29 Chapter 29

Pleasantries and small talk aside, and after a few more kind words between the teams to ease some bruised egos and smooth over any possible misgivings, we finally got to the crux of the matter.

Qin Ming dismissed his students, and kept us and the rest of the teachers in Shrek inside of the dining hall.

He bowed low and said, "It was already brought to my attention, but I would still like to clarify it with the dean. Grandmaster here has proposed the Shrek's Eight Devils to represent our Heaven Dou Imperial Academy in the coming Continental Spirit Master Academy Competition, and I believe this will be well received by my superiors once I report it to them."

Flender had on a difficult expression, but a quick glance at uncle Xiaogang and a firm one with teacher Zhao and the rest of the faculty had him steel his jaws.

"I accept this arrangement," the dean said softly. He took a deep breath and continued, "I admit my pride is a little hurt, but I cannot deny the state of my life's work is not necessarily of the best."

He turned to us. "It is no secret how our facilities are lacking, and it is no secret either that our reputation is not the most widely known. The other teachers and I have long decided that your batch will be our last, we are old and tired and have already spent so much of our years bringing up the younger generations. It was about time we found our own paths. I only wish for my dearest friends and I to keep doing what we love best until that time."

The dean turned to the teachers. "However"—he said to his former student— "I must impose the condition that I and my fellow teachers, including my brother Xiaogang, must also be welcomed as staff in the academy, and that our little monsters' education will still be ours."

True to character, at least. Flender was every bit the miser he was. This was basically us renting out our services for a shot at the grand prize, though I wasn't too sure it was a good idea for me, Xiao Wu, and Tang San. After all, us three were pretty much at the top of Spirit Hall's most wanted list: two of the Clear Sky sect's heirs, and a hundred thousand year spirit beast, yeah, our combination was a disaster waiting to happen.

Qin Ming smiled at that. "I wouldn't have it any other way, teacher. I swear to you that your glory shall forever paint the halls of the Imperial Academy."

At that, uncle let out a breath he'd been holding and teacher Zhao and the others all looked listless but satisfied. If we really were to be their last class, then this was basically a retirement plan for them as well and what better way to go out than in style. Though I could probably also invite them into our school, or Rongrong could to hers, but such arrangements usually needed a sort of bond of fealty to the sect which probably wouldn't sit well with such free-spirited people.

Though, that's assuming we could win the Competition in the first place.

Not like we weren't getting into this without the intention to win, just that it was a sizeable gamble to take with so little reassurance of anything else. For one, it was flattering to have such faith placed on us, but it was also this kind of faith that made the burden heavier.

Our lives were not just our own anymore.

I kinda feel cheated out of a nice and worry-free childhood here.

"Good," uncle said, standing up with a clap. "Now that that's settled, we can move on quickly to our next stage of training." He turned to us. "We teachers will finalize the details of our arrangements while you students should claim your winnings and badges.

We excused ourselves after that and reported to the arena's front desk. With our win count well above the norm and with such a long streak as well, we all received our silver fighting badges without problems—save for Tang San who got a gold due to being undefeated in the individual, pair, and team fights. It was another unprecedented record broken, but one that also cost us a good source of income. With his gold badge, our team now was considered a gold ranked team, and any teams we were to fight from now on would either be same ranked teams of also gold rank—which was unlikely—or rank exceeding matches where we'd fight teams of average fortieth rank and above. And that, that was suicide.

I entrusted Flender with a hefty sum to bet with for this special fight of ours, and with such outstanding odds, I couldn't help but overextend my funds. We went up against the Emperor team with ten to one odds at first and only after our side placed all our bets in did the numbers shift to a six to one. The biggest spenders here were me and Tang San at forty thousand each, then Flender with a modest twenty, uncle and the rest of the teachers and the others then came in with ten each.

Had we lost, I would've eaten a serious loss to my personal finances.

But we didn't.

So now in my hands was the most money I'd ever held in this life and the one before. A total of one hundred and twenty purple jade pieces sat in a silk pouch in front of me, along with another ten pieces as my total purse from my calculated point accumulation, and another three as a reward for defeating the Emperor team.

In total, that was a hundred and thirty three thousand gold coins. And I could've bought a goddamn mansion with that in the Imperial capital with the prices I learned about two or so years ago when I last went there. But that's only counting my big purse from this last bout, the other smaller bets from our other team, pair, and individual fights brought my total earnings up to a hundred and fifty seven thousand give or take a hundred or so.

And since Tang San earned a gold fighter badge his reward money was a whopping fifteen purple jade pieces just for getting that badge. Not too many people earned higher than an iron ranked spirit badge within a year, so our whole team raking in a killing like this in a month was a totally new experience for the Arena. After all, no matter how big their income, if they had to shell out some ten thousand or so every month end for their new joiners then they would've gone bankrupt long ago.

