by Virlyce
“Lucia.”
Hmm? “Durandal? Why’d you come out?”
Durandal’s forehead wrinkled as he rubbed his chin. “I think I’m about to break through to the earth realm…. There’s this strange feeling I’m getting.”
“Really?” How come Durandal cultivates so much faster than Puppers? I know Puppers spends more time being dead and all, but the disparity shouldn’t be this great. I think Puppers is still somewhere in the mid-ranked spirit realm. Or maybe he’s high-ranked now. Hmm.
“Yeah.” Durandal pulled a sword out of my interspacial ring and munched on it while looking up at the tribulation clouds. There was a red dome covering us, and a thread of qi extended from every sect member up to the barrier. The vortex in the clouds was still getting larger and larger and it was rumbling a lot. Even though it was just sound, the ground was trembling and the barrier fluttered. “I’m going to hide in mini-DalDal before that lightning falls.”
I wish I could hide too.
“It’s coming! Brace yourselves!” the elder with the cone shouted. With a boom, a pillar of lightning that was wider than a small town crashed onto the barrier. The whole world turned red, and I couldn’t see anything. Did I die? I tried to say something, but no sound came out. The roar of the thunder was too loud. I’ll pinch myself. Ow! Alright, I’m still alive unless I can feel pain after dying too. This…, if I didn’t have the Star Phoenix Sect volunteering to help me out, how the hell was I supposed to survive this!? How long has it been? Ten seconds? Twenty? Hmm. Maybe my eyes are broken? Everything’s still red. Oh! Unrelenting Path of Slaughter! There we go; I can see again. Eh…. Are those cracks on the barrier? And are they getting … bigger? The barrier broke! Gah! It hurts! Shit! It feels like my face is melting off! Impenetrable Shell, Armor of Slaughter! It, it’s not enough! I’ll pull random houses and buildings out of my interspacial ring to use as makeshift shields! They’re disintegrating, but at least they provide a little over a second of shelter each.
I didn’t count the number of buildings I went through, but the final pillar of lightning finally went away. My clothes had melted off, so I donned my pink and black robe that the Shadow Devil Sect had provided me. They had insisted I wear all black, but I didn’t want to look like an ordinary mook, so I requested a pink top to differentiate myself. It’s much comfier than the Star Phoenix Sect’s robe, but that’s probably because Ilya stole those tight robes from someone whose proportions didn’t match mine. I’m not fat! I deactivated my Path of Slaughter and looked around. Hmm. There’s a lot less people than I remember….
“Are the eggs safe!? W-wait! That pink and black robe…, those ears and fluffy tail! You’re Heart Devil Lucia!” The elders seemed to have survived; though, they looked a bit ragged. Now, while they’re still injured, I’ll take this chance to escape! Flee!
A fireball flew past my head and nearly burnt off my ears. “Stop right there!” If you want someone to stop, don’t throw fireballs at them! “Seize that foxkin!”
It’s a good thing that final pillar of lightning lasted for so long. I bet most of the disciples are blind right now and their ears should still be ringing, so it’ll be harder for them to notice me as I slip by. Why didn’t Durandal let me learn any stealth techniques? There were so many! The Slippery Loach Sect, the Fast Cockroach Sect, the Unseeable Sect, all of them had skills that I could use to steal food from places unnoticed, err, I mean, to escape from a mob of angry people! Durandal said it’d take ten times the effort to achieve half the result if I practiced a stealth technique because of my giant tail. I can be sneaky if I tuck my tail into my robe!
Speaking of Durandal…, he came out and grabbed me before I could run away from the crater. “It’s starting.” He pointed at the sky. “My tribulation.”
…Well, shit.
“Whoever catches that foxkin will receive—” The elder stopped midsentence and stared at me. I was back by his side as if I had never left at all. It seems like I can run faster after reaching the earth realm. “Uh. You came back? Are you going to return the holy eggs now?”
I copied Durandal and pointed at the sky. “It’s not over.”
The elder frowned at me before looking up. Then his face paled. “H-how?” He lifted the cone and brought it to his lips. “R-ready the defensive formation!”
