by Virlyce
“W-well, a smith who can create a sky-realm-ranked sword is obviously overflowing with riches; there’s no need for them to worry about money.” Softie grabbed my sleeve, her face bright red. What was up with her? Did she think I was going to run away? “The only way to convince them to forge you a weapon is as a favor. For normal people like us, that means we have to appeal to the people who are capable of receiving the smith’s favor.”
“…Appeal to people? Like prostitute ourselves?” I’m not doing that!
“N-no!” Softie’s hair whipped my face as she rapidly shook her head. “Not like that! The imperial family of Kang Country can give you a sky-realm-ranked sword if you establish good connections with them.”
“Is that the one that Lucia killed a prince of?” Ilya asked. I killed a prince? “He was the thirty-somethingieth archer at the cultural exchange.”
“No, that’s a different one.” Softie pursed her lips. “They’re the imperial family of King Province. The imperial family of Kang Country rules over them, and they aren’t related by blood.”
“Okay.” My head’s starting to hurt. “Tell me the easiest way to get a sky-realm-ranked sword, but make sure you explain it in such a way that a five-year-old can understand.” Right. Thinking too far ahead isn’t my strong suit. I just want to know what I have to do! I don’t care about any family or dead princes or any of that stuff. And if there’s no satisfactory answer, then Durandal’s going into a normal sword. Mm.
“Um. Win the King Province Exchange that’s coming up soon. Then volunteer for the imperial army. Accomplish their tasks and gather merits until the imperial family acknowledges you.” Softie ticked the three things off with her fingers. “That’s it.”
Now that seems simple enough. But I’m the successor of the Godking! There’s paths available for me that normal people can’t take! “Isn’t there an easier way, say, like kidnapping the smith’s son or daughter and exchanging them for a sky-realm-ranked sword?”
“Um. Yes, I suppose that could work, but then every expert who wants a sword from the smith will hunt you down in exchange for the smith’s favor.”
Hmm. That’s a bit problematic. Wait! If I can get the smith’s favor by rescuing his child, then doesn’t that mean…? “So you’re saying I should pay someone to kidnap his child and become the hero who earns the smith’s favor?”
“That’s not what I said at all!”
“Mm. Alright. I like this plan better!” Right. Now all I have to do is find someone willing to and capable of kidnapping a famous weaponsmith’s child! Where am I going to find someone like that? Hmm. I lowered my head to think … and made eye contact with the grumpy phoenix. Perfect!
“W-wait!” Softie said. “At least participate in the King Province Exchange first in case your plan goes awry, which it will!”
Hah. When have any of my plans ever gone awry? I’m a strategic genius! …But I’ll do that exchange as a just in case. Strategic geniuses always have backup plans.
Chapter 14
Today’s the day of the King Province Exchange. Not much has happened since the time Lucia destroyed the Star Phoenix Sect until now. We successfully traveled back to the Shadow Devil Sect without a hitch—not like anyone would try to stop an armada of flying boats branded with the Shadow Devil Sect’s crest. Arriving back at the sect however….
My grandfather was shocked to put it simply. I’ve never seen him make the expression he made when he saw Lucia and me step off of the boat. He had heard of Lucia’s feats, but there wasn’t any time for information about Lucia becoming an earth-realm expert to reach him before we arrived. I think his heart stopped for a moment when I told him about Lucia’s tribulation exterminating the Star Phoenix Sect. Right. Everyone on board the boats agreed to swear an oath, with Lucia’s persuasion, saying it was her tribulation that wiped out the sect. She’s such a horrible person; I don’t know why I like her so much. As a friend! Like her as a friend!
Afterwards, there was a lot of unrest as the disciples that accompanied Lucia challenged the disciples that didn’t. The disciples that followed Lucia completely dominated their challenges as a result of the experience and loot they obtained over the past year, and they completely occupied all the core disciple spots. The days passed by in a blink of an eye, and the time to leave for the King Province Exchange came before I could completely settle down. Also, the impurity-cleansing pool had been fixed, but Lucia snuck in to play a prank on Ilya and contaminated it. …Again. I knew it was her fault the first time! But really, what kind of earth-realm expert has the time to prank a saint-realm junior? Lucia hasn’t cultivated at all since she passed her tribulation. She…, she’s making a mockery of cultivation.
