บท 54: The Bet's Reward (2)
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***
Not minding the sight of blood and even the slightly thick scent of it, Ah Yin squeezed Ja Sun's bloody hand a little tighter while healing him and barked an angry rebuke.
"Are you trying to waste my time?"
Ja Sun sucked in a breath of cold air. He had broken out his desires and it truly hurt!
"Relax," Ja Sun whispered, "You wouldn't be able to win the bet anyway."
"I see."
Ah Yin's gaze turned cold and she pinched his index finger with her other hand.
"Huh? How about now?" She growled.
Her heart, however, was shocked! Ja Sun managed to gain injuries much more severe in three minutes than he did for hours while cultivating his mental technique. His vessels weren't just in his arms. His entire circulatory system was affected and even with the almost godly healing capabilities of her martial soul, body, and spirit energy, she still felt slightly expended.
"Hmm, this is good enough," Ja Sun pulled his hand back and slowly stood up. He had absorbed the energy from his blood so the pool of blood wouldn't dry and look caked.
"Where are you going?" Ah Yin frowned. She was doing a great job but Ja Sun still picked his gauntlet and spoke calmly, "Why would I want to disrupt everyone's class? The last thing I want to do is demotivate you all with my brilliance. I'm going to the medical facility. Maybe cafeteria after that."
Ja Sun shrugged.
"But the teacher hasn't arrived," Roldiarra spoke up with an unwilling expression. His heart still shook slightly. He was stumped at reaching the first step but he wasn't this crazy enough.
"So? When she will come at 9, I'll be here. I can do it once, I will do it again, stupid punk. Did you forget what I said yesterday? No stupid talk with me? Or should I teach that directly to your mother?"
Roldiarra's body swayed. But a cold gaze focused on him. It wasn't anybody else but Ja Sun himself.
"Shut up and mind your business."
With that, Ja Sun turned on his heels and left. He was extremely grateful to Ah Yin since she healed the more pressing of his injuries. As he walked a little distance away, a calm voice entered his ears.
"After medical attention, rest, you mad lad. Bibi Dong doesn't need to see the same thing twice."
There wasn't anyone but it was Qian Daoliu's voice.
Nodding faintly, Ja Sun continued towards the medical staff.
The Spirit Academy has many spirit masters with healing-type tool spirits so after recovering enough, Ja Sun returned to his residence. The mission would be completed after Ah Yin's defeat so he wasn't in a hurry and slept while hugging a reluctant Olivia.
His decision of coming to Spirit Hall was already bearing rich and juicy fruits. Another S-ranked mission! In time, there will be more.
---
Slowly, everyone cultivated the technique. The sight of the madness Ja Sun revealed was imprinted in their hearts, strangely motivating them. But even still, while many were willing to spill sweat, none spilled a single drop of their blood. When the pressure turned too extreme, their bodies would convulse and shudder, making them stop. Even Ah Yin was no different.
The pressure of her own body and spirit, how could she easily bear it? Heal it? These weren't injuries. But by forcing it, injuries would spread quite easily.
Others felt more and more strange.
What everyone was having trouble achieving even after three hours, Ja Sun did it in three minutes.
"Nngh," A soft groan echoed at this moment, attracting the attention of every exhausted student.
It was Liu Erlong. Spirit energy moved around her wildly.
Her arms were draped with fierce red draconic scales that were wrapped into claws at the end. Her yellow, slitted eyes revealed a cruel expression. After three hours, she had reached the sixth step. Aside from Hu Lana, who had reached the seventh step, and Ah Yin, who was at her ninth step already, Liu Erlong, Xie Xan, and Roldiarra were stuck at their sixth steps firmly.
"Fucking break!" Liu Erlong hissed, her words turning uncouth as the scales of her right claw cracked slightly.
'Madness! Her, too?' Everyone gaped. Even Ah Yin. Self-mutilation is a line she didn't want to cross ever but what is with her classmates?
Liu Erlong's slightly sharpened teeth bit into her lips, drawing further blood as her body trembled. She firmly touched the seventh step, alarming Hu Lana greatly. But this wasn't the end of it.
