Han Xuhan's eyes snapped open in surprise which barely lasted half a second, because almost instantly the force field of the second shredder device disappeared and the two of them fell down into the chaotic seawater once more.
After accidentally gulping down a good mouthful, Han Xuhan managed to stabilize himself and Shangguang Ce against the third wall. Looking up, he saw a familiar face intensely observing them.
Short brown hair, typical Asian facial structure, atypical way to display affection and gratitude...Miss Hong Wei had never looked more attractive than right now.
"Take my hand," she said as she bent downward.
"In marriage?" Han Xuhan asked in a daze.
Hong Wei's intense, glowering expression turned somewhat red...wait, that wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to yell 'Baka!' and punch him in the face, which in hindsight would have been a more relieving response compared to her original reaction.
Did I accidentally become a white knight in this girl's heart?
What a massive ego boost! Oh Yeah!
It felt pretty fucking good for some reason, even though he used to hate white knights in xianxia stories passionately. Maybe he'd just hated it because it wasn't himself inside the story getting all chummy with jade beauties.
While his thoughts nose-dived in a direction that would most certainly piss off 90 percent of veteran xianxia readers, Hong Wei's faint blush disappeared.
"I'll drown you," she said, back to her original aggressive persona.
"Calm down, girl. You can drain me all you want-"
"I SAID I'LL DROWN YOU!"
"In love? I'm in!"
Before she could follow up on her furious declaration, Han Xuhan grabbed her hand. With his other hand, he dragged the severely damaged remains of Shangguang Ce through the water and used the body to shield himself from any possible attacks, just in case.
"I thought you were under the impression that I'm a man," she said while pulling the two of them up. "What's with the sudden change of attitude?"
"As long as you keep making such timely appearances to save me, I might just compromise..." Han Xuhan gave her an appraising look that would hopefully piss her off.
But a creepy smile formed on Hong Wei's face.
"So if I do ever turn into a guy...you're saying..."
Han Xuhan suddenly recalled all those gender-bender plots in cultivation novels and felt a shiver crawling down his spine.
He decided not to stoke the fire of passion between them anymore and edged away from the two martial siblings, wary of Shangguang Ce's next round of tribulation bolts.
Hong Wei, for some reason, appeared totally unafraid, as if she was unaware of the fact that two cultivators pursuing similar dao would be screwed by the tribulation if they were in close proximity to each other.
She knelt down over Shangguang Ce's mutilated body and fed him a small pill, an action that made Han Xuhan's eyes go wide in shock.
Wasn't that forbidden? You couldn't rely on medicine during a breakthrough! No direct external help could be granted to a practitioner in that state or it would spell his doom!
Hong Wei seemed to notice his shock and her creepy smirk became even more prominent.
"Hey, where are your elders? Isn't anyone going to oversee his enlightenment?" Han Xuhan asked, finding the situation more and more bizarre with every passing second.
"I need not interfere in a matter so flimsy," said a gravelly voice from behind, making Han Xuhan yelp and turn around.
A lone man stood not far away from where he had been sitting. It was unknown when this stranger had appeared, but Han Xuhan hadn't noticed the slightest change in the qi flow in his surroundings this whole time...and that basically spelled that this elder was a really big fish, the sort that could compare with Kong Ye at least.
"Uh- greetings, respected elder from the Sunrider Sect. I'm Mu Ran-"
Han Xuhan's sincere introduction came to a halt as the elder raised one hand in the air gesturing for him to shut up.
"It matters not what your identity is. While we do not approve of uninvited intruders, you're a benefactor of our sect since you've tried your best to save our disciple. We'd like to overlook your initial offense and welcome you cordially...but the tournament still is in continuation. So forgive our inability to be a sincere host to our benefactor."
The elder's style of speaking was borderline obsolete, but the contents of his speech brought Han Xuhan such relief that he found the dialect to be music to his ears.
"This one thanks you, elder," he said with a polite nod.
"It was the most painful feat of my life. The tribulation bolts are too scary. And that reminds me, shouldn't Brother Ce be taken to a safe zone to complete his enlightenment?" Han Xuhan gestured emphatically at the raging sea waves crashing right at the bottom of their feet. The seawater level was already close to reaching the top of the third wall.
His worried tone did not move the elder, which was apparent from his reply.
"What tribulation?"
"...."
Behind him, Hong Wei started snickering loudly.
"But...the lightning bolts..." he muttered in a daze.
"Just another type of disaster that's included in the tournament." The elder's answer was as cold as his heart was becoming.
Slowly, Han Xuhan turned around and faced Shangguang Ce and Hong Wei.
The mutilated body of his friend had sat up at some point when he wasn't looking. Shangguang Ce grinned hideously as their eyes met.
"I must say, Brother Ran, that was very kind of you. Sharing the trial of our sect in the tournament despite not knowing us at all? That takes something special inside."
It took the entirety of his willpower to not turn red in the face and start beating someone up.
He simply took a few seconds to digest the revelation and then said, "Oh. Okay. I see."