Regardless, mockery or not, Lucia is representing us for the disciple portion of the King Province Exchange. Even though she’s as strong as an ancestor, she’s able to sign up as a disciple because she’s young, less than a hundred years old. The King Province Exchange takes place in the imperial city of King Province, which is in the center of the province, between the borders of the strongest three counties, Hong, Long, and Yong. The seven counties that surround those, including our Kong County, is objectively weaker by a tiny margin. There’s—eep! “L-Lucia? Please, don’t poke me like that!”
Lucia tilted her head, her cute tail twitching. “But don’t you like it when I poke you there?” She shrugged and looked around, her eyes glistening as they widened. “Whatever. You’ve probably told me already, but I forgot; what are we doing here? And why is that wall so huge!? What’s it made out of?”
Right now, we were standing at the edge of our airship as it descended towards the space reserved for us since flying isn’t allowed in the imperial city. I’ve never been here before; I’ve only heard rumors about it. The walls of the city are monstrously high. I bet if I stood on top of it, I’d be able to touch a cloud if I raised my hand. “Legends say the imperial city’s walls are made out of a giant’s femur. An immortal diced the giant into pieces, and part of its femur fell to the earth. Eventually, its marrow was absorbed by the earth and the bone became hollow. Then people dug into it and created what is now known as the imperial city.”
Lucia’s jaw dropped open as her tail stiffened. “That’s just a portion of a giant’s arm!?”
“A femur’s a leg bone,” Ilya said and rolled her eyes. She stuck to Lucia like glue these days. I think she was avoiding my grandmother. “And do you really believe that? Honestly, it’d be impossible for a giant of that size to ever exist. Think of how much food it’d need to sustain itself. And oxygen is extremely sparse the higher up you go. The giant would have to practically crawl on the ground to keep its head at acceptable breathing levels.”
“Giants really exist!” They do!
“Have you seen one for yourself?” Ilya asked. She placed her hands on her hips. “I’ve been going through the books that I borrowed from the library, and quite frankly, a lot of things don’t make sense. As a researcher, there are some things I can believe and other things I can’t.”
“Hmm? But don’t you use magic, Ilya?” Lucia asked, still staring at the giant wall. “Besides, there’s an easy way to prove if that’s part of a leg or not.”
“Magic has a very logical system! So does qi!” Ilya glared at Lucia before sighing. “You can’t believe everything you hear, Lucia. The wall is definitely artificial. Sky-realm experts can move mountains, creating something like this is easy in comparison.” She squinted at the wall and rubbed her chin. “If you gave me a month or two, I could create something like that with earth magic too.”
I’m not a liar…. And I don’t like Ilya correcting me in front of Lucia! She’s slapping my face when she does that! Besides, I’m the native; Ilya’s not. “Lucia, what’s your method to determine if the legends are true?”
“I’ll just carve some engravings on it,” Lucia said and chuckled, her tail finally relaxing. “Then I’ll try to absorb it! If it disappears, then it was a bone. If it doesn’t disappear
, then it wasn’t. It’s as simple as that.”
“…Won’t that get rid of the wall?” Wait. That’s destruction of property. Wait, no. It’s even worse than that. If the wall disappears, then it can be taken as a sign of attack. Only an invader would want to destroy the imperial city’s defenses. “Lucia…?” I looked away for a second and she’s gone!? “Where—”
“She teleported over there.” Ilya pointed straight ahead. I squinted my eyes and shielded them from the sun. There was a brownish speck halfway up the imperial city’s walls which I thought was Lucia.
“Where’s Lucia?”
I jumped from the voice suddenly appearing in my ears.
My grandfather smiled at me before looking around. “Isn’t she usually with you?” he asked.
“She’s on the wall, Grandfather.” I pointed at what I thought was Lucia. “She’s testing something.”
