13 Chapter 13

Under that black glow, the ground I stood on left my feet as I hurtled into Zhao Wuji's body together with Zhuqing and Xiao Wu like rag dolls against a brick wall.

Spirit masters needed to learn to deal with the unthinkable, and a bastard cheating was one such occasion. And, as grandpa Lin taught me before, there were two ways to deal with your opponent's decisive move: defend, or counter—and without any way to defend, my choice was obvious.

I retracted my Domain to wrap only around the bastard, pulling on Devour for more and pushing Shock to maximum output as I peeled myself off Zhao Wuji's body, making sure to keep the girls from my light. I then brought my Hammer up, ready to strike at close range as I poured half of my remaining spirit power into a fourth Thunder Heart Strike.

When a gigantic arm stopped my spirit cold and the overwhelming pressure forced my ability back, causing a backlash of spirit power and electricity to riddle my body. But a surge of red light helped me keep my wits, I grit my teeth through the pain and lashed out with a Bullet, sending me deeper into the red.

"Enough," Zhao Wuji shouted as the force of it dispelled my black bolt, and the crushing attractive force let off.

I fell from where I was stuck against his chest, my Hammer leaving a deep dent against the carpet of grass, and Zhuqing and Xiao Wu broke free and both skipped back a few steps.

"The test is over," Zhao Wuji said, as his spirit transformation receded and the man-bear reverted to that bear of a man.

With the crisis averted, I was finally able to catch my breath as the strain hit all at once. I then retracted Devour and Shock, Zhao Wuji's face easing as that golden light left him, and instead spread it out as far as I could into the air and surrounding plant life, taking only as much as I needed to recover. The gut wrenching feeling subsided somewhat as the energy trickled in.

I dispelled my Hammer and tried sitting up, my body creaking with odd noises. I gave up a breath later and lied back down, only now noticing how all around us were Tang San's jeweled swords and black needles all hanging in the air and aiming for Zhao Wuji, their sharpened edges glinting with the furious red of Rongrong's first boost.

When the light from them faded, the cloud of missiles fell lifelessly to the ground.

Zhao Wuji held out a hand to me, helping me stand before turning to Tang San and saying, "Blue Silver Grass, where did your poison come from?"

Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Rongrong, and Tang San all retracted their spirits, the array of lights giving way to the overbearing white of day, and walked over to where I sat. Tang San then nodded and said, "My poison came from a thousand-year Spiteful Velvet Machineel, and its potency increases with each next ring."

"And those white daggers of yours?" said Zhao Wuji.

"They came from a Jeweled Daffodil Mantis," Tang San said, "almost four-thousand-years."

Dai Mubai walked over to us shaking his head, saying, "What sort of magic did have to use?"

Tang San smiled and said, "A lot of effort and luck."

That was as blatant a lie as I'd ever heard. I limped over to where the rest stood, and Rongrong helped support me.

"A real genius then," said Zhao Wuji. He then turned to me. "And you, Clear Sky boy? Your rings?"

I straightened myself up before saying, "Almost one-thousand-year Iron Spider-wasp, and almost two-thousand-year Thunder Heart Moth."

"On where?"

"On both."

Zhao Wuji laughed, saying, "Then you're a fool for not saving one spirit until later."

I summoned my Hammer again and pointed at my Crown with it, making sure everyone saw the two rings. "Whoever said I had twin spirits?"

"You don't?" said Rongrong, and the way she tilted her head made her look all sorts of precious.

The others all looked at me save for Tang San and Xiao Wu.

"I'm the heir of the sect," I said, "of course I can't be normal."

Revealing so was all part of the plotting between uncle Xiaogang, my grandpas, father, Tang San, and me. And Rongrong unfazed meant she'd weeded it out of auntie before, or someone else from her clan had.

As the next in line of the Clear Sky school, my status was one where touching me was like incurring the wrath of the rest of the sect, while at the same time sending a subtle message of desperation. How pitiful was the sect to send its little master out so young and with only an outer sect disciple as company?