Shangguang Ce waited for a few more seconds to gauge his reaction and was promptly disappointed.
"So....why were you meditating in the middle of these disasters?" Han Xuhan asked, scratching his head. He found it to be in his best interest to revert to his retarded persona.
"The lightning bolts require one to be in a state of deep meditation to survive the trial unscathed."
Han Xuhan asked in puzzlement, "Have you taken a look at yourself, brother Ce? I've seen zombies that look better than you."
"...Unscathed spiritually, I meant. The lightning strikes attack your spirit, your celestial form, the disembodied consciousness that you use to traverse inside your dao tower," Shangguang Ce explained.
"Initially we had the regular plan of action in mind for you. We'd lead you inside and 'extract' information from you in a way you wouldn't like. But when the flood trial struck, that plan had to be halted. So I sent little Wei to call for an Elder right before I entered meditation. I must say, it was rather risky to surrender my physical form, unprotected, to an outsider, furthermore a competitor. When my consciousness had returned, I was pleasantly surprised to see your heroic actions under such stressful circumstances."
There wasn't anything heroic about my actions.
Han Xuhan wanted to explain that he had actually run away at the first chance. The only reason he had attempted to save Shangguang Ce was because it was hard to not feel mentally disturbed when someone was slowly drowning to their death right in front of him.
On second thought, it would probably be advantageous for him to not explain any of that.
Han Xuhan was about to sigh despondently when he noticed an issue with Shangguang Ce's recollection of the events.
The cracks in the sky had opened up AFTER Shangguang Ce had 'started meditating'. He couldn't have known about the threat of the flood during the middle of his enlightenment. And he most certainly did not know that it was about to happen prior to entering his meditation.
Shangguang Ce was lying!
For a second, Xuhan was tempted to point that out, but he reconsidered. Firstly, that would be pretty out of character for his current persona, although he wasn't sure they were convinced of his act.
But more importantly, the fact that he was lying meant this could possibly be both a trap as well a chamber of secrets. There were many possibilities– were they aware of the exact time when the disaster would strike? Was there a problem with being able to predict the advent of tournament trials? Was Shangguang Ce trying to hide the fact that he was a ghost cultivator? Why did Hong Wei not contradict his claim? Who were they trying to convince-- him, or the Elder?
The Sunrider sect's business slowly took up a suspicious flair inside his mind as all the details and inconsistencies lined up.
He gradually began to find it way too unsafe to spend a single more second here than necessary.
"Well, since it seems to have been ascertained that my character is as unblemished as the beautiful moon, I would love some help in getting back to my sect. I have sustained several small injuries and some of Brother Ce's lightning bolts splashed on my body as well. The report I made on your weak defenses has been lost in the flood. How unlucky!"
"Oh, we'll be more than happy to help you recover-"
"Ah, no. That can't be done. You see, I have a special physique. I require medical assistance from the healers in my sect who are experienced in treating my body. It's quite a hassle, to be honest," Han Xuhan hurriedly interrupted Shangguang Ce. Looking surprised for a brief moment, Shangguang Ce nodded and gestured toward the Elder politely. The Elder, who had maintained his silence this entire time, spoke up.
"What kind of assistance do you require, young man?"
Han Xuhan fell down a deeper rabbit hole of suspicion. From the looks of it, the Sunrider Sect had been here inside the Archipelago for a fairly long time. They were well aware of how things worked here, what the rules and customs of the tournament were at the moment, and even the nature of the tournament's trials.
Why was the elder unaware of the fact that they had to jump down or fly above to reach other sects?
Maybe he was just overthinking it. Shaking his head forcefully, Han Xuhan explained his plan of action.
"I need you to help me get back to my sect, Elder. Since I reached your sect by falling down from my sect, I should be able to return if I manage to fly up, right?"
Han Xuhan knew how stupid his logic sounded. But currently, he could think of no other strategy with the clues he had on his hands.
The elder did not reply for some reason.
Han Xuhan looked from Shangguang Ce to Hong Wei to the elder, all three of whom had wooden expressions on their face.
"Yeah...that's not going to work, at least not that simply," Hong Wei muttered somewhat snidely.
"Are you aware of what dimensions are, brother Ran?"
"Should I?" Han Xuhan asked Shangguang Ce in a confused tone.
Shangguang Ce scratched his nose, seemingly about to say something. But then he apparently reconsidered.
"What sort of cultivation technique do you practice, by the way? Summoning undead soldiers? That's not something I see every day."
Hong Wei's loud musings brought a wave of panic inside Han Xuhan's heart. Looking above in the direction she was gazing at, he saw Tun Shi Tian circling them silently.
He had forgotten to cancel the owl's summoning cycle.
Ignoring the urge to cuss, he nodded to Hong Wei's question.
"Do you practice any other technique? Ones related to souls or spirits?" She asked.
"No."
"Then flying up is perhaps your best bet. Good luck, I guess."
"Once you've been here for a while, you'll realize how transportation between sects works here. Don't sweat it, brother Ran. I could have taught you myself, but since you don't know what dimensions are, we can't do that."
