Capítulo 84: Blessed Review (1)
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Once Qian Daoliu saw everyone, observing the most external changes with a glance, he simply jumped down from the branch without making any exaggerated movements.
"Master, I thought your responsibilities don't leave you more free time. But seeing you so elegantly lying on the branch... tsk, tsk, I guess there are benefits of being old," Ja Sun clasped his fist and bowed slightly, his words only making Daoliu chuckle.
"There are definitely benefits of being old. Once all of you reach my age, you will understand," he revealed a calm smile. In their group, nobody held the misunderstanding that Qian Daoliu was actually young. Handsome and inspiring his features may have been but his actual age was simply hard to determine. Bibi Dong had after all taught everyone that once a person manages to reach rank 90, the entire physique will be revitalized and the spirit master will regain his or her youth. This is not merely a change in appearance but also the strengthening of internal organs.
Ah Yin silently bowed alongside Bibi Dong. Except for Ja Sun, pretty much everyone looked like they just came out of their own funeral.
Their eyes were dim and a sense of chill was already around everyone. A few small scars still left on their bodies that were willingly left untreated to remind them not to make the same mistake again.
"Child, tell me your name once again," Daoliu looked at Erlong and she responded calmly, "It is Liu Erlong, Grandmaster."
"Hmm, good. But you two..." Qian Daoliu looked at Bibi Dong and Ah Yin before shaking his head softly with a smile, "Maybe, at both of your cultivation ranks, reaching that stage is a possibility but a slow one indeed. Don't feel too disappointed."
His words weren't meant to be consoling but the calmness around him soothed Ah Yin's and others' tense nerves.
Three months had passed and Ah Yin was a step away from attaining that qualitative control, so was Bibi Dong. But the two were like Hu Lana and Xie Xan, still unable to attain their own realms of self.
Only Liu Erlong did.
This also meant that whatever reward Ah Yin was supposed to receive was swept from under her.
Seeing everyone's depressed states, Qian Daoliu waved his hand and turned around, his spirit energy sweeping past everyone.
"I will lead you all to a location of rest. After that, I will properly review all of your growth. I wouldn't usually do it but I bring a mission from the hall for everyone so it seems necessary to make you all see where you lack."
---
A little further from a strangely clear lake uninhibited by any spirit beasts, everyone started to take baths one by one. With Qian Daoliu personally keeping Ja Sun and Xie Xan sincere, the four women took long and calming baths. Ja Sun, of course, didn't have any heart to see the sight of four women who didn't bathe for three months soaking together. A part of the reason why everyone was so gloomy in the first place was the lack of hygiene.
However, much to everyone's surprise, including Qian Daoliu, once they returned, their hair still damp and finally their natural fragrance returning, the three women glanced at Ah Yin with a fairly respectable expression. They looked quite a bit relaxed, too.
Ja Sun narrowed his eyes at this, a guess already formed within his heart.
'After tempering my body with Body Forging of war god's essence, I still haven't grown any bodily hair... but that can't possibly be true for others, too, right?'
Matching Ja Sun's gaze, Ah Yin gave an unexpectedly mischievous wink, all her gloominess long vanished.
"Go, go, it's your turn to clean up. Only god knows how much you need it," Qian Daoliu waved his hand with a look of impatience and moderate disgust.
Ja Sun and Xie Xan looked at each other.
"You can go first," Ja Sun shook his head.
"O-oh..." Xie Xan nodded.
"What are you doing?" Qian Daoliu scoffed, "Go together and hurry. Do you think we have time for both of you bathing individually?"
"But grandmaster..." Ja Sun was about to speak when Hu Lana giggled.
"Bu what? Hmm? Flustered by seeing a man naked for the first time? Here's a good piece of advice, just praise no matter how it looks."
Xie Xan's body trembled and Ja Sun's expression turned slightly bleak. Penis jokes were no longer effective on this group so even he had no better way to retort.
Seeing this, Ah Yin's eyes gained a strange splendor. Bibi Dong wanted to speak, something extremely disastrous from the looks of her expression but held back due to Daoliu's presence. It was Liu Erlong who pulled out the finisher: "As long as you two don't actually touch too much, we wouldn't mind. After all, matters between men, we won't interrupt."
A finisher, she thought, and the effects made Xie Xan's eyes dim due to the bullying but returning from a world with raging homosexuality and with no way to determine the correct pronoun, Ja Sun's eyes glinted.