Merged spirits gave me the advantage of unbelievably fast growth with each ring, but it was also my limit. Unlike Tang San who had the possibility of eighteen spirit rings in total, I couldn't afford to do the same. So, what I couldn't have in quantity, I'd have to make up for with quality.

My mission then was to spread my name as far and wide as possible while father prepared the rest of our family for the coming reemergence, and making sure our front village was all the world could see. The turning point then for all this was how fast Tang San and I could reach the Titled Douluo realm, and how well I could remove attention from him without incurring Spirit Hall's wrath.

"Fine then you little monster," said Zhao Wuji, and brought up his wounded hand. It glowed a bright white and he struck his chest hard with it and spat out some blood, then the grass it hit started crackling and burning. "So that's why your electricity stayed," he said. "It suits your personality."

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he turned to Mubai saying, "Go and call little Ao, Blue Silver Grass' poison was really nasty and I'd sooner take care of it now."

Mubai nodded and ran back into the forest, sparing Zhuqing who until now hadn't spoken, a glance.

Xiao Wu then put her hands to her hips, saying, "Only asking these two freaks for their rings but not me?"

Zhao Wuji grunted, and said, "You lucked out with the Clear Sky brat taking the beating for all of you. If you ask me, the only ones who truly passed were Blue Silver Grass, the Seven Treasure girl, and him. You, rabbit, and the cat only served as distractions at best."

Rongrong spoke up, "I believe that is unfair, teacher."

Zhao Wuji glared at her but said nothing, and Tang San raised his hand.

"But teacher Zhao," Tang San said, "if not for their timely distractions, could we have been able to erupt as we did?"

"He's right," I said. It was unfair of Zhao Wuji to downplay the two's roles. "I would've been turned into a pancake if it hadn't been for Xiao Wu and Zhuqing's timely attacks."

Xiao Wu crossed her arms and grunted, while Zhuqing stepped up. "If there is doubt," she said, "then let me retake the test."

But before Zhao Wuji could say anything, a flurry of feathers and plentiful spirit pressure landed in the middle of our discussion, revealing a portly man with a pair of glasses after his spirit had retracted. I recognized him as the owner of that spirit tool shop earlier, and Tang San seemed to notice as well. The newcomer wore a simple set of brown robes, well-worn and faded, and had sharp eyes like a bird of prey, just as his entrance suggested.

"Such a petty man," he said, "this Zhao Wuji." The person in question's complexion became pale, and whoever this bird person was, he was at least stronger than the Spirit Sage he talked down. "To go back on your word," the man continued, "against a bunch of kids who hadn't even known each other for more than an hour, and more than that to tell two of them they shouldn't have passed after losing? Why, you'll make this Shrek Academy of mine lose face, Zhao Wuji."

Zhao Wuji bowed with his hands together in front of him, saying, "Principal Flender, those three I mentioned were simply too exceptional, of course I'd be partial towards them. Two even have one-thousand-year second rings, you couldn't blame me for that."

Flender sighed while massaging his temples. "Ah, such a fool you are," he said. "To see only what is shining but not what is there, tell me, wasn't it this genius monster of yours who also admitted to the value of those two's contributions."

I nodded, and said, "You can't deny that even if their attacks were nuisances, they still distracted you long enough to stop what you were doing."

Xiao Wu pouted, and Zhuqing's neutral expression turned into a small but visible frown.

Zhao Wuji grunted, "Fine, he said, I know when I'm defeated."

This was also when Mubai arrived with little Ao in tow, beard and cart and all.

"I've brought Oscar," he said, eyes again finding Zhuqing's form.

Oscar pushed his cart up front, shooting everyone a smile through his smooth and full beard, saying, "Did anyone ask for fresh sausages?"

"Bah," Zhao Wuji said, "little Ao, come and give me two each of both your sausages. This burning poison is grating at my good graces."

Oscar smiled wide and made the same motions as before, one hand forming a big sausage, the other a small and wrinkled one. "One big recovery sausage and one detoxifying sausage!"

