V3C84: Petty Revenge

Just as expected, their tail continued after them, getting more and more daring the further out they went, until they had reached a sufficient distance from the Chao District that no methods of empowering spiritual perception or otherwise observing them would be able to catch even a glimpse of their actions.

Even if they didn’t intend to kill anyone, and even if they were just going to rob a few things to make themselves feel better, nobody wanted to risk angering some brute from the Chao family.

The notion that such a brute wouldn’t be able to manifest much spiritual perception was actually rather misleading, as a simpleminded focus on a single path of raw strength did not mean that the mind was weak. On the contrary, to be able to endure all kinds of troubles and tribulations and come out of them with more strength, it required an immense resilience, which could manifest in a well-trained mind, and thus it could lead to a very powerful spiritual perception that was used entirely unconsciously, giving a kind of sixth sense to some without them even understanding the origin of it.

As such, to look down on those with high strength was foolish, even if they did not appear to use any kind of technique consciously. All they needed was a push then, and all kinds of powers and abilities would open up to them.

People of the Chao District understood this well enough, and so they avoided going against the rules of the district within the sight of those that enforced them.

It was quite fortunate for them that their prey decided to head out to the desert so soon after the auction, and that they made no effort to change their appearances, or so they believed. After all, a whole host of fourth realm cultivators against two in the third realm… What could go wrong?

‘I wonder whether I should make use of God Burial Sea or some of the brands instead. Both should be rather interesting to witness, although one might give away that I made the inscriptions… Could be amusing to see how they react,’ Wei Yi, the primary target of these people, was thinking to herself as she and Shun Liu Min proceeded through the desert, no real idea of where the things that they wanted were.

Even though Yi Shi Ming had seen the fortress they were looking for and would be able to identify it the moment that she witnessed it, she was currently occupied with observing the strangeness of Wei Yi’s Endless Monolith and didn’t know what had changed in the area around it, so she wasn’t able to do much yet. The landmarks that should have remained constant could be located anywhere in the vast desert, hence the search parties that Wei Yi had made the merchant organise, so until any one of them could be located, they would only be wandering blindly.

Of course, Wei Yi would keep track of where they had gone and what they had yet to see, and provide that map to the exploration teams to contribute to it, potentially allowing for the area to the north of the district to be mapped out in far greater detail than anyone had before.

It would lead to the people of the Chao District having a slightly better idea of where the hidden fortress was once it was found and activated, but the natural obscuring ability of the fortress should prevent them from detecting it no matter how much effort is put into it, and whatever protective measures were already in place there might be sufficient to ward off greedy individuals in the fourth and fifth realms, although it would certainly be bad if the Greats managed to hear of it.

Until any of this could be verified or experimented with, however, neither she nor the spatial spirit could come up with any better options.

“Those dunes over there look perfect for an ambush. I’d imagine that if we go through there and then make it obvious that we intend to go back, they wouldn’t miss the opportunity,” Wei Yi said, pointing to a very tactically advantageous spot, “I think that the part beyond there, the small sand hill in the middle of the flat terrain, could also be raised quite easily for a great vantage point over the area.”

“You’re far more familiar with this kind of terrain than I would have expected. I thought that you’d come from the area near the Yi District, but you’re far more able to get through the sands than I am,” Shun Liu Min said, “Everything about you is very impressive.”

“You can, and probably should, have stopped some time ago. I get it, but the enemies behind us don’t need to be aware that I am very capable, not that most of them have even the faintest chance of hearing us due to their own incompetence. Instead, you could be focusing on learning my methods, paying attention yourself, figuring out how to draw the spear quickly if they don’t decide to talk first, that sort of thing,” the Ascendant suggested, silently flickering in and out of the killing will state to practise also.

While she was far more confident with every single aspect of her every technique, save for the Destruction Brand and God Burial Sea that have not yet seen much use other than in inscriptions, the latter even less so than the former, it never hurt to be more prepared and more confident. The recent changes in the Cosmic Dao could have easily affected every aspect of her cultivation, and to not be certain that she was able to do everything without any harm to herself or any accidental damage to Shun Liu Min and other allies would be reckless at best.