He had too many jokes about homosexuality. Too many. From offensive to mildly vulgar to downright nauseating.
"Knock-knock..." He whispered and looked at Liu Erlong eerily.
Already aware of Knock-knock jocks, Liu Erlong's expression changed momentarily.
She didn't reply.
Unknowingly, other women had distanced themselves from Liu Erlong. Whatever was to come would surely be dangerous and they didn't want any splatter on themselves.
"Knock-knock."
Ja Sun spoke again.
"Who is it?" Erlong gritted her teeth.
"Matters of men." Ja Sun replied, his words making others curious.
"Matters of men, who?" Liu Erlong inquired with a gulp.
"Matters of men that won't involve trimming."
His soft words managed to instantly pale the three women while Ah Yin pursed her lips. Even if they removed certain evidence using Erlong's flames, how wouldn't Ja Sun not be aware of what transpired?
Xie Xan and Qian Daoliu looked confused, slightly frowning but a murder flickered in the eyes of Erlong, Lana, and Dong.
"Next time, Fire Dragon, remember not to play with fire that isn't yours," Ja Sun gave a hollow chuckle before turning around casually. Offending others? Ja Sun cared the least about it. Bringing up private matters? Erlong just made a gay joke, she should be ready to be destroyed if she held such intentions against her verbal opponent.
"Xie Xan, don't they want us to bath together, come. I'll explain it to you in detail," Ja Sun's chuckle echoed and Bibi Dong hastily spoke up, "Xie Xan, stay! Grandmaster, we can wait. It's just a little time."
"Alright," Qian Daoliu, at his age, wouldn't bother with such banters. His experience already revealed that even if it was something he didn't understand, it was surely dirty. So he didn't force the issue and let Xie Xan wait until Ja Sun returned with a refreshed expression.
His body and face much cleaner while his slightly longer and disheveled hair now damp.
"Ah Yin, will you help me cut my hair?" Ja Sun inquired with a smile.
"She won't!" Lana stuck her tongue out and glared at him, hurriedly hugging Ah Yin and stopping her from moving at all.
"Tch, you can't hog all the benefits... but, sure, I think long hair looks good, too. Maybe I can sneak in a woman's bath," he stated in a mumble while sitting down under the shade of a tree.
Only after Xie Xan returned did Qian Daoliu calmed everyone. The effects of cleaning up were visible to the naked eyes and now that everyone was refreshed, they found each other much pleasing to their eyes.
"From the lowest cultivation, I want you to step out, state your age and cultivation, and withstand my attacks for three minutes. I will not use spirit abilities."
Qian Daoliu stood up. Their resting spot was the same clearing where Ja Sun absorbed Nightmare's Fantasy so there was quite a bit of space for a spar.
Everyone's gaze condensed on Ja Sun. His breakthrough into rank 48 was a silent one but regardless, he was almost caught up to others in the aspect of cultivation. Once he reaches rank 50, his speed would still be better than other Spirit Kings.
Standing up, Ja Sun bowed to Qian Daoliu slightly, "Age: 21, Rank 48 Spirit Ancestor."
Qian Daoliu nodded with a smile. While others wouldn't have the time to observe his changes, Daoliu did it with a single glance. In three months, increasing one's rank in the stage of Spirit Ancestor was good enough. But Daoliu didn't care about this change and instead wanted to know about the overall growth of his disciple.
His advancement, however, rang an alarm in Erlong's mind. Her satisfaction for reaching that miraculous state of being disappeared and she wanted to increase her cultivation at an even greater pace.
Stepping forward, Ja Sun's body suddenly shuddered and he shot towards Qian Daoliu while a single pitch-black soul ring appeared around his middle finger. Everyone's gaze condensed, curious about his fourth ring but suddenly, Qian Daoliu snorted and a blast of spirit energy threw Ja Sun backward.
Blood gushed out of his nose and mouth as he landed on his fours, still dragged back quite a bit before stopping.
"You're a crafty one, aren't you? But certainly... your mental prowess is a pleasant surprise. Your method really is better than the one known to humanity."
Standing up, Ja Sun inquired calmly, "Master, any hints of advice?"
"No, your act of making me focus on your ability and unleashing a mental attack was a good tactic. Your body is better than your counterparts. Focus on the cultivation of spirit energy from now on and... your blood artifact. I have seen you refining metals in Gengxin City. Use it to make proper use of those gauntlets."
