Talents of the Taigao Tribe (2)

Once Ye Zhiyuan recovered somewhat, she went to sit where the others had been.

Due to his insistence, Ye Zuliao agreed to let Ye Wanshi take the stage after him. Sitting with Ye Zhiyuan, he ensured she was feeling well enough to remain on stage. It had to be said that when he was not in a drunken stupor, Ye Zuliao carried about himself like a true gentleman.

As the few Taigao tribesmen in the crowd shouted random words in light of Ye Zhiyuan's performance, he smiled and also congratulated her. Smiling weakly, Ye Zhiyuan took his hand and leaned closer to him, speaking as loud as she could- which was barely a whisper.

"They're wrong you know. You aren't a wastrel."

Ye Zuliao's eyes widened and his breath stuck in his throat. Seeing Ye Zhiyuan's forced, yet incomparably warm smile, he felt his heart melt and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Now then. I do not expect any of you peons to truly appreciate what I am about to do here today. Therefore, I will call upon one whose intellect is surely unquestionable. Esteemed Young Master, would you please join me on stage." With a courteous bow, Ye Wanshi awaited Logean Wuji's response.

In an instant, Logean Wuji appeared by his side on the stage.

"Carry on."

Trying his best to hide a deeply satisfied smirk, Ye Wanshi gave a loud harrumph and adjusted his eyeglasses yet again. Looking between the crowd and Logean Wuji, he chuckled and started to unfurl the scroll.

"In my hand, Esteemed Young Master-"

"Sir Wuji is just fine."

"...er? Oh, well okay. In my hand, Sir Wuji, is a unique formula of my own making. It entails the precise combination of measurements for certain properties that, when followed, will create something unprecedented."

Playing along, Logean Wuji's brows raised and he uttered a monotonous, 'Wow.'

"Yes, yes. Now, before we get to the formula," Ye Wanshi held the now untied scroll in place, "I need to be sure I can rely on you."

Brow twitching, Logean Wuji smiled and nodded, "You can."

"Are you sure? This is a truly complex formula for the creation of something extraordinary; a truly idiosyncratic element of reality!"

Logean Wuji's jaw was tight, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Get on with it."

Throughout the crowd, a large number of people suddenly found Ye Wanshi's face hard to tolerate.

"This damn kid think's he's hot shit!"

"Sir Wuji should kick him in the shin, the little bastard."

Logean Wuji watched as Ye Wanshi finally opened the scroll. After he perused the contents within, his annoyance went away and his eyes widened. Replacing his mild discontent was a constantly growing sense of curiosity and wonder, sending him into deep thought instantly.

"The compound is expressed here in these figures," Ye Wanshi explained as he held the scroll up for Logean Wuji to see. "Can you identify them? Is my handwriting legible?"

Logean Wuji nodded, having already arrived at the conclusion in his mind. Ye Wanshi noticed he was out of it for a second, but did not think that it was possible for Logean Wuji to have already executed the formula in his head.

After all, no one could possess such a ridiculous mental fortitude, right?

So, Ye Wanshi smirked and thought about explaining his formula a bit more. Never could he, and the people watching have guessed that Logean Wuji would take the scroll from his hands. Immediately the scroll burst into silver flames before swiftly becoming a pile of ash on the floor.

"No need. We both have already memorized this formula, so we should move on."

Ye Wanshi emitted a curt gasp, tilting his head and forcing a smile, "Delightful."

Logean Wuji returned the smile and watched as Ye Wanshi fumbled for a bit before getting back on track. Numerous lost gazes stared at the young genius, waiting for him to do something mind-blowing to back up his big talk.

"Well then, since Sir Wuji has already 'memorized" the formula, would you mind telling me what is required?" Hands clasped, Ye Wanshi smirked yet again.

"I need six cultivators and a mortal. The cultivators must be above Qi Refinement and two of them must be female. As for the mortal, anyone under the age of 60 will do."

"Was I wrong?" Ye Wanshi froze when he saw the cool and collected expression on Logean Wuji's face. Even if he did memorize the formula, that was not enough for him to easily figure out the sources of those individual components. This was in no way a simple thing.

To put it in simpler words, imagine this. You see a paper on which is written these things:

12% lipids, 12% proteins, water, minerals and carbohydrates.

Seeing that incredibly simple list, would you be able to guess what the precise source was? Maybe you could, maybe you couldn't, but Logean Wuji definitely did. He could easily guess that the source was a chicken egg!

Ye Wanshi scoffed, turning to the crowd and calling for seven people. A bit later, they were joined on stage by four women and three men of which one man was a non-cultivator. They stood in a line, side by side, awaiting instruction. Ye Wanshi was, at this point, rethinking his plans.

'I thought I'd be able to make others realize just how intelligent I am by comparing myself to him, but all that did was make me look stupid! I hate to admit it, but I can't compare to him. I'll have to work with him instead of against him, that way the people will realize that we're on the same page and know that I'm not a fool!'

With his resolve intact, Ye Wanshi ordered the people on stage to form a circle and extend their hands outward. Once they did that, he turned to Logean Wuji and said, "Would Sir Wuji like to help me with the next bit?"

Hearing this, a trace of confused flashed across Logean Wuji's face. In his imaginary experiments, such a thing was not necessary. He knew that Ye Wanshi could easily instruct them all on what to do at once, but now he was asking Logean Wuji for help.

Flashing a knowing smile, Logean Wuji went over to one side of the circle of people, leaving Ye Wanshi to stand on the other side.

"Cultivators, begin by releasing tiny amounts of qi. Focus it first to the palm of your hand, allow it to concentrate, then release it at the very center of the circle." Ye Wanshi gave the order, focused entirely on what was going on.

