36 Meanwhile, back in our universe

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

"-- and he just grabbed Ming Ming and then... This happened!"

"And?"

"Well..." Ran Ranxu fumbled her words while twisting her two index fingers together as she tried to explain what happened. Then she said. "That's it."

To whom she explained her circumstances right now we're two elders before her.

One was her master, Xingjian and the other was a straight-laced man who assumed himself as Wang Xie's father, Wang Liu.

Right now, they were inside a room back in the infirmary after Ran Ranxu concluded that she wouldn't be able to get Ming Ming back by her own.

Since her sword, Ming Ming would attack her, its own master, if ever her hands dared to inch closer to it while it's being gripped tightly by Ben Li, she tried to touch Ben Li and discovered she would be fine as long as she doesn't force her Ming Ming away from him.

After dragging his ass for 6 and the half miles from the forest to the infirmary, after enduring the odd stares and whispers from the passing crowd who happened to saw them, after throwing Ben Li on the bed without feeling remorse if she broke his bones or whatnot, she attempted to contact her master about her awkward situation but was surprised that her master had already arrived before she could say anything.

"How could I even ignore this when I kept hearing reports that a lass like you had dared to take Wang Xie for herself... Are you planning to start a reverse harem?" that was the answer she got from her disappointed master after asking.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry and wonder if the everyone else had come to that conclusion.

Feeling at loss, she tried to explain what had happened, even though she was as confused as a little girl, and tried to endure the odd stares the two adults where giving her, she still explained. Hoping they would notice that it was his fault. Not hers.

Having done her part, she waited anxiously for a solution to her problem and the two men both arrived near Ben Li to examine him.

Sweeping their Spiritual Awareness left and right, they analyzed for a while and discovered something new. Their faces turned grim as they looked at each other. Then both stared down on Ben Li's hand gripping the sword.

The hand, gripping the black metallic Greatsword had its skin and flesh turned black steel in both color, texture and material. Even the bones inside had turned something other than the skeletal material that was nurtured with calcium.

It wasn't just his hand that was different, after scanning with their Spiritual Awareness, they discovered than his Spirit Vessel had been encroached with some kind of black substance. A substance that was reeking with Demonic energy.

In fact, it was actually Demonic energy itself.

A Spirit Vessel was actually the system of Meridians and Acupoints inside the body of a person. Basically, it was used to utilized the Qi stored in the Dantian and cultivate the person in his realm of Power.

That said, the importance of one's own Spirit Vessel was highly regarded and treated as equal to one's own life and many dared not to consume volatile elements that erodes it.

And now, both the adults frown as they knew that Ben Li's Spirit Vessel had been breached and encroached gradually by the Demonic energy given by the black Greatsword.

"How long have you been wielding this Demonic Sword?" with turning his head, Wang Liu asked Ran Ranxu plainly, to which she answered.

"Since the beginning I took the sword when I was just 7, elder Wang. It's been with me ever since."

"Has it ever done to encroach your Spirit Vessel?"

"No." Ran Ranxu shook her head. "I feed it my blood every day to keep it under control and even when I don't feed it, it will behave on itself."

Possessing a Demonic Weapon comes with a price. And naturally, Ran Ranxu knew it firsthand.

Since the days of her Gate Practitioner levels, she always had to feed Ming Ming her blood lest the sword will let loose its Demonic energy contained within and erode its master's Spirit Vessel.

However, foe some inexplicable reasons, even if she had forgotten a day or two to feed it her blood, her sword will always behave and keep the Demonic energy contained. But, it will always cry for blood inside her head to remind her like an annoying clock set to alarm 5:30 in the morning. Sometimes even throwing a tantrum to tempt her in a killing spree.

But in the end, her sword had never encroached her no matter what. And that had deepened the bond with her sword to which it even had bloomed her talent.

It was a happy result.

But the fact that such a Demonic weapon wouldn't encroach its master even after forgetting to feed it had raised some awareness in Wang Liu's mind.