But their winnings from the Emperor team's loss was also that big, and even bigger was the predicament we saved them from so they were only too happy with letting us get a cut of their big ass pie.

We all left the Suotou Great Spirit Arena a whole lot richer than when we first got there, or at all.

The trip then to Heaven Dou Empire's capital would be in two months. Enough time for senior Qin to arrange everything for us as well as send word back to the small village where Shrek academy was situated in.

While waiting, we'd have that much free time to ourselves to spend however we wished. And whenever uncle allowed some sort of rest like this meant shit was gonna go down a whole lot harder immediately the day after, kinda like those rooms just before a boss fight that stocked you up on supplies. Which meant the only real way to avoid too much hardship was to keep working on improving ourselves on our own, a work ethic that Tang San lived by, and something I was more familiar with from my previous life, but something Xiao Wu never got around to picking up in spite of all that time.

Then again, she'd already spent a hundred thousand years cultivating so I guess it could be forgiven.

#

We returned to the small village shortly after that.

Our academy wasn't something that could be sold for a lot, but land was still land no matter how far away from the main city. At best, however, Flender could probably sell off this place for an optimistic eight to ten thousand gold depending on whether any of the nobles here wanted this place, but more likely was he'll get some two to three thousand instead from the pooled resources of the villagers here.

That was the danger in running an auction on one's own, though I could probably buy this land for the sect to set up as a sleeper base. We couldn't really have enough of those, but we couldn't exactly field so many people at once and not be spread too thin. And as much as I'd love to bring this tactic up with Rongrong and her family, I could easily infer that we wouldn't be the only ones to think up something like this. Better then to keep our own locations secret.

Not that I didn't trust them, just that I believe a healthy level of paranoia ought to help keep me alive assuming this beef with Spirit Hall was just that big.

On our first day of vacation, or as close to one as we'd get, everyone save for me and Tang San took it easy. Hongjun indulged in his eating and Oscar with his sleep while Rongrong and Xiao Wu stuck to their hut and I guess talked and rested or something. Boss Dai on the other hand, well, I guess he and Zhuqing had something to work out though I doubt they'd do anything more than talk.

Tang San asked for all the iron, tungsten, and platinum I had as well as whatever other metals I had and he took most of everything so he could go back to his forging. I long ago learned to just let him do his thing when it came to things like this. A short while after that and I heard him hammering away.

For me, well, I had no particular thing in mind.

So I picked a fight with teacher Zhao to keep up my combat training.

And just like that, day and night would pass with Tang San keeping to himself in his forge with only Xiao Wu to keep him from missing out on his meals. Boss Dai, Oscar, and Hongjun were a lot more lax in that they spent more of their time actually taking their time than working on something.

Zhuqing, however, joined me with fighting the teachers every now and then.

Nothing was quite as satisfying as landing a solid hit on teacher Zhao or making the dean suffer under my Crown's light. That is, until they paid me back for it two or three fold and then it wasn't as fun.

Rongrong and Xiao Wu though weren't even trying, only watching by the sidelines at times.

The fight with the Emperor team really pushed us all hard, and I wasn't the only one to rank up after that, so it's not like they were neglecting themselves. Rest too was a part of training, uncle always said.

Our ranks after that last bug battle were: boss Dai at the last steps of the thirty-eight, Tang San now at thirty-eight as well, me at thirty-six, with Xiao Wu behind me at thirty-five, Oscar and Hongjun at thirty-three, then Zhuqing and Rongrong at thirty-two.

With all of our ages below thirteen years of age with me being the youngest at eleven, then we were all well above the norm. However, when Zhuqing revealed to the rest of the group how she'd reached the thirty-third rank on the sixth day of our constant fighting, that finally got their butts into gear—save for Tang San who was still holed up in his smithy.

Eh, I trusted in him enough to keep his lead and even push ahead of boss Dai after this period of self discovery was over. For me though I was more concerned with improving my overall toughness, and building on that I ought to aim for something that would improve my body's condition for my next ring, maybe something strong and stable.

In terms of knowledge I'd already obtained the best education a noble could get with my visits to aunt Yehua, and most of my finances I could already manage effectively from what I had. Not to mention a sizeable capital from all the betting. All that was really left now was to account for the deficiencies of my cultivation and then finally reach the Titled Douluo realm and make Spirit Hall pay. Which was easier said than done, but not exactly complicated either.

But to just keep fighting like a meat head wasn't going to make me reach any all new heights.