Zhao Wuji snatched the questionable meat products and shoved them in his mouth, chewing up both sausages and swallowing them together. Like watching a flip book, his open wound started knitting itself before my very eyes and the dark bags under them faded, indicating the poison disappearing from his system.

Flender cleared his throat, and said, "Little Ao, would you also provide little Jin here with a recovery sausage?"

"Of course, principal," he said, and no sooner did a six-inch long meat stick find its way into my hands. The size and weight of it made it look like I was holding onto a dildo, and the actions it took to produce the damn thing made everything else all the sketchier, but the evidence of its efficacy couldn't be denied.

"Go on," Flender said, and looking to the side, Zhao Wuji already looked as fit as a fiddle.

All eyes were on me, Xiao Wu and Rongrong both with expressions half-way between sheer disgust and morbid curiosity, and Tang San and Zhuqing keeping firm to their neutral states. Mubai however, was clearly against the entire thing, somewhat red in the cheeks.

"Fuck this," I muttered under my breath and bit into the sausage.

The casing exploded together with the juices, a bit salty and rich in beefy and porky tastes. There was a hint of sour and higher notes of garlic, and the entire experience reminded me of eating Schubligs—as memories of the life I've left behind eased out of the woodwork. That time I camped out with my friends back in college, some trip to the deli with mom, a ball game I went to with my girlfriend back in high school, it was the everyday kinds of memories I never really paid attention to but still know is there.

I sighed, letting the familiar throes of being all too aware of how I both belonged and didn't to this world, as my roiling gut eased, and the nausea from spirit power deprivation subsided. "If you can get past the vulgar manner of production," I said, "you'd be surprised at how good the effects are."

A fierce light flashed through Rongrong's crystal clear eyes, but she only kept up her silent role, as I put less and less of my weight on her with the ongoing effects of Oscar's sausage.

"What did you expect?" said Flender with a smirk. "My Shrek Academy only accepts monsters, so of course you'd also only meet other monsters, you little monsters."

No other students passed the entrance ceremony after that, and the few that got through the second and third exams fell to Dai Mubai's last test. The five of us new students then walked together with the rest of the faculty and older students back to the little cluster of cottages they all called home.

#

Flender assigned us our rooms, the three new girls were to all share in the biggest cottage, and me and Tang San were to share a room. Mubai and Oscar bunked in with a third student, while the teachers all had their own little huts each. Breakfast was served on the first bell of morning, and classes could happen any time after that. Our orientation could wait until tomorrow to allow us new students time to adjust.

That night, me, Tang San, and Xiao Wu all met at a small clearing by the woods to discuss what happened during the day, sitting around a trio of logs I illuminated with my Crown.

"Rongrong showing up was completely outside our expectations," I said. "But she shouldn't complicate any matters."

A smile played along Xiao Wu's lips, and she chuckled before saying, "Of course you'd be the one to say that, defending your lady, and have you also noticed there was no surprise in her when you revealed your status as heir?"

I frowned at her. "Please, sister," I said—of course it followed that I'd call her that way after calling her brother the same. "Those were all from auntie's scheming, and I wouldn't be surprised if the information was mixed into that as well."

"Still," she said, "you don't push her away."

"I have no reason to," I said.

"Because you don't dislike it."

Tongue in cheek, I replied, "Of course, I don't. There's nothing to dislike."

She just nodded while smiling, humming to herself after.

Tang San then stopped his polishing of his precious hidden weapons, his so-called Bone Piercing Needles, glinting against the golden light of my aura, and said, "Rongrong seems to be fond of you."

I groaned into my hands, "Please brother, don't add to this."

Tang San just smiled. "Thinking of the future of the sect is also important," he said. "And we've just felt how formidable the Seven Treasure Pagoda spirit is, allowing a group of thirty and twenty something spirit masters to concern a seventy-sixth rank Spirit Sage."

Xiao Wu nodded hard to that, and I couldn't help but agree. With a sigh, I said, "But let's not push anyone towards anything, alright? The future of the sect is indeed something to consider, and the benefits to both would be great, but we also should consider the feelings of the people involved." Namely because I'd technically be a pedophile for getting it on with a girl about twenty-nine years younger than my mental age.