Fortunately, it seemed that the only change that she was able to witness was that her current cosmic energy simply had a lighter outline around the internal cosmic gateway, and it did little more.

It differed in strength as well, but that had occurred so many times to her that she would probably be more confused than if it hadn’t occurred, since she would then be expecting her energy to grow in power and would instead find the same old peak third-realm ability as before. So long as nothing intrinsic about it became different, she wouldn’t have any issues.

“I just think that you deserve the praise, and I have been focusing on everything else as well.”

“Doesn’t meant that you aren’t able to focus more,” Wei Yi said, “That’s the one universal law of things – whatever you do, it can be done better.”

“There have to be more than that, right? Like, for example, all people will be attracted to-”

“Enough from you. Just because I treat you nicely, that doesn’t mean that you should repeatedly do the same thing over and over again, especially after I specifically ask you to stop,” Wei Yi said, nearly flicking the maid’s forehead before she thought better about it and kept her hand where it was, “It would be one thing if you were just randomly doing this, but you’re also trying to remain a maid, a maid that happens to be very good at following or even predicting certain kinds of instructions. I am no expert in the matter, but shouldn’t you be trying to please your master?”

“Alright, point taken, I understand. Today, however, it is much more difficult to keep my eyes away than usual, and it seems to be extending to conversation as well as my attention.”

“Is that so? What exactly is drawing so much attention this time?”

“Well… it is difficult to explain exactly what this kind of attraction looks like… Perhaps a little like a star that has descended to the ground, and now illuminates the world around you? It’s like that today, although I can’t name a single change beside those thin circles in your eyes.”

“Like a star?” Wei Yi raised an eyebrow, and instantly realised an aspect of what she had accomplished with her Cosmic Dao. Since she lacked much of the necessary comprehension of space itself, as well as the way in which most of it functioned, she must have filled in the amazement that many including her felt about it instead, using the entirety of the world’s feelings about the cosmos to reach the Initial Accomplishment stage.

In that case, it would make sense why she drew this much attention from the common people that she passed as well as those that were currently chasing her. Something with the equivalent amount of potential importance and power had passed them, and if they didn’t look at her because of either that or her appearance, they would either need to be incredibly busy or outright blind.

She didn’t even need to inflate her own status in order to say such things, as her knowledge, power, cultivation and accumulated otherworldly gifts placed her in a rather unique position where she could change quite a few things so long as she managed to grow sufficiently to reach a sufficient level. Perhaps even without reaching the ninth realm, she could dominate the Great Families and permanently bring them down, and possibly deal with whatever threat they claim to be guarding against. On the topic of which, while she did not believe most of the claims that they made, especially the one about being tasked to do their deeds by the heavens, she did think that most of their words had to originate from some semblance of reality in order to convince all of them sufficiently.

Perhaps there was no commandment from the heavens, but there had been some trustworthy prophet or augur that informed them of it. It could be that there is no great threat to all humanity, but a force that wishes to end them and thus needs to be faced in full force.

She didn’t know whether any of these assumptions were accurate in any way, as there was plenty of room for them to be speaking the truth but warp it in some way, or they could even be fully honest at all times, but fortunately enough, that wasn’t the current focus, nor a pressing matter. When she did obtain the ability to oppose the Greats beyond taking down one or two of their third generation with some luck, she would be sure to learn everything.

They proceeded through the conveniently formed dunes, then, the moment that those following them advanced to them, they stopped and had what might be interpreted as a quick tactical discussion.

In truth, that was not at all what they were discussing.

“Do you think that you could ever teach me some of the necessary skills of being a maid, since you’re quite knowledgeable on the subject?”

“… Eh? Teaching you… how to… why in the heavens would you ever want to know that? I could probably teach you a lot of other things if you really want me to share something for once, like any of the Shun family’s techniques, or even something basic, like how to bake bread, if you… right, you don’t eat much… eh…”

“I don’t know exactly what’s going through your head, but I am just curious. As you should have noticed, there are times when I tend to act in order to benefit the situation. If I ever need to act the part of a maid, would it not be better for me to be prepared?” Wei Yi stopped her, explaining it before the maid had any chance to go completely insane, “If you want, you can even teach me the skills themselves, the etiquette and so on, without the whole ‘maid’ part, and I can just fill that in myself when I need to.”

