Hui stood at the far edge of the ring. Across from him, the man-mountain Xin Mobing raised his hands. Worn wraps bound his hands and forearms, and worn martial slippers stepped lightly on the floor.
“No weapon?” Hui asked.
“I—I’m a martial artist. Uhm, a hand-to-hand fighter,” Xin Mobing said nervously.
Hui adjusted his needles to his chest and released his beating stick, removing the damper from the bell. “Understood. An honorable decision.”
“A…and...
2022-12-23 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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The weapon cultivators circled around a set of familiar stone tournament floors, laid out neatly on a perfectly flat and bare stretch of mountain. To the side, a familiar board listed off matchups. All around, weapon cultivators moved through their footwork techniques and stretched, preparing for their matches. Muscles gleamed. Steel glinted. All around, the stench of hot-bloodedness filled the air.
Beside Sectgoer, Ying Lin vibrated in excitement, her eyes wide. Sectgoer, on the other ...
2022-12-22 17:32:01 +0000 UTC
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A cultivator in brown darted ahead, chasing after a glimmering seven-colored rabbit. As he ran, a man in black atop a duck swooped past. The rabbit broke left, vanishing into the brush.
Frustrated, the cultivator fired a single glowing-red arrow after the man in black. The arrow accurately struck the breast of the duck the man flew on, and the cultivator held his breath, suddenly concerned. He has no defenses? He didn’t dodge? Did I just murder his spirit beast? Me and my temper...
2022-12-21 18:00:04 +0000 UTC
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The pangolin-riding cultivator led those undertaking the beast trial to a large and wild peak. A thick forest coated its sides, covered in tall, sprawling trees draped in moss and lichens. Spirit birds chased glittering insects through the sky. Large shapes shifted under the shade of the trees, half visible from above.
It’s a kind of spirit beast reserve, Rogue noted, nodding to himself. Hmm, if I could recruit some spirit beast seniors, they would go a long way in helpin...
2022-12-20 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Not long after Hui entered the illusory realm
Golden mirrors materialized all over the cave. They rippled, and a great many Liu Guangs stepped through, into the real world. Unlike the first one, these Liu Guangs were gold from head to toe. Hair, skin, robes, all glittered and shifted like liquid gold.
Each golden clone turned to a different participant and gestured them closer. The participants stepped forward. The clones led them into the golden mirrors, and with...
2022-12-19 17:21:17 +0000 UTC
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Liu Guang frowned at the cultivator in front of him. Multiple arms sprouted off of his body at every angle, hanging limply by his side. He seemed entirely unaware of them, even the one that had grown out of his forehead. As Liu Guang watched, Xie Hao winced and trembled, as if under a great deal of pain, but nothing physical struck him. Still, every time he winced, every hand sprouting from his body curled up in pain, and every arm stiffened.
Is this… part of his technique? L...
2022-12-19 04:25:23 +0000 UTC
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Hui poured his life qi into the cultivator. The first thing I need to do is synchronize her qi with my life qi. Otherwise… otherwise, I don’t know what will happen, but it won’t be good!
I could skip this for the lotus clones because they’re effectively part of me in the first place… or, at least, a set of beings who are very close to my own qi and self. If I don’t do this with her… I might reforge her body, but kill her in the process. Or even… well, I don...
2022-12-19 02:35:28 +0000 UTC
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Examining the woman’s body, Hui’s brows knit. Her surface wounds are bad enough, but internally… internally, she’s a total mess!
The woman’s qi passages twisted wildly inside her body. In places, they were entirely shredded. Meridians laid mangled and shattered, broken nodes amidst the wreckage of her passages. Her qi leaked out, slowly poisoning her. At the same time, she bled out, losing both her body’s vitality and cultivation strength at the same time.
2022-12-16 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Liu Guang waved his hand, and the world melted away. A golden world enveloped Hui, glittery and metallic. Liu Guang’s glow reflected off every angle. Hui squinted and raised his hands, desperately blocking the light. It burns! Liu Guang, why…?
Looking at Hui, Liu Guang frowned slightly. A moment later, his eyes widened. He closed his eyes, and the glow clinging to his body diminished, fading to a faint aura.
Hui lowered his hands and sighed in relief. Without Liu Guan...
2022-12-15 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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In the middle of his spiel, the glowing cultivator paused. He went to the wall and pressed a hand against it, consulting something.
Hui sweated. Uh… surely he won’t notice anything, right?
Turning around, the glowing cultivator crossed his arms. “Who destroyed my spell? Speak up!”
Hui glanced away and put his hands behind his back, examining the wall around him in detail. Surely not this small cultivator. I wouldn’t dare to break Senior’s formation. ...
