C133-2: Cool Down, Soar Up

It took the entirety of his willpower to not turn red in the face and start beating someone up.
He simply took a few seconds to digest the revelation and then said, "Oh. Okay."

Shangguang Ce waited for a few more seconds to gauge his reaction and was promptly disappointed.

"So. . .why were you meditating in the middle of these disasters?" Han Xuhan asked, scratching his head. He found it to be in his best interest to revert to his retarded persona.

"The lightning bolts require one to be in a state of deep meditation to survive the trial unscathed."

Han Xuhan asked in puzzlement, "have you taken a look at yourself, brother Ce? I've seen zombies that look better than you."

". . .Unscathed spiritually, I meant. The lightning strikes attack your spirit, your astral form, the disembodied consciousness that you use to traverse inside your dao tower," Shangguang Ce explained.

"Initially we had the regular plan of action in mind for you. We'd lead you inside and 'extract' information from you in a way you wouldn't like. But when the sea waves struck, that plan had to be halted. So I sent little Wei to call for an elder right before I entered meditation. I must say, it was rather risky to surrender my physical form, unprotected, to an outsider, furthermore a competitor. When my consciousness had returned, I was pleasantly surprised to see your heroic actions under such stressful circumstances."

"There wasn't anything heroic about my actions," Han Xuhan said, trying to explain half-heartedly that he had actually run away at the first chance. The only reason he had attempted to save Shangguang Ce was because it was hard to not feel mentally disturbed when someone was slowly drowning to their death right in front of him.
On second thought, it would probably be advantageous for him to not explain any of that.
Han Xuhan was about to sigh despondently when he noticed an issue with Shangguang Ce's recollection of the events.

The sea waves had struck AFTER Shangguang Ce had 'started meditating'.

Shangguang Ce was lying. For a second, Xuhan was tempted to point that out, but he reconsidered. Firstly, that would be pretty out of character for his current public image, although he wasn't sure they were convinced of his act. But more importantly, the fact that he was lying meant this could possibly be both a trap as well a chamber of secrets. There were many possibilities– were they aware of the exact time when the disaster would strike? Was there a problem with being able to predict the advent of tournament trials? Was Shangguang Ce trying to hide the fact that he was a ghost cultivator? But Han Xuhan had already seen the clues clearly. Identifying cultivation methods through tribulation clouds was fairly common knowledge even among rookie disciples.

The Sunrider sect's business slowly took up a suspicious flair inside his mind as all the details and inconsistencies lined up.

He gradually began to find it way too unsafe to spend a single more second here than necessary.

"Well, since it seems to have been ascertained that my character is as unblemished as the beautiful moon, I would love some help in getting back to my sect. I have sustained several small injuries and some of brother Ce's lightning bolts splashed on my body as well. The report I made on your defences has been lost in the flood. How unlucky!"

"Oh, we'll be more than happy to help you recover-"

"Ah, no. That can't be done. You see, I have a special physique. I require medical assistance from the healers in my sect who are experienced in treating my body. It's quite a hassle, to be honest," Han Xuhan hurriedly interrupted Shangguang Ce. Looking surprised for a brief moment, Shangguang Ce nodded and gestured toward the elder politely. The elder, who had maintained his silence this entire time, spoke up.

"What kind of assistance do you require, young man?"

Han Xuhan fell down a deeper rabbit hole of suspicion. From the looks of it, the Sunrider Sect had been here inside the folded space for a fairly long time. They were well aware of how things worked here, what the rules and customs of the tournament were at the moment, and even the time of the tournament's trials.

Why was the elder unaware of the fact that they had to jump down or fly above to reach other sects?

Maybe he was just overthinking it. Shaking his head forcefully, Han Xuhan explained his plan of action.

"I need you to help me get back to my sect, elder. Since I reached your sect by falling down from my sect, I should be able to return if I manage to fly up, right?"

Han Xuhan knew how stupid his logic sounded. But currently, he could think of no other strategy with the clues he had on his hands.

The elder did not reply for some reason.

Han Xuhan looked from Shangguang Ce to Hong Wei to the elder, all three of whom had wooden expressions on their face.

"Yeah. . .that's not going to work, at least not that simply," Hong Wei muttered somewhat snidely.

"Are you aware of what dimensions are, brother Qing ?"

"Uh. . .what are dimensions?" Han Xuhan asked Shangguang Ce in a confused voice.

Shangguang Ce scratched his nose, seemingly about to say something. But then he apparently reconsidered.

"What sort of cultivation technique do you practice, by the way? Summoning undead soldiers? That's not something I see every day."

Hong Wei's loud musings brought a wave of panic inside Han Xuhan's heart. Looking above in the direction she was gazing at, he saw Tun Shi Tian circling them silently.
He had forgotten to cancel the owl's summon.

Ignoring the urge to cuss, he nodded to Hong Wei's question.

"Do you practice any other technique? Ones related to souls or spirits ?" She asked.

"No."

"Then flying up is your best bet. Good luck, I guess."

"Once you've been here for a while, you'll realise how transport between sects works here. Don't sweat it, brother Qing. I could have taught you myself, but since you don't know what dimensions are, we can't do that."

Han Xuhan noticed a faint smirk on Shangguang Ce's face as he spoke. Did his retarded persona get exposed? Was Shangguang Ce mocking him in a roundabout way?

Han Xuhan pretended not to notice anything and walked toward the elder while he cancelled Tun Shi Tian's summon.

"Please carry him near the rift line above, elder," Shangguang Ce requested. The elder nodded curtly and grabbed Han Xuhan's forearm.

"Are you ready?" he said, seconds before a mechanical buzz sounded from the elder's back.

Han Xuhan had barely finished nodding in affirmation when the elder soared upwards like an arrow. While feeling the bursts of wind on his face, something occurred to Xuhan.

How come he hadn't broken his back after his fall? From the looks of it, he had fallen a height that could definitely turn someone of his cultivation into a gooey splatter.


He looked up at the elder dragging him higher and higher, and noticed something that made his heart flutter uncontrollably.

No, it wasn't the elder's handsomeness. He found himself facing a pair of. . .thrusters. Metallic sheen, polished steel, stable flames coming out of the tubes incessantly. . .this was absolutely a top-notch piece of technology out of sci-fi novels, attached to someone's back.