Chapter 8: Fang Chang v Pickle Lord

"It seems that the gods don't want you to win a single match, Plummy Fang…"

"You lack humility Brother Wang… Although I may lose here, I won't let you have an easy win."

"You're mistaken Plummy Fang. In this ring I'm not your brother Wang; I'm the Pickle Lord. It seems you don't know me that much yet."

"Hohoho. Pickle Lord here, huh? I was thinking of holding back to let you compete with Brother Yi, but your ignorance and blind confidence have set your demise in stone."

"Are you sure you can resist the power of my pickles, Plummy Fang?"

"Don't... Call me Plummy Fang again. My name is Fang Chang! I will let you know of it right now, on this ring!"

"Come then, Plummy Fang. Come and taste defeat! Come and taste humiliation! Come and taste despair…"

"AHHHH" Plummy Fang shouted with all his strength, taking out a delicate sword from behind his robes. It looked like a rapier; it was slim, long and elegant. It made a weird contrast with Plummy Fang's fat and thick body. He grabbed the rapier with one hand as he had the other one behind his back. The small fold of gray and simple robes that his body didn't fill fluttered in the air, making a subtle sound that accompanied his charge.

Pickle Lord took many pickles out from who knows where and threw them all on the floor. His hands moved upwards, cutting the air as the pickles levitated and moved in sync, following the path that the hands drew.

"PARCIAL PICKLE ARMOR!" Pickle Lord shouted, making the pickles in the air to fly to his body, merging with his chest, neck, back, forearms, legs and shoulders. Every part of his body was covered, excepting his face and every major joint that allowed motion.

He lifted one of his hands and pickles flew in, gradually transforming in a long spear that had the length of his body.

Plummy Fang had already arrived in front of him, thrusting his rapier forward, aiming for Pickle Lord's stomach.

Cling!

Pickle Lord didn't evade. The rapier hit his pickle armor and made a tiny crack on it, but he wasn't flustered. He didn't let his chance slip and swung his spear towards Plummy Fang's neck. It had no fatal risk because the enemy was too close and he couldn't use the sharp end, but it could still cause quite a bit of damage.

Plummy Fang elegantly raised his weapon to block, but his initiative was lost. Pickle Lord made use of the short distance and threw a kick aiming for Plummy Fang's knee, but Plummy Fang bent and rotated it precisely just before the kick connected.

Bang!

Pickle Lord hit Plummy Fangs bent knee, making the little pickle armor on his foot crack. Plummy Fang ignored his pain and slipped his rapier through the pickle spear, separating it just as his shoulder graced the stick of the spear, taking advantage of its momentum to attack Pickle Lord's head.

Pickle Lord released his grip with one of his hands of the weapon, slapping the rapier sideways and rotating his other hand along with the spear, aiming its round end towards Plummy Fang.

The rapier barely evaded Pickle Lord's face, stopping next to his head. Plummy Fang had a good chance to attack again, but when he saw the short end of the spear aiming towards his chest, his pupils contracted to the size of a grain of salt. He put all of his concentration to his feet, rotating them at the same time as he evaded to his right.

The spear appeared as if it was being pushed from behind, charging at full speed towards Plummy Fang's side. However, instead of being pushed, the spear was growing. The sharp end suddenly appeared on the round end, making its way forward.

Swish

Plummy Fang's attire was torn on his left side. He wasn't injured, but he didn't have the time to retract the hand that attacked Pickle Lord earlier; it remained extended. Pickle Lord's hand was already on its way even before he attacked with his spear, grabbing Plummy Fang's wrist with all his strength, pulling it towards him.

His knee bended and extended upwards, arriving at the same spot as Plummy Fangs stomach.

Pa!

Plummy Fang's insides were messed up and he spat to the ground, before another punch arrived at his face.

Ta!

The punch was strong, so much that Plummy Fang's enormous body was sent spiraling on the ground, before stopping 2 meters from where he was.

He got up silently as blood flowed out of his mouth and nose. He didn't let go of his rapier, and was now using it to help himself stand up again.

"It's over Plummy Fang. You aren't my pickles' match."

Plummy Fang finally stood up, there were many pickles surrounding him. They were far enough for him to not be able to reach them, but close enough to let him see every crease and color these pickles had.

"Is this the infamous pickle formation only seen in the 5th Outer Disciple's Talent Competition of Gray Grass Sect?" Plummy Fang inquired, piercing Pickle Lord with his dark gaze.

"It is. It's a shame that Yi Ren brought his flash grapes at that time, and that my pickle formation was flawed… If not, I would've won."

"It is a shame, Pickle Lord. But, don't act as you've already won this match. Have you ever seen me use my left hand since the start?"

