by Virlyce
Hmm. What does placate mean? It rhymes with exterminate. The definition should be similar. “And you want Lucia to take care of that?”
“Right. After all, she was the fuse that started it all.” The sect leader smiled and nodded. I didn’t like his smile either. It was a friendly smile, but every time Roland gave me a friendly smile, I’d always end up in a horrible situation. Nothing good comes from a friendly smile. That’s why I always smile at Lucia when I’m about to begin strenuous training with her. “Of course, I don’t expect Junior Lucia to accomplish this by herself. Chosen Moonlight here will be going with you as well as a few elders from the sect. There will also be a mission in the task hall for any disciple to volunteer too.”
Softie whispered, “I-I’m going too, Grandfather?” But I don’t think the sect leader heard her, or if he did, he pretended not to.
Anyway, this task seems simple enough. “Let me get this straight. Since Lucia refuses to have a master within the sect, you feel she’s not completely trustworthy. To gain your trust, she has to placate the sects that were caught up in the massacre that she started during the cultural exchange.” Hmm. Something’s off. “But earlier, it seemed like you were willing to do anything to incorporate Lucia into the sect. Why does she suddenly have to prove herself now?”
“Like you said”—the sect leader nodded—“she’s refused to take on a master. That’s refusing to give our Shadow Devil Sect face, and many elders won’t like her disrespectful actions. Personally, I don’t mind, but for a tranquil future in our sect, Junior Lucia has to show the sect her worth. Of course, if she takes on a master, her master will be able to vouch for her and all of this won’t be necessary.”
Well, it seems like Lucia’s going to placate some sects. I’m not refusing a master for her out of jealousy or insecurity; placating sects seems like a good method of training. As Lucia’s teacher, I have to provide abundant opportunities for her to grow. And exploring the Immortal Continent should provide plenty of experience. Besides, Lucia has to go to the four sects she learned cultivation techniques from to rob…, appropriate them of resources necessary to advance those skills. Cultivating the Immortal Poison Body will be a lot easier if she has access to the Great Poison Sect’s poisons. After all, I can’t get lucky all the time and find pouches with live poisonous beasts inside of them. Apparently, the satchel that I have on my waist belonged to some beast-taming sect’s elder. Inside was a snake, the same one that bit Lucia, and an eagle. I’m not sure why those two beasts haven’t killed each other yet, but I’m not going to separate them. I only have one satchel.
“Have you thought it over?”
“Yes. Lucia will placate the sects.”
“Very well.” The sect leader nodded and a rolled-up scroll appeared in his hand. “This is a list of all the sects we’ve caused issues with. Chosen Moonlight’s received an extensive education and should know where they’re all located. Take good care of her. You will depart in a week.”
Chapter 11
This past week was hell. There’s simply no other way to describe it, and I’m very good at describing things! Not only have I been practicing Madness Strikes, but I’ve also been working on my Impenetrable Shell and Footsteps of the Giant. Durandal said I only had a week to improve my strength, so he decided to, as he calls it, expedite my training. That means practicing all three at the same time.
Footsteps of the Giant is actually a pretty neat technique that I like a lot. When the giant walks, who dares bar its path!? That’s the technique’s motto. Doesn’t it sound super-duper awesome and perfectly tailored for me? Anyways, it’s really useful. I extend tendrils of qi out of my feet as if I’m a tree and my qi tendrils are roots, and by doing so, I’m firmly rooted into place and can’t be moved. Actually, I can extend qi tendrils out of any part of my body and stick them into any object other than the ground even though Softie said that wasn’t supposed to be possible unless I had really, really large meridians. Supposedly, the meridians in normal people’s feet are large, so it’s easy to send qi out of them. I guess that means I have really, really large meridians, or I’m special. I knew I was special. Only a special person could find the Godking’s legacy! …Bryant wasn’t special because he died.
Ahem. Anyways, like I was saying. I can walk on walls and on ceilings with the Footsteps of the Giant. Eh? I wasn’t saying that? Well, I just said it. I can firmly root myself in place by spreading my qi into the ceiling. So of course, Durandal’s had me perform everything upside down, including Madness Strikes, eating, sleeping, and even nighttime activities. It’s extremely difficult when only one person is able to glue themselves to the ceiling. I’m really glad I have a tail that works like an extra limb. Who wants to be a weak-tailed crowkin anyway?