She was pretty and cute, and her personality was also one I didn't disagree with, but thinking of all this was too soon. Perhaps when we were all older I wouldn't feel like this anymore, but for now, I couldn't help it.

I waved my hands in front of me. "Let's move on to the next topic please."

"Fine," said Xiao Wu, but her smile never left.

I nodded, and said, "That much was to be expected, but what surprised me was Zhuqing. Brother San, did uncle Xiaogang have any information in his lectures about this spirit?"

Tang San shook his head. "It's not the first time I've heard of it, but it doesn't tie the spirit to a certain identity like our clan's or Rongrong's."

A dead-end then. "And what about for that Dai Mubai's Evil Eyes White Tiger and Oscar's Sausage?"

"The Evil Eyes White Tiger is tied to Star Luo's royal family so we may expect Mubai to be some non-inheriting member to be out here, though it's also possible he's here to avoid any wary eyes. This Suotuo is near the edges of Heaven Dou's own territory, and near enough for about a month's journey to be back by their empire, and less than that if travelling with all spirit masters."

I nodded. "Then we should be wary of him."

Tang San rubbed his chin with an idle hand, the other fingering his shining needle and storing it back into his spirit tool. "I believe it should be find even if we didn't."

Xiao Wu raised an eyebrow and said, "But wouldn't the support of another empire be good if ever?"

"I agree," I said, "even if he isn't a direct inheritor, he should still be of direct descent."

Tang San smiled wryly. "Direct descent doesn't necessarily mean his words have weight, only with extraordinary circumstances is that ever true."

Xiao Wu pursed her lips, her sing-song mood turning flat.

"Ah, crap," I said, "you're not wrong there."

Tang San nodded and said, "I'm only so fortunate my family is willing to hear me out. Alright, enough of that. Zhao Wuji, then, and any plans on your next rings?"

Xiao Wu stuck her tongue out. "I'd rather keep that a secret," she said with a sweet smile.

Tang San shrugged, but there was neither frustration or any misgivings in his obviously fond gaze. Still so young and already wrapped around her finger, ah, truly the beauty of youth.

"I just hope I've finally moved on from insects," I said.

The two said nothing to that—but Xiao Wu broke out into a giggling fit, and that marked the end of our little meeting.

We went back to the ring of houses to find Rongrong still up and outside their new cottage.

"Hello Rongrong," said Xiao Wu. "Jin here had a lot to say about you."

She raised an eyebrow at that and glared at me, and I face palmed. "And?" she said.

"He was surprised you weren't surprised to find out he was the Clear Sky sect's heir," Xiao Wu said with a smile.

I looked at Tang San and he looked away, saying as if he wanted to wash his hands of this.

Rongrong smiled something devious and said, "You shouldn't underestimate the princess of the Seven Treasure sect either."

"Was it auntie?" I said.

Her eye twitched, unconcealable beneath my Crown, and said, "No."

I really need to have a word with her when I can. "And I suppose she'd also sold to you the idea of something?"

Xiao Wu started giggling, and a slight pink creeped up Rongrong's ears. "Hmph," she said, turning away with her arms crossed. "Such a precocious junior."

With hope, that meant something along the lines of a 'no, that's not an option' and whether for now or for life didn't matter much to me at the moment.

Xiao Wu excused herself to retire and Rongrong followed, so Tang San and I went to our room as well.

I plopped down on the bed I carried in my storage ring, nestling myself in the fine silk covers I spent a relative fortune on. Since I could pretty much carry whatever I wanted, I always made sure to travel with my actual furniture, or at least what I deemed my non-negotiables, namely, my four-poster bed and many pillows and fine blankets.

One side of the room was bare save for that majestic bed, and the other had some modest furnishings, and a host of goods fit for a smithy. The only real thing Tang San spent his money on was a portable smith's table and forge, which he was adamant on procuring when we chanced upon it in Heaven Dou empire's auction house.

