Heaven's Laws - Lifestone - Chapter 28

They were soon given a full telling of what had happened. Huifen caught the detail that all of the disciples attacked had been females. It wasn’t just the four from their joint sect either. There had been seven attacks all together. Including a Fire Phoenix Sect disciple, three disciples had died. All of the others had also been female.

The question was, why did they discriminate? At lower cultivations, males still had a physical advantage because they naturally gained muscle easier, had a larger bone structure, and so on, but once they reached the earth realm it made little difference. By then, most combat was done through martial techniques that require some distance. The physique improvements from elemental qi refining the body over time also didn’t discriminate. It was a layer of qi that was primarily used to defend anyway. Males were still naturally larger and might have some advantage due to their mass in the number of direct hits they could take, but how often were cultivators a perfect match where it mattered?

Then there was natural yang and yin she could consider. She knew perfectly well how some male and female cultivators would prey on others. It had happened to her, and almost to Chao. But this wasn’t that. It was something she could go back and forth on all day.

There had also been the bizarre method of the attacks. From what they could tell, each one had been categorically different. Either from a different weapon, different element, or the type of technique used. It spoke to there being more than one murderer. There was also the possibility that they were trying extra hard to not get caught. That meant they’d used weapons made from materials that didn’t suit their cultivation, or possibly even offensive formation arrays.

“Are you convinced this Sage Harnish didn’t notice we were hiding our cultivations?” Chao asked as they weaved through the sect staging area on the first floor of the spire. They were surrounded in a sound barrier.

“Yes,” she replied. “Don’t underestimate the blindness of arrogance. He gave us but a glance. He seemed set on artfully harassing mother.”

“Should we beat him up?”

“Husband.”

“It’s the Silly Sage, remember?”

“Don’t you dare bring this to our marriage bed. I can only take so much.”

“The more of my pestering you take, the more I’ll have to make up for it later. You sure you’re not interested?”

She gave him a piercing glare.

He laughed, but his expression faded. “I don’t like it that Genji sees me that way. As solemn.”

She drew to a stop, then had to step out of the way as a fairy was coming from the other direction. After the woman passed, she replied. “Why?”

He gave it a moment’s thought before answering. “Because cultivating should be enjoyable. It was only because of our enemies that I was forced to show that side of myself.”

“And what if I find that side attractive?” She challenged, trying to lighten his mood for once.

He gave her a flirty squint, but his solemness returned. “You find it attractive because we live in a world where such force is necessary. What if it wasn’t? After the week you spent with me cultivating the elements there’s no way you would’ve ever been interested in anyone else.” He shook his head like the answer was obvious. “I’m also handsome.”

Why did his questioning of the way things were always irritate her? Was it because it was just a fantasy or because he might be right? At least, she knew he wasn’t stuck in such fantasies. But he was wrong, wasn’t he? It was his martial ability that made their relationship possible. She would’ve never even considered him otherwise. Would she have married him under the conditions he mentioned? Seeing as she had no good answer, she rose up on her tiptoes and messed up his hair.

He and his father had always kept it short. She thought it had been because they lived in the woods away from people, and it just made things easier. “Have you ever thought about growing out your hair?” She asked.

“You want me to look like a scholar now—like mother does father?”

“You just don’t have much hair, so it’s hard to get back at you for poor Little Yu-yan.”

“Is that so?”

She shrugged. “I’ll just have to get more creative, I guess.”

“Do you really want me to grow it out?”

“No. Please don’t. It would feel too much like you were trying to be someone else.”

“Like I said, I’m just too handsome.”

She held back her sharp retort and wrapped her arm beneath his. “I’m going to miss having Yu-yan tagging along.”

“Same. You’re not going to get mad if I spoil her a bit, will you?

She jabbed him in the arm with a finger. “This is one case where I’ll be mad if you don’t.”

“Greetings,” a familiar voice sounded from behind. They turned to find Baros in his wooden armor a few paces away.

The man had longer brown hair down to his shoulder. It was pushed back to keep of his brow, and the sides of his head were kept short. He was obviously young, while also having a full beard. Huifen would consider him a handsome man, but the Morning Midst Village grooming style was strange to her. She confirmed to herself that her husband’s really was more to her liking.

