Chapter 39 Characteristics

Xuanyuan had two more bouts, both times against Rank 1 Gu Masters. The two that he fought seemed quite scared as they walked up onto the stage against Xuanyuan, especially considering that he had injured all of his previous opponents before they could forfeit or declare their own surrender.

Neither were anything special, both in regards to the Gu they used, or in the way that they used them. Neither had enough variety of Gu to create a combat system around them, and could only use the Gu in a straightforward manner.

Sitting back down in his chair, Xuanyuan could see that some of the B Grade talents that once littered the seats around him had vanished, leaving the arena. Those were mostly Rank 1 Gu Masters that had opted to continue fighting even without primeval essence, but were forced to the Light Soul Hall when Elder Bing stopped healing them, reserving her primeval essence for more serious cases.

There was a young man with a sprained wrist from a fall who was refused healing, but stayed despite the fact that he was injured and without primeval essence. 

He was forced to fight Song Pei, and immediately forfeited, much to the ire of several other Gu Masters.

"If you can't fight then just leave! You'll end up losing every match!".

"Talk about shameless! He's lost every fight since his first one, expending all of his primeval essence in a single fight, and yet, he refuses to leave!".

"Is he a Gu Master, or a mortal martial artist? How did he even use of all his primeval essence in a single match?".

"Apparently his Vital Gu is a Wisdom Path Gu which lets him predict his opponents movements. It expends primeval essence per second, making it extremely effective, but extraordinarily draining".

Xuanyuan ignored all of the comments about the young man, and just glanced at him, nodding somewhat. He had a short physique, an average looking face and nothing that appeared extraordinary, but his expression was somewhat... blank?

Even as he walked by other disciples who jeered at him, watching him forfeit within moments of the fight starting, he just sat back down in his seat and waited for his name to be called.

The rules of the tournament were somewhat confusing, considering that it essentially forced others to surrender on their own, continuously calling out their name until one party decided to leave the arena. Theoretically, someone could be missing an arm and still participate in the next match, despite their injuries.

The tournament would be unfair to those who managed to obtain Relic Gu, or Liquor Worms to assist in cultivation, considering they could defeat any opponent just by last longer than them. The victor of the tournament was the one who accumulated the most wins, not how many matches they could fight.

So long as you stayed in the tournament long enough for even those Rank 2 Gu Masters to run out of primeval essence, you could fight them again and again with just martial arts. If Xuanyuan was injured at this point, he would be forced to retire, or continue fighting regardless of his injuries.

Xuanyuan smiled watching a Rank 1 Gu Master exit the arena.

"In the end, it all comes down to Perseverance", he muttered.

Xuanyuan thought it was funny, but just ignored it, opting to watch the other fights. Tai Yin was unfortunately forced to retire from the tournament, still unconscious after the bout with Xuanyuan. Tai Yang, Song Pei and Fang Kai all won every one of their bouts, Song Pei still possessing the greatest advantage as an Enslavement Path Gu Master.

Jia Yufei, Li Xiao Er and Yu Xiaolong also won all of their fights, while Lu Guo lost one of his fights, coincidentally, against Jia Yufei. Lu Guo wanted to walk the Sword Path, but was forced by his older sister to walk the Lightning Path just as she did. Yu Xiaolong and Lu Guo had that in common, so it was easy to talk them both, even if his attainment in the Lightning Path was non existent.

Lu Guo's match against Jia Yufei lasted only about a hundred seconds considering her Rank 2 Fire Fox Gu could track the movements of her opponents to a degree. It was possible to destroy the pale blue fox fire, but only another Rank 2 Gu could do such a thing, or a Rank 1 Gu enhanced several times over.

Such a thing would require numerous Gu working in tandem, like Xuanyuan's Nine Eyes Shadow Gu which passively enhanced all Gu which could be channeled, or manipulated his shadow, or Shadow Qi Gu which actively enhanced all Shadow Path Gu.

Even then, Xuanyuan didn't think that just those two alone would be enough to destroy one of Jia Yufei's fox fires. Xuanyuan wanted to get his hands on other Gu such as Shadow Soul Gu, or Shadowless Veins Gu both of which increased the effectiveness of Gu of an equal or lower Rank.

Xuanyuan also wanted to explore if it was possible for a Gu to change the color of his shadow, like how Bright Red Light Gu added a "searing" effect to shadows that it cast, and how Crimson Shadow Gu theoretically transformed the nature of a shadow to make it more offensive. 

There was a difference between one time use Gu and other Gu which Xuanyuan also wanted to explore. These Gu often provided powerful effects, and did not require primeval essence in order to be used. Someone just needed to absorb it, crush it or eat it in order for its effects to take root in the body.

Ice Muscles Gu and Jade Bones Gu were both examples of this, but so was Wolf Soul Gu, Guts Gu and even something like Lifespan Gu and Dogshit Luck Gu. Gu whose very nature was to permanently transform something, or at least until they reached the next Rank.

The difference between Gu such as these, and the Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu was that it did not transform the body, but rather create a perfect body which was not tied to Fate Gu in any way shape or form. It possessed uniquely formed Dao Marks which did not reject one another, allowing a Gu Immortal to walk as many Paths as they possibly could.

Such a thing beyond Xuanyuan's comprehension. Perhaps if he could reach the same level of attainment as Spectral Soul Demonic Venerable, that is, a Great Grandmaster in every Path, he could begin to understand the underlying principles and profundities in the Immortal Gu.

Xuanyuan supposed that if he could get his hands on Derivation Gu, he would be able to use it to deduce the Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu, but even then, it took Shadow Sect and Spectral Soul Demonic Venerable a hundred thousand years to create. And even then, it still needed to devour Blessed Lands and Grotto Heavens in order to sustain itself.