Pickle Lord was indeed wary of Plummy Fang's left hand. He couldn't be underestimated; he was one of the Weird Thrice just as him. And, even if he had never won one of their competitions, his losses were always close to the victor.

Ling Zhou was watching from afar. Light flickered in his eyes as he whispered. "If Brother Wang and Brother Fang are this strong… Then how strong is Brother Yi? This fight is already at the level of First Peak Stage. Gee golly…"

He took out a pill from one of his pockets. It was transparent and emitted a light purple glow, different from the one he threw at Tai Tu. He put the pill in his mouth and swallowed, closing his eyes to digest it.

'I should be able to reach the 7th stage in about three days, just in time.' He thought, opening his eyes again to continue watching the fight.

"If you aren't going to show your cards even in this situation Plummy Fang, then it's time for you to lose!"

Pickle Lord released his spear and raised his arms as it fell to the ground. The pickles surrounding Plummy Fang started shaking, and were about to explode when Plummy Fang's left hand moved.

"Seventh Illusion Card – False Belief!" He shouted and threw a transparent, rectangular card made of energy towards Pickle Lord. It looked ethereal and, sometimes, real. He tried to block it, but the card disappeared as it made contact with him, as if it had never been thrown.

The pickles around Plummy Fang disappeared and instead appeared circling Pickle Lord, exploding in the same instant. Pickle Lord couldn't evade nor cancel the attack, the timing was too perfect.

"This is my seventh card, Pickle Lord. It was my final trump card and was my entrance for this month's competition. It's a shame I couldn't display it then."

Pickle Lord was covered by a green ball of smoke; his figure couldn't be seen. His condition was unknown, so Plummy Fang continued with his speech.

"It's a pity I have this card, Pickle Lord. If not, I wouldn't be your match. But don't worry; I won't let Yi Ren be the victor of our bet, he-"

"Hehehehe… Plummy Fang you have surprised me this time, who would've thought you would make such progress. Weren't your previous cards about making haircuts and causing nausea? But, it's a shame…"

"Huh!?"

"It's a shame you used it against me, Plummy Fang."

The smoke surrounding Pickle Lord imploded, forming a shiny pickle that was floating in front of Pickle Lord. He was standing straight looking at Plummy Fang with his calm, thin eyes. He wasn't wearing the Pickle Armor anymore, but he was unscathed. Every pickle he had with him was combined in the shiny pickle.

"Is it Pickle Diamond!? The one seen at the 10th competition!?"

"It is, but it's now perfected."

"How did that block the pickle formation?"

"You see, Plummy Fang. I am the Pickle Lord. Pickles can't hurt me, they belong to me; they obey me. I just made the pickles go back to my control."

"So that's it. As expected of the Pickle Lord."

"Even if it did no damage, your trump card is still incredible. I was already hit when I saw the illusion card, wasn't I?"

"Yes and no. Haaa... It makes no difference even if I tell you, Pickle Lord. This card makes you believe you are attacking me, but in fact you are attacking yourself. You were already hit before, but the illusion card had to touch you for it to work. You see, only then could you believe you got hit, and the card only works if you believe in it. It revolves around belief, and the falsehood of that belief."

"Such a profound technique! So what happens if I stop believing?"

"You can't. You saw it hit you, and you saw it work. You may want to stop believing, but only by having complete control of your mind, or by you being crazy, can it stop."

"Hehehehe… I respect you, Plummy, no, Fang Chang. Because of that, I'll use my trump card too, even if it's not complete. Please appraise it."

Pickle Lord took the Pickle Diamond with one of his hands, concentrating his mind in it. The Pickle Diamond began to melt, maintaining its shine and adhering to his hand. It started flowing through his fingers, going to his wrist and then to his shoulder.

It passed through all his body, painting it green. It shined, but it didn't look metallic. It appeared more like an extremely thin layer of emerald was covering his entire body, including his eyes, mouth and ears.

He could see; the layer was transparent. He could also move because the layer was elastic. His robes had already melted along with the pickles, revealing his skinny figure, but he wasn't naked. There was a thin layer of clothes behind the transparent layer of crystalized pickle that looked like a long sleeved shirt and leggings.

'Pickle clothes' Plummy Fang thought. He remembered it from the 2nd competition. He didn't expect Pickle Lord to still have a use for it. He was scolded by an elder because his robes were green, and he also couldn't be wearing around clothes made of pickles.

Looking around and seeing the crowd that had formed to watch them, Plummy Fang was proud. 'Our effort wasn't in vain. Our talent wasn't worthless. Even if they look down on us, laugh at us or insult us, so what? We don't act to fit in, we only act to live.'

"PICKLE FUSION!"