“Brother Baros,” Chao said, returning the man’s salute. “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s Brother Tao, isn’t it?”

“It is. And this is my wife, Jong Fen.”

“I am Baros of the Morning Midst Village,” he smiled. “Sorry for earlier. I hope you don’t find it rude, but might I ask what sect you’re from and your relationship with the Ice Phoenix Sect? I fear I’ve offended you once already because of the assumptions I’ve made and would prefer not to make the same mistake again.”

“Of course. We are both rogue cultivators, not directly associated with any one sect. I am a sound cultivator, with a little talent with the pipa. My wife is a nature cultivator and a talented healer. As you can expect, we’re better at befriending others than actually cultivating, which has led us here any to be in the Ice Phoenix Sect’s good graces.”

The man chuckled. “To be in the earth realm as rogue cultivators at such a young age makes you anything but untalented.”

“You honor us,” Chao bowed, leaving out the this one this and this one that from his speech pattern.

“If you’d allow me to go one step further to give you a tour of the first floor of the Divine Spire, I’d be the one in your debt.”

“Husband,” Huifen said meekly, playing the role of the softspoken wife. “Remember we have people waiting for us.”

“My Fen’er is right,” he said looking down at her. He obviously found her act alluring. Turning back to the man, he added, “But if Brother Baros wouldn’t mind escorting us until we meet up with some friends, we’d be grateful.”

“Oh? Then the honor is mine. Where are you to meet these friends, if I might ask?”

“They should be at a training construct of some kind on the first floor…”

“Ahh, the Trial of Might. It’s one of the only construct in the Divine Spire that you can participate in repeatedly. But don’t let that fool you. It is highly competitive and can earn you great prestige. If you earn a high enough point total, the spire still has rewards to spare for anyone that breaks into the top 100. The higher your rank, the better the rewards.”

The man waved them to follow, and they did. He spoke openly as they walked. “It’s believed that this area around the entrance to the first floor was used to greet guests. That’s why there’s such wide-open space. Despite that, the first floor is filled with stations. Some of them aren’t trials at all. The first stop for almost everyone that enters is called Spire’s Blessing.”

After they exited the crowd of tents and people, the rest of the first floor was revealed to them. It looked like the front half of the first floor was the greeting area, while the second half of the crescent moon shaped room was line with different stations. Huifen had heard much of this place over the years. Often from those that had been here but seeing it for the first time left her heart fluttering.

She could see what Baros meant by stations, for the room was segmented along the wall. There were murals and displays, historical telling’s of ancient battles, pillars and daises that acted as giant card jades. There weren’t just a few of them, but likely a hundred or more on this first floor. Many of them were being ignored by the cultivators present.

She glanced over to see her husband licking his lips as he focused on these neglected stations. Of course, he was. He wanted noting more but to figure out the mysteries that no one else had. Many of these smaller trials were like puzzle stations. The prize might be in the answer to the riddle itself, but if one wasn’t perceptive enough then they wouldn’t even realize it. Other rewards might be more substantive.

Father Zan had been right. One of Chao’s most attractive features was his undying curiosity. It was infectious. She couldn’t allow herself to grow to hate that about him.

“There it is,” Brother Baros declared. He motioned toward the giant pillar that connected the floor to the ceiling at the center of the room. They were still tens of meters away from it but could see the overhead display that held an ancient scroll, violet vial with a sealed top, and a jade pill box. At first, she thought it was a painting of the items, but as they got closer, there looked to be some kind of glass covering them.

There was a large platform at the foot of the pillar, but she couldn’t help but to wonder how the items were still there after all this time. Had no one like Father Zan come here and took a look? Then she thought better of it. Would someone at his level that could manipulate space even be interested? If that were so, wouldn’t he be here right now with Quinyuan and ransacking the place? Instead, they were going off planet to train.

She still didn’t know exactly what realm he had reached. From what she knew, the earliest a cultivator was normally able to manipulate space was at the Divine Lord realm, he had to be at least that. But there were two realms above that, the Heavenly Sovereign, and Divine Monarch realms. To cultivators like that, such a lower realm legacy wouldn’t mean much. That could only mean… She glanced over to her husband once again and began to laugh to herself.

