Hui hurtled off, speeding away at his top fourth-stage speed. Did we get away? He glanced over his shoulder, simultaneously expanding his mental energy.
Ai Tuzi rapidly closed in on them, hurtling up behind them.
Shit! Hui turned back around, putting more speed into the tree. The disciples clutching to it screamed and gripped tighter. Their knuckles went white, fear flashing over their faces.
“Gui Hui! She’s coming for us!” Tian Mo shouted.
“I...
2023-07-30 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hui walked up to the hostages. “Where is the barrier?”
“Stop! Not another step. You can enter, but you can’t exit!” Tian Mo shouted.
Hui paused. He knelt, pressing his hands against the ground, and sent his qi forth.
Barely an inch in front of him, his qi hit another structure. Hui quickly examined it, then sighed. Boring. Just an ordinary barrier. Barely worth talking about.
Tian Mo blinked. Did… Did Gui Hui just sigh? Is it that hopeless?
2023-07-29 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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The engine roared, then quieted, idling to a halt. Domi patted the cycle, proud of herself. “I’m getting better at control. Don’t even need my phone for that kind of stuff anymore.”
“I’m just glad you had the self-restraint to not use my motorcycle as a car bomb,” Zeke muttered.
“No point. This thing doesn’t have fuel. Except for shrapnel-making, it’s useless as an explosive.” Domi flipped the kickstand and hopped off the motorcycle. She glanced at Zeke. “W...
2023-07-28 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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The resentment demons rolled toward the demon cultivators. The demon cultivators charged to meet the resentment demons. Ai Tuzi and her bodyguard drew swords, while the other two humanoid demon cultivators shifted to their animal forms. A giant cat and a small vermillion bird joined the deer and the iguana in charging the resentment demons.
Hui stood in the background, looking down on the battle imposingly with his hands clasped behind him, his mouth closed, and his head tipped slightly...
2023-07-28 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Sprinting as fast as he could in the opposite direction, Hui hesitated, then unleashed his cultivation to the fourth realm. It’s what Jizhi Zhimei knows my cultivation to be. Might as well use it to my advantage. Now that I’m in danger, I can’t hesitate!
In no time, he reached the rift. Without pause, he rushed directly to the resentment demons. No time for subtlety or attempting to properly break the barrier. I’ll simply attack them, brute force!
After all, r...
2023-07-27 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Welcome back to volume two! Here we go!
From the top of the stadium, Zeke looked out across the expanse at the dark dome opposite them. He took a deep breath. “There’s multiple Apocalypse Incubators.”
“Yep, gotta say… looks like,” Domi agreed.
“The battle isn’t over. It’s only just begin,” Zeke murmured, half to himself. A sense of dread crept over him, the hairs on the back of his neck lifting. Other victors. Apocalypses with Domains, with stren...
2023-07-26 14:30:01 +0000 UTC
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“Grab the hostages… hostage. Take him back with the rest,” Ai Tuzi declared, flipping her cream-tipped ear and hair over her shoulder.
The rabbit-ear man bowed. Jogging over, he gestured at Tian Mo, recalling his sword from where it hovered over Hui’s corpse at the same time and using it to threaten Tian Mo. Cooperating with him, Ai Tuzi drew her sword back to herself.
Tian Mo cast a look at Hui, lying dead on the ground. He swallowed and looked up at the burly rabbit man....
2023-07-26 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Back through the flashy palace and out of Jizhi Zhimei’s quarters. The second he stepped outside, Hui froze. Wait, hold on. I didn’t get her to ask Tseng Caihong for a meeting so I can retrieve Zhubi yet! Dammit! How could I let the most important part slip my mind so easily? The whole reason I went into her palace at all… totally wasted!
Taking a deep breath, Hui forced himself to calm down. Okay, okay. I always have tomorrow. And… I can always try the other senior...
2023-07-25 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The pain in his legs momentarily abated, Hui stood in place. He focused all his attention on his third eye, scanning the water for qi emanations. The objects she’s looking for should stand out—
Blazing bright light shot from the water, all but blinding his third eye. Hui stumbled back, clapping his hands over his forehead. Owowow!
“Giving up?” Jizhi Zhimei asked.
“N-no,” Hui said. She’s giving me an out? This is definitely a task I’m mea...
2023-07-24 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Hui followed after Jizhi Zhimei, hurrying through her palace. She moved at a businesslike clip, which, at Hui’s suppressed second stage, translated to a full-out run. He barely glimpsed the ornate interior of the palace as he rushed through—sumptuous lounges, lush rugs, fine jade carvings—before he burst out the other side.
A yet larger garden awaited him. This one ringed a mirror-still pool. A few delicate lotuses perched at the edge of this one, their floral perfume filling the ...