A collective groan rang through the air. The Star Phoenix Sect members seemed to be in no position to do anything, much less ready a formation. One of the members knelt at the elder’s feet. “Ancestor! We’re in no position to defend against the rest of this tribulation! The whole sect is in ruins and over half of our disciples have perished! The ancestral beast has already fled! This, this isn’t an earth-realm tribulation. It’s a sky-realm’s!”
“We have no choice!” the elder lifted the cone and pointed it straight at the kneeling person’s face and yelled into it. “Disciples? We can always get more! Buildings? We can rebuild! Phoenix eggs? Fuck! Can your wife give birth to phoenixes!?”
“A-Ancestor….”
The elder raised the cone and whipped it across the kneeling person’s face. …Ouch, that must’ve hurt. The poor fellow went flying. “We defend this foxkin to the death! If the eggs are destroyed, our sect will cease to exist!”
Ah, I love being defended. It makes me feel like I’m wanted. The Immortal Continent’s been really nice to me.
***
The clouds have shrunk. They’re not nearly as thick and wide as Lucia’s were. I’m a little offended. Did this heavenly tribulation regard me as weaker than Lucia? Even though it’s true, I’d rather face an equally terrifying or even stronger tribulation than hers. But wishing for it won’t make it happen. I sighed as I placed my hands on my hips while chewing on an exquisite sword.
“Don’t worry, Durandal!” Lucia smacked my back, almost knocking me over. “You’ll be fine! We’ve got the whole Star Phoenix Sect backing us up. Well, what’s left of them at least.” She coughed and looked around before making a threatening gesture towards the pouch at her waist with mini-DalDal. “Isn’t that right? An unfortunate accident might happen if this tribulation fails!”
“R-right.” The ancestor with the cone had a smile on his face that looked more pained than excited. “We’ll do our best to help you pass your tribulation. You can count on us.”
The thing is … I don’t really want their help. When I really think about it, aren’t these tribulations trials of sorts? These are meant to be passed on your own! Did the first saint-realm expert in the Immortal Continent have people helping him pass his tribulation? Who would’ve helped him? Mortal-realm novices? No! He must’ve used his own strength to surpass the lightning. And that’s what I want to do. I’m not lazy or fearful like Lucia. Sure, I avoided my first tribulation because I had no clue what was going on, but I’m ready for this one. I’ve specifically cultivated techniques from all the lesser sword sects around that are effective against tribulations. And compiling them all, I’ve created my very own sword formation. How effective it’ll be against the tribulation…, I’m not sure. But I have to try.
I reached into Lucia’s interspacial ring and pulled out a thousand exquisite swords. Sending my qi into them, I had them hover around me in a neat circular formation that created a cylinder with the swords pointing away from my body. There were ten circular layers, with a hundred swords in each layer. It was a little difficult to sustain this many swords with my own qi alone, but I’m not going to draw on Lucia’s unless it’s absolutely necessary. The road to the peak is supposed to be one of solitude after all. Or should it? It’s not like I can leave Lucia.
“Durandal? What are you doing?” Lucia pushed aside some swords with her bare hands, not minding the metal edges, and tilted her head to the side.
“Getting ready to face the tribulation.”
Lucia’s head tilted even further to the side. “But … why?”
I snorted and rubbed Lucia’s ears while ruffling her hair. “Because I want to.”
“But what
if you die?” Lucia grabbed my sleeve with wide eyes. Was she that worried about me? No. She was most likely worried about how she’d take care of herself at night if I died and went missing for a week. After all, as long as she protects my core, nothing can happen to me.
“Then I’ll make it up to you later.” I pinched her nose, causing her to cry out. “Don’t worry, Lucia. Do you think I can’t handle a little bit of lightning? Look at the tribulation clouds. They’re not as ominous as yours.”
“This … isn’t her tribulation?” The ancestor had a strange expression on his face. “It’s yours? You’re a weapon spirit.” A familiar flash appeared in his eyes. Was that greed? I’ve seen Cottontail covet a lot of treasures, and her eyes always glinted the same way. But if this man thinks he can take me away from Lucia, he’s in for a rude awakening. “An earth-realm weapon spirit….” The ancestor lifted his cone and shouted, “This tribulation will be easier than before! Don’t lose hope!”