“Is the glass covering the display unbreakable?” She asked.

Their guided nodded and let out a regretful sigh. “From what I’ve heard its many times harder than the divine marble the spire is made from. Not that anyone knows exactly how tough it is for no one had ever been able to break it.”

She found Chao looking at her. His intention was clear. She suddenly felt more knavish than ever before like the two of them were thieves secretly planning a burglary. It was rather difficult to keep the smile from her face.

“Since this is your first visit,” Baros continued. “I recommend you make use of the Spire’s Blessing while we are here. It’s not a trial, but assesses your talent, physique, and cultivation, among other things, and will provide you with resources. Most only get a few qi rich pills, but they’re free. If your talent is high enough, the resources are even better. There have even been people that received things never before seen.”

She knew why he wished them to make use of it now. The man wanted to see how the spire assessed them. He’d quickly be able to figure out what threat, if any, they presented. Even if this station would provide free resources, it would also give away what they were hiding.

“Thank you, Brother Baros,” she interjected. “We’ve already decided to scout out the different stations and to learn as much as we can before making use of them. We’d hate to make use of an opportunity like this only to have our cultivations improve and miss out on better resources later because we were too hasty.”

“I can respect your decision,” the man said, hiding his disappointment well.

With one last look at the unclaimed resources behind the overhead display, Huifen followed the man around the central pillar and listened to his explanation about many of the stations. Almost immediately she saw the group of joint sect disciples on the far end of the room amongst the crowd. There was another platform there. Three people stood there motionless. It was a training construct.

The wall directly in front of the platform and the forty odd people that were standing there waiting had a list of one hundred names. Beside their names wasn’t just a point total, but also a combat ranking. The bottom sixty names were categorized as Soldier. The next twenty were graded as Officer. Then twelve were categorized as Commander. Only six were give the rank of General, and two were listed as Royalty.

Baros noticed the direction she was looking and skipped the rest of the stations when seeing it. “The Trial of Might,” he said with an awe filled tone. “Many people make the trip to the Divine Spire just for this. When you take to the platform, you will find yourself facing off while multiple enemies. The more you defeat, the more points you earn. It’s not based on cultivation either. It scales depending on your current realm. Most of those on the top one hundred ranking are unknown heroes of the past, but there are cases where earth realm cultivators made it when sky realm and even overlords have not. This is also why people often return here.”

“Is there anyone in the spire that has made it on the list?” Chao asked, while scanning it from afar.

“A few. Sage Pangfua, unsurprisingly, and her disciple Ice Fairy Genji. Elder Harnish is the only one from my own sect, and there’s Elder Alfori from the Night Pearl Sect. Often higher realm cultivators have an advantage because of their experience in battel. That is all currently, but if you get a good enough point total, you can still earn qi crystals. The first try is the most profitable, but the construct seems to keep track of everyone’s progress. If you improve after multiple tries you can earn even more.”

“That’s incredible,” Chao responded.

They came to a stop at the back of the crowd. It was undoubtedly a training construct. The three people on the platform remained unmoving but sweat gathered on their brows and the effort was plane on their faces.

A moment later, a woman of the Night Pearl Sect collapsed to her knees. She seemed disappointed, but her face lit up when there was a flash of light and a qi crystal the size of one’s thumb appeared on the pedestal on her side of the platform. She hopped up as if she wasn’t tired at all and took her prize.

“Such purity,” Chao said out loud.

“Yes,” Baros replied. “The spire only produces the purest crystals.”

“Produces?”

“That’s the current theory. How else could this place provide such rewards for thousands of years? The only explanation is that it’s able to compress qi crystals itself.”

Chao let out a high-pitched whistle.

It was then that someone caught sight of them. She saw the dimpled Ice Phoenix Disciple Eu-meh that Huifen had once presented to Chao as a possible wife candidate for him. She swallowed down her embarrassment when she realized the girl was surrounded by men from the joint sect and others. Many other sects. She wasn’t alone. Ice Fairies Daiyu and Zhu, her two closest friends in the sect, were also standing there annoyed.