“S-So you… are planning to replace me with a clone of yourself?”

“Woman, you need to start making sense. Unless you’re just trying to put on an act as well, in which case I will join in just this once.”

“No, I was… could it work as a way to fool them?”

“You were certainly speaking very passionately just now, so I think that if none of them have brought anything to enhance the range of their spiritual perception and hide it from the attention of someone like me, they will be fooled,” she answered, pausing immediately after, “Come to think of it, reading lips is also possible. I barely ever need to do it, so I’ve pretty much forgotten about that.”

“It’s be difficult to read your lips, or any of your actions, and I don’t move my mouth that much, so it might be effective…”

They looked at one another for a while, with Shun Liu Min keeping her gaze on the other’s eyes while Wei Yi was more focused on her own thoughts. While this was not initially part of any kind of plan that they had, seeing as they hadn’t discussed much prior to coming out here, they both thought it worked.

For the moment, it did not matter exactly why those following them believed that they were intending to head back, only that they were not immediately put off from remaining in place and being robbed for the rest of whatever remained of their funds. They could have gone back due to some disagreement, realisation, or perhaps even the wild idea of the woman that was highly keen to spend far, far too much money on something that she wouldn’t even benefit from, but only the outcome itself mattered. No matter what they made them think, they would be convinced otherwise the moment they were defeated.

“So, shall you teach me, and shall we get going?”

“I guess that I can do so, but if you could, please promise me that you won’t just replace me for yourself, or someone else with the knowledge that I pass onto you.”

“First of all, let me tell you that you currently have a somewhat sane mind, so don’t immediately tarnish it with an unnecessary and unwise obsession on a person that essentially happened to rescue you in order to benefit themselves. There are some that don’t have as much of a choice, and if you intentionally join their ranks, I would say that you are both disrespecting them and needlessly harming yourself. Second of all, if you are satisfied by some simple words, it’s no wonder that you prefer to be on the bottom,” Wei Yi said sternly, “Lastly, I could do so.”

“Uh… You know, whenever I speak with you, I feel rather bad about the vast majority of the things you say, as if I have failed in every aspect in my life and you are now judging me much like the heavens would at the end of my life…”

“Going or not?”

“Yes, let’s go! I’d gladly be back in that place, fighting countless people that we scammed, rather than remaining here and dealing with whatever it is…”

“Just casual advice and recommendations, nothing more. As I mentioned, you are in a better place than some, and you have the opportunity not to get to the same place as they are through your conscious actions. Just take advantage of it, for your sake and my own, as well as for the sake of the world. Take your pick,” Wei Yi instructed, turning around and forcing Shun Liu Min to follow.

The maid didn’t quite understand how she could do anything for the sake of the entire world, given that she did not yet know of the Greats, the groups going against them, or even of the existence of the Kong Prison Realm, but just as Wei Yi was able to appear rather scary no matter what she did when she put her mind to it, the Ascendant was also extremely convincing in the way she spoke. Even if she ever said something that wasn’t true, it would be impossible to judge purely based on her words or her intonation.

Since she wouldn’t be able to figure something like this out until she was given more information, Shun Liu Min instead brought one hand to rest upon the shaft of her spear, doing so lightly as to not make it too suspicious.

They were about to get into battle, and even if she wouldn’t be able to do much with her cultivation, she would still need to be able to protect herself against any sudden attacks that Wei Yi couldn’t stop. The latter would have naturally preferred to be in control of it all and avert any such strikes, but reality was hardly ever so kind as to give her a group of enemies that had no semblance of thought at all. If they weren’t taken out immediately, they would be bound to notice that she was protecting Shun Liu Min the first time they attacked and would then be interested in killing or capturing the maid in order to obtain an advantage against her.

Even with the most powerful strikes of someone in a realm above one’s own, it was possible to deflect or block them so long as it was done wisely, but that would usually only be limited to a single such attack. Any more than one, and there would be no way for the energy and body of the usual cultivator to endure such a thing.

