The Antithesis

Bah, whatever… I'll ask later…

Jean: Kiddo, since you finally woke up from such a long slumber in the Sky Poison Pearl, can you at least tell me your name?

The kid didn't answer, as if she didn't hear him, however Jean received his answer after some minutes.

?: Jasmine.

Jean: Jasmine? Huh… I thought that you would have a chinese name…

Jasmine: What is chinese?

Jean: Don't mind it… 'I forgot that here the concept of Chinese doesn't exist…'

Jasmine glanced at Jean for a moment before she said.

Jasmine: Your question, this princess had already answered it. Now, it's time for you to answer this princess' questions. Where in the world, did you obtain the Sky Poison Pearl!

Jasmine was too near for Jean's comfort so he slightly pushed her away and said.

Jean: Calm down woman, I will answer it anyway since you are stuck with me… My master passed it on to me. But I don't know where he got it and now he is 7 feet under the ground.

Jasmine stared at his eyes for three seconds and spoke again with a mechanical voice.

Jasmine: Sky Poison Pearl, ranked fifth in the seven Heavenly Profound Treasures; limitless inner space, can counteract all poisons, refine all ingredients. When appeared for an instant one thousand and three hundred years ago, the whole world turmoiled to obtain it, then it disappeared without a trace.

I didn't expect, that it actually landed into a wastrel who just started cultivating. And even fused with your body! What ridiculousness. I don't know whether this Sky Poison Pearl had lost its spirituality, or its spirit had thoroughly become insane!

Ranked 5th, then there are 4 more…

Jasmine: If the Sky Poison Pearl would even fuse with a wastrel like you, there is no reason it wouldn't fuse with this princess!

Then Jean was caged in killing intent, but he kept calm and confident. A cold gale slammed Jean against a tree trunk behind him, before the girl appeared in front of him and tightly gripped his throat.

Jean: Heh… Funny.

Jasmine: Tch… I'll give you two choices. Your first choice, obediently turn over the Sky Poison Pearl to this princess. The other is that this princess will take the Sky Poison Pearl from your dead body after I take your life!

Jean: ...Heh… Hahahahaha!

He seemed to have gone mad in Jasmine's opinion, however, in Jean's point of view, it was as if he was told a big joke.

Jasmine: What, you have gone already insane?

Jean: No… It's just that I would be intimidated if… If I didn't knew anything. Sorry but today is almost impossible for you.

Jasmine: Don't be cocky, I need a single finger to reduce you to dust.

Jean: And that's the problem, now I will tell you the two reasons about why you can't kill me. The first one is that we are linked, from what I noticed, your body is semi-ethereal, and you needed my blood to forcefully use the Sky Poison Pearl, meaning that your soul became linked to me.

However, this link is one-sided, meaning that if either you or me would die, the one that's really fucked is you, if you die then nothing happens, but if I die then you will follow me back to Hell.

An intense shock swayed through the depth of Jasmine's eyes and slowly let go of Jean's neck, his smile turned into a frown when he started to cough and the cough turned into puke due to the sudden stimulation to his throat and absence of air.

Jasmine: You don't actually seem to be as useless as you look. How could you tell?

Jean: Heh… *Cough* Because I'm a really skilled doctor, and since you are able to consolidate your soul into a body, you must be someone at the Emperor Profound Realm.

Jasmine: Emperor Profound Realm? What's that?

Jean: ...Nigg-Ugh…

Shockingly for both Jean and Jasmine, a knife was embed on his throat, Jasmine and Jean turned towards the direction that the knife came from, and found Xiao Jiu with an extended arm.

Jasmine had an horrified face at what happened to Jean while the latter was grinning.

Jean: Don't… Touch him…

Jasmine: What?! You are dying! I'm not going to follow you without killing that guy!

Jean: Heh, dying? When you… stay long enough with me… you will realize that it's the hardest thing to do *cough*… Just watch…

Before he could die, he used "Antithesis" on Xiao Jiu, and Jasmine saw how the wound and the knife disappeared from his neck with something that looked like a signal interference on her vision, and her eyes opened in shock.

Jasmine: Wha-

Xiao Jiu: Guh…

She turned around and saw the same knife on his neck, and he was trying to block the flow of the blood with a terrified expression. Jean stood up and dusted himself, then he said.

Jean: This is the second reason that you can't kill me, it doesn't matter how much you hurt me, you can't kill me unless I let you do it. 'Or you are fast enough to kill me without even making me realize it, but saying that would lose the meaning of intimidating someone so strong…'

Xiao Jiu kneeled in the ground and died of blood loss, then Jasmine turned towards Jean with a surprised expression.

Jasmine: What did you do!?

Jean: I might tell you in future, but I'll not tell you every secret I have just like that.

Jasmine's eyebrow twitched before she took deep breaths.

Jasmine: Whatever…

?: Awooooooo….

A long wolf howl suddenly sounded out from a nearby location, Jean narrowed his eyes and told Jasmine.

Jean: Let's go, I am not that eager to use my ability without a real reason.