This is no ordinary Demonic Weapon. Wang Liu's frown deepened after she explained. He took a glance at Xingjian in front of him to which the latter also glanced back at him. Seemingly saying with his eyes: I'm not going to tell you anything.

The message was clear as day so Wang Liu dispelled the notion of burying his nose into secrets and focuses back his attention on Ben Li.

Actually, even though encroachment of the Spirit Vessel was a bad thing for Ben Li's condition. It wasn't exactly fatally deadly. So, they weren't worried yet.

In fact, the solution the problem was also simple to resolve.

All the person has to do to dispel the encroachment was to flush it out with his own Qi.

And judging from the rate of encroachment the sword was producing, it would be relatively simple to dispel it after driving his Qi a few hundred times.

However, in Ben Li's case, it would be... difficult knowing that he was unconscious right now.

After all, you can't circulate your Qi if your sleeping. Only after reaching Foundation Formation Realm will your Qi drive on its own to act as a Spiritual barrier that wards elements.

That said, Ben Li needs to wake up...

"Is he going to be okay?" Ran Ranxu mumbled softly. But Xingjian somehow heard it and couldn't help but kid her.

"Don't worry, at least your boyfriend will have to lose a hand if it comes to it."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ran Ranxu reflexively shouted crassly at him. But she realized a second later how rude her remark was so she bowed immediately in apology.

Still, he's not my boyfriend or anything... I'm just worried whatever was going to happen to my Ming Ming... She had such thoughts but dared not to utter.

Meanwhile, Wang Liu and Xingjian mind her no longer and began to discuss solutions with each other telepathically.

The first they discussed was the results of Demonic Energy encroaching on the person.

Being humans, their natural conditions of their constitutions would repulse any kind of volatile elements that were harmful to them like Fire Essence or Demonic Energy.

However, if cultivated properly, one may be able to cope with such dangerous elements and even be able to utilize forces beyond mortal reach. That was the goal of Cultivation; to Consume, Absorb, Harness, Control, Utilize and even Infuse themselves with the Natural Elements of this world to break the barriers that limits their horizons and lifespan.

That said, there was also the possibility that Demonic energy can be cultivated into powers. However, even that wasn't as easy as eating hot flames.

You see, absorbing Demonic energy takes a large toll on the human mind and spirit. Because of the aggressive properties held in its substance, it will affect the state of mind and damage its ability to process abstract thinking. Giving chances to losing one's sanity.

As for eroding the spirit, let's just say this in an analogy.

The Spirit Vessel of a human being is like a crystal-clear glass jar and the Demonic energy was like sticky tar, naturally, putting the sticky tar inside that glass jar will result in the jar turning foul both in color and texture that it will take a while to clean up if you wanted the crystal-clear glass jar back. The same applied with Spirit Vessel and Demonic energy.

They just don't mix well...

So, just like the glass jar poured with sticky tar, Ben Li's Spirit Vessel will erode if the encroachment had reached his entire body. Turning his body and spirit into something foul and repulsive.

Like a demon.

Luckily, that hasn't happened yet. And the two men had all the time they need to work it.

The first solution proposed to this problem was to cut Ben Li's hand off. Which, was denied.

You aren't cutting my son's hand, you belligerent prick. Wang Liu's eyes seem to spoke so and Xingjian shrugged.

The second solution proposed was to disarm Ben Li from the sword and cut of the source of the encroachment.

A logical and practical solution. Such Wang Liu bragged to compare to Xingjian's crude methods.

However, even with the capabilities of a Power Core Expert like Wang Liu himself, removing the sword from Ben Li proved to be difficult.

As he attempted his methods, the first to obstruct him was naturally the sword gripped by Ben Li. Sensing his motives, it launched an appropriate number of SwordQis to slapped him away.

In face of those SwordQis, Wang Liu paid them no heed as those attacks confronted his passive barrier and continued his attempts. Small golden characters forming words after words appeared elegantly near his skin and warded away the SwordQis. Once that was settled, Wang Liu focuses on his objective.