Liu Erlong's spirit rings flashed, the scales of her transformation turned firmer and without any care, a sense of bloodlust far wilder than Ja Sun oozed out of her body. This startled everyone. There was a thick scent of blood. But it only seemed to motivate Liu Erlong.
She closed her eyes. Recalling the day where she found a talking spirit beast, chasing her, and then losing to not a person, but a beast with a taste of blood far greater than hers.
Though she never revealed it after meeting Ja Sun, Liu Erlong found her path after meeting with him. She was as thankful as angry. She was filled with as much killing intent towards him as the respect that blossomed in her chest for him. But even that was foreshadowed by his actions today.
Unknowingly, she mumbled. She wished to whisper, but with her focus on the technique, she ended up speaking in front of others.
"If he doesn't fear blood... why should I?"
Thick cracks spread from the scales of her right arm and eight lines connected!
Veins of her hands bulged through her scales, almost splitting in half but the more Liu Erlong recalled the sight of swift madness that Ja Sun left, the greater the itch in her heart grew. Pain? Blood?
Is it more painful than the sight of her mother breathing her last?
She gritted with a fierce expression. While others were feeling despair at the madness of others, Ah Yin calmly closed her eyes and began focusing on herself. Since she was going to achieve the result anyway, she slowly eroded the constraints of her body. Her goal wasn't Bibi Dong's condition, but her bet with Ja Sun.
*Spurt*
Erlong's blood gushed and she instantly turned to the ninth step. By now, Xie Xan and Hu Lana closed their eyes with a determined expression.
*Rraaaghh!*
Erlong's roar shook her surroundings and the tenth step flickered before abruptly disappearing. Erlong's eyes rolled up and her transformation was revoked. Slowly falling back, she had already lost consciousness. It was then a faint figure appeared silently and held Erlong by her shoulder.
Bibi Dong's arrival only startled those who were distracted by Erlong. Ah Yin, Hu Lana, and Xie Xan kept their eyes shut.
"Focus on the task. I will take care of her."
Bibi Dong silently picked Erlong in her embrace without caring for the blood on her wide robe and brought her away.
'Shit!'
Panic rose in Roldiarra's heart and he instantly began working on the technique.
Over the next two hours, everyone except for Ah Yin was still stuck in their original steps.
Meanwhile, Ah Yin had surprised everyone by reaching the thirteenth step. This speed was godly among them!
Even though everyone knew that Ah Yin passed, she stuck around to complete the bet. In five hours, she had reached the 13th step by carefully exerting herself.
It was also at this time Xie Xan entered the 7th step.
Hours slowly passed. The 7th step seemed to be a major watershed as there weren't any others who could reach this step after Roldiarra. Ah Yin silently left during her 6th hour, already completing the technique. She didn't hear Daoliu's voice but there was no need to stay and watch the contorted faces of her classmates.
When the dusk dulled the sky, Hu Lana had already reached the tenth step. Her score time being 14 hours. But she didn't move. Instead, she silently persevered while Xie Xan next to her was still stuck on the 9th step. There were still a few hours remaining. Three, to be exact, so he continued to push forward with a firm expression. He had half the mind to take the bloody route. But after Ja Sun's and Liu Erlong's show of madness, a few desperate spirit masters did try to force themselves and at the first burst of a vein, everyone fainted. It wasn't just about the blood.
By now, everyone knew the torturous pain the both of them needed to grit their teeth through. Liu Erlong, they respected. Ka-ul, they started to fear somewhat.
Gritting his teeth, Roldiarra displayed a mad expression. He, too, was stuck on the 9th step like Xie Xan but while he continued to feel progress, Roldiarra was completely stuck.
His heart was in the pits. After all that boasting, he wasn't willing to step back. Gritting his jaws, he instantly drew the tenth step. Before the line could complete, with a loud shriek, Roldiarra stopped and gazed at his bloodied hand. Pain already making his body shudder. Though a rogue with enough experience, this kind of pain was unbearable, to say the least!