2022-12-14 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Hui turned to Jin Xian. The problem still remains… what to do with Elder Sister?
Jin Xian blinked. She grunted at him quizzically.
She has grown more… I wouldn’t say intelligent, but certainly aware. My treatment did something, but… did it work?
“Elder Sister, you have to go away now. You can’t make it through this trial,” Hui said gently.
Jin Xian shook her head.
Hui sighed. “Elder Sister, you can’t make it through this trial....
2022-12-13 16:00:07 +0000 UTC
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At last, they descended toward the ground. Hui looked around. The slope on this peak ascended steeply into the sky, and rocks broke through the earth all around them. Compared to before, they stood on a wild, barren peak, with no visible infrastructure or buildings. He raised his hands and squinted into the distance.
Overhead, a chain looped off from the peak, dangling through the sky. They stood closer to where it connected to the peak on this mountain, just below it, and the massive m...
2022-12-12 17:00:13 +0000 UTC
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“Elder Brother, please go ahead. What were you attempting to say?” Hui asked, tilting his head.
“You… what are you doing to her? I myself am a specialist in life qi and healing, but… I don’t sense an aura of life about her. Which would suggest…”
Suggest… that she’s dead? Hui wondered, hunkering slightly. He bit his lip. “Elder Brother, I…”
“…that you aren’t healing her at all, but instead…” The man frowned.
“Instead?” Hu...
2022-12-11 17:00:00 +0000 UTC
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Okay. So. Somehow, I need to make Jin Xian a life qi user. An undead… life qi user. Undead, who are weak to life qi.
Hui put his head in his hands and sighed deeply. Oh no.
No, no. Let’s think on this. I can do this. Jin Xian doesn’t need to use life qi. They said they can score a great number of related arts. As long as she can manage some form of healing or regenerative arts, she—she’ll at least have a chance to make it.
Worst case,...
2022-12-10 15:15:00 +0000 UTC
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Gui Delun raised his hand and mounted his sword. “The final trial commences now!”
“No, you need to speak. I can’t understand—” Mu Bingshi paused and turned away from Bai Jingwen. He furrowed his brows. “Inner Peak Lord Gui Delun, we haven’t finished interrogating all the participants—”
“No matter. Commence the final trial,” Gui Delun ordered.
Hui turned his head down and sighed. Could you be a little less transparent about stopping the entire test...
2022-12-09 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Gui Delun leaned forward. He pressed his fingertips together, forming a triangle, then gestured for Hui to take a seat.
Hui slowly lowered himself to a sit. He stared at the ground, barely able to meet Gui Delun’s eyes. His intense stare… his cold eyes. I’m going to die! I’m going to die, for sure!
Gui Delun leaned forward. He narrowed his eyes at Hui. “So… how did you meet my daughter?”
Hui blinked. “Huh?”
Gui Delun nodded, gesturing for him...
2022-12-08 17:59:59 +0000 UTC
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Abruptly, beams of light descended from the sky and landed on all the surviving participants. Hui squinted up into the beam, but saw nothing but light all the way to its source. The light lifted him off the ground. All around him, everyone else lifted into the sky as well, ascending into the sky. He let the light take him, scanning around at everyone else lifted into the sky.
Looks like they’ve narrowed us down from a hundred to fifty. Did that many people die in the battle trials...
2022-12-07 17:00:11 +0000 UTC
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A man in purple paused, peering through the fog at the mess of ghouls. He drew his sword and strode forward, licking his lips.
Black wings flapped. A wave of ducks blew past, darkening the air around him. From the sky, a man in black and blue swooped down on a large black duck, legs crossed and a peaceful expression on his face. He looked over slowly. His eyes landed on the man, and a slow smile passed over his face, ingratiating enough to make his eyes squint.
The man stepped bac...
2022-12-06 17:59:02 +0000 UTC
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Descending, Gui Delun waved his sleeve. “I’m a Peak Lord, the same as any other.”
“We wouldn’t dare,” Sui Linli said, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Mu Bingshi tossed her a glance from the corner of his eyes, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Gui Delun. “Come to watch the trials?”
“Yes, indeed. I hear that my daughter has finally chosen someone to sponsor. I wish to see the lucky man,” he murmured. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
2022-12-05 17:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Soaring through the fog, Sectgoer and Rogue passed over the other participants, visible only as flashes of color and light in the fog.
“You know, we could fly on our swords,” Sectgoer pointed out.
“Or we could let the duck do the flying for us,” Rogue returned.
Sectgoer nodded. “Elder Brother is indeed wise.”
In the distance, a huge wall emerged from the fog. Numbers crawled down the left side, starting at one and descending, matched with names. On the righ...