His hands had finally reached Ben Li's gripping hand and attempted to disarm him carefully.

But, to his alarm, he gradually realized the difficulty. For a Power Core expert such as himself, it will be fairly easy for him to disarm Ben Li given his strength. But Ben Li's hand just won't budge!

He tried pulling his fingers up, but they just won't loosen up. He tried squeezing his hand to disfigured his grip but even then, it was like trying to crush an egg with one hand. He tried pressing some pressure points near his hand to agitate the muscles but even then, his hand was like a statue made of cold, black steel.

He tried all methods simultaneously but to no avail. The hand remained an immovable champion.

What the hell was this?! Wang Liu had the urge to curse.

Am I being defeated by the handgrip of a child? Impossible!

Yet, the ridiculous happened. And Wang Liu had no choice but to give up for a moment.

Wang Liu was feeling agitated in his heart, but he knew emotions over calculations will not bear results. So, he calmed down to think after stopping his attempts and the sword also halted its attacking after Wang Liu had backed off.

What strength could possibly be possessed to make methods from such as I difficult to attempt? Wang Liu fell into contemplation as his thoughts raced in lightspeed.

Normally, it was impossible for a Gate Practitioner to outdo a Power Core expert. Knowing the disparity of their realms, strength, reflexes and perception wise, it would have been impossible for Ben Li to stop a Power Core expert with his meager strength.

After a second...

Wait, does Wang Xie have Blood Energy? Such a thought was given.

Blood energy was the natural body energy given by the special blood of Divine Aristocrats.

Given what Wang Xie inherited from his maternal bloodline, the great Wang Clan, his bloodline naturally possessed the ability to produce Blood energy and evoke the peak of latent strength of every muscle of his body. Giving him strength, reflexes and senses of a super human.

Impossible. Wang Liu shrug at the possibility.

Even if that was the case, Blood energy alone cannot stop Wang Liu's strength. Assuming Ben Li was still a Gate Practitioner.

And besides, he hasn't remembered giving his son the special poison to awaken the potential of his bloodline.

... But if he actually knew that his son had been dosed with his fair share of poison, would he go straight to ask the women of Wang Xie's life to know if they got pregnant?

Then Wang Liu assumed another possibility.

He looked down on the hand that had turned cold, metallic, black in texture and substance. Radiating the aggressive Demonic energy as it slowly encroaches his body.

Gradually transforming it into a hand of a... Demon.

Wang Liu then thought, perhaps this ridiculous strength came from the fact his hand was no longer human?

Demons, other than the fact that they were very belligerent against other races like humans, they were highly regarded to possess bodies much stronger and resilient than the hardest steel. And because of that fact, humans loved to forge tools made from their Demonic bodies.

Considering that, what if Ben Li's hand had the resilience and strength of a demon?

Impossible. Wang Liu affirmed such because it would be easy for him to rip Demonic bodies in half considering his cultivation realm.

Since that was the case, there was no reason to why Ben Li's gripping on the sword was so mighty ridiculous that even he started to feel helpless.

But... What if the ridiculous strength came from both his Blood Energy and his Demon hand?

Suddenly, Wang Liu sweated at such a possibility.

The strength of a divine noble's bloodline and the muscles of a demon... Together, they could produce an astounding physical strength that even a Power Core expert would be helpless. Much less Wang Liu himself.

Wang Liu was dumbstruck by this. He thought that it was impossible given that the divine bloodline of the great Wang and Demonic energy were greatly at odds with each other. Even if one tried to mix them up, it will be like mixing water and oil. Leaving a bad taste in texture and substance.

That was unless you had a... Unique Body Constitution...

Suddenly, Wang Liu shivered. And he looked at his son, faking a calm expression, yet was terrified of the possibility.

A possibility of giving birth to a Divine Demon.

What a terrifying possibility...

But they were just his theories without any basis, thesis or research. Just facts he added up together to come to a dangerous conclusion.

Or so he thought but if he had read Ben Li's first novel on how Wang Xie has turned into a bloody monster in the far future, he would've been shock beyond words how his theories were spot on.

