Perfectly balanced, as all things should be

"This hurts like a bitch!"

"Language Young man! You are a battle lord and need to be more stoic and have a grand and powerful demeanor!" I know that! I don't usually complain about pain, but I had to rip some of my internal organs up just because you came over, mum! I love my mum, but I never thought I would have to injure myself, so she wouldn't ruin my plans.

"But it huuuuuuurtss!" My mum looked at me with confused eyes and said "You've received injuries far worse than this before and you still had the mood to mess around. What's so special now?" Imma skip the convo with my mum, as it is not for public ears.

Now, let's continue the blood battle competition. Xiong Jiao Man resigned, as her continuing to fight would be bullying. Battle lords usually go last, as they are the strongest and can easily influence the entire battle on their own.

If she stays, it will just be an insult to traditions and the rules of the righteous path. If she didn't go back, she would lose reputation and Xiong clan would be looked down upon as half demonic, as they have accepted some demonic cultivators before and a clan like Xiong being isolated means it is free for grabbing. Anyone can invade them without repercussions, so she had to back off.

My plans have technically been changed to do the exact opposite of what I was doing before, but the core is still the same, manipulate luck and keep balance. It has been going quite well too. A couple rounds have passed and 10 Gu Yue clansmen died along with 8 Xiong ones, which puts the scale at 46 -41.

Now, I have never really experimented with wood path and it is really weird to me honestly, but I do know how OP wood charm Gu is. The only reason there aren't rank 5 versions is, that it costs lifespan Gu to make and the success rate is barely 10%, so no sane man will make it. The only person who cam afford a rank 5 wood charm Gu is me and I ain't using it, too risky. I can just get a bunch of heavenly essence treasure lotuses to get a bunch of primeval essence recovery, but our next contestant has no such ability.

The clan leader saw the falling moral and decided he needed to even it at at least and he sent out his suicidal disciple, Gu Yue Qing Shu.

The green haired man stepped forward slowly. While my brother looks handsome and threatening with his buff body, Qing Shu looks extremely fragile and gentle. Just from one glance, anyone will say he is a stark contrast with me or my brother.

The graceful way he walked forward was most likely staged by the clan leader to raise morale, as just seeing Qing Shu and knowing he is one of your own can bring a sense of calmness.

For me, it brought anxiety. He is the biggest variable here. Xiong clan only has Xiong Jian Bao and Xiong Tai Fei as their trump cards, two chumps Qing Shu can easily take out. He can singlehandedly kill a minimum of 4 of the Xiong clansmen, 7 if he is feeling extra suicidal. Such a huge commotion might even change the tides so much Xiong clan directly gives up. He van easily widen the gap I barely managed to close up to 12 in Gu Yue's favour. I don't want that, so I need to sabotage this MF.

"Qing Shu, could I talk to you for a second?" ...

... ... ... ... ... Perfect!

Sorry about the long pause, I needed all my mental energy to think. I have a plan now. Short version of what happened in the last minute or two: I wanted to call him over and he agreed, mostly because of the serious look on my face.

He got closer and I whispered to him "The enemy has two trump cards left, Xiong Tai Fei and Jian Bao. You are most likely to face Jian Bao, as he has a burning bear paw Gu, so I suggest using vines to probe him first. Tai Fei has a wind type offensive Gu worm and I suggest watching out for that if you fight him. It is silent and extremely deadly. Be careful and remember this, you must not fail! I failed, but the strongest threat is no longer here. Do better than me or our clan might lose!"

Unlike Fang Yuan, I have been active in the clan. My reputation is worth something and am even called second hidden elder. When I say something emotional like this, it holds weight. This was mostly a way to waste time so I could hammer out my plan, but it was just detailed and important enough to attract his attention.

Qing Shu nodded his head and said "We don't get along much because of our opposing factions, but how can clansmen not put aside their differences in times of need? I will heed your warning and swear to you, I, Gu Yue Qing Shu, will bring glory!"

I stalled him for a couple of minutes, more than enough to carve out failure Dao marks all over him and convert all of his luck into death luck. He has been cursed now and will likely die to one of the two trump cards of Xiong. No one can even blame or think about blaming me for his death. No one has luck path investigative methods and I have been nothing but the perfect clansman since the begining.

The Xiong clan's leader is not an idiot and can easily analyze data. He knows I warned Qing Shu and he knows his trump cards are only crumbs compared to Qing Shu, so he sent out his trump cards out of order. The first to go was Xiong Tai Fei. He isn't even aware he is a sacreficial pawn of his flan.

Qing Shu quickly activated his Moonwhirl Gu and it flew towards Tai Fei with great speed. Tai Fei didn't even budge and the sharp moonlight arc curved upwards and flew over his head.