By the seventh day, there weren't any more significant improvements to my spirit power, but the others kept up their sparring with the teachers while I pondered over how best to continue my cultivation.

The best benefits were gained from either grave danger or good insights and neither were too easy to get from way out in the sticks. Though, I still had a stock of dynamite I had from that last big batch I made together with Tang San's arming us with his hidden weapons. I could probably try blowing myself up with that to rouse my spirit power into protecting me against strong forces—that, or end up killing myself accidentally.

Although there was always the age old method of simply expending all my spirit power and then recovering and grinding away at that. The sparring was basically that with the added pressure of combat, but since it wasn't doing anything too noticeable, I opted out. Perhaps if I had something that allowed me to put my spirit power towards some specific goal then that'd lead to some good realizations, but as things stood, I had nothing like that.

So I guess the next best thing was to be patient and wait for my next big break. But not one to be left idle, I still needed something to pass the time.

In times like these, it was best to seek uncle out. I left my room and walked up to his hut.

Maybe he'd just tell me something like figure it out on my own, it wouldn't be the first time if ever. Usually an answer like that meant he already had something in mind and was just waiting for me to do something close to it—or stray so dangerously far that he had to intervene. And other times he'd actually admit to not knowing himself and we'd end up speculating and stuff and coming up with things to try out.

Eitherway, it was still a step forward.

I reached his place and looked in from his window. He was cultivating inside with Luo San Pao by his feet and three spirit rings floating behind him, two yellow and one purple. It must've happened sometime between when Tang San, Xiao Wu, and I left for Shrek academy.

Uncle didn't like summoning his spirit much before since it reminded him of his shame, and I guess old habits tend to stick for long if his attitude was anything to go by now. The poor dog was nothing but a fart cannon before, but after using my chakras based cultivating method, there were a few significant changes.

When I first met uncle, San Pao was like a purple steamed bun that grew tiny legs and was cute in an ugly way. Then came the changes from my cultivation method that had its fat body become more streamline.

And now, gone were the pudgy legs and the ugly cute look. Now it just looked ugly and mean, and a whole lot more muscular. Like a really buff mastiff thing. The little round thing on its head now looked like a clear jewel, and on either side of its head just in front of the ears were two small golden bumps. Its purple fur now had a steak of white down the spine, and claws were beginning to emerge from its paws.

The third ring really made a world of a difference to his spirit—and now I wasn't so sure if he was really a weaker variant.

San Pao raised his head and met my eyes, the gentle look was still there, but there was dignity now when before there was only bashful shyness.

He nudged uncle with his flat snout, and the guy awoke from his cultivation.

I waved at him, and he motioned for me to come in.

"Yes little Jin?" he said as I came in from the door.

"I was hoping to ask for some advice uncle."

He smiled. "I'm not really someone you can come to for matters of the heart little one," he said. "My love life is only filled with tragedy."

San Pao howled quietly, but his doggish grin really weakened the impact.

Wait, did he just make a joke?

"Yes, little Jin, that was indeed a joke," uncle said while rolling his eyes.

"Ah, right." I tried to laugh but it was so out of character for him to crack one that I was so caught off guard. "I see San Pao has, umm, been exercising."

He chuckled. "Yes, little Jin. He has indeed changed quite a bit."

At that, San Pao stretched his legs—now more than thrice their length before, and when he stood, he was about as tall as my scrawny ass of four feet and eight inches. Yeah, a big change alright.

"So, have you tried riding him already?"

Uncle and San Pao shared a look. "We haven't tried yet, now that you've mentioned it. We ought to."

"And his third ability?" I mean, anyone would be interested in the long awaited breakthrough after all.

"I'm glad you asked," he said with a satisfied smile. "San Pao here gained a lightning breath attack."

Huh, welp, it was bound to go out the other end somehow. "And the first two abilties are still from, well, there?"

Uncle nodded deeply. "He may," he said with a profound depth, "but he may also now release it from the front as well." His eyes twinkled after he said that.

Going either way was probably an advantage if he were running away from someone, and being able to attack without having to turn was an advantage in a situation like that that could easily spell getting away or not during a crucial moment.

And I guess the bigger part here is his spirit no longer needs to fart to attack. A big ass improvement. No pun intended.

"San Pao has really gone far," I said with a nod. "Will we be getting your next spirit ring soon?"

He smiled wryly. "I've been at the twenty-ninth rank for so long that I'd almost forgotten what it was like to aspire for more." Uncle took a deep breath. "If luck would be so kind, then maybe not long from now. I am currently at the thirty-third rank."

"That's really good to hear. And maybe a rank exceeding ring will be of even more help?"

