Chapter 34

Before Hei decided to go to the Fang Clan, he had already informed Mei that she could possibly see Fang Lian and Ji Dian there.

Knowing what happened in the past, Hei decided to let Mei settle any issues she had with them. As long as it didn't go too far, he would allow her to do whatever she wanted.

To his surprise, however, Mei didn't have any ill will towards them.

She explained that she was actually grateful for the things that had happened because it was one of the reasons Hei had decided to go into the forest in the first place.

This resulted in her meeting someone special to her and also becoming part of a family.

At the time, she was in human form and had taken his hand. So, as she spoke her heartfelt words, it made Hei feel very uncomfortable.

He decided to quickly move on to a different topic while pulling his hand away, where he discovered that Tianlan, Bai and Mei were already conducting sparring matches between themselves.

He was disappointed that they excluded him, leaving him to play with his chains by himself, but today he would be able to pay them back.

As they were walking, Tianlan spoke:

"I wonder how the matriarch is doing with her cultivation."

Bai answered:

"She was already quite experienced in the first three realms which allowed her rapid growth, but it should have slowed down now."

Hearing this, Hei looked down to his left side, where Bai was. He tried to ignore the head resting on his right shoulder as he spoke:

"We can't underestimate her determination. In her position, she has a lot on her plate. There's the trapped elders, the Wu Clan nipping at their heals, and the 5-sect summit coming up. I would guess she is working extra hard."

Bai responded:

"That is true, but we have significantly reduced the urgency. By improving their techniques, we have simultaneously increased their chances at rescuing their elders, made the Wu Clan less of a concern, and improved their ability to impress at the 5-sect summit."

"I suppose you're right. If she feels comfortable, she may have taken it easy these past few months. And if that's the case, I would feel a little disappointed."

Tianlan jumped in:

"We will be able to see, soon enough."

Mei was just walking in silence, hugging Hei's arm. She didn't know too much about the Fang Clan, so she would have to see it for herself.

Initially, Hei was opposed to this level of closeness, but after some thought, he let it slide. It was just walking… right?

And besides, she did agree to his request of being in fox form most of the time, so he let her have this much.

But he didn't like it.

After seeing what Mei was doing, Bai took his other arm. So, he was now in between two little girls, walking arm in arm.

Tianlan could see that Hei wasn't the most comfortable person in the world right now, so he was quite amused.

One may expect him to be slightly jealous, but the comments he could hear removed that possibility.

"Look at that boy, he's so handsome!"

"You mean the one with two girls on his arms?"

"Oh, goodness no. I'm talking about the one next to him. Look at his blue eyes."

"I agree. I wonder what those girls are doing."

"Maybe that boy was caught doing something bad, so he is being taken to be punished."

"No. It doesn't look like that to me. Those girls seem to be happy."

"Well, they dyed their hair white, so they must be strange. Any normal young lady would clearly see who is the better of the two."

"Mm. I would agree with that."

Tianlan smiled at one of the young ladies discussing them.

"Did you see that? He smiled at me!"

"What are you talking about? He was clearly looking at me when he smiled."

"The both of you need to get your eyes checked. He was obviously looking at me."

Sandwiched between his two sisters, Hei could hear all of this.

Everything spoken within his radius which was currently almost 6 meters, would be heard by him clearly. So, not only was Mei making him uncomfortable, but his oddness was even being highlighted.

Seeing that Hei wasn't happy, Mei spoke.

"Don't worry Darling. Those-"

She was cut off.

"What Darling? It's Hei to you! Don't go too far."

Hei wanted to nip this kind of thing in the bud. It would only become troublesome, and nothing good would come of it.

-Tch.

Her plan had failed, so Mei adjusted her wording.

"Don't worry, Hei. Those girls don't know what they're talking about. They are only looking at Big Brother's outstanding outward appearance."

Bai stepped in.

"That's right, Brother. They don't know that behind your appearance is the best brother in the world. If they knew that, they wouldn't even look at Big Brother."