The guys surrounding them were offering them compliments. Even the joint sect men had been drawn into the competition.

When Chao saw it, he snickered.

“What are you laughing at, husband?” Huifen asked. She knew perfectly well he suffered from the same foolishness other guys did. So did her father. She’d grown to accept it and even savor it to a limited extent. “If we weren’t married and I was stand there now, you’d be right there with them.”

“Oh, would I?” He replied, poking her in the ribs. His tone was smug. “I don’t think so. Instead, I’d just play you a song and you would be mine.”

She glared at him. “You think my heart is so easy to win?”

“Easy? My dearest Fen’er. No one can do what I can do.”

Knowing that Brother Baros was standing right there listening left her red in the face.

When her husband gave their guide a confident look, the man smiled but seemed to not know what to think. It was not exactly polite conversation. Still, she liked it that her Chao didn’t shy away from claiming her.

It was then that Ice Fairy Eu-meh slipped passed the last obstacle in the crowd and arrived to greet them. “Brother Tao. Sister Fen,” the girl addressed them with a bow. “It is good that you’ve finally made it.”

Huifen could feel the fairy’s distress. She’d had enough of the soft-spoken act. “Hello, Sister Eu-meh. Allow me to lend you a hand.”

She glanced to Chao, and it only took him a moment to realize what she was requesting. He nodded and she lifted her voice. “Enough already. Don’t you see you’re harassing these fairies.”

The murmur of the crowd died at her words.

“You’ll have plenty of time to impress them later. For now, give them some space.”

It was only to be expected. For the first time in recent memory, the ice fairies of the joint sect were openly allowed to marry. Every eligible, and illegible suiter couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

When the crowd began to part, Chao looked surprised by their reaction. She knew it was because she was hiding her cultivation and true identity. What he didn’t know, was that even though she was an unknown fairy, the word of any fairy held a lot of weight in this type of setting. These guys were here to impress fairies after all. There was also the fact that she was attractive. It was also because the joint sect fairies immediately headed in her direction.

Soon, they were surrounded by fellow disciples.

“Sister Fen’er,” many fairies said as they greeted her. Chao wasn’t completely neglected, but she had just saved them from a constant headache.

It was the golden headed Fairy Zhu who cut through the noise. “Sister, are you here to try the construct?”

“My husband Tao and I were hoping to explore some of the higher levels before we committed to anything,” she replied.

“We can take you,” Zhu insisted, grabbing ahold of Fair Daiyu’s arm.

“I’ll keep an eye on those that remain,” a woman said from off to the side. It was a sky realm elder from the Ice Phoenix Palace.

“Thank you, Elder,” Huifen replied. Their eyes met and understanding passed between them. “Let’s go as a small party, for safety’s sake. Is anyone else interested in going to the second floor?”

Soon, eight of the fairies had agreed to go.

“Brother Baros,” Huifen said, turning to the man. “Thank you, for your hospitality.” Not only was she thanking him, but also dismissing him in the same breath.

“It was my pleasure, Sister Fen. Brother Tao,” he said, saluting them both. The man’s eyes lingered on Fairy Eu-meh longer than the other fairies before he bowed his head to them all. “Cultivate well.”

No one returned the farewell except for Chao.

They were about to leave, when another voice cut threw the noise. “Brother Tao.” Fairy Daiyu’s younger cousin hurried toward his friend.

The fairies that were going to ascend with them didn’t have a good reaction to the young tawny’s skin fire cultivator. He’d been one of those competing with the other men for their attention.

“Brother Li Qiang,” Chao called out. They clasped hands at the wrist. “You’re coming with us.” It wasn’t a question.

Huifen realized her husband wasn’t excited about being surrounded by so many fairies. She found it amusing. “Let’s go,” she announced.

And so they skirted around the crowd and the Trial of Might toward the staircase behind the station. The stairs were not hidden, but they were obviously put here so that everyone that ascended would have to pass by this trial. It was the main focus of the first floor. As for the second, they’d soon find out.

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Chapters are coming. I've been reworking some things because of the plot. Where and how to introduce the villains at this part of the story has been the real challenge.