Hmm. If it weren’t for the fact that Lucia and I were isolated in a small space surrounded by enemies, I really would’ve faced this tribulation by myself. But since we’re in this situation, I might as well let the Star Phoenix Sect weaken the tribulation before taking part myself. It wouldn’t be good if I exhausted my energy and something unexpected happened that’d lead to a disaster. Though I want to overcome this trial by myself, Lucia’s safety is the most important thing. It’s still a shame. Suppressing my desires for the sake of Lucia, she’s not even going to praise me for this. But it’s my duty as a weapon spirit; why do I want praise? Hmm. The emotions that I shouldn’t have have been a bit unstable ever since I entered the saint realm.
Before I could think of an excuse to face the tribulation alone, the first bolt of lightning rained down. It collided against a barrier that the ancestor threw up and dispersed. The ancestor’s roaring laughter filled the air as he raised his cone to his lips. “This is a normal tribulation! A normal one! There are eight bolts of lightning remaining! Only the disciples will power the formation for the second and third strikes. Elders will power the formation for the fourth to sixth strikes. And everyone will power the formation for the last three strikes!”
It seems like there’s a science to tribulations. Another bolt of lightning crashed down. It was a little thicker than the previous one, but not by much. It crashed against the defensive formation that had reactivated, and the disciples powering it trembled. Lucia looked around with a disappointed expression on her face. “What’s this? Why isn’t it chaotic at all?”
This girl. When did she develop such a strong sense of schadenfreude? It’s wrong to derive pleasure from other people’s misfortunes. Who taught her such immoral things? Sheesh. I looked up at the barrier which was clearly weaker than it had been when Lucia’s final tribulation lightning fell. It seemed stable: no cracks, no fluctuations. Perhaps my tribulation would pass just like this. How disappointing. The third bolt of lightning rained down and crashed against the barrier, crackling with a bang before dispersing. The disciples who were powering the formation coughed out mouthfuls of blood as the barrier dimmed. Then the elders connected threads of qi to the barrier, causing it to brighten again. Did they not have to move around to gather more qi like they did with Lucia’s tribulation? Just what was wrong with Lucia to provoke such a huge one?
Lucia poked my side after waltzing through my formation of swords. “Is it just me, or is your tribulation a lot easier than mine? It’s not fair.”
Even Lucia realized the difference. That’s how obvious it was! “Mm. Well, I think it’s safe to say I’m favored by the heavens while you’re not.”
Lucia narrowed her eyes at me. Then she snorted before turning her head away. “Humph. Fine, be like that.”
Did I say something wrong? A crashing sound echoed through the dome. The fourth bolt of lightning was purple instead of white. The barrier didn’t even tremble as another two bolts of lightning rained down in succession. Before the elders could orient themselves or the disciples could add on their qi to the formation, a seventh bolt of red lightning roared like a dragon as it crashed against and pierced through the barrier like a spear through paper. I manipulated the swords around me above my head and into a pyramidical formation like a metal umbrella. The lightning surged against the wall of swords before crashing into the ground around me, spreading out like red snakes once they touched the earth. A few disciples screamed as they were slowly corroded away as the snakes lashed out at them. A few snakes of lightning crawled towards Lucia, but she punted them away with her tail, burning a few of her furs.
The Star Phoenix Sect didn’t have time to reactivate the formation, and the eighth bolt fell. Metal shattered as the swords above me snapped apart, causing the qi inside me to become turbulent. I coughed out a mouthful of blood as I snatched more exquisite swords from Lucia’s interspacial ring and had them replace the broken ones. The air hissed and the sky crackled as a vortex formed in the clouds. Dirt and ashes were lifted into the air, floating an inch above the ground as some sort of force prevented them from falling. The hairs on everyone’s heads spread outwards like afros, and a tingling sensation surged through my limbs. The final strike was coming!
“Hey, hey! Activate the formation, you bird worshippers!” Lucia kicked the ancestor with the cone before reaching into her pouch and pulled out a phoenix egg. She raised mini-DalDal over it, ready to break it apart with my weapon body’s hilt. “If anything happens to Durandal, I’ll smash this egg!”
The ancestor glared at Lucia, his eyes glinting at the egg and sword hovering over it, before shouting into the cone, “Ready the Soaring Phoenix Formation!”