He raised a brow at me. "Why do you think San Pao changed as much as he did?"

"My grandpas!"

He chuckled, then waved away the idle chatter. "I thank you for your concern, and you better not get lax with your cultivation now little Jin. It would be a shame if an old man like me got ahead of you at so young, yes?"

I stared at him. "Really? Me? You should be telling Rongrong and Xiao Wu."

Uncle sighed. "I do tell them, they just don't bother at times.

I sighed too. "Yeah, they really don't try sometimes."

He shook his head. "You should get that fiance of yours to take after your good work ethic."

I crossed my arms. "She's not my fiance."

He hummed. "Since when did you get married then?"

"Bah, you spend too much time with my grandpas, their bad attitudes are rubbing off on you."

"Yes, yes," he said with a small laugh. "Why were you here again?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm quite stumped with what I need to do to further my cultivation."

Uncle nodded and indicated for me to keep going.

"I've been fighting teacher Zhao and the others for the last few days but I found my spirit power hadn't grown much from there. I believe I could be stagnating, and was hoping to do something different."

He raised a finger. "First off, I believe you've gotten too used to rising in ranks easily. Rising in ranks isn't something normally done in the span of a few weeks, much less doing ten in a year or less."

"But that doesn't mean I shouldn't cultivate, yeah?"

"Indeed," he said with a nod. "But you must also not forget that most of your progress was due to your absorption of spirit rings exceeding the normal limit, hence, it can be said that even up to now you most likely still have some shake foundations."

I hung my head. "Now that I think about it, that queen ant did indeed give me a strong boost in cultivation."

He cleared his throat. "And haven't you also noticed how much spirit power your abilities use?"

This line of questioning really only had one conclusion. "You're saying I haven't been able to assimilate all the spirit power from my spirit rings yet?"

"That's what I believe at least," he said. "From what I saw, this refining method your grandpas did for you would compress the spirit power of your rings into something more manageable for you to absorb, but that doesn't bleed away the actual power contained in them." He gestured with his hand. "So…"

"So it means my spirit rings still contain all that spirit power?"

He shrugged. "Yes. But it's just a theory for now, and that domain of yours truly behaves strangely for it to even allow you to pass spirit power from yourself into your rings and spirits. A method like that is as unprecedented as your case of merged spirits."

"I see."

"Another matter I have noticed is how your abilities don't seem to carry the tyrannical might of your spirit rings." Uncle was stroking his chin. "Have you not noticed how powerful Tang San's two thousand year abilities are?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, uncle."

"Compare the effects of your three thousand year rings to Tang San's. Your Crown and your Hammer's abilities are both not as potent as his Needles and Swords, are they not?"

Now that he pointed that out… "I certainly have noticed how boss Dai's strengthening ability was something he could use for a long time, and how Tang San can keep using his needles and swords, but wasn't that because of the consumption like you pointed out earlier?"

He shook his head. "Not with the consumption, have you not tried to meet Mubai's thousand year strengthening with your hammer's own?"

"I have, and I'd usually lost, I'm not so sure what's strange with that."

He massaged his temples. "And has it ever occurred to you just how big of a difference there is to the cultivation of your rings?"

Well, shit.

"Yes, little Jin. That's what I'm trying to make you realize." He sighed. "I believe that out of everyone you've ever met at the same rank as you, you would still have the highest total cultivation in years from your spirit rings. I would dare to assume Mubai's thousand year ring reaches no higher than two thousand at most, and for your six thousand year ability to lose to that would be too much of a joke."

Chills went up and down my spine. "H-have I been doing things wrong then?" Have I been wasting my efforts all this time, went unsaid.

He narrowed his eyes. "No, I believe." Uncle hummed. "If anything, I believe you've been too impatient with everything, and that you are amazing in the sense that you've been able to keep things up for so long while disadvantaged."

He raised a finger. "Assuming all of these theories of mine truly hit the mark."

It was a lot to take in. "Why only tell me now?"

"I was hoping you'd notice sooner," he said. "But your progress amazed me, so I felt it best to first allow you to grow as much as you could before we again strengthened your foundations."

I crossed my arms and looked up to the ceiling and took a deep breath. "I'm not so sure whether to say I'm blessed or cursed."

"You are cursed with good blessings," he said with a chuckle.

I stayed there unmoving, relishing the memories of my previous fights in the Suotou Spirit Arena, more specifically, that last fight with the Emperor team. Those cultivation year limits were a widely known fact among the spirit master community, and for the Shi brothers to have bested me so in our fights, then it was the same situation as well with boss Dai. I should be much stronger than I currently was with my spirit rings. Much, much stronger.