The result seemed to be decided when Bibi Dong appeared after dropping off Roldiarra to the medical ward and Xie Xan reaching the tenth step firmly.
---
"So, you admit that you lost the bet," Ja Sun smiled. He and Ah Yin were in the cafeteria's third level. Hearing his tone, Ah Yin shrugged, "Since we both reached the same step, we can only use other factors as a method. You reached that spot in 3 minutes, I took a little over 6 hours. It's your win."
"But, since I still reached the 15th step, I will not be giving up my wealth," she added with a confident expression.
Ja Sun nodded with a grin. Only the two of them were present on the table. Of course, when Ah Yin described Liu Erlong's own actions, Ja Sun only chuckled. It wasn't until a pale Liu Erlong arrive did the both of them stop talking. Glancing at Ja Sun impassively, Liu Erlong sat across him and ordered multiple dishes herself. The entire time, she refrained from showing her usual combustible nature.
After a few silent minutes, Ah Yin was done with her food but seeing Ja Sun continue, she couldn't help but sigh.
"Would it kill you to eat quickly?" She grumbled.
"Yeah," Ja Sun chewed and replied, "There's such a thing called choking on your food, missy."
"I'm returning early then," Just as she stood up, Ah Yin found Bibi Dong leading Hu Lana and Xie Xan towards their table.
"It's good that all of you are here," her words made Ah Yin sit once again. With quite a lot of chairs, instead of sitting close to anyone, Hu Lana and Xie Xan chose to sit away from Erlong, Ja Sun, and Ah Yin completely.
Clearing her throat, Bibi Dong addressed everyone on the table. Her voice cool and collected.
"This martial lesson was to test your natural talents. Those who could reach the tenth step within 24 hours have the potential to attack the realm of Titled Douluo. I reduced that time limit further so, in potential, all of you are fairly substantial. Though, there has never been a recorded case of someone pushing their limits and breaking their bodies," saying so, her gaze condensed on Ja Sun and Erlong, "but the result is what matters to me."
The eyes of the listeners, including others on the table, shone brightly. Especially the teachers. All of them were aware of Bibi Dong's status. Even if she is masked, she is still the successor. Her saying all of this, how could the teachers not understand? Every teacher goes through the same method of testing their potential, too. Students around them gave soft scoffs of derision but after today's display, those among the five students knew who truly were outstanding and who needed more tempering.
Hu Lana and Xie Xan placed themselves in the latter category silently.
"Tomorrow, we will leave Spirit City. Rest well. Meet me at the entrance of the Academy tomorrow in the dawn."
With that, Bibi Dong left with great strides. Even her heart was excited. How would she have known that she could already find five talents from a bunch of rogues? She expected Ja Sun, Ah Yin, and Hu Lana to only reach this stage but today, her heart was truly shocked.
As she left, Ah Yin exited the cafeteria, too. After almost 20 minutes, Ja Sun completed his meal and left after storing every dish he didn't consume.
Sure, it was said 2 plates for each person. But what are they going to do? Throw him out? He was already leaving tomorrow.
With incomparable ease and under the spiteful gazes of the waiter, Ja Sun walked away.
The first thing he did after entering his room— block the bathroom.
The moment he locked the door, he saw the rewards slowly being created in front of him.
A small booklet and a white cloth appeared midair only to be caught by Ja Sun in time.
The booklet was naturally the Myriad Step Array Refining Technique. And the white article of clothing...
Ja Sun's eyes glimmered and he stored the booklet. His gaze, however, held the squarish article of clothing with threads on the edges with great regard.
"This is Ah Yin's traditional innerwear?" Ja Sun observed it carefully. This world had suits and various other formal clothing pieces like corsets and garter belts. But that form of fashion is prominent in the southern region of the continent. Up here, in the north, though women did wear inner garments like bras and panties, many still chose this traditional form of covering.
"Since... this is my reward, I can use it however I like, right?" Ja Sun gulped. It was his own rare moment of hesitation. As an E-ranked reward, a single article of clothing was worse and better at the same time. All that needed to be considered was the original owner of this article of clothing.