2023-07-23 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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In the blinking of an eye, they left the secret realm and returned to the Eight Tiers Palace. The three of them hopped off the mirror, and Jizhi Zhimei stowed it away. She led them on foot instead, leading them through the Palace.
Hui glanced at her back. Er, should I release the yin technique? It is kind of unpleasant to hold it for too long. I’m not used to having this much yin in my meridians. Stealthily, he started to release the yin energy.
Jizhi Zhimei whirled. Sh...
2023-07-22 15:00:04 +0000 UTC
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The alarm quieted. Once again, silence cloaked the yin-filled valley. Hui held his breath, looking up at the silhouettes in the clouds above him. Maybe… maybe I was wrong. Maybe Tseng Caihong, er, is trying a voice technique!
Voice stepped out of the shadow, Jizhi Zhimei one step behind her. Jizhi Zhimei looked Hui up and down. She glanced at Voice. Watching her mistress, Voice chuckled. “Hmm. How strange, how strange indeed, to rush here after our encounter mere moments ag...
2023-07-21 15:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“Where are you going?” Tian Mo asked, jogging to keep up with Hui.
Hui slowed, changing his footwork back to normal. Whoops. I was subconsciously using the Pond-Reflecting-Moon Waltz again. “I need to get my spirit beast back. Tseng Caihong took him.”
“Er, didn’t Voice just say she was in secluded meditation? You can’t just interrupt that…”
“Tell her that,” Hui grumbled, rolling his eyes. What secluded meditation? Give me my snake back, you...
2023-07-20 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“That’s what you get, for insulting this Da Gongji!” Da Gongji declared. Swiping the blood off his sword, he sheathed it with a pompous harrumph. Looking down on Hui, he kicked the boy’s body. “Let this be a warning to everyone else.”
“You just—you just killed—” Tian Mo looked from Da Gongji to Voice, then at Hui.
Voice cocked a brow and said nothing.
“—just… just killed… a fellow disciple…” Tian Mo’s voice faded away. He sighed. Right. ...
2023-07-19 14:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Jizhi Zhimei closed her eyes. She began to murmur to herself. Qi built up around her, strands of it drawing a spell formation on the ground.
Hold on, hold on! Pause! I still need to figure out how to counter your mind-wipe! Hui cried. He scrambled, looking for something, anything to use to defend himself.
Maybe… maybe ordinary barriers will work? But… would that be too obvious? She thinks I’m under her charm right now. If I reveal I’m not at the eleventh hour,...
2023-07-18 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Jizhi Zhimei threw her veil away.
Hui instantly looked away, squeezing his eyes shut. Nooo! I won’t look! Cultivators go mad from a mere look! Even gazing upon her means losing my mind and becoming her servant. I won’t, I won’t do it!
A cold hand gripped his chin with an iron grasp and wrenched his face forward. Qi claws pulled at his eyelids, yanking them open.
“Now, now. You’re being terribly rude to a beautiful lady,” Jizhi Zhimei simpered. She flutte...
2023-07-17 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Hui opened his eyes. A distant stone ceiling greeted him, dull and gray, darkened with shadows here and there. Back in the Underworld.
The bottom of a boot appeared. It plunged toward his face.
Hui’s eyes flew wide. He threw himself aside, desperately rolling away. The boot slammed home, fracturing the ground behind him. He kept rolling, and rolling, fleeing the expanding crater with all his might.
“Elder Sister, we’ve already done this! Elder Sister, violence...
2023-07-16 14:59:01 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Patreon's scheduler appears to be broken right now. Please bear with me! I'll post manually as early as I notice that Patreon has failed to launch the chapters. Thanks!
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As Hui swallowed, he created a film of qi in his stomach, a sort of bag nested just inside the organ. The food tumbled into the bag, but didn’t hit his stomach acid nor get digested.
Hui smiled at Tseng Caihong. Haha! Figure this one out!
Tseng Caihong leaned on her hand, looking at hi...
2023-07-15 16:28:56 +0000 UTC
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“Tseng Caihong. You called for me?”
She turned from where she sat on her sword, the half-up ponytail flapping in the wind. This high up, her hair whipped around her, caught in the winds. Her seven-colored eyes dipped below, long lashes shading their scintillating light. “Jinzhi Zhimei. I must apologize.”
“Oh? An apology? How rare.” Jinzhi Zhimei laughed lightly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Since the veil already covered her face, the gesture was compl...
2023-07-14 21:27:31 +0000 UTC
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Hui opened his eyes on his back in a dark cave. Stone bored own from above, oppressive in its thickness.
“So…” A shadow loomed over him. The reaper looked down at Hui, her arms crossed. She quirked a brow. “Coming again, so soon?”