The Star Phoenix Sect’s leader, who was next to the ancestor, widened his eyes. “T-the Soaring Phoenix Formation?”
Was there something wrong with the Soaring Phoenix Formation?
“Hurry up!” the ancestor shouted, his amplified voice causing my ears to ring. “We don’t have much time! Focus the formation on the weapon spirit!”
Fire sprang into life beneath my feet. What was this!? Wait. It wasn’t hot. Qi surged through my veins, and the swords above me took on a red hue. This clearly was a formation that amplified my strength. Perhaps the ancestor thought a defensive formation would be too dangerous if it were to break? Well, regardless, with this much support, I could take out another thousand swords to defend myself. It’s a shame not all of them were exquisite; despite the numerous number of sects we robbed, exquisite swords were hard to find.
The vortex in the clouds rotated faster and faster as it sucked in the surrounding clouds, shrinking the whole tribulation. The remaining lightning was condensing and spinning around, roaring like a trapped tiger. This is it! One man versus the heavens! Alone, I shall surpass this final strike of the tribulation! I forced all of my qi into my sword formation and launched it towards the vortex. The first to strike has the advantage! The swords howled as they split apart the air, flying upwards like a massive metal spearhead. As if provoked, the tribulation cloud flashed twice and roared before striking down with its condensed ball of red lightning. Like throwing paper into a fire, the swords at the forefront of the formation disintegrated as they made contact with the crackling ball, but I believed my sword formation could overcome it! In an instant, half the swords were gone and half the lightning had dispersed. But at that very moment, a fierce pain engulfed my chest and exploded outwards, setting my meridians ablaze with agony. I screamed as I lost control of my sword formation, and the ball of lightning crashed down unimpeded, filling my vision as it grew larger and larger until all I could see was red.
The next moment, when my vision finally returned, I was floating in a vast empty space filled with red light. Ahead of me, there was an animal that looked like a featherless chicken. It was pink and around the same size as me. Once it saw me, it’s eyes widened and it let out a shriek before dashing at me. What the hell was going on? Was this part of the tribulation? Whatever! It doesn’t matter! I’ll overcome any adversary even i
f it’s a featherless chicken!
***
Durandal died! That’s not too big of a deal, but mini-DalDal shattered! The tribulation lightning bolt ate Durandal’s spirit body and then his weapon body went crack! Then mini-DalDal broke to bits! Before I could do anything, Durandal’s spirit seed dropped out of mini-DalDal’s hilt and fell right onto the phoenix egg! Then it merged into it instead of bouncing off! This is a disaster of epic proportions! What’s going on!? “Hey! Durandal!” I’m going to smash this stupid egg and take him out!
“Wait! If you break that egg now, the spirit seed will disappear as well!”
…Huh? What was this elder saying…? I glared at him and stuffed the egg into my pouch. This was all his fault! “It was your formation, wasn’t it!? You caused Durandal to die!” That’s right! Durandal suddenly flared up and stopped mid-attack during the final lightning bolt. His swords just fell out of the sky! I reached for my waist and grabbed…, grabbed…, right. Mini-DalDal broke. What do I fight with now!? “Breaking Tail!”
The hateful man in front of me didn’t react as my tail swept from underneath and in between my legs. With a muffled thump and squelching sound, it crashed into the man’s jewels. His eyes widened as he vomited out a mouthful of blood and fell onto his face.
“Ancestor!” someone shouted. I didn’t know who, and I didn’t care either! I grabbed the fallen man by his neck and hoisted him into the air. If I didn’t have mini-DalDal, then I’d use a substitute blade! All of these bastards were responsible for that filthy trick that killed Durandal. I’m going to tear every single one of them to pieces!
My vision turned white, black, orange, and red as I activated my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter. I infused all my qi into my temporary weapon and swung him as hard as I could. Disciples went flying and my weapon lost a few limbs, but I kept bashing people with him. Bash, bash, bash. Bash, bash, bash. Bash, bash, bash. Bash, bash, bash. Bash, bash, b…. He broke. A twitch caught my eye and I looked down. Someone was trying to crawl away from me, so I grabbed his leg and replaced my weapon with him. People were running away from me, but when I had the thought to run after them, I teleported in front of them instead. What was this sorcery? Well, it didn’t matter!
