Hui stood at the far edge of the ring. Across from him, the man-mountain Xin Mobing raised his hands. Worn wraps bound his hands and forearms, and worn martial slippers stepped lightly on the floor.
“No weapon?” Hui asked.
“I—I’m a martial artist. Uhm, a hand-to-hand fighter,” Xin Mobing said nervously.
Hui adjusted...
2022-12-23 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe weapon cultivators circled around a set of familiar stone tournament floors, laid out neatly on a perfectly flat and bare stretch of mountain. To the side, a familiar board listed off matchups. All around, weapon cultivators moved through their footwork techniques and stretched, preparing for their matches. Muscles gleamed. Steel glinted. Al...
2022-12-22 17:32:01 +0000 UTC View PostA cultivator in brown darted ahead, chasing after a glimmering seven-colored rabbit. As he ran, a man in black atop a duck swooped past. The rabbit broke left, vanishing into the brush.
Frustrated, the cultivator fired a single glowing-red arrow after the man in black. The arrow accurately struck the breast of the duck the man flew on, and...
2022-12-21 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe pangolin-riding cultivator led those undertaking the beast trial to a large and wild peak. A thick forest coated its sides, covered in tall, sprawling trees draped in moss and lichens. Spirit birds chased glittering insects through the sky. Large shapes shifted under the shade of the trees, half visible from above.
It’s a kind of...
2022-12-20 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostNot long after Hui entered the illusory realm
Golden mirrors materialized all over the cave. They rippled, and a great many Liu Guangs stepped through, into the real world. Unlike the first one, these Liu Guangs were gold from head to toe. Hair, skin, robes, all glittered and shifted like liquid gold.
Each golden clo...
2022-12-19 17:21:17 +0000 UTC View PostLiu Guang frowned at the cultivator in front of him. Multiple arms sprouted off of his body at every angle, hanging limply by his side. He seemed entirely unaware of them, even the one that had grown out of his forehead. As Liu Guang watched, Xie Hao winced and trembled, as if under a great deal of pain, but nothing physical struck him. Still, e...
2022-12-19 04:25:23 +0000 UTC View PostHui poured his life qi into the cultivator. The first thing I need to do is synchronize her qi with my life qi. Otherwise… otherwise, I don’t know what will happen, but it won’t be good!
I could skip this for the lotus clones because they’re effectively part of me in the first place… or, at least, a set of beings who...
2022-12-19 02:35:28 +0000 UTC View PostExamining the woman’s body, Hui’s brows knit. Her surface wounds are bad enough, but internally… internally, she’s a total mess!
The woman’s qi passages twisted wildly inside her body. In places, they were entirely shredded. Meridians laid mangled and shattered, broken nodes amidst the wreckage of her passages. Her qi le...
2022-12-16 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostLiu Guang waved his hand, and the world melted away. A golden world enveloped Hui, glittery and metallic. Liu Guang’s glow reflected off every angle. Hui squinted and raised his hands, desperately blocking the light. It burns! Liu Guang, why…?
Looking at Hui, Liu Guang frowned slightly. A moment later, his eyes widened. He clo...
2022-12-15 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIn the middle of his spiel, the glowing cultivator paused. He went to the wall and pressed a hand against it, consulting something.
Hui sweated. Uh… surely he won’t notice anything, right?
Turning around, the glowing cultivator crossed his arms. “Who destroyed my spell? Speak up!”
Hui glanced away and put his h...
2022-12-14 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHui turned to Jin Xian. The problem still remains… what to do with Elder Sister?
Jin Xian blinked. She grunted at him quizzically.
She has grown more… I wouldn’t say intelligent, but certainly aware. My treatment did something, but… did it work?
“Elder Sister, you have to go away now. You can’t mak...
2022-12-13 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAt last, they descended toward the ground. Hui looked around. The slope on this peak ascended steeply into the sky, and rocks broke through the earth all around them. Compared to before, they stood on a wild, barren peak, with no visible infrastructure or buildings. He raised his hands and squinted into the distance.
Overhead, a chain loop...
2022-12-12 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post“Elder Brother, please go ahead. What were you attempting to say?” Hui asked, tilting his head.
“You… what are you doing to her? I myself am a specialist in life qi and healing, but… I don’t sense an aura of life about her. Which would suggest…”
Suggest… that she’s dead? Hui wondered, hunkering slightly. ...
2022-12-11 17:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostOkay. So. Somehow, I need to make Jin Xian a life qi user. An undead… life qi user. Undead, who are weak to life qi.
Hui put his head in his hands and sighed deeply. Oh no.
No, no. Let’s think on this. I can do this. Jin Xian doesn’t need to use life qi. They said they can score a great number of related a...
2022-12-10 15:15:00 +0000 UTC View PostGui Delun raised his hand and mounted his sword. “The final trial commences now!”
“No, you need to speak. I can’t understand—” Mu Bingshi paused and turned away from Bai Jingwen. He furrowed his brows. “Inner Peak Lord Gui Delun, we haven’t finished interrogating all the participants—”
“No matter. Commence the f...
