her sight. The journey had taken only about an hour and a half, which was a record for her.
Shin Sumi patted her thigh, suddenly impressed at herself at the thought of having made more progress than she expected.
She was lost in thoughts about how she would have been much stronger, had she had enough time to use the green beast core to open more Shinsoo Doors. Silently, she blended in with the excited crowd on their way to the closest Cultivation Plaza.
Nobody seemed to be looking at her which surprised her for an instant.
"Why doesn't Yan Yan's face attract attention today?"
She dismissed the thought quickly. Considering the excitement that was the Rising Star Tournament it was no wonder everyone was stressed and focused solely on themselves.
Shin Sumi fell into the same line of thinking, trying to concentrate before she reached the North Cultivation Plaza.
Unlike everybody else Shin Sumi had a lot of expectations dotted onto her, and it was only now that she realized that the burden was heavy on her shoulders.
"I can't deceive Senior Brother Fen, or even the higher ups of the sect..."
Even Elder Zhu, the despicable man who didn't think twice about stealing one of his disciple's talent leaving them buried in the jungle, was counting on her on behalf of the administration of the Dark Sky Starry Sect.
The North Cultivation Plaza was crowded. Shin Sumi was lucky enough to find a spot to sit cross-legged, fitting behind a burly man.
She closed her eyes, her hands resting on her knees palms facing upwards, meditating.
The burly man whose back was to her was shaking, disturbing her internal concentration. Shin Sumi opened one eye, looking intensely at the figure.
The man who seemed to be more than twice her age was repeating encouraging words to himself. His hand was shaking quite strongly with stress even making him drop his gourd as he was about to drink refreshing water.
Shin Sumi sighed, wondering for a moment if she should try to move, reassure the red robed man or simply do nothing.
The gourd fell on the stone tile that made the immense platform, splashing a few drops on Shin Sumi's lap.
"Excuse me Brother, I tend to be quite clumsy when I'm stressed and... are you okay?"
The man looked into Shin Sumi's eyes, incomprehension on his face. He had simply tried to apologize to the youth behind him but... why was this kid's face so unsightly?
Shin Sumi couldn't believe her ears.
"Brother?!" she thought she heard him say. He was looking confused, and so was she but he didn't seem to realize his mistake.
Opening her eyes wide with realization, Shin Sumi bowed slightly to look at the reflection on the water spilling out from the gourd.
"Who is... Why am I... A man?!"
The moment she understood why the Confusion Pill had turned her appearance into that of a boy, a high pitched pure note resonated through the air.
The Star Zheng interrupted every one in the sect, even dissipating Shin Sumi's thoughts for now.
Everybody gathered on the North Cultivation Plaza platform dropped silent at once.
A powerful voice sprung up from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. To every disciple's shock, the tiles of the platform suddenly started glowing with a moving blue light.
"Honorary Disciples of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, you have all gathered in this place for one reason. Be your robes red or green colors, every one of you has a chance of participating in this grand Rising Star Tournament. Your mind has been made up the moment you stepped on those platform so I will keep it concise."
The glowing platform was rapidly gaining in intensity. A strange feeling of spinning around started rising in Shin Sumi's abdomen as in everyone else's. In an instant, right before Shin Sumi felt as if she would pass out, the platform suddenly grew insanely bright. It was blinding like a sun.
"Let the trial begin!"
クリエイターの想い 
d3trois
d3trois Hi everybody, D3trois here.
For personal reasons, I plan on taking a little break from uploading. I know there's already only one chapter of UKD per week which is not a lot, but it is not my choice.
Don't worry, there is no way I'm abandoning the story, and I'm already working ahead. So stay tuned for a new release, simply not next week.
For my french readers, this also applies to LSDD (my other ongoing novel).
Thank you for understanding, I'll come back after the break.
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