Between a rock and a hard place, Xianxia style

"Senior Yang, I got all the techniques from the library as you instructed"

I looked at the junior disciple whom I had asked to get all the cultivation techniques from the library and nodded as he put down the many tomes in his hand and headed out.

The fool must have thought that I did not notice the trace of contempt in his eyes when he looked at me.

Truly, in this world, the only thing that matters is strength and since I have become a 'waste' so to speak, I am no longer worthy of the junior disciples paying any respect to me despite still being the son of the sect master.

Although I did not care much about that since I already have a plan for it.

In the last few days that I have spent investigating my body with all the knowledge that I had from both my lives and the Avatar add-on.

The first thing I noticed was a secondary meridian network that did not exist in my body previously. Thanks to my Avatar knowledge, I recognized them to be the Chi pathways that are required for me to use my bending techniques.

This leads to the major difference between the Chi from the avatar world and the Qi f this world.

Chi is something that all living things have in the Avatar world. It is an internal energy that can constantly regenerate.

Qi is ambient energy that is present in this world externally. Living beings harness this energy using their cultivation techniques, and in the case of the Demonic beast, using their instincts, and then internalize that energy to improve their body and spirit.

In theory, all I need to do is combine the cultivation techniques with my bending techniques to create a perfect way for me to harness Qi and then convert it to Chi in my Dantian to fuel my bending and improve my body at the same time, making me far superior to any other cultivator.

But in practice, it was much harder to do.

The first hurdle came from the fact that my Qi meridians and my Chi meridians were completely separated, meaning that I will have to find a way to combine those two systems together. The second problem came from the fact that while the Volcanic Flame technique is very compatible for me to start combining it with my Firebending, the rest of the cultivation techniques for other elements were very much inferior.

This made sense since the Volcanic Flame technique is an ancestral technique of the Volcanic Flame sect that has been continually refined for more than a few thousand years by every generation of the Sect disciples while the rest are just techniques that the disciples picked up during their missions or as a reward, used mainly by those minority of disciples that were not attuned to the element of Fire.

Another problem is that there is no such thing as a printing press, meaning that all the knowledge regarding cultivation techniques is passed down verbally or by using those jade slip things. Books are considered a rare commodity and only the big sects even bother to write down the techniques in books.

That meant that the ten books in front of me are all the books currently available in the entire sect.

Because of the fact that these techniques were very inferior to the Volcanic Flame technique, I can only hope to compile a technique for myself that can only be used until the Qi refinement realm. Then, I will need to find higher quality techniques to combine with my bender knowledge.

As I was deeply immersed in the research of all the techniques and finding a way to combine my Chi and Qi, I felt a familiar Qi wave as the door opened and Xiuying walked in.

Her flaming red hair which was inherited from our mother was tied into a ponytail and her purple eyes stared at me with a guilty look.

While she looked just fine, the way she stood and her stance told me clearly that she was doing her best not to put too much pressure on her torso. With every movement, she hid a wince resulting from the pain in her wounds.

"…..Brother, I heard from father-"

"Xiuying, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed right now?"

I interrupted her, knowing that she would once again try to apologize for what happened in the ruins. Despite the fact that it was not really her fault.

The prince was an asshole plain and simple. There was no need for her to shoulder the blame for that guy.

In fact, Father had left this morning to meet a few old acquaintances so that he can gain their support in getting rid of the marriage between Xiuying and the third prince.

If my guess is right, Father will try to find a way to ally with either the First Prince or the only Princess. The second prince was out of the question since he is already allied with the Endless Seas sect, The rival sect of the Volcanic Flame sect.

She looked away guiltily from me as she slowly walked forward and sat down quietly as I continued working on my research.

"Brother, do you think father will succeed?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that there is no way we are allowing that man to get away with what he did without any consequences. Even though the Royal family is the strongest faction on the continent, the Volcanic Flame sect is one of the Wu Xing Sects. Not to mention that Father has a certain reputation that even the royal family is wary of. The third prince really messed up this time with his ambitions"

The Wu Xing sects are the sects that represent the cycles of the Wu Xing. Metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. Originally, the Wu Xing sects were the supreme power on the continent, but a thousand years ago, the Divine Thunder Emperor of that time attacked the sects for an unknown reason, resulting in the eradication of the Metal and Wood Sects.

It is said that the battle was so fierce that the peninsula that housed the Infinite Woods sect was destroyed completely, leaving behind a landmass that is roughly the size of Washington surrounded by constant whirlpools as a result of an ancient treasure that was used during the battle.

The Divine Metal sect also faced the same situation in which the entire sect was buried under a mountain during the battle. It is said that the disciples and elders of the sect were buried alive along with their sect.

The Volcanic Flame sect along with the Endless Seas sect and the Mountain Breaker sect are the only survivors of those dark times. Later on, the Heavenly Winds sect joined the ranks of the Wu Xing thanks to the many contributions that the sect made towards the Cultivation world and the royal family.

Xiuying bit her lips as she continued to stare at the ground.

Now that I think about it, why was the third prince so obsessed with that ring anyways?

"Xiuying, what was so special about that ring that you found in the ruins that he was willing to kill us to keep its existence a secret?"

"…."

She looked away from me and held her hand as if she was thinking about something before making a few motions with her hand, raising a barrier around the room.

….Since when did she learn to make Barrier formations? I have no recollection of her ever having studied formations, much less incorporeal formations that did not require a physical medium.

"Brother, what I am about to tell you is something that you must not tell anyone else. Even father"

Oi, why do I feel a sense of foreboding?

I nodded my head as she released a heavy sigh.

"Do you remember that time I went on an expedition to the Old Empire ruins?"

I simply nodded. 'The Old Empire ruins' is the name given to the northern half of the continent. It is a forbidden place that only the Royal family and the Wu Xing sects can go to. It was originally the most prosperous place on the continent three thousand years ago and is the progenitor of the current empire. It is said that the current Royal family is the direct descendants of the Royal family of the Old Empire.

Three thousand years ago, some kind of a disaster involving an Evil sect rendered the northern half of the continent inhospitable. Currently, the only place that is still alive and life-sustaining there is a section of the northernmost part of the continent that houses the Immortal Tree and the Demon Beast forest.

"During that expedition, I ended up receiving the inheritance of an ancient expert. That ring is one of the many treasures that he left behind throughout the continent for his successor to find. Somehow, the Third prince was aware of it and wanted to take it for himself"

At her words, I just stared at her in stunned silence.

Is this some kind of a joke? A plot within a plot?

Isn't the third prince the MC of this world? Then why the hell do you have the same kind of background as a protagonist as well?

Wait, was what happened in the ruins really her fault?

Now that I think about it, she somehow knew the exact way to enter the ruins without triggering any of the traps and knew exactly where to find the ring. She must have known the complete layout of the ruins beforehand thanks to her inheritance.

I rubbed my temples as I realized that I had not one but two protagonists I needed to steer clear of.

"Fine, I get it. For now, don't think about going on any other journeys to recover anyone's treasures"

She nodded and dropped the barrier before walking out of the room, leaving me to my own devices.

For the first time in the last few days, I felt a sense of urgency.

I really need to get strong if I am to survive with a protagonist as my sister.

…..Oi, wait a minute. No matter how I look at it, aren't I the ultimate cannon fodder in the case of both protagonists?

For the third prince, I am a disposable pawn that he controlled until he killed me. For my sister, I will be a great tool for the plot to kill off to make her achieve some kind of a bullshit power from grief.

Fuck. I need to get stronger ASAP and get as far away as possible from both of them.