Chapter 267: Some Bonding Between Angels

  It was finally time for the Qi Consolidators to begin their part in the Grand Tournament. After multiple days of watching the smallest group go at it, it was impossible to contain the excitement flowing within the Qi Consolidators. They learned much watching the Qi Gatherers and couldn't wait to put what they learned into use to impress the elders. It was a giant wake-up call for the geniuses in the sect.

  They couldn't win this tournament just by being themselves. Individual talent and strength really meant nothing in these team battles. The elders were directly looking for individuals capable of working with others and working with them well. An entirely new dimension of exploration for these heaven-born geniuses used to doing everything themselves.

  It made sense after all. Inside the Golden Serpent Sect, playing nice isn't something you see much at all. This sect embodied the phrase, "The strong thrived while the weak died." There was no mercy or forgiveness for those that are weak inside the sect. You either attached yourself to the strong like a parasite, became strong, or died.

  Jing believed this do or die mentally overall wasn't something beneficial for the sect. Maybe during the early creation of it, but just as times change, so should we. If you aren't changing with the times, you are foolish. Life is an endless cycle of change, adaptation, and struggle. It really is amazing to Jing that these centuries and millennia-old humans are completely unaware that they are stagnant in time and history because of their stubbornness to continue doing things the same way they've always been. How did they evolve from monkeys at all in this world? If they even did in the first place...

"What're thinking about?" Ying asked her.

"Do you believe in evolution?" Jing asked, staring into her eyes.

"Evolution...?" Ying questioned. "Like getting stronger over time?"

"Nevermind." Jing shook her head. "Evolution is a gradual process based on survival and procreation. Better strength could be one of the outcomes of evolution but that's not its purpose." She informed.

"I haven't heard of that either." Wan added in, slightly curious.

"Neither have I." Shang nodded.

"I see. Well, it's nothing you can't physically see for thousands or maybe until a million years have passed since your birth. Unless you have some sort of martial art capable of affecting time itself." Jing explained.

"I never heard of a legendary martial art like that." Jie replied.

"You're right. There might not be a single one in all of existence." Jing responded.

"Why does it sound like you're going to be the first one to find it...?" Bing softly muttered.

"I don't think so." Jing showed a small smile. "Control over time is something too powerful for mortals to handle. The world itself would be at your mercy with enough time and with control over time, who's to stop you?" Jing remembered back to her Heart Demon Test.

  10,000 lives was only enough to conquer a single continent. Just how many times would she have to restart if she had to take over this entire planet? A billion? A quadrillion? Not to mention those all-powerful immortals capable of wiping memories.

"I never thought about it like that." Runt was a little confused about all this talk about time.

"Time is very important! If I had control over time, I would make myself as beautiful, elegant, and as strong as I could!" Lin Shu excitedly shared.

"That's such a waste. Who cares about being elegant and beautiful when you could make so much money from controlling time?" He Wenqing shook his head in disagreement.

"Appearances are everything!" Lin Shu argued back.

"..." Xiucai thought it would only make things easier to kill people with control over time.

"I could grow my herbs more effectively with time." Lei Zhi spoke up.

"That's true." Bing shook his head in agreement. "I could instantly make food ready for myself instead of having to wait."

"Seriously? An incredible world-changing ability and you two would use it for something so small!?" Ying couldn't help but get a little irritated.

"Then how would you use it?" Bing asked.

"To shorten the time needed to train. Training is such a hassle..." Ying sighed.

"I would probably do the same." Jie backed her up. After her torture training from Jing, she understood the positives and negatives of training. It felt absolutely amazing afterward but during it, it was hell.

"I would use my control overtime to try and make everything go perfectly." Wan Qing had to think for a moment.

"Maybe if I had control over time, I could've stopped myself back then..." Jue figured.

"It would be difficult for people you care about to die with this ability." Runt also realized.

"Wait, are we thinking of the same ability?"

"Couldn't we make ourselves just never age!?"

"What about other people or does it only work for ourselves?"

"That's a good point... If it only worked on me, I don't think I'd find much use out of it."

"What!? How!? You could basically know everything that would happen or you could never get old!"

  Jing didn't show it on her face but she was very pleased to see how closely her angels were discussing such a random topic with all this fervor and excitement. It made her feel that she wasn't a failure of a leader and could have them connect and grow bonds with one another. Initially, Jing never felt like a proper leader due to how she put herself at a distance from her followers. They kind of did what she asked for rewards and that was it. She didn't think she was wrong to do so but it definitely wasn't the best method in fostering good relations and bonds.

  She wanted her angels to feel like family eventually. Either to each other or the stability that a good family has while in the group. Not threatened, scared, or anything like that. Of course, problems will arise even with this but that's normal. Nothing is perfect.

  Jing could refine a lot of things but perfection was difficult if not straight-out impossible. You couldn't make people perfect no matter how hard a person tried. Jing herself was no exception to this. She could refine herself countless times but it's only through acquired experience, relationships with others, and wisdom can one improve themselves.

  Jing showed a small smile as she generated a tendril of water, picked up Ying in a heated discussion, and tossed her in the ring. She wasn't expecting to be grabbed and tossed in the large ring so she was caught off guard by the sudden appearances of two strangers around her. Jing waved and mouthed her good luck. The giant sword wielder was too busy defending her point about the best way of using time control to her advantage against the others who also defended their own points about it. Ying didn't notice that her number was called and could've been expelled from the sect for not showing up.

  In a "friendly" competition such as thing, there was no reason for one to be a coward. The purpose of this competition was not to win but to see if you can work well with others and show off your useful talents besides strength! A coward who wasn't even risking their life and couldn't fight was absolutely worthless to the Golden Serpent Sect. Not to mention she went through two tests before this one and passed. How could someone capable of dealing with their heart demons and capturing ghosts not be able to fight with human beings? It didn't make sense on a fundamental level.

"How much do you want to bet she loses?" He Wenqing softly muttered while rubbing his hands.

"5 spirit stones." Lin Shu declared.

"..." Xiucai put up 10 spirit stones.

"You got some apprentices Lei Zhi..." Bing weakly chuckled, not participating at all.

"They're young..." Lei Zhi felt that youth was the best time to make mistakes.

"I'll bet 100 spirit stones she'll win." Wan Qing smiled.

"100, eh? I'll double that. 200, she loses." He Wenqing smirked.

"50, she loses." Runt added in his part.

"I'll put 50, she wins." Shang decided to join in with the others. He had a good impression of Yue.

"Oooh! Four for losing and two for winning! Anyone else want in?" He Wenqing looked at his master and Bing. He was a bit afraid to look over at Jing.

"500, she wins!" Li Li placed down a spirit ring in the pile of stones.

"Four for losing and three for winning! Anyone else?! The match is about to start soon!"

"She'll definitely kill me if I bet on her losing, won't she?" Bing looked over at Lei.

"I think you know the answer to that question better than I do." Lei smiled.

  The two both bet their stones on Ying winning. The bet ended with Ying's victory being in favor. Most of the older angels believed in Ying while the newer ones didn't. Everyone watched the match with a new sense of excitement and fervor. Money was on the line and there was a lot to gain thanks to Li Li.