What Xuanyuan was interested in wasn't necessarily the Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu itself, but the method to create an Extreme Physique, and the method to create non conflicting Dao Marks. Both required the Human Path in order to be comprehended, which then required someone to nurture humans and variant humans outside of the influence of Fate.

In other words, in a Blessed Land or Grotto Heaven.

He wanted something like Accumulate Virtue Gu, albeit without the stringent requirements.

Xuanyuan let out a small sigh, not caring that Yu Xiaolong was sitting next to him. The other boy glanced at Xuanyuan, seeing his lazy posture and bored expression.

"Is there something the matter Xuanyuan? You bored or something?", he asked.

Xuanyuan just shook his head, letting out another sigh.

"I am interested in too many things Xiaolong. Things would be so much easier if I could get a Second Aperture Gu".

Yu Xiaolong's eyes bulged for moment, hearing the name of a legendary Immortal Gu. For most Gu Masters, Immortal Gu were out of reach, but as members of the Ten Great Sects, Yu Xiaolong had heard rumors and stories from some of the older disciples, about others who had tried to search forgotten Blessed Lands or explore some ancient inheritance.

Legendary Gu from the Legends Of Ren Zu were often used as the treasure at the end of the story, but the Second Aperture Gu was a close second.

Yu Xiaolong glanced at Xuanyuan unconsciously lowering his voice and whispering something.

"Did Elder Luo tell you that the Sect was in possession of a Second Aperture Gu? Is that a prize available for first place or something?".

Xuanyuan laughed waving his friend off.

"Of course not. If the Ancient Soul Sect actually had a Second Aperture Gu, it would have been used a long time ago. I was just saying, that if they did actually have one, even the recipe for one, I'd fight tooth and nail for the chance to use it".

Yu Xiaolong remained silent at those words, letting out a sigh of relief.

"For a second there, I actually thought you meant it. If the Ancient Soul Sect had a Second Aperture Gu in it's possession, I think the rest of the Ten Great Sects would try and start a war just to try an obtain it and the recipe for it".

A familiar sounding voice cut through the conversation.

"Start a war over what sorry?".

Xuanyuan suppressed an eye roll, and Yu Xiaolong turned his head towards the young man approaching them. 

Tai Yang, having just completed his most recent bout, sat in the seat two across from Xuanyuan, causing the otherworldly demon to glance at him, before closing his eyes, just opting to listen to the names being called out.

The Fire Path Gu Master extended his hand towards Yu Xiaolong, who just took it, the pair slightly bowing to each other.

"I saw you're fight from earlier Yu Xiaolong. Your speed is quite remarkable, as expected from someone who walks the Lightning Path".

The Lightning Path Gu Master in question just responded with a nod, giving Tai Yang a small smile.

"Not quite as effective as your Fire Cloak Gu, but it still gets the job done. The area of effect on Fire Path Gu is often larger than that of most other Paths, so just walking up to your opponent is often enough to defeat them right?".

Tai Yang just nodded, glancing at Xuanyuan who had his eyes closed at the moment. The young man, not at all noticing Xuanyuan's desire not to be talked to, just continued to speak, the conversation completely one sided.

"If I may be so bold Xuanyuan, I had a question about the Shadow Path. Not why you chose to walk it, or chose it over the Space Path or the Dark Path, but rather, what makes shadows different to darkness? The Dark Path has significant offensive power, and an equally effective obscuration and concealment abilities. The Shadow Path, from what I have observed is... illusory. It more often than not, does not possess tangible form and instead is more effective against other shadows".

"Your shadow scorpion stinger is evidence of this, while your shadow strings and your Dense Shadow Blade Gu directly target the physical body. I assumed that you were using some sort of Shadow Path supportive type Gu to enhance their effectiveness, but when I saw your fight with Yin, I could see that your Bright Red Light Gu enhanced your shadow scorpion stinger as well as your Dense Shadow Blade Gu".

"I was wondering, can the Shadow Path mimic the effects of the Fire Path? Can shadows inherently have fire like qualities, such as "hot", "burning", "warmth" or even "destruction"?".

Xuanyuan opened his eyes glancing at Tai Yang but not moving his head. He stared at the slightly younger boy before shaking his head letting out another sigh.

"Shadows can be affected by the Light and Darkness which created them. Bright Red Light Gu is an example of this. But, to answer your last question, yes it is possible for one Path, not just the Shadow Path to mimic the Path of another, for example the Fire Path. The easiest way to achieve this, is to become a Grandmaster in the Shadow Path".

Yu Xiaolong saw Tai Yang's face become somewhat uncomfortable with that thought, realizing the immense difficulty behind it. 

"Another way is to become proficient in both Paths, although, needless to say, that comes with its own difficulties. But theoretically, shadows carry some of the traits of their reflection. At least, those living beings with Dao Marks at least. Even if we, as humans, do not carry innate Dao Marks like the Ten Extreme Physiques, or Variant Humans, we can transform ourselves in order to... enhance those blank features".

"Ice Muscles Gu and Jade Bones Gu. Wolf Soul Gu and Shadow Soul Gu. Inferno Blood Gu and Cloudwater Blood Gu. Flower Heart Gu and Swift Wind Lungs Gu. All of these Gu are from different Paths, and yet they can enhance our mundane qualities beyond that of any mortal limits. Humans do not carry qualities such as "ice muscles" or "cloudwater blood", yet we can with Gu".

"If you were to think of the Human body as a Gu with the ability to take the abilities of other Gu, then yes, it should be possible. Something like shadows can gain the characteristics of "fire", water can gain the characteristics of "blood" and Humans can gain the characteristics of a myriad Paths. Humans are considered Gu materials after all".

Xuanyuan paused for a moment blinking multiple times.

"Wait... what did I just say?".