2022-12-09 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostGui Delun leaned forward. He pressed his fingertips together, forming a triangle, then gestured for Hui to take a seat.
Hui slowly lowered himself to a sit. He stared at the ground, barely able to meet Gui Delun’s eyes. His intense stare… his cold eyes. I’m going to die! I’m going to die, for sure!
Gui Delun leaned f...
2022-12-08 17:59:59 +0000 UTC View PostAbruptly, beams of light descended from the sky and landed on all the surviving participants. Hui squinted up into the beam, but saw nothing but light all the way to its source. The light lifted him off the ground. All around him, everyone else lifted into the sky as well, ascending into the sky. He let the light take him, scanning around at eve...
2022-12-07 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostA man in purple paused, peering through the fog at the mess of ghouls. He drew his sword and strode forward, licking his lips.
Black wings flapped. A wave of ducks blew past, darkening the air around him. From the sky, a man in black and blue swooped down on a large black duck, legs crossed and a peaceful expression on his face. He looked ...
2022-12-06 17:59:02 +0000 UTC View PostDescending, Gui Delun waved his sleeve. “I’m a Peak Lord, the same as any other.”
“We wouldn’t dare,” Sui Linli said, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Mu Bingshi tossed her a glance from the corner of his eyes, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Gui Delun. “Come to watch the trials?”
“Yes, indeed. I hear that...
2022-12-05 17:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostSoaring through the fog, Sectgoer and Rogue passed over the other participants, visible only as flashes of color and light in the fog.
“You know, we could fly on our swords,” Sectgoer pointed out.
“Or we could let the duck do the flying for us,” Rogue returned.
Sectgoer nodded. “Elder Brother is indeed wise.”
...
2022-12-04 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostRogue stepped out of the realm and into the fog. The ducks swirled around him, flying a neat figure-8 around his body. He tilted his head, listening, then threw his arm out. A half-dozen ducks flapped off into the dark. The fog swallowed them up, but they remained connected to Rogue. He shut one eye and watched from theirs as they spread out, bu...
2022-12-03 17:59:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Commissioned some new character art!
Ah, I had a hard time with this one... I think because I have a very clear image of BX, and naturally, it's impossible for anyone but me to nail that. When the artist sent me the drafts, I almost cancelled the order... Luckily, I pushed through, gave them the edits, and we got this lovely, lovely ...
2022-12-03 15:06:41 +0000 UTC View PostWith five lotus clones at his side, all refined to the utmost, Hui quickly crushed the second wave. The third wave spawned, and the six of them immediately set into it. Two hits took down a construct, and in a few moments, they’d demolished another wave. The fourth wave passed, then the fifth, all the way through the tenth.
Hui rolled up...
2022-12-02 18:59:01 +0000 UTC View PostIn a separate room, Sectgoer slashed at a construct. It raised its sword, and his blade bounced off the construct’s. Sectgoer cursed under his breath, dropping back.
“I said, focus on the flexibility of your waist! Firm calves, strong ankles!” Chen Wuya chided him, darting down to rap at his skull.
Hui ducked instincti...
2022-12-01 21:19:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe stone archways lit up. White light beamed, filling the stone arches from left to right. Hui cut a surreptitious glance around him, then nodded and stepped inside. Here we go.
White light filled his vision. He closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he stood in a massive, simple stone room. Stone stretched high above him, a...
2022-11-30 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostHui stepped over the final step and onto solid stone. He dusted off his robes and turned, helping Zhubi over the last ledge. Huh. The pressure never really got that bad. Zhubi didn’t seem bothered, either. Was the trial just glitched for us, or was it really that easy?
“Look who finally showed up,” a familiar voice chuckled....
2022-11-29 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostA figure loomed out of the clouds ahead. Hui grabbed Zhubi’s hand and leaped after him, quickly catching up to the figure.
Hui landed beside a handsome young man in gold, long hair streaming behind him. The man gave him a startled look, almost tripping backward.
He smiled and nodded. “Hello, Elder Brother. Have you figured out wh...
2022-11-28 17:59:02 +0000 UTC View PostOnward and upward. Hui leaped upward, slowing out of boredom. He paused and yawned, then leaped up again. How long do these stairs keep on for? I feel like I’ve already been climbing them for a year and a half.
He looked up, checking the sky. The sun still beamed hot from high in the sky, casting his shadow directly below him
Hui walked at an even pace, keeping a subtle eye on Zhubi. For his part, Zhubi walked quietly alongside Hui, his long hair draping on the stairs behind him. Big soft eyes took in everything around him. Zhubi hummed deep in his throat, happy.
Reaching out, Hui gathered up Zhubi’s hair. Zhubi looked up at him, and Hui nodded. “Give me a ...
2022-11-26 16:59:03 +0000 UTC View PostIn front of Hui and all the other trial attendees stood a huge pair of red wooden gates. A gigantic steel chain wound around the gates, holding them shut. From the chains hung a complex-looking eight-sided lock, from which a barrier emanated, sealing off the land beyond the gates from anyone’s mental energy or divine sense. Hui closed his eyes...
2022-11-25 17:59:02 +0000 UTC View Post