With the power of the Ascendant’s Disciple technique, Shun Liu Min was in a slightly better position than most, but that did not put her anywhere near the level of someone like Wei Yi, who was an utter aberrant through and through. Just from what little she knew about her past achievements, the maid was aware that Wei Yi did not need to sleep or eat, could defeat foes in the fourth and fifth realms even when she was only in the fifth stage of the third realm, and now had an absolute massive… well, from her limited experience so far.

“They are going to emerge soon, most likely, so be prepared to draw your weapon.”

Keeping her speech hidden with some spiritual will and the mask, Wei Yi proceeded onwards, entering the area where the people that had followed them now hid with the convenient opportunity they had been given.

They proceeded in a calm manner, save for the maid’s hand on her weapon, while Wei Yi merely needed to tense her fingers in preparation for any physical confrontation that might need to occur in the situation. With their walking calm and their postures not clearly communicating their readiness to battle, those observing them couldn’t see a hint of danger to themselves, judging by their silent signals to one another, and thus emerged.

From all sides of the dune-formed encirclement, men and women emerged with weapons ready, some already channelling and preparing techniques while others pulled out various inscriptions and inscription plates, with some of them being immediately familiar to the pair, and to those that had not seen them outside of the auction just yet.

‘Attempting to use my own inscriptions against me… I knew this would happen, and yet they are still managing to surprise with just how careless they are. A new person in the district, a new set of inscription plates, and they don’t even question whether there might be some coincidence?’ she mentally chided those that had brought out their inscriptions plates right away, since those that hadn’t at the very least reserved something that they could pull out at a later point and surprise her even if she was expecting it – in their minds, at least – while most did not, “Are you lot begging me to take you down painfully?”

The question was rather sudden, and it threw quite a few people off guard for just long enough for her to raise a hand and diffuse a vast quantity of energy into the air and ground.

Before those that were closest to her had any opportunity to react, they suddenly felt an enormous pressure force them down into the ground, seemingly digging their feet through the sand itself as it parted for them. The invisible pressure and pull were not particularly strong in the first instant, but after only one was able to escape, it seemed to double and triple within the next moment.

While the one to escape was in the fifth realm, and was thus able to leap into the air and step away from the enormous influence, the rest were all in the fourth realm, and with every breath they felt more and more of their bodies dig into the sand, which didn’t remain unchanged.

Right before their eyes, the sand became darker and thicker, seemingly turning into mud without a trace of water pouring into it, with this area expanding from them and forming into a large circle that ended beside Wei Yi and Shun Liu Min on the inside and almost consumed the foot of someone who failed to retreat in time on the outside. They tried to strike the ground with techniques, they attempted to leap out and flee, some even attempted to decisively slice off their legs and get away without them, but no matter what they did, something conspired to keep them there.

‘It is relevant to the Dao of Law indeed. That fifth realm cultivator supposedly has more raw strength, so he could flee, but they will not be able to escape the God Burial Sea,’ Wei Yi observed.

As it seemed that both the description within the technique manual and her own interpretation of its power and effectiveness appeared correct, she looked to those outside of the circle and raised a hand in preparation, although she did not do anything just yet, allowing them to ponder it for a little while to test their nerves.

“Tell me, everyone – what exactly is this about?” she asked after that while, just to be sure.

She did not bother using her previous attempt at an arrogant and wealthy tone in this confrontation, which only caught some of them now, but with one major surprise, they seemed far more prepared for more.

Their confusion passed quickly, and they looked to one another in silent pondering regarding the best answer to provide. Judging by the rather sour expressions on some, mostly those currently buried within the mud up to their waists and continuing to descend, they had not anticipated this level of trouble, not from the very start, and as such whatever threadbare plan they had concocted before rushing out to chase after her was not sufficient.

Finally, one of their leaders, a fifth realm cultivator who had not appeared at the auction proclaimed, “This is about the money that you stole from the people that came to trade fairly at the auction!”

With a direction decided, the others also joined in, proclaiming that she was a thief, scoundrel, liar and whatever else, caring not for the exact word used so long as it was able to supplement the wave of accusations around her. Some even empowered their voices with vocal techniques, although they did not risk anything beyond simply raising the volume of their voice sufficiently.