"Little Jin," he said, again inspecting one of his newer needles, the supposed Blood Groove Spine Needles. "How much iron mother do you still have in stock?"

Our deal from way back continued to now: me getting him his metals, and him arming me and Xiao Wu and the rest of our clan and loved ones. This sort of knowledge existed nowhere else, and so, the only real conclusion was to call bullshit on this guy's existence. Though, actually calling him out did me no good, and likewise, him finding out about my circumstance wasn't something value adding either.

So instead, I just went with it, giving him all he needed. Though his use of these Hidden Weapons as he called them was just too difficult. Xiao Wu took to it with a passion, heh, though we did however have some mutual understanding when it came to martial arts, so I guess that tipped him on with my situation as well.

"I still have about ten jin left," I said, calling forth the stored metals. Tang San then stored him to his belt. "We should stock up soon."

He nodded, and produced a leather wrapped package, then unfurled it to reveal a host of other masterfully formed projectile weapons: Swallow-tail Knives, Heavy Star Darts, Rising Dragon Needles, and a bunch of yellow droplet things.

I got off my bed and walked over to get a closer look at those amber-like crystals. "What are these?"

Tang San smiled and picked one up, and that crystal straightened out into a ten-centimeter long fine needle. Ah, forever the weapons nut, I should've known better. "These are called Dragon Beard Whiskers, and they have a sinister mechanism to them."

His hand holding the needle flashed, then one of my bed's drapes curled into a tight knot. Tang San then walked over and showed me the damage—fuck—that amber like crystal as knurled and twisted around the fine silks. He then touched it with his hands, and the crystal turned into a needle once more.

"Sorry," he said, "I… got a little excited there."

"It's fine," I said, "and I can see now why."

He then took out another leather wrapped package, this one smaller than his batch of Hidden Weapons. "I've also finished with that request of yours," he said.

Elation, maybe, rose from my chest, and I unwrapped that package. "You actually finished them," I said.

On our little table was a set of tools never before seen in this world: a pair of plies, a clawed hammer, a screwdriver, a crowbar, and a survival knife, all delicately decorated with Tang San's personal brand, and made with the best steel I could get. A smaller pouch contained the other goods I asked for: screws and nails, turnbuckles, pulleys, and casters, but these ones were less intricate.

"Your drawings were perfect," he said, "and those things you called tweezers helped greatly with handling my mechanism type Hidden Weapons."

I held the knife in my hands, its weight perfectly balanced. "I'm more amazed you were able to do these at all."

He smiled and said, "Never underestimate the son of a blacksmith."

I then stored my new tools, and went back to my bed. "Zhao Wuji," I said. "We never stood a chance, did we?"

"No," Tang San said, not stopping his tinkering. "Rongrong's spirit is truly too precious."

I turned in my bed, lying on my side. "And she's still only at just before the thirtieth rank."

Melodious metallic dings and clicks sounded.

"Such is the reason their school can survive with just two Titled Douluo guarding their halls," Tang San said, those sonorous sounds continuing in the background.

"Yes," I said, remembering the painstaking efforts the clan had to pull to cultivate five Titled Douluos. "But to marry her out of obligation would be… sad."

Tang San said nothing for a while, and when those wind-chime like symphony stopped, his chair creaked, then he said, "Here."

I turned in time to see an unassuming box flying towards me, and I brought out my Crown and Hammer, ready to receive an attack.

But it landed harmlessly onto my bed.

And I knew better than that, I got off my precious baby and stood my ground, ready to lash out with my spirit power any second.

"Whoa there little Jin" said Tang San, "that's a present of mine for you."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Thanks to those pliers and tweezers of yours, I was able to complete that earlier than I thought possible," he said with a wry smile. "That is called a Godly Zhuge Crossbow, and as much as I'd like to show you how to use it, it would be better to do it in the morning instead."

I inched closer to that intricate box—remembering all the times I almost had my nuts or nipples pierced by Tang San's Hidden Weapons, because he'd never use them on Xiao Wu, and stored it inside my ring using my Domain. Safely stored, I relaxed and got back to my bed.

"Please don't do that again" I said.