"But... I have gone through a no-nut november for 4 months now. Can't break the streak," Ja Sun sighed with a certain resolution. There is a chance of having a relationship in this life, why would he succumb to the whispers of his right hand so easily? But...
Ja Sun's eyes glimmered. He will use this reward at an appropriate time.
Storing it away, Ja Sun found Ah Yin already in her room. Only revealing that his martial soul can increase the pace of his own cultivation, Ja Sun didn't spread his influence. Ah Yin didn't seem to mind it since her more pressing concern was being the youngest Spirit Emperor.
Sitting inside his room, Ja Sun took out two items. The booklet of Myriad Step Array Refining Technique, and a Brown Crystal. Unlike Final Buddha Array, the Myriad Step Array Refining Technique needed to be cultivated by oneself. Ja Sun then gazed at the Essence of War God.
He had tried to refine it using spirit energy, mental energy, and his internal qi but the crystal still remained an enigma. An S-ranked reward he couldn't make use of immediately was frustrating. Even the evil egg he gained after a year was the same.
This was definitely an issue of his trait. At times, he would get the reward with certain benefits to him but he could only find their use later on.
With a sigh, he stored the essence crystal once again. Flipping through the pages of the technique, Ja Sun realized that the Myriad Step Array Refining Technique was a form of spirit energy refining technique. Much like the Final Buddha Array and the external refining technique that Bibi Dong had everyone practice.
Thinking for a moment, Ja Sun gave it a shot. Being an S-ranked technique, in theory, it should be better than Final Buddha Array if not the same in quality. Not to mention that this technique, despite having the term 'myriad', was not complicated at all. It didn't leave any hidden pressure to mark potential and whatnot and only focused on refining.
Closing his eyes, Ja Sun began drawing his spirit energy in a certain manner. The technique needed to be used simultaneously to the absorption of spirit qi. Since Ja Sun's breathing technique absorbed spirit qi passively, he could practice this refining technique whenever he wanted to.
The spirit energy within his spirit sea roiled and moved in a strange fashion. It slowly formed a pattern and then under Ja Sun's control, this pattern grew more and more delicate. Unknowingly, the golden array over the spirit sea: Final Buddha Array, drew closer. The gap between the golden array and the temporary array made from the spirit sea turned closer until the two were almost touching each other.
The speed of the rotation of the Final Buddha Array lost its leisure nature. Instead, the rotational speed slowly grew quicker. Flashes of silver glowed within the circular golden array. The quicker it rotated, the more Ja Sun found his own array crumbling slowly. No matter how he persisted, the situation was going in a reversed direction. But not feeling an ounce of discomfort, he continued to hold the formation and let the Final Buddha Array move. How could he not visualize everything happening within his body?
Right now, silver streams lit the golden array. Two colors intertwined. Unlike the last time where Ja Sun's spirit energy was forcefully condensed into a lower rank, this time, the Array's natural speed grew quicker. By the time the Final Buddha Array was finished absorbing the array, its own structure had been changed permanently. It had Myriad Step Array Refining Technique's speed, and its own supreme capability of refining spirit qi. Ja Sun's eyes glowed. He tried to create the array once again but the Final Buddha Array returned to its previous state of suspension with quick rotational speed and glowing gold and silver light continuously shining over and refining the spirit qi being absorbed into his body.
For the next few hours, he silently cultivated, and close to dawn, his body released a soft crackling sound as spirit energy fluctuated around him.
Rank 33.
With improvement in the basic speed of refinement, his cultivation pace had returned to the pace similar to when he began cultivating.
Seeing the time, he got out of the bed... but thinking that he would have to leave the room regardless, he stored the bed into his empty storage tool.
Leave no comfort behind.
Looking at the slightly sleepy Olivia, Ja Sun smiled and pulled the blanket from under her talons.
"We're leaving together."
"*Hoot*... Just... pick... me..."
She hooted and flapped her wings once.
***
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