As for Impenetrable Shell…, it’s like an Armor of Slaughter that I have to focus on using. It’s hard. I can barely follow a single train of thought; how am I supposed to multitask with an active shield too? But to train the Impenetrable Shell, Durandal’s been helping me. Helping…. Right, he’s definitely helping…. Gah! He’s just using this practice as an excuse to beat me up and test his techniques! I’ve been hit by more sword techniques in this past week than I’ve taken shits in my life! And I can’t even kill him because then I’ll be punishing myself if he disappears for a week. Life’s not fair. Humph.
Why haven’t I been practicing the Immortal Venom Body? That’s simple! When Durandal tried to get the snake to bite me again, I bit its head off. Mm. Squirrels and snakes have a very volatile relationship. The one who doesn’t want to be bitten must bite first! I’m sure that’s a saying somewhere in the world. If not, then it’s a saying now. Softie’s been throwing a lot of sayings at me, stuff like: What’s seen can’t be unseen; please don’t strip me. And, there is no medicine for regret; please stop stripping me. And, the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire, stay strong, Soft Moonlight; please stop touching me, Lucia. All these sayings are so profound. I wonder what Softie’s trying to tell me. I’m sure I’ll figure it out one day.
But who cares about one day? The hellish week is finally over! It’s time to set off and placate some sects! Durandal told me I received a mission to eradicate the sects, but Softie corrected him. I have a list of four hundred sects to visit and fully infest with heart devils. People can’t be angry at you if they’re completely terrified of you, right? Terrorizing when brought to the extreme is also a form of placating. Mm. Softie told me it would be a good experience, and from what I can tell, since the whole Shadow Devil Sect is filled with sadists, a good experience for them is defined as torturing others to plant heart devils in them. Clearly, they want me to torture the lesser sects.
“You’re thinking too hard again, Lucia. Steam’s coming out of your head.”
Eh? It’s Ilya! “Ilya! Why are you here?”
“You’re … crushing me….”
Hmm. After eating over a thousand aurochsen, my physical strength increased again. I can’t be blamed for hugging Ilya too hard. “Oops.”
Ilya sighed and cast a healing spell on herself. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those. I’ve asked Softie if she had any healing spells because the snake also bit my tongue when I bit its head off, but apparently healing techniques aren’t very common amongst Immortal Continent natives. They use drugs instead. Lots and lots of drugs…. During this week, I’ve seen Softie eat seven whole bottles of pills, and all she did was sit cross-legged in her cave. Of course, I couldn’t let her live life like that, so I dragged her out every so often when it was time to eat. For some reason, she gets really annoyed when I do that, and she even spat out blood once, but all her resentment disappears when I stuff her face with food! As a trustworthy food peddler once told me, the fastest way to cheer someone up is through food! Now that I think about it, every time I asked that peddler a question, the answer was always buy more of my food. Well, food’s never not solved any of my problems, so she was right!
“Did you hear any of what I ju
st said?”
…Was Ilya talking? “Uh. You said I was crushing you. Mm.”
Ilya sighed again. “You never change. I’m not sure why I expected you to.” She shook her head. Did she grow a little taller? Maybe I shrank…. “Are you listening now?”
“Yes! Loud and clear!” I’m paying attention. Mhm. Focus, Lucia. Pretend you consumed a focus bone. How does that feeling feel like? Hmm. Ah, Ilya’s mouth stopped moving. I’ll just nod and pretend I heard. “Uh-huh. Sure. Got it.”
Ilya slapped her forehead with her palm. Then she sighed again. That’s three sighs in less than two minutes! She must be feeling pretty sad, huh? I wonder if it’s because she misses her dad. How does it feel like to miss her parents? I’m sure I felt it way back when but repressed those memories because they were too miserable. Mm. I’ll rub her ears to cheer her up.
“W-what are you doing?”
There’s no way Ilya can escape from my grasp! Ah, but I still haven’t figured out what she was here for. “So. Why are you here?”
“Can you let go of my ears?”