“Theft? You intend to accuse me of purchasing and bidding for items fairly?”

“You did not plan to purchase any of the inscription plates, did you?” that fifth realm cultivator, a younger man wearing robust trousers and a harness diagonally across his torso that helped hold the scabbard of a sabre, proclaimed, “Did you not incite ridiculous prices?”

“Please, ridiculous prices? How many of you have used these plates already? Are you impressed? Would you have been happy if you knew just how powerful they were from the start? Also, how can you possibly judge my intentions? I did like them, but I could hardly deal with the sudden increase in price and the insane bids that seemed to occur the moment that I decided to attempt to acquire an item. Hardly my fault,” Wei Yi replied.

“Don’t play smart with us!” another fifth realm fighter exclaimed, clearly less able to deal with her than the first, “Give us some compensation!”

She raised an eyebrow and paused for a moment.

“Compensation? Sure, I can do that. Why don’t you stand still for a moment, and you shall see exactly how much you will be compensated? It’ll even be incredibly obvious for those of you who might be somewhat hard of sight, how about that?”

The hand that she had raised into the air shut into a fist, causing another storm of energy to emerge from her body. It filled the air above her and rather than barraging people in such a state, it instead coalesced into countless crimson circles within the air, each one pulsing and beating with powerful energies. A complex pattern filled each one, differing from glowing symbol to luminous mark, but even though this was not exactly what they had seen, they still understood immediately what the label for such a thing should be.

Innumerable brands filled the sky, each one glowing with the same radiance as all of the different brands produced by the Brand Alternator inscription.

“You are-”

That figure amongst the fourth realm cultivators had no chance to speak as the brands pulsed outwards, one appearing above everyone within the encirclement, even those that had been mostly hidden up to that point with some combination of the desert sand and stealth methods. Not even those in the ground were spared.

Before they fell, each person desperately attempted something to ward them off, be it a physical barrier formed with planar energy or even an attack to counter the falling brand.

Regardless of their power, intent and ingenuity, the next instant saw them being struck by the orange and crimson Destruction Brand, each one filled with the ire energy of the rarest brands produced by the inscription as well as several other forms of power that they couldn’t recognise, whether by name or appearance. Together, they fell and instantly branded their flesh, exploding the next instant with that internal energy and blinding those in the ground, for they were now up to their necks in the mud-like sand and were thus faced with the brands striking near their eyes, sometimes even them precisely.

However, the injuries or even deaths that some expected did not occur, as the exploding energy suddenly froze mid-explosion and left them in the very dangerous proximity of those things instead. They hoped that this was the act of another, but Wei Yi’s following actions put those hopes to rest.

“You, the coward hiding in the sand. I know you’re there. Come out, and if you are honest, this brand might not fall onto your head right now,” she said, looking at a particular point in one of the dunes.

The person inside, a common thief that had risen to the fourth realm through constant petty thefts, scams and whatever else he was able to manage, was absolutely flabbergasted. To be found so quickly despite his technique being meant to block spiritual perception from being able to tell him apart from his surroundings indicated a terrifying ability, and one that he did not wish to cross no matter what, prompting him to emerge.

Little did he know that spiritual perception wasn’t even required in the eyes of Wei Yi’s memory, which allowed her to quickly confirm that some of the dunes had moved after their initial pass through the area unlike the way in which they should have done, giving her a good idea of what has occurred.

“W-What do you need me to tell you?” the thief quickly asked.

“Tell me the exact plan and intentions of your group. Did you just want to relieve me of some of my wealth, or were your actions less righteous than that?”

The scared man didn’t hesitate for even a second, answering, “I’d been told that we’d be catching you, getting all of your money, and leaving you to return to the district with nothing more than your underwear, if you were lucky… It was that man that suggested it! That guy with the stupid belt thing around his body!”

“I see. Your contribution is appreciated,” Wei Yi said, clicking her finger.

All of the ire energy, alongside a new brand that instantly fell on the thief, exploded, finishing off all those within the sand and greatly injuring those outside, only for the brands to rise and fall one more time to finish the job.

Blood covered the dry desert sand that day.