“Ah, no, no. It’s but a momentary visit,” Hui insisted.
“Did I ever imply otherwise?” the reaper asked with a sigh. Expecting you to die is like expecting the sun to set and never rise.
Hui coughed into his fist. ...
2023-07-13 15:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Days passed. One after another, evenly progressing. In the mornings, Hui practiced with the other disciples; in the evenings, he studied the barrier in his room, mindful of the alarm layered over it, or explored the Palace, searching for a gap in the alarm ward. Occasionally, he broke off from training to check on the resentment demons, but aside from noting the fixed chain—evidence the barrier was kept up regularly—he made little progress on breaking their suppression.
Standing ove...
2023-07-12 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Staring at Da Gongji across the ring, Hui’s hands trembled. He curled them into fists and uncurled them, glancing behind him at Zhang Zhisho. I don’t have a choice. I have to fight. But the only sword technique I know is too high realm… and I barely know it, to boot!
Wait, wait. I do have Starbound Sect’s fundamental sword technique. That’s right! I learned basic sword fundamentals from them! It’s not a technique I can use against other high-realm cultivators, b...
2023-07-11 14:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Hui sat beneath a tree, meditating. In the distance, Tian Mo spoke with Zhang Zhisho. He cupped his hands, waiting for a verdict.
Zhang Zhisho gazed at Hui, her eyes blank. She shook her head.
Bowing again, Tian Mo ran over to Hui. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t convince her.”
“I appreciate your attempt, Elder Brother,” Hui responded, not leaving his meditative pose.
Tian Mo looked at Hui. “Shouldn’t you be practicing martial arts, not medita...
2023-07-10 14:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Commissioned some really cool art for Zeke! It's gonna be an RR ad soon. What do you guys think? :D
Thanks to beba_awa (Instagram)!
2023-07-09 15:30:12 +0000 UTC
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The other disciples dropped to their knees and panted, bending over and propping themselves on their legs. Tian Mo nodded at Hui, gesturing him over to the shade of a tree. “Let’s… take a rest.”
“Yes, yes,” Hui agreed, fanning himself with both hands. He wandered over to the shade and stood there, absent-mindedly continuing to fan his face. Unlike all the other disciples, he stood there straight-backed, breathing evenly, his lips pursed, gaze locked on something distant.
...
2023-07-09 14:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Hui burst out of the dark valley. Ice crackled on the edges of his robes, quickly breaking and melting in the sunlight. The other disciples splayed over the sunny grass, gasping and catching their breath. Needles-girl stood to the side, lounging under a tree. Her eyes widened at the sight of Hui, and her hand flickered.
Hui lifted the hand that wasn’t carrying Tian Mo and caught the needles out of the air. Casually, he flicked them back.
Needles-girl’s eyes grew even wider. Sh...
2023-07-08 15:59:01 +0000 UTC
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A huge white hand loomed out of the dark, reaching for one of the girls. She fled it with a piercing scream, and it closed on empty air, black fingernails flashing as it shut.
Hui stared. He blinked. “Resentment demons?”
“Keep running! If they catch you, it’s all over! You become one of them!” Tian Mo said, racing by Hui.
“Right!” Hui said. Well, wrong, actually. They have to eat you, and I’m not entirely clear on the process… but anyways, he’s right ...
2023-07-07 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Zhang Zhisho squinted at Hui. She crossed her long arms, the gesture almost ridiculously exaggerated thanks to her elongated limbs.
Hui stared at the sky, pretending not to notice. I’m an ordinary small disciple, don’t notice a thing!
She pointed at him. “You. Blue boy. Come here.”
Hui looked around him. Who? Which boy? Huh? Blue? I don’t see anyone in blue…
Tian Mo nudged him. “Gui Hui, hurry! Zhang Zhisho’s calling for you!”
...
2023-07-06 12:59:01 +0000 UTC
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In a short time, all the disciples finished eating and filed neatly out once more. Tian Mo gestured for Hui to follow, and obediently, Hui did.
Da Gongji sat at the edge of his chair, on the edge of the aisle. As Hui walked by, he stuck his foot out.
Hui looked at him with pity in his eyes. I’m so sorry. Every time I see you, I feel worse about bullying you. I’m a grown man, and you still think tripping a cultivator is a good idea. He stepped over Da Gongji’s foot a...
2023-07-05 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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All around them, children scooted to the side, revealing room for Hui and Tian Mo to sit. A few tables suddenly bristled, the children putting up their shoulders and elbows and blocking off seats on the benches.
Hui noted those children quietly, memorizing their faces. Some of those are Da Gongji’s friends and supporters, no doubt, but some of them are likely those who were bullied by Da Gongji to the extent that they no longer consider it safe to even so much as risk retribution....
2023-07-04 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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