Ja Sun nodded. Since Qian Daoliu provided the information on the Blood Artifacts, he certainly knew what he was talking about.
Hu Lana frowned. Even she felt the strangely vast mental attack only to be completely blown away by that push of spirit energy. But Qian Daoliu didn't continue with Ja Sun and looked at Liu Erlong, making her stand quickly as she glanced at Ja Sun's bloodied lips that he wiped with a clean handkerchief.
A strange glint passed in her eyes the moment she observed the blood itself.
Stepping forward, she uttered calmly, "Age: 23, Rank 49 Spirit Ancestor."
Qian Daoliu nodded.
Unlike Ja Sun, Liu Erlong didn't restrict herself and four rings appeared around her. Strangely, her entire presence seemed fiercer than Ja Sun and she, too, shot forward without hesitation. In just this short moment, the sleeves of her robes were filled out with protruding scales poking against the fabric, her hands turned into draconic claws and there her dark eyes turned yellow with vertical slits within. Her first spirit ring glowed up and flames instantly converged over her claws, ruining her sleeves, too.
Since she had gone through extensive training of control, there was something different about the flames than usual. Those who were used to Liu Erlong only realized it once she explained her achievement.
Her flames were stronger than before. Or, in fact, the impact of her spirit energy was stronger than before.
The realm of self is nothing but crystalization of one's own training. Ja Sun sought dominating control and practiced as such, giving him a qualitative change of perfect control.
Meanwhile, moving by her instincts and reaching this realm not by conserving and controlling her spirit energy with a tight fist but rather allowing herself to control the impact of it and enhancing her attacks slowly, Liu Erlong's realm of self boosted her spirit attacks by 10%.
Qian Daoliu noticed all of this and stepped forward before tilting sideways, letting Erlong pass through his previous location but her fourth spirit ring instantly lit up.
Fire Dragon's Roar.
The image of a brutal crimson dragon appeared behind Erlong and let out a silent roar and the air around Erlong distorted but Qian Daoliu had already disappeared from his original location.
All of Erlong's skills were most suited for attack paths. Aside from her third skill, the expenditure of the remaining three skills was low, allowing her to attack relentlessly. The moment Daoliu disappeared, he reappeared in front of Erlong with the side of his palm already chopping in her direction.
The attack was quick and it struck Erlong's shoulder, making her kneel from the impact itself. However, her third spirit ring instantly flared, her outstretched hand forming a giant sphere of flame almost as large as her entire physique that instantly made Daoliu narrow his eyes. This time, his palm moved towards Erlong's head when she forgot all statuses. Her second ring flaring simultaneously as a giant draconic muzzle made out of flames appeared around her. In between the swirl of crimson fire, Daoliu noticed Erlong's lips move.
"Explode."
*Bang*
The sphere of fire instantly exploded with numerous smaller peals of fire bursting out towards the nearby direction, setting her surroundings on fire.
The moment Liu Erlong created the giant sphere of fire, others had already retreated. Have they not already tasted the power behind Erlong's third skill?
When the dust settled, only Liu Erlong was present in the middle of the site of the explosion.
Her previously smooth skin slightly dry and charred with the ends of her hair fizzled out. Although Erlong was fire resistant, she wasn't resistant to the impacts of an explosion so she instantly utilized her second skill: Fire Lord's Crunch to protect her body with a new force of swirling flames. However, Qian Daoliu was nowhere near her. Suddenly, everyone looked up at the slightly bleak Qian Daoliu sitting mid-air. He didn't use any spirit ability but simply converged his sheer spirit energy to float mid-air.
Once he returned to the ground, he gazed at Liu Erlong and then nodded with a sigh.
"Your improvement must be enhancement of the attack. But the noteworthy thing about you... is that you're crazy," his lips twitched as he spoke. Liu Erlong was simply a dangerous beast in the guise of a cute-looking woman. If Qian Daoliu already did not know of her exploits from the war between the Balak and the Silvers Kingdom then the sleeves of his robes may have truly gotten burnt.
"Go, you need to focus on cultivation, too. The innate talent of your martial soul is not as high as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons but you have already made it up with your own style of combat. Don't let Ka-ul easily cross you in cultivation."
Liu Erlong nodded and exhaled a puff of smoke before looking back at Ah Yin with a weak smile, the redness of her eyes already disappeared.