I can, but I won’t. So I shook my head.
“My master forced me to volunteer for the sect-placating mission that you’re in charge of. Besides me, there’s another hundred thousand disciples who’ve signed up.”
Wait. “I’m in charge of the mission?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Am I?” I thought I was just a bystander! If I’m in charge…, then that makes everything better! “That means everyone has to listen to me, right?”
“Well, yeah. Listening to the chosens was part of the task description.” Ilya’s face changed. What kind of expression is this? It’s hard to tell because I’m playing with her ears and the skin around her eyes keeps moving. “Please, order the disciples around responsibly.”
“Hah? You think I’m not a responsible person?”
“No, I don’t think that. I know you’re not responsible.”
Hey! I’m very responsible! If I wasn’t, would I have been put in charge of this mission? Hmph, hmph. I’ll show Ilya what it means to be a chosen of a sect! As a chosen of the sect, I have to…, uh, be responsible or something. Yeah. Softie tried telling me, but I was too busy trying not to die from Durandal’s attacks so I wasn’t listening. But the sect leader trusts me to teach these lesser sects their place! And I can’t betray that trust. Well, I could, but I wouldn’t gain anything from it, so I won’t.
***
This is my first time leaving the sect! I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I wonder what the outside world is like. I’ve read many, many books and seen a lot of images, but I’ve never experienced it for myself. My grandfather always kept an eye on me and never let me take any tasks that’d bring me outside. Since my parents died before I could even remember them during a skirmish against the White Crane Sect, my grandfather pays extra care towards me. I was shocked when my grandfather said I’d be accompanying Lucia. But it’s not like he left me alone without any protection. “Elder Sky, you don’t have to watch over me when I’m in my room….”
Elder Sky didn’t respond. He was cultivating in the corner of my room on the flying airship that Lucia was driving towards the Little Clam Sect. Was he even paying attention? What if I left right now? I stood up, and Elder Sky’s eyes instantly snapped open. “Did Junior Moonlight need something?”
“I wanted to stand on the deck….” If it’s my first time leaving the sect, it doesn’t mean anything if I’m stuck inside the airship the whole time!
“The sect leader sent me to guard over you, Junior Moonlight. I can’t guarantee your protection on the deck, but this room is reinforced with many defensive formations. You’re safe here. It’d take three earth-realm experts to force their way—”
Bang! The door flew off its hinges and crashed into the wall beside me. A corner of the door was firmly embedded in the hardwood next to my head. If the door had flew a little more to the right, I would’ve died. “Softie!”
“H-how did you break through the defensive formations!?” Elder Sky staggered to his feet and pointed at Lucia, the culprit who barged into a girl’s room without knocking.
“Eh? You’re not Softie. Did I get the wrong room?” Lucia blinked twice before her gaze landed on me. “Ah! There you are! Help! I followed Durandal’s instructions and now we’re lost.”
But I was the one who told Durandal which way to go…. How are we lost?
“C-Chosen Lucia! The defensive formation!” Elder Sky looked like he wanted to strangle Lucia. I used to feel that way about her, but then I realized how hopeless it was. Besides, she’s a little cool and valiant when she kicks open doors like that. Though I’d appreciate it if the doors would stop ending up so close to my head.
“Defensive formation….” Lucia tilted her head to the side. Her tail twitched a few times, and the qi that was powering the formation crackled around her fur like lightning. “Are we under attack?”
“Why are you asking me!?”
“Cause you’re the one who brought up defense!” Lucia’s ears perked up as her shoulders inched upwards. “Why are you yelling at me!?”
Lucia doesn’t like being yelled at. She told me it reminds her of the times when she’d be whipped for not following directions properly…. At first, I didn’t believe her because, well, who in their right mind would offend Lucia? But then I saw some scars on her back when she was changing. …It’s not like I was watching her strip! S-she just took off her clothes in front of me without warning! Nothing happened between us! She just changed clothes and that’s it!
“Mm. That’s what I thought.” Lucia nodded at Elder Sky, who seemed to be paralyzed out of shock. Then she ran up to me and lifted me by my waist. Before I could even scream, wind was blowing my hair into my face, and I was on the deck of the airship. And it wasn’t like Grandfather’s instant teleportation. Lucia just ran really, really fast. My stomach’s nauseous. Lucia dropped me onto the floor without warning, and I had to channel some qi to land on my feet properly. “Okay. I brought her, Durandal! Get off the steering wheel!”