Jasmine nodded and both of them left the place, which was quickly approached from a wild wolf that started to eat the corpse that was in the ground.

When they reached a safe place, Jean took deep breaths and sat over a stone, then he looked at his watch because a message came before.

*Achievement: "Murderer": (1 person) You are going on that path, aren't you?*

*Reward: Murderer's Knife*

The Murderer's Knife was only a simple bloody kitchen knife that released an eerie feeling, so he just placed it on the Sky Poison Pearl. Jasmine just thought that he randomly took it from the Sky Poison Pearl and put it back since she didn't looked around when she woke up.

Jasmine: Any reason that you just started cultivating now?

Jasmine's question attracted a bit Jean's attention and answered honestly since he didn't seen any problem with hiding it because they were connected, but he held the method he used as a secret.

Jean: I just repaired my Profound Veins two days ago, I had disabled Profound Veins before, so I thought about using certain items to repair my Profound Veins, however there was a "Certain" thing that happened two days ago and now I have completely new Profound Veins.

Jasmine: You got new Profound Veins from disabled ones!? ...And they are completely open!? How did you do that!?

She was shocked because even if one would fix one's Profound Veins, they could open at least 3 Profound Entrances, but he even has the Heavenly God's Spiritual Veins!

Jean: Not. Telling. You!

He winked at Jasmine, making her click her tongue to how few answers she received from him.

Jean: However, if I feel good enough I can give you your own Heavenly God's Spiritual Veins. I am still a skilled doctor.

Jasmine: I don't need that… Wait, you can open all the Profound Entrances?!

Jean: Yeah. Anything to say?

Jasmine: … *Sigh* If I stay here all day wondering things I might die of old age… Well, you saved this princess' life, so I shall repay you… But if you promise this princess three conditions. Then, this princess will immediately let you have a new set of profound veins. Profound Veins that will turn yours into a joke, Profound Veins that came from a real God!

Jean's eyes widened at that statement, Profound Veins that came from a real God?!

Jean was one full of ambition, so to reach the apex, he really needed something like that to achieve his dreams, besides, he doesn't have much to lose, except for the watch and his life.

Jean: ...Continue.

Jasmine sighed in relief that he accepted and said.

Jasmine: The first condition, you must promise to help this princess find three items… They are: A stalk of Netherworld Udumbara Flower, three Profound Beast Cores no lower than that of the Tyrant Profound Realm as well as at least 35 kilos of Purple Veined God Crystal.

Jean: ...Say what…?

When he heard about the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, he thought that it was easy to get it, he just need to find one.

Normally that plant has the ability to making people fall in coma or death, however thanks to the Almighty, or an ability he still hasn't discovered yet, he is immune at that, better yet, he can create one with "Visionary", even if it will last 1 day.

The problem was at the second request, the Tyrant Profound Cores, first of all, their numbers weren't high, it was hard to find them. Second, he couldn't currently kill them now, third, he doesn't know how they felt, he knows only the looks, so he needs 1 to make 2 more with "Visionary".

Then there is the last one… 35 kilos of Purple Veined God Crystal, not Purple Veined Heaven Crystal, but Purple Veined God Crystals!

Let alone being unable to imagine that much with the "Visionary", he never seen them! He only knows that that shit could be gained from a house sized Purple Veined Heaven Crystal, and you could get only as much as one fingernail!

He didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry, if you don't understand, think about Adventure Quest World, there is a quest that if you collect certain items, you will get the Champion of Chaos' armor, now multiply the difficulty, for someone who doesn't have any single item of the required ones, for 15x, and here it is.

Jasmine: The poison has invaded my soul; even with the Sky Poison Pearl, it would take a number of years before it would detoxify completely. After the poison on me had detoxified, I would have to rebuild my body. And these three items are necessary for me to rebuild my body, not a single one is dispensable!

Jean: … How much time?

Jasmine: Thirty years!

Jean: ...I'll think about something. Next?

Jasmine: The second condition; you must, within thirty years, reach the Sovereign Profound Realm!

Jean: ...Possible....

He looked at his watch, if it had something miraculous that would let him get stronger, then he could do it.

Jasmine: Then, will you agree or not?

Jean: Of course I agree! However, why do you need me to reach that stage?

Jasmine: A human's vitality is related to their own Profound Strength. This princess' weak body currently originates from your vitality. This princess wants to rebuild her body and retain her previous strength, so this princess must at least have the vitality of the Sovereign Profound Realm!

Jean: …"At least"?

Jasmine: That's right.

Jean: Hah, so the Divine Profound Realm isn't the end… Neat. Third one?

Jasmine: The third condition… Kneel down and worship me as your master!

Jean: …

Jasmine: …

Jean: How old are you?

Jasmine: 13 years old.

Jean: What can you do?

Jasmine: I can teach you legendary Profound Arts and guide you in your way to the Sovereign Profound Realm.

Jean: No kneeling shit, I can accept you as my master, but I'm not kneeling to a little girl I found in the bloody edge of the world.