Hearing these words from his sisters, instead of being comforted, Hei felt worse. Weren't they just saying that he was ugly? Even Mei was doing the same, and she was supposed to be his soulmate…

Soon, they arrived at the Fang Clan, where the same thing continued.

"Ah! Sage Tianlan is even more handsome than before."

"Mm. His gaze is even more piercing. I feel like he can see straight into my heart."

"Why would he want to see into your heart when I'm standing right here?"

"You're too full of yourself. Plus, I heard there was something going on between him and Fang Ren."

"Eh? Where did you get that from?"

"Apparently, Fang Ren walks them home every time they come to visit. I heard it was Sage Tianlan who asked her to do it."

"Actually, now that you mention it, she has been saying that she got a technique called Myriad Kindness directly from the childish sages."

"No way! I would kill to have Sage Tianlan create a technique especially for me."

"Ah! I would die. My life would be complete."

-Krch.

Hei watched as Tianlan basked in the praises of the young ladies.

He wasn't jealous. Really, he wasn't.

OK, maybe a little…

"Who's the new one? Could she be another of the childish sages?"

"Mm. She seems to be pretty close. It's just… Why is she hugging Sage Hei like that?"

"Right. I can understand Sage Bai doing so, after all, she is his sister. But what about this new one? Th-they can't be an item, right?"

"What? When Sage Tianlan is right there? Who in their right mind would choose Sage Hei?"

"She does have white hair, so…"

"Right. It's something about that white hair."

Hei had enough of this, so he engaged his Qi to take all four of them right to the 'office'. They hadn't been there for a while, but it was always maintained properly.

"Welcome home, young masters."

The butler approached them and greeted them as if they had only left for a meal.

"Oh, I see we have a new young mistress. Welcome to the Shao Estate."

Hearing this, Hei jumped in.

"You mean the Shao Office, right?"

"Oh. Please pardon the slip of the tongue, Young Master Hei."

"…"

'So they are still trying to pull us in? Kind of pointless, no?'

Hei was surprised that the matriarch had made the butler continue in this welcoming tactic. She should have fully understood that the Shao Clan and the Fang Clan didn't have much relation.

In fact, she was just about the only link. None of the other members, aside from Fang Ren, were even close to what could be considered friends of the three.

Deciding to ignore this, they walked straight to the training room. Usually, Fang Ren could be seen hanging around the 'office', but she wasn't there at that time.

When they had arrived, Hei spoke:

"Alright. You guys have been keeping a lot of secrets lately. Let's see what you've got."

Hearing Hei's words, Bai and Tianlan smiled.

They had indeed prepared a lot for this particular sparring match. They had even developed new techniques and hidden the entirety of Mei's abilities from Hei.

Hei continued:

"What level will we be going at?"

Bai responded.

"Level four should be good."

"Level four? But you haven't even defeated level two. Ah, you know what? Let's just do it."

Hei realised that Bai never made any rash decisions when it came to their progress. If she said level four, it meant that she was confident in being able to face level four.

Immediately after Hei's words, Bai, Tianlan and Mei spread out.

Tianlan began the offence with his usual opening of two slow steps and then high-speed movement.

The difference was, he didn't go for a sneak attack. Instead, he had built up some kind of repulsion force behind himself, while covering himself in Sonic Qi.

He had turned himself into a flying sword and shuttled towards Hei at high speed.

"Oh? Chain Sword."

Hei activated his Unlimited Chain Works, while also wrapping the chains in Sonic Qi to face off against Tianlan's charge.

He constructed a human-sized sword to directly face off against Tianlan.

However, he underestimated the momentum behind Tianlan, who was able to forcefully break through Hei's chain sword.

"What do you call this one?"

Hei was interested in the technique.

The fact that he was still able to converse as Tianlan was rapidly approaching, went to show how much confidence he had in his chains.

What Tianlan had broken were just some quickly formed chains he had created on the spot.

He still had his ultra-dense chains in his storage space.