“Testing something?” My grandfather’s caterpillar-like eyebrows wiggled as they rose upwards. “I was under the impression she never tested anything in her life. What’s she…?” My grandfather’s jaw dropped open, and a sense of unease gripped my stomach as I turned my head to follow his gaze. The imperial city’s walls were gone. Hundreds of people were falling from the sky, screaming before they were silenced by the ground. Perhaps they were on top of the wall before it disappeared…. Then, without warning, a surge of qi struck me and forced me to my knees. Ilya gasped and my grandfather groaned as they both fell down too.
“Sky-realm expert!” my grandfather hissed, his eyes widening. Though it was hard to see, my vision distorted due to the qi filling the air, I could make out a figure standing above the imperial city’s buildings. It was wearing purple robes and a golden crown—the emperor.
***
Whew! I feel so refreshed after consuming the giantest bone of focus ever! Hmm? Giantest isn’t a word? Nonsense! Big, bigger, biggest. Giant, gianter, giantest! After all, the only adjective one can use to describe the bone of a giant is giant. It only makes sense. But now that I know I feel refreshed, where am I? What happened last? I carved the rune of focus, absorbed the bone, then I fell from the sky. Logically, I should be on the ground outside of the city, but I’m not. I’m surrounded by corpses and cripples. What the heck happened? Well, for once, these people weren’t injured because of me, so it’s not my problem! Now, there is one thing that may be an issue, and that’s the purple-robed person in the sky radiating a massive amount of qi. Who did he think he was? Flying’s not allowed in the imperial city; Softie told me that! As a law-abiding citizen, I have to take the law into my own hands! “Hey! You stupid nitwit! Flying isn’t allowed in the imperial city!” I’ll hit him with a Breaking Blade and…. Right. Mini-DalDal’s gone, and I didn’t find a new sword to replace it!? What the heck have I been doing!? And all the swords Durandal used for his tribulation turned into piles of molten crap…, except for this one. Isn’t this just a normal sword? I guess it is.
“Are you talking to me?”
Fuck! How did he get so close!? Right, teleportation. At least he’s on the ground. “Hey! Mister! Teleporting isn’t allowed either!” I quickly ran to his side and wrapped my arm around his shoulder and placed my lips close to his ear. I whispered, “Listen, I’m telling you this because you’re clearly not from around here. Flying, teleporting, or doing anything that shows you’re an earth-realm expert isn’t allowed in this city! According to my friend, if you’re caught doing those things, the royal family will take you out behind a shed, tell you to close your eyes, and bam! You’re dead.”
“Is that so?”
What was that look on his face? It’s like he’s looking at an idiot! I’m smart when I’m focused! I raised my hand and smacked his forehead with a satisfying thwack! But why was he wearing a crown? What an odd sense of fashion. “Right. That’s exactly so! Well, I think it is, but I haven’t actually been here myself. It’s just what I’ve heard. And I only remember important details! Since I’ve remembered those rules, it’s definitely true! I’m telling you this for your own good!”
The purple-robed, crowned fellow seemed to be in a daze. Did I hit him too hard? He rubbed the bump on his forehead and scowled at me before asking, “By any chance, do you know who I am?”
Shit! I really did hit him too hard! “Gah! Sorry! I hit you so hard that I gave you amnesia!” What do I do? Ilya! She knows the answer to everything! I’ll take him to her. Gosh, why am I so quick-witted? “But don’t you worry! I have a friend who can patch up your memory in no time! You’ll even remember the screams of your mother on the day you were born.”
The young man tried to say something, but I looped my arm around his waist and … right. I didn’t know where I was. But that’s not an issue! I’ll teleport up into the sky, look around and figure out where I am, and then teleport back down before anyone notices me! Here we go! Up. Oh, there’s the boat! It’s a good thing there’s fancy markings on it. And I’ll teleport there instantly! Bam, done. I dropped the young man in my arms onto the ground. “Whew, no one saw me, right?”
“Didn’t you say teleporting and flying wasn’t allowed?” the young man asked and raised an eyebrow.
“It’s okay! I was only up there for a second. It’s impossible for those scary nobles to have noticed.” Right. Even I wouldn’t notice someone flying over my territory back at home if they were only up there for a second. And if I can’t do it, then no one else can. Mhm. It’s as simple as that. “Look, there’s my friend. Ilya! I hit this person on the head too hard and he lost his memories. Can you fix him?”