Windy misdirection Gu. Quite a good defensive Gu worm he has there, almost a direct counter to Qing Shu. This guy was clearly brought out for the single purpose of draining Qing Shu of primeval essence. He isn't a tortoise, which can only hide though.

He aimed his right fist at Qing Shu and a fist completely made out of wind shit towards Qing Shu. This is to make sure Qing Shu stays on his toes. If Tai Fei was a tortoise, then Qing Shu would just not attack him and only use pine needle Gu to drain his opponent's essence reserves.

That was my main worry. Good thing the Xiong clan elders thought od this smart scheme. The fight was nothing much. The outcomes was decided within the first seconds. Qing Shu is the winner without a doubt and Tai Fei is only there to make him bleed slowly.

The two of them exhausted eachother and Tai Fei directly gave up after he achieved his goal. What? I wouldn't want to die for no reason as well. He achieved his goal and left like a normal person would.

The next to come out was, obviously, Xiong Jian Bao. Qing Shu, the suicidal patriot, didn't even consider retreat an option. He stayed and wanted to fight. If he gives up, he can't go back in and he is the best we got. If he leaves, then morale will hit an all-time low.

Most people don't even know about Jian Bao or Tai Fei, so they will assume the best their clan had was done in by 2 nameless members of Xiong clan. The morale hit might even be big enough to force Gu Yue to directly submit. Too bad this suicidal maniac will die and raise morale this round instead!

"Hello, sir Gu Yue Qing Shu. My name is Xiong Jian Bao. May we have a fair fight and let the best if us win!" Qing Shu looked exhausted and had a horrible breathing rhythm. His primeval essence amount was down to 23% of dark red essence. He had two options, run out of primeval essence or use the rank 3 wood charm Gu.

Jian Bao smiled from happiness. Who wouldn't? Going from a well known person to a hero by killing 1 weakened guy would make anyone feel butterflies in their stomach. He directly charged Qing Shu using rank 2 sprung weed and rushed at Qing Shu with his right hand turned into a burning bear paw.

Qing Shu had to stall him at least, so he used pine needles, but it had minimal effect with a medium cost. The wooden needles were burned to a crisp when they impacted the burning paw. The vines he used were caught by Jian Bai and burned.

The elemental advantage was too big for Qing Shu to overcome and using moonwhirl Gu would cost him over half of his remaining reserves. He should be about ready to activate the wooden charm Gu.

Sure, the wood charm Gu isn't a guaranteed death sentence, all the more reason for Qing Shu to use it. Wood charm Gu might not be a death sentence in its own, but I have made it one. I gave my little buddy a rank 3 perseverance Gu, which will activate as soon as he uses a rank 3 Gu worm. He won't be able to deactivate it even if he wanted to and can only die, taking, at most 2 Xiong clansmen with him. I am taking that perseverance Gu back, btw! The thing cost me like 850 Gu points! I ain't giving that shit up! I barely have 10k left!

A couple seconds passed and I saw a small totem-pole-like insect appear next to Qing Shu and... There we go! I am guessing you guys can't see this, but Qing Shu's death luck has shot up to the literal sky. This means certain death.l and that my plan worked perfectly. He can do nothing but die now and contribute to my forceful balancing.

Xiong Jian Bao, of course, was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of moonblades being sent towards him and couldn't dodge forever. He died after a few hits and I saw horror flash in Qing Shu's eyes. He realized his death was near and said "Fang Zheng! You are the future of our clan! You are our treasure and most beloved young master! Never give up and continue training, surpass Kai Nem and bring your clan glory!"

The dumbass just looked at Qing Shu with a confused look and nodded his head "I will make sure I become the next clan leader and surpass Kai Nem!" ya... Not happening, but the way he said it did make one feel his confidence.

The next Xiong clansman stepped up. The Xiong clan leader realized what was going on and sent a movement specialist earth path Gu master.

His signature Gu worm was earth surfer Gu and mud shot Gu. Qing Shu took a beating passively as he gradually turned into a treeman and roots grew out of his legs into the earth. The injuries and exhaustion only increasing the need to use wood charm Gu and speeding up the process of corrosion.

The poor Xiong clansman died, but so did Qing Shu. In the original story, he kept his consciousness through sheer willpower because of Bai Ning Bing's threat level, but now he could die in peace, knowing his clan is in "safe" hands. He glanced at Fang Zheng one last time and smiled

Fang Zheng fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face. Gu Yue Qing Shu turned into a tree and finally died. The only thing left was a tree with his smiling face on it where he stood before his death.

Balance has been restored and the only imbalance left is the 6 Gu master lead of Gu Yue, a problem I can easily solve! All the wild cards have been played and dealt with! It is time to end this!