"I call this one Rail Gun. It uses concepts similar to what you told me about from your world."

As he finished his sentence, Tianlan was right in front of Hei launching a Sonic Qi infused fist.

The fist came into contact with Hei's robe, but it stopped there. Hei didn't even take a single step back as Tianlan's attack was completely nullified.

Tianlan's fist had torn away parts of the robe, but behind them, he could see a dense chain mail armour protecting Hei. The chainmail also had Sonic Qi wrapped around it.

When Tianlan saw this, he wasn't surprised. This had been in Bai's calculations.

Having stopped Tianlan in his tracks, Hei immediately wrapped Tianlan in chains and then turned his attention to the other two.

But as soon as he turned around, he heard Tianlan's voice.

"I expected as much."

Hei could feel his chains being broken at a rapid rate.

"Mm?"

He turned to Tianlan, who casually stepped out of the chains, surrounded by swirling Sonic Qi.

"I call this one, Sonic Drill."

"Ah."

Hei could now understand the concept behind Tianlan's new technique. He used a rotating Sonic Qi to increase its destructive power.

Previously it had high piercing power, but it relied on his own force to push it forward.

He had now found a way to allow the Qi itself to become a destructive force, that He just had to guide. It would bore its way into the target without much physical effort on Tianlan's side.

But it would surely cost more mental energy.

After escaping from the chains, Tianlan launched another fist, but this time it was using Sonic Drill.

When it came into contact with Hei's chainmail, it tore through it without much struggle.

"Oh? Chain Whip."

Hei was surprised to see this, but he wasn't too concerned.

He summoned the chains he had buried underground to wrap Tianlan's legs, then flung him away.

As he did, he felt a massive force approaching from behind.

It was Mei.

"Chain Wall."

Hei immediately set up a thick wall of chains to block the incoming attack.

But the chains didn't do too much.

He could see a bulge forming on the wall, ready to break at any time.

"Chain Explosion."

Hei decided to detonate his chains. This was an application of Bai's Territory.

The reason Hei was calling his techniques out loud was to give the others a chance to escape a dangerous attack. He didn't want Bai to be hit off guard by an explosion.

Tianlan and Mei also benefited by extension.

After the explosion, Hei prepared a versatile attack.

"Chain Cloud."

He raised his arm, and from it, a long chain was formed. It rose into the sky and formed a large cloud of chains.

After doing so, he utilised one of his options for the chain cloud.

"Rain of Chain."

From the cloud, individual links fell to the ground. He wouldn't be able to use these to chase after his opponents, but he could leave them there as remote explosives, limiting his opponent's choice of movements.

After performing this move, he could hear Bai's voice.

"Impressive, Brother. But you'll have to do more than this."

Bai used one of the new moves she had developed in response to Hei's link bombs.

It didn't have any apparent effect, so Hei decided to ignore it. He had other things to worry about now. Another massive force was approaching, and what's worse, it was pushing a Sonic Drill.

At some point, Mei had transformed into her fox form and taken Tianlan on her back.

While in fox form, Mei was much faster and more agile than Tianlan, but she lost some attack options.

As they approached, Hei smiled.

"Chain Explosion."

He issued the command for his chains to detonate, but there was no reaction.

So now he was left to face the charging drill.

As They got close, Tianlan activated his Rail Gun while on Mei's back, adding to his momentum.

This attack was much faster than the previous one.

"You think you are the only one with a rail gun?"

After seeing Tianlan and Mei launching such a ferocious combination attack, Hei set up a tunnel of chains.

By pumping large amounts of null element Qi into the chains and releasing a large amount of elemental Qi from his body, which he had formed using temporary spirit roots, he was able to create a repulsion force that launched him towards Tianlan.

As he was in the air, he surrounded himself in chains and activated Sonic Qi. Then he started moving the chains in a drill-like manor to counteract Tianlan's Sonic Drill.

When the two high-speed drills came into contact, there was an explosion, and links went flying everywhere. Tianlan was sent flying back, but Hei didn't have a moment to relax.