“E-Emperor Yi!” the sect leader, who was standing by Ilya, shouted. He bowed his head and cupped his hands at the young man.
…Emperor? I stared at the person in purple. Then I pointed at him while looking at the sect leader. “This dude’s the emperor?”
“J-Junior Lucia! Err, pointing at the emperor is a serious crime. Hurry up and apologize!”
…Well, it looks like the sect leader’s finally gone senile. It’s about time too. I heard he was over a hundred years old. I laughed and patted the purple-robed man on the back repeatedly, causing him to stumble forward. “Don’t listen to this dotard. There’s no way you’re the emperor! You look like you’re sixteen years old! The emperor has thousands of concubines and thousands of children! There’s no way someone with your looks could possibly attract so many women.”
“…Am I not attractive?”
“Nope!” Everyone, when compared to Durandal, is unattractive. Well, men, at least. Softie’s attractive, but she’s a woman. I’m not jealous! “Besides, you look even younger than that prince that shot an arrow into my heart!”
The man in purple coughed, and I thought I saw blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth, but his hand wiped it away before I could confirm. It certainly smelled like blood. Was he injured? He glared at me. “Thirtieth Prince Yi? What happened to him after he shot you?”
“He died. Unfortunate accident, really. It’s a shame.” I shrugged. It wasn’t my fault! I only wanted to tear off his limbs, but one of the beasts inside of my Tides of Blood tore his head off instead. Bad, dragon! Bad! “Anyways. Ilya, hurry up and cure him before he really thinks he’s the emperor.”
Ilya stared at me, unresponsive. Softie had a frightened expression like a deer being stabbed by my sword. And the sect leader’s face was cramped. “What’s wrong with you three? Don’t tell me you have food poisoning.” But we all ate the same thing. Oh! It’s because I cultivate the Immortal Poison Body, huh? Have the aurochsen in my interspacial ring gone bad? That’s impossible!
The man in purple rubbed his chin before smiling at me. “I came out to find the expert who retrieved the great wall, but I found a much more interesting toy instead. Little girl, what’s your name?”
Little girl? Was he talking to me? I don’t want to be called little girl by someone who can’t even grow out facial hair! “I’m Lucia Fluffytail, chosen of the Shadow Devil Sect. But you have to call me Lucia. If you call me litt
le girl again, you’ll regret it!”
“Oh? What will you do, little girl?”
This bastard. He’s only as old as Ilya, but he’s so much cockier than her! I’ll give him a noogie. Oh? He’s trying to push me away with his qi? Footsteps of the Giant! Neither of us are going anywhere until I’m done!
“R-release this emperor at once!”
Tsk. Why did the sect leader have to go around planting false memories into people? It’ll be troublesome if the real emperor heard. Supposedly, he’s a sky-realm expert. I wonder how strong he is.
***
I’m not sure how, but it seems like Lucia has mistaken the emperor for … someone not the emperor. She even embraced him with her arms and rubbed her knuckles against his head! Why does my chest feel so stuffy? I’m not jealous of him! He’s being tormented by her, but…, but…. No, it’s nothing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Phew. “E-Emperor Yi. Are you alright?”
“What kind of person is this foxkin!?”
Lucia’s loving knuckle rub was still ongoing, and Emperor Yi was pouring out more and more qi, but none of it was working! Lucia was like a steady mountain, holding onto the struggling teen while completely unconcerned. It seemed like every knuckle rub of hers was interrupting the emperor’s qi from gathering. All he could do was emit it from his body. “Hush! This is your own fault for calling me a little girl. Repent for your crimes and call me big sister!” Lucia’s hands suddenly stopped moving. “Wait. No. Don’t call me that; I hate honorifics! Call me Lucia.”
“Unhand me this instant! I’m the emperor!”
“Gah! Look at what you taught him, you unthinking sect leader! He really thinks he’s the emperor.” Lucia rolled her eyes as her knuckles ground even harder against the emperor’s head. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. I wish it were me…. That was able to subdue a sky-realm expert like that! I didn’t wish to suffer under Lucia’s punishment! T-there’s no way.