And yet I wasn't. And why was that so normal to me? Perhaps it was because I'd spent so long in the company of some true monsters that the only indication I had of my own progress was relative to what they perceived. Yes, my grandpas and family truly wanted only the best for me, but they had no idea how to rear someone with merged spirits since it has never occurred before in our sect.

San Pao nudged me out of my stupor.

"Which reminds me," I said. "Have you told Tang San yet about San Pao?"

Uncle winked. He actually fucking winked. Ew. But also, what the hell.

"I feel offended at that surprise of yours," he said. "Even I, your uncle, can have my own cute moments too."

"Yeah, you really have spent too much time with my grandpas and they've already corrupted you."

"Allow an old man his fun."

Next to him, San Pao snickered.

#

With renewed inspiration, I then sat at a grove just a little bit away from the rest of the academy where I could find some peace from all the constant fighting the others were doing. I guess all this exchanging of pointers got everyone's spirits roused since Rongrong and Xiao Wu were actually participating with gusto. But for how they got those two to do anything was still anyone's guess. Well, anyone here being just me.

I cleared my head of any distractions as I focused on what Interface was showing me. The cultivation bar sat at a measly fifteen percent of the way, while the tantalizing thirty-six indicated my current rank. My two spirits were in their inactive states with three boxes each filled, showing the three abilities available to either of them.

A blue bar sat above the yellow cultivation bar indicating the spirit power available to me, and the red bar above that indicated how much damage I could currently tank.

But I had to go beyond that superficial layer and reach further into my spirits, even further beyond the easy to use user interface my powers allowed me. It was the realm of sensation and impressions, the same vast sea where I'd usually found myself whenever I was dealing with my new spirit rings.

There was a vast space within, though I wasn't sure if it was metaphorical or literal.

Deeper and deeper as far as my breath could take me and I found the same black and gold I'd come to know. They each permeated the space half and half, one side a refined and elegant luster, the other a sonorous and profound depth.

I needed to reach even further than that.

With each breath my senses moved further and further away from my grasp and I dove deeper within.

The boundaries of thought and self blurred in that blankness of gold and black together with the undulations of power that roiled within. There were areas of peace and areas of turbulence, some flowing fast and some flowing slower, some flowing one way and some the other. There were pools in different sizes and orientations roughly forming a vertical line in the middle of the two colors.

And together they churned within and took in from that vastness.

My breath and my thoughts seeped into the colors.

And the gold expanded towards that vastness within and without—and grasped upon the masses. Large and unyielding maelstroms of power separate from the pools, separate from the lights and distinct from the vastness. They moved without purpose besides their own.

The gold enveloped them, taking them in its colored space.

And the maelstroms shook and churned. Then came a drop.

And then it was a trickle. A small inkling of color bleeding from the maelstroms and seeping into the gold.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the maelstroms gave and gave and the trickle turned to a flow, then to a stream, then to a current, growing and growing and faster and faster and the gold turned and roiled with their turbulent rumbling coloring the gold in their own hues. Overtaking. Overpowering. Overbearing, storming, and pushing and churning and thundering through.

The gold was dyed in manners of blue and red and orange, each one diluting the purity of the luster and taking away from it. It would not yield, but it would not stretch or give either. Gold twisted and turned with the colors that raged within.

And then came the black like the dead of night.

It permeated into the gold like the passage of dawn dispelling the dark. It came without warning like the first wisps of sleep.

Barely anything, and then all at once.

It filtered the hues from the maelstroms out of the gold and returned it to its serene homogeneity and the black took its rightful place just beside.

Then something invaded the vastness like a cascade of jeweled lights.

And then I was taken away from that vastness and I found myself face to face with a fair lady I'd known for the longest time.

Pink irises met mine.

"Hello Rongrong," I said. I was still seated the same as when I started.

"You're finally awake," she said with a shaky breath.

I frowned at her. "Something bad happened?" And knowing my terrible luck, it was probably something pretty bad.

Rongrong pursed her lips and nodded over behind her, at the same time moving away from me so I could see something else besides her.

And then, all I saw was barren earth within a few meters around me, and the few trees—or the charred husks left of them said all I needed to know. It was a scene that reminded me of that night with the grasses that almost killed me.

There was no indication in Interface of my ranking up, and the cultivation bar was at only slightly above where it was before, but there was something else within that told me I'd gotten somewhere with all that.

Xiao Wu was just behind her. The girl stuck her tongue out. "Should I call for Tang San?" Her tone didn't match her playful demeanor.

There were no alarms going off in Interface so I think I was still alright. But I still had to ask, "What happened?"

Rongrong crossed her arms. "That was the first time I ever saw someone release lightning while cultivating."