And the laughable part was how Ben Li thought he could confidently avoid such tragedy of Wang Xie's fate... Since you know, he wrote it.

Destiny... What a strange thing connecting life and death.

A second later, Wang Liu shook his terrifying thoughts and moved on to the third solution.

Wake him up.

After sharing such solution from Xingjian, Wang Liu, feeling strange about it, naturally agreed with him.

"Great, let's give it a try." Xingjian came towards near Ben Li and raised his hand. Just when everyone thought how this old man was going to wake him up...

Tich!

It was resounding, it was unexpected, it was painful, and very unreasonable, yet, it had the power to revive the dead. Xingjian's hand had given Ben Li's cheek a sudden slap to his face!

The witnesses, Wang Liu and Ran Ranxu both stared with eyes widened like saucers and jaws dropped to the floor as they saw the painful markings, the red swelling handprint on Ben Li's sleeping face.

It looks so painful that even if Ben Li didn't feel the pain, it will transmit to those who did.

And given the tremendous strength of this Power Core expert, even if he had properly held back, it would still be a hundred times more painful!

But a miracle just happened!

Ben Li, despite all odds, despite the trials, despite all the sacrifices, manage to endure the pain while sleeping like a little bitch!

Tich!

Xingjian slapped him again. On the other side of Ben Li's cheeks had also bore another red swelling handprint.

But despite all that, Ben Li still refuses to falter in his slumber with no signs of being discomforted.

This is an unprecedented record... Or perhaps Ben Li was too knocked out?

Seeing him slap again, the visages of the witnesses changed drastically.

Wang Liu was so mad that he turned livid red. Akin to a volcano in its initial phase of eruption. If he wasn't refined with scholarly culture, then he would have surely belligerently sent Xingjian a power kick.

Meanwhile, contrary to Wang Liu's reaction, Ran Ranxu was super delighted.

Bearing so much grievances with that bastard, she wanted to tear him up so bad that she wouldn't mind killing. And after seeing her master had given him two tight slaps, she was instantly delighted that a smile had sprouted on her beautiful stiffened face.

Master, please leave the last slap for me! She wanted to beg such boldly.

But then...

Yes master, slap him some more! It would be much better if he did it for her.

But then again...

Why didn't I slap him when he was so defenseless back in the forest?! She lamented such loss of opportunity.

But still, the grievance in her heart had faded.

"Eh, why wouldn't he wake up?" contrary to their reactions, Xingjian was bewildered.

His slapping, even though ridiculous, had the power to wake the dead!

It was a legend back in his old days.

His hands were divine defibrillators. And with one tight slap, his comrades had risen from the pile of corpses!

And they weren't even undead. They were pure living creatures with a pumping heart and they had definitely risen from the dead!

Because it happened so many times without fail, Xingjian had come to believe that he had godlike powers that defies life and death.

But if he knew how frustrated his victims were, would he feel sorry about it?

We weren't dead! So, what the hell was that all about?! Such a complaint was held back in their hearts forever.

Just when the generous Xingjian was about to give a third slap, Wang Liu stop him as he grabbed his wrist.

"Are you trying to kill him?!" Wang Liu tried to calm down. But he couldn't suppress his raging bloodlust that radiated from his voice.

Xingjian said nothing as he snorted, pulling his hand away as he backed off.

"I wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to wake him up. But since you disagree with my miracle methods, I'll help no further." Xingjian shrugged and went silent. Acting as if nothing happened in the first place.

"You..." Wang Liu... Was so... Angry... Yet... He couldn't do anything to him!

What was this?!

My own son was slapped twice in his sleep in front of me.

Yet I couldn't do anything to the culprit in front of me.

If I couldn't do anything, what kind of father am I?!

Wang Liu lamented, but he knew nothing but regret bears fruit when conflicting with Xingjian.

So, he sighed in defeat. And hoped that his son doesn't notice the red swelling handprints on his face by the time he wakes up.