Right behind Tianlan, Mei was still approaching.

She charged towards Hei at an extremely fast speed and before long, her fur turned red.

Along with the change in her fur colour, came a strange red aura.

Hei could feel that it was dangerous, so he prepared layers upon layers of chains to block Mei's charge.

As soon as his defence was formed, Mei increased her speed even further. And as she came into contact with the chains, she broke through them like they weren't even there.

"!?"

Hei was shocked.

These may have been hastily formed chains, but their defensive strength was still tremendous. To be able to charge through them so easily. Which version of Mei was this?

Seeing that his defence would soon be broken, Hei anchored himself to the ground using many chains.

He was ready to counter her force.

As Mei collided with Hei, he felt an immense force acting against him.

Even though he dissipated a lot of it, it was simply too much. Even the chains he had planted to anchor himself to the ground were broken and he was forced to step back three times.

"What?"

Hei was shocked. He looked at Mei with wide eyes.

Even Bai and Tianlan didn't expect this kind of result, but they didn't let the opening go to waste.

Bai activated her Marionet ability to hijack Hei's loose links and reformed them into a lance which she launched at him using Tianlan's Rail Gun.

The three had been working closely to create these techniques, and they naturally shared with each other. There was no other way to defeat Hei.

Along with Bai's attack, Tianlan also came in with another Rail Gun backed Sonic Drill.

Mei was already in front of Hei and swiped at him with her claws.

Hei was in the middle of a triangle formation and was being attacked from three sides simultaneously.

"Sigh. No choice."

Hei was reluctant to use this move, but he was in a tight spot right now. Unless he increased his strength, which would be unfair, he had to use his ultimate attack.

"Chain Dragon."

Hei opened his storage space, and from the gaping black hole in space, a large chain tail came and swept past all three attacks.

All three attacks were knocked away, and Bai's lance was redirected at her. She quickly avoided it as she looked at her brother with wide eyes.

After getting rid of the attacks, a huge dragon head emerged from the tear in space, followed by its claws and the rest of its body.

It spread its wings and let out a loud metallic roar, which reverberated throughout the room, shaking the ground as it did.

The four were unaware, but the effects extended far beyond the training room.

Seeing this, Bai, Tianlan and Mei were shocked.

Hei had spent the majority of his effort on creating the densest chains he could for his Chain Dragon. It wasn't something that could be made on the spot while achieving similar results.

Bai was the one who spoke.

"What is this, Brother? Unlimited Chain Works couldn't produce such a thing."

She was almost afraid of the chain dragon. It was something she wouldn't want to get near at all. She could feel the immense energy held within the chains that formed the dragon.

If it were to explode… Would Spring Leaf City still exist?

Tianlan and Mei were similarly shocked. Wasn't this a little overkill for a sparring match?

Hei responded:

"It is my ultimate move, Chain Dragon. It also has two meanings."

"No way!"

Understanding Hei's words, Bai was left in disbelief. And just as she had thought, another dragon stepped out of the tear in space.

And as if that wasn't enough, another dragon soon emerged, and then another, and one more on top of that.

"…"

The others were lost for words. They looked at Hei and his dragons in shock.

Seeing the reaction of his siblings, Hei felt slightly awkward.

'Maybe this was a little too much.'

He put the dragons away.

"Cough. Let's resume our match, shall we?"

Tianlan responded.

"Yeah, but no more Chain Dragon."

Bai added on:

"Mm. That move is banned in sparring matches from now on."

Mei just looked at Hei with sparkling eyes.

Even though they were made of chains, she could still feel the majesty of his dragons as a spirit beast. And the fact that he had dragons at his beck and call was quite impressive.

"Alright. I won't use Chain Dragon. But since you guys have gotten pretty good, don't blame me for going on the offensive."

Seeing how strong his siblings had become, Hei had to abandon the reactive approach. He would now initiate his own attacks.