This is what it’s like outside the sect! It’s … the same exact sky as inside the sect. And the people on the airship outside of the sect are the same people that I’d see inside the sect. I think my expectations may have been too high. Well, I’ll figure out where we are since that’s what Lucia requested of me. Judging by the position of the sun, clouds, and endless sea of green beneath us…, I have no clue where we are. If the stars were out, I would know, but it’s not nighttime yet. But Lucia’s counting on me! And shuffling me towards the steering wheel….
“Alright, Softie. Do your stuff.” Lucia’s eyes were like brilliant dewdrops: so clear, so enticing…. If she puts on such an expectant face, I can’t tell her I don’t know where we’re going!
I took in a deep breath and looked behind myself. There were nine hundred ninety-nine other airships following ours. We should’ve arrived at the Little Clam Sect by now if we were heading the right way. But since we haven’t and we haven’t run into any other sects, that can only mean we’ve gone the complete opposite direction and headed towards Hong County instead. Then to get to where we want to go, we have to do a complete about-face. That’s a massive loss of face for us as leaders…. The first hour of the expedition and we completely reverse directions? I, I guess it can’t be helped.
After making a giant loop around, it took around two hours for us to reach the first sect. Thankfully, it was also the Little Clam Sect. I managed to salvage Lucia’s mistake…. Phew. I didn’t betray her expectations. “Lucia, we’re here.”
“Whoa!” Lucia ran to the edge of the airship and leaned over the side. I sincerely thought she was going to fall off, but she—did!? Oh, she caught the railing with her tail. I thought she was going to die. “Ilya, look! It’s a giant testicle!”
…A what?
“That’s a clam, Lucia.”
“Which mortal dares insult this great clam!?” Well, that’s
the guardian beast of the Little Clam Sect. The Little Clam Sect was founded by the offspring of a sky-realm clam. It’s still not fully mature, so it’s only a high-high-ranked saint-realm expert. With Lucia’s nonsensical physical strength and Elder Sky’s cultivation, there’s no way the guardian beast can defeat us. Unless it decides to sacrifice its lifeblood and boost itself to the earth realm.
“Clam…. That’s seafood, right? That means it’s edible?” Drool was pooling in the corner of Lucia’s mouth.
“I will not stand for such disrespect!” The guardian beast of the Little Clam Sect was glowing. It seemed to be gathering qi. Does it not see the fleet of a thousand ships in the air? Why is it acting so rashly? Could it be the, the tes…, test…, the insult that Lucia called the clam caused…? Oh! Lucia must’ve planted a heart devil in it since she’s already cultivating the tenth layer of the Heart Devil Cultivation Technique.
***
I learned my lesson. Clams taste horrible. They’re so chewy and slimy and gross and exactly what I’d expect something that looked like that to taste like. At least killing the clam planted heart devils in every single one of the people who worshipped the clam. Why would they worship something so weak anyway? It couldn’t even take thirty Madness Strikes before its shell broke apart, and once I got a good hit on the soft and squishy parts, it died instantly. Eh? I’m a murderer now? That’s impossible. Clams aren’t people. You can only murder people. It doesn’t matter if the clam could speak; it simply doesn’t count.
Anyways, I distributed the rest of the clam meat to my underlings—there was a lot of it; everyone got at least two servings—and I kept the beast core to myself! Of course, I instantly absorbed it before Durandal could take it away like the other beast cores I found during that cultural exchange. Surprisingly, it got easier to control the Impenetrable Shell technique after doing so. It’s a shame there was only one clam. If I could master Impenetrable Shell, Durandal wouldn’t have an excuse to hit me anymore! But alas, there was only one. Woe is me. On the bright side, the clam said something about its sky-realm father coming to hunt me down once its death was discovered! I’m looking forward to it. Its beast core will definitely improve my Impenetrable Shell to levels where Durandal can’t pierce it. Mm. Too bad clams can’t walk though. The father clam will probably never be able to find me.