With a sigh, Ah Yin didn't move or pull Liu Erlong but brought out the Blue Silver Goddess that instantly swept her surroundings with a strange freshness, and the beautiful blade of the grass itself was divided into thin slivers that twisted and turned around into a sapphire vine that shot out and coiled around Liu Erlong, allowing Ah Yin to transfer pure vitality and quickly heal Erlong's internal injuries.
It could be said that the greatest need for a supporter in their group was held by none other than Liu Erlong because in a fight she never was afraid of hurting herself to get the job done. In this way, she was different from Ja Sun because he would only be willing to get hurt if it provided him with worthwhile benefits.
In the explosion, the fiery defense of Fire Lord's Crunch was clearly not enough because it wasn't a defensive skill, and also its potency was lower than the Flame Bombardment: Liu Erlong's third skill. Even Daoliu stopped because the result was decided. Erlong's attack failed and she failed to get any prominent result, allowing her to realize too that it was time to stop.
While Liu Erlong rested on the same spot and took out a long stall to cover partially ruined get-up with, Qian Daoliu looked at Xie Xan. Giving a forced smile, Xie Xan stood up and bowed deeply, "Age: 25, Rank 50 Spirit Ancestor."
Two blood-red crescent blades materialized around his palms. Unlike Ja Sun and Liu Erlong, he didn't dash forth and crossed his arms instead. While many were only looking calmly, Ja Sun and Lana gazed at Xie Xan with a hint of anticipation in their eyes.
With his arms crossed, the tip of Xie Xan's blade crossed each other and his stare turned slightly eerie. Qian Daoliu was well aware that most men of sword or other weapons would slowly develop a routine that helps them reach their greatest focus. Of course, this state is only reached to the best of its nature during practices for a real-life enemy won't give someone a chance to prepare.
Once Xie Xan felt completely calm, the previous battles already out of his mind and his gaze even slightly blank, he stepped forward while throwing his blades toward Qian Daoliu. His body, too, followed the two blades that rotated at a quick speed and his third purple ring flared. The rotation of two vertical blades instantly grew intense and the sound of air being slices was produced while wind visibly rotated around the blades and gave off the feeling of wind slicers.
Calmly, Qian Daoliu moved forward instead of retreating and stretched out both of his palms that seemed to hold the rotating blades in one direction.
At this moment, something strange occurred.
Two of Xie Xan's rings glowed: his first and fourth one.
While one of the vertical slicers turned blood red, their intensity increasing once again and moving forward, the other blade suddenly gave a white glow while rotating and slashed out a rotating slice of energy towards Qian Daoliu.
When Daoliu's eyelids twitched, the other blade basked in the reddish glow, too, sliced forth a rotating energy slice but the white slice of energy was bordered by crimson.
"Did he..." Bibi Dong's eyes widened while Hu Lana's gaze turned proud. Puffing her chest out, she gave a smug smile. There was a reason why she was smug and it was not because the two of them are together. Ja Sun, whose Nightmare's Fantasy followed everyone hungrily to eat and devour, also knew what Xie Xan had achieved for the most part.
While everyone else reeled in surprise, Xie Xan reached the blades finally and pressed his hand into the dangerously rotating blades and grasped the handle accurately before his body twisted and he began to rotate at a high speed himself.
This time, the red light on both the blades grew more intense as his second spirit ring also shone in splendor. Moon slices, his first spirit ring, were released once again and Qian Daoliu had only just dealt with the first two strikes before more came forward. Seeing Xie Xan following while drawing a hurricane of dust and wind around him, only his shining moon blade barely visible, confusion touched Qian Daoliu's eyes before he glanced sideways and found Xie Xan, not within the hurricane but shooting out from its side, a single blade in his hand revealed that the small twister was itself created by a single blade and Xie Xan threw the blade in his hands towards Daoliu once again.
Meanwhile, the twister behind Xie Xan protected his back, and as Qian Daoliu quite easily slapped the blade flying towards him with his hand encased in spirit energy but Xie Xan had already mobilized his second blade and struck similarly while the veins on his forehead bulged as he pulled the blade still forced onto the ground by Qian Daoliu.
The moment his second blade was forced against the ground, Xie Xan knew that he had lost, too.
Sighing lightly, he silently withdrew his martial spirit but didn't mobilize his spirit energy again.
Qian Daoliu merely looked at him with a strange expression. Even with his own experience, what Xie Xan achieved was definitely rare and suited to exotic martial souls such as Moon Blade that has two blades as a single martial soul.
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