Hearing these words, Bai and Mei looked at each other and nodded.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Hei took the initiative.

He jumped back and formed another tunnel of chains, activating his own version of Rail Gun.

After launching himself, he activated another move.

"Chain Domain."

Chains burst forth from his body, covering the entire inside of the room.

He was launching himself towards Mei, who he knew to be the most dangerous of the three.

Mei wasn't afraid of Hei's charge, as she also charged towards him.

"This move is called Berserk Aura."

Mei announced the name of the red aura that enveloped her body.

It was something they had developed to allow her to spread the force of her attacks.

Unlike Tianlan who needed piercing attacks due to his lack of power, Mei would be able to make use of her power better by spreading the force out and damaging a larger area of her opponent.

As she came into contact with the palm Hei had launched she was able to halt his momentum.

After which, Hei immediately wrapped her in chains and attached her to the wall he had previously covered in chains.

He wanted her out of the way, so he added layer upon layer, restricting her movement before he moved on to Tianlan, who was already covered in Sonic Drill.

"Chain Swamp."

All of a sudden, the chains under Tianlan's feet started moving and pulling him in like quicksand.

Tianlan tried to jump away, but from above him, a hand of chain was already formed and pushed him into the chains, which solidified, trapping him.

Hei then turned to Bai, who didn't seem to be too concerned at the loss of her teammates.

"It's just you and me now, Little Bai."

Bai showed no fear as she faced her brother.

Hei started pulling all of the chains in, pulling Bai with them, as he walked to her.

"It's over. Chain Sword."

Hei created a giant sword in the air above him and had it swipe down towards Bai, who now looked afraid.

She had tears in her eyes as she spoke:

"It hurts, Brother."

"Eh?"

Hei was startled. He quickly disengaged his Unlimited Chain Works and walked up to Bai.

He quickly grabbed her shoulders and asked her where she was hurting.

"It hurts me to trick you like this, Brother."

Bai had a sinister smile on her face as she spoke.

Hei could feel a familiar fluctuation under his feet.

"You really thought the same trick would work twice?"

Hei immediately sent chains into the ground to disable Bai's territory, but then he felt an immense force coming from behind.

As he had approached Bai, he disabled his Unlimited Chain Works, freeing Tianlan and Mei in the process.

"Heh."

Hei was prepared to deal with Mei.

He turned around, but what he saw left him unable to act.

It was Mei running towards him in human form with tears in her eyes.

"Please don't hurt me, Darling."

"!"

Within Hei, there was a strong reaction from the other soul, preventing him from being able to defend himself properly.

Mei landed a vicious punch and Hei was sent flying.

Tianlan had already prepared with a Rail Gun, so while Hei was still affected, he landed a Sonic Drill, causing him to plummet to the ground, right in front of Bai.

"You!"

"Have a nice trip, Brother."

Bai had an innocent smile as she waved goodbye to her brother. It was as if she were really a little girl wishing her big brother safe travel.

Hei felt the fluctuations, and before long he was launched to the ceiling.

'Dang…'

That was all he could think as the ceiling rushed towards his face.

-Smack.

Even when in this kind of situation, Hei was still conscious of his surroundings, so there wasn't too much damage to the ceiling even though he was launched with tremendous force.

As he fell back towards the ground, he was thinking of how unfair this world was.

When did he ask to have such an adorable little sister?

Was there a time he wished for a soulmate?

-Plop.

As Hei stood back up, Bai and Mei came in and hugged him.

"I hope you can forgive us, Hei."

"Mm. I'm sorry, Brother."

Seeing the smiling faces of these two evil women, Hei had had enough.

He broke free from their hugs and walked away while grumbling.

"When did I ask to share a body with this lovesick little punk, huh? And since when have I found things cute? It's all Crystalia's fault. That darn Crystalia. I just wanted to get some things for my mother, but no. Go and slay the demon lord she says. You'll be back in no time she says. What a load of nonsense. I'm going to sue for false advertising."

The two girls looked at each other before giggling.