As the cultivators gathered and released their qi, a cloud of energy mist formed in the middle, attaining an earthy brown color.

Logean Wuji, though he had already performed it in his mind, was equally as invested. "Now the mortal must stand within that cloud of qi. Once he does that, allow him the space of two minutes to acclimatize."

The man then walked into the brown energy, finding his body immediately becoming lighter and more lively. "Oh! What is this? I feel so powerful and alive!"

Puzzled expressions surfaced on the faces of the surrounding cultivators. This was a common occurrence after all; they were simply giving some of their energy to the man. Though he would see an increase in power and vitality, this was only a temporary effect.

Some of them even began to doubt the entire process. They could have just transferred their energy to the man directly. Why did they have to condense a cloud of it?

As the mortal man continued to grow excited and loud, Ye Wanshi folded his arms behind him.

"Now, everyone but the female cultivators must stop supplying energy. We need strong yin qi!"

They obliged and the four women continued to send their qi into the center. Much to everyone's surprise, the brown cloud immediately assumed a darker color, almost completely black. As that happened, the mortal man cried out.

"Eee!? It suddenly got so cold!"

When the women heard that, their first thoughts were that something had gone wrong and so they were about to stop. Logean Wuji quickly intervened before they could, telling them to continue no matter what.

"My insides! Ouchie!" The man continued to cry out in pain. He could not even move, as his body felt solidly frozen in place. He panicked, eyes shooting around before he noticed Ye Wanshi standing, seeming at ease.

'Could it be that my life is not truly in danger? Now that I think about it, the pain hasn't actually worsened. I can't yet move, but maybe this is just the suffering that comes before the reward.'

The man then saw Ye Wanshi's eyes widen and his smile broaden, even showing off some of his teeth. From Ye Wanshi's expression, the man could guess that things were going extremely well for him now. He felt blessed, like he was destined to rise to untold heights and become an immortal... or something.

'Ah, so this is bliss? A bit painful, but the prospect of new life is truly invigorating! I can already smell it! The scent of heavenly glory! It is true that, in this world, untold hardships are always followed by the greatest of rewards. This day, on this makeshift stage, Long Chen rises to glory!'

Logean Wuji struggled to suppress his blustering laughter, managing to compress it into a cough. Ye Wanshi could notice the happiness present on the mortal, Long Chen's face, but he paid it no mind.

That was because, as the cloud of energy grew darker, a thick miasma began to pour into the man's body. Slowly, a horrible stench wafted out of his pores and larger orifices, causing all those that could smell it to grimace and hold their breath.

Long Chen was completely oblivious to it all. In his mind, his transformation was underway. Especially after he felt his body start to tremble uncontrollably. In glee, his eyes rolled up into his head; his mouth, due to how extremely happy he was, was actually able to smile.

'Goodbye mortality! I welcome you now, the divine Gates of Heaven! Open for me, sky, and take me to the court of immortals!'

Laughter erupted from his throat, booming out through his semi-open mouth. This confused everyone and they started to think that Long Chen was going crazy. A single thought crossed their minds, and everyone in the plaza vowed to never allow themselves to be the subject of Ye Wanshi's experiments.

Sadly, if Logean Wuji asked, they would not be able to say no.

"That is quite enough ladies." Logean Wuji's calm voice sounded out as Long Chen's laughter subsided, bringing everyone's attention back to the overall situation. The women stopped, looking relieved as they were able to finally catch their breath.

By now, Long Chen's trembling was at an all time high. Actually, he wasn't merely trembling or shaking, he was quaking. Like an active volcano, unstable and ready to erupt, his body violently spasmed while still absorbing the residual energy. The second all of it was taken in, there was a loud poof.

Shiny black dust filled the air and all the cultivators reeled in shock. Logean Wuji waved his hand, prohibiting the dust from touching him. At the same time, he looked over at Ye Wanshi and saw that he had pulled an umbrella out from somewhere.

When most of the dust cleared, all they could see were wisps of spiritual energy. Long Chen was no where to be seen. Ye Wanshi put away his umbrella; there was actually a magical pouch in his clothes, then he walked toward the lingering wisps of energy.

He flicked his wrist, then said, "Condense."

There, on the palm of his hand, a black orb took shape. Like a beating heart, it grew and shrunk in a smooth, unchanging rhythm. While the people were momentarily distracted by the strange orb, they quickly remembered the most important thing.

"Hey! Where's the mortal?" One of the cultivators asked, stepping forward through the scattering cloud of dust and waving his hand about.

"Did he die?"

"Hey, brat! Where's Brother Long!?"

"Did your crazy experiment kill Long Chen, you stupid psychopath!"

"You intentionally sabotaged Sir Wuji's experiment, didn't you Ye Wanshi? How despicable!"

"Truly detestable!"

Ye Wanshi was at a complete and utter loss now. It was true that his method was a bit unclear in regards to the fate of the mortal component, but he did not think that Sir Wuji would allow something that horrible to happen.

Even worse was the fact that no one would ever think such a thing could ever be Sir Wuji's fault. They all blamed him and him alone!

His breathing and heartrate quickened as he struggled to find something to say. Still, no matter how quickly his intelligent mind could work, he had no idea what to say.

"See," he heard Logean Wuji's voice in his mind, "you cannot move forward without certainty."

Ye Wanshi looked over to Logean Wuji, tears in his eyes. Looking at this boy, Logean Wuji felt his chest tighten. A frightening image crawled out from his memory and into his mind, causing him to glance at the setting sun subconsciously.

"Because you were sure of yourself, despite knowing that it was an incomplete formula, someone's death is now on you." Though Logean Wuji was speaking to Ye Wanshi, the boy could not help feeling that Logean Wuji was also talking to himself.