2022-12-04 17:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Rogue stepped out of the realm and into the fog. The ducks swirled around him, flying a neat figure-8 around his body. He tilted his head, listening, then threw his arm out. A half-dozen ducks flapped off into the dark. The fog swallowed them up, but they remained connected to Rogue. He shut one eye and watched from theirs as they spread out, burrowing through the fog.
Oh. Ghouls. Ha! It’s time to feast. He waved his hand, and the rest of the ducks burst from his side and van...
2022-12-03 17:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Commissioned some new character art!
Ah, I had a hard time with this one... I think because I have a very clear image of BX, and naturally, it's impossible for anyone but me to nail that. When the artist sent me the drafts, I almost cancelled the order... Luckily, I pushed through, gave them the edits, and we got this lovely, lovely art! Many thanks to the artist for working with me on this one!
Art by Dibyoshree0 of fiverr
2022-12-03 15:06:41 +0000 UTC
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With five lotus clones at his side, all refined to the utmost, Hui quickly crushed the second wave. The third wave spawned, and the six of them immediately set into it. Two hits took down a construct, and in a few moments, they’d demolished another wave. The fourth wave passed, then the fifth, all the way through the tenth.
Hui rolled up his sleeves and punched a construct in the face. It reeled back, but immediately grabbed its sword again and went to slash him. Before it could, Hui ...
2022-12-02 18:59:01 +0000 UTC
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In a separate room, Sectgoer slashed at a construct. It raised its sword, and his blade bounced off the construct’s. Sectgoer cursed under his breath, dropping back.
“I said, focus on the flexibility of your waist! Firm calves, strong ankles!” Chen Wuya chided him, darting down to rap at his skull.
Hui ducked instinctively, dodging the blow. “I’m learning a sword art from scratch. Have some mercy!”
“I won’t let you learn it wrong, too. I ref...
2022-12-01 21:19:44 +0000 UTC
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The stone archways lit up. White light beamed, filling the stone arches from left to right. Hui cut a surreptitious glance around him, then nodded and stepped inside. Here we go.
White light filled his vision. He closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he stood in a massive, simple stone room. Stone stretched high above him, and all around him, in every direction. The room easily stretched a thousand meters by a thousand meters, if not larger, so large that the walls faded ...
2022-11-30 18:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Hui stepped over the final step and onto solid stone. He dusted off his robes and turned, helping Zhubi over the last ledge. Huh. The pressure never really got that bad. Zhubi didn’t seem bothered, either. Was the trial just glitched for us, or was it really that easy?
“Look who finally showed up,” a familiar voice chuckled.
Hui turned. Bai Xue? Where—
A black-haired girl raised her hand from the corner, beside a somewhat rumple-clothed man with flu...
2022-11-29 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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A figure loomed out of the clouds ahead. Hui grabbed Zhubi’s hand and leaped after him, quickly catching up to the figure.
Hui landed beside a handsome young man in gold, long hair streaming behind him. The man gave him a startled look, almost tripping backward.
He smiled and nodded. “Hello, Elder Brother. Have you figured out what kind of trial this is?”
The man gritted his teeth. “Are you another heart-demon, come to torment me?”
“Eh? Are we supposed to b...
2022-11-28 17:59:02 +0000 UTC
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Onward and upward. Hui leaped upward, slowing out of boredom. He paused and yawned, then leaped up again. How long do these stairs keep on for? I feel like I’ve already been climbing them for a year and a half.
He looked up, checking the sky. The sun still beamed hot from high in the sky, casting his shadow directly below him Ah, in reality, it’s only been half a day, and yet…
This! This is the mental pressure again, isn’t it? Causing me to feel tired...
2022-11-27 16:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Hui walked at an even pace, keeping a subtle eye on Zhubi. For his part, Zhubi walked quietly alongside Hui, his long hair draping on the stairs behind him. Big soft eyes took in everything around him. Zhubi hummed deep in his throat, happy.
Reaching out, Hui gathered up Zhubi’s hair. Zhubi looked up at him, and Hui nodded. “Give me a moment. It can’t feel good for it to drag after you like that, right?”
Zhubi shook his head.
Hui drew a simple hairpin from his node, ...
2022-11-26 16:59:03 +0000 UTC
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In front of Hui and all the other trial attendees stood a huge pair of red wooden gates. A gigantic steel chain wound around the gates, holding them shut. From the chains hung a complex-looking eight-sided lock, from which a barrier emanated, sealing off the land beyond the gates from anyone’s mental energy or divine sense. Hui closed his eyes and reached toward it, but his mental energy deflected off the barrier, unable to pierce through.
He opened his eyes. The gates blocked off his...
2022-11-25 17:59:02 +0000 UTC
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