Han Xuhan noticed a faint smirk on Shangguang Ce's face as he spoke.
Did his retarded persona get exposed?
Was Shangguang Ce mocking him in a roundabout way?
Han Xuhan pretended not to notice anything and walked toward the elder while he canceled Tun Shi Tian's summon.
"Please carry him near the rift line above, elder," Shangguang Ce requested. The elder nodded curtly and grabbed Han Xuhan's forearm. Han Xuhan memorized the phrase as he considered the possible implications.
"Are you ready?" the Elder said, seconds before a mechanical buzz sounded from the elder's back.
Han Xuhan had barely finished nodding in affirmation when the elder soared upwards like an arrow.
While feeling the bursts of wind on his face, something occurred to Xuhan.
How come he hadn't broken his back after his fall? From the looks of it, he had fallen a height that could definitely turn someone of his cultivation into a gooey splatter.
He looked up at the elder dragging him higher and higher, and noticed something that made his heart flutter uncontrollably.
No, it wasn't the elder's handsomeness. He had found himself facing a pair of...thrusters.
Merely a foot wide, with a metallic sheen, the polished device had stable blue flames coming out of three tubes incessantly...This was absolutely a top-notch piece of technology out of sci-fi novels, attached to the Elder's back.
Han Xuhan's eyes snapped open in surprise which barely lasted half a second, because almost instantly the force field of the second shredder device disappeared and the two of them fell down into the chaotic seawater once more.
After accidentally gulping down a good mouthful, Han Xuhan managed to stabilize himself and Shangguang Ce against the third wall. Looking up, he saw a familiar face intensely observing them.
Short brown hair, typical Asian facial structure, atypical way to display affection and gratitude...Miss Hong Wei had never looked more attractive than right now.
"Take my hand," she said as she bent downward.
"In marriage?" Han Xuhan asked in a daze.
Hong Wei's intense, glowering expression turned somewhat red...wait, that wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to yell 'Baka!' and punch him in the face, which in hindsight would have been a more relieving response compared to her original reaction.
Did I accidentally become a white knight in this girl's heart?
What a massive ego boost! Oh Yeah!
It felt pretty fucking good for some reason, even though he used to hate white knights in xianxia stories passionately. Maybe he'd just hated it because it wasn't himself inside the story getting all chummy with jade beauties.
While his thoughts nose-dived in a direction that would most certainly piss off 90 percent of veteran xianxia readers, Hong Wei's faint blush disappeared.
"I'll drown you," she said, back to her original aggressive persona.
"Calm down, girl. You can drain me all you want-"
"I SAID I'LL DROWN YOU!"
"In love? I'm in!"
Before she could follow up on her furious declaration, Han Xuhan grabbed her hand. With his other hand, he dragged the severely damaged remains of Shangguang Ce through the water and used the body to shield himself from any possible attacks, just in case.
"I thought you were under the impression that I'm a man," she said while pulling the two of them up. "What's with the sudden change of attitude?"
"As long as you keep making such timely appearances to save me, I might just compromise..." Han Xuhan gave her an appraising look that would hopefully piss her off.
But a creepy smile formed on Hong Wei's face.
"So if I do ever turn into a guy...you're saying..."
Han Xuhan suddenly recalled all those gender-bender plots in cultivation novels and felt a shiver crawling down his spine.
He decided not to stoke the fire of passion between them anymore and edged away from the two martial siblings, wary of Shangguang Ce's next round of tribulation bolts.
Hong Wei, for some reason, appeared totally unafraid, as if she was unaware of the fact that two cultivators pursuing similar dao would be screwed by the tribulation if they were in close proximity to each other.
She knelt down over Shangguang Ce's mutilated body and fed him a small pill, an action that made Han Xuhan's eyes go wide in shock.
Wasn't that forbidden? You couldn't rely on medicine during a breakthrough! No direct external help could be granted to a practitioner in that state or it would spell his doom!
Hong Wei seemed to notice his shock and her creepy smirk became even more prominent.
"Hey, where are your elders? Isn't anyone going to oversee his enlightenment?" Han Xuhan asked, finding the situation more and more bizarre with every passing second.
"I need not interfere in a matter so flimsy," said a gravelly voice from behind, making Han Xuhan yelp and turn around.
A lone man stood not far away from where he had been sitting. It was unknown when this stranger had appeared, but Han Xuhan hadn't noticed the slightest change in the qi flow in his surroundings this whole time...and that basically spelled that this elder was a really big fish, the sort that could compare with Kong Ye at least.
"Uh- greetings, respected elder from the Sunrider Sect. I'm Mu Ran-"
Han Xuhan's sincere introduction came to a halt as the elder raised one hand in the air gesturing for him to shut up.
"It matters not what your identity is. While we do not approve of uninvited intruders, you're a benefactor of our sect since you've tried your best to save our disciple. We'd like to overlook your initial offense and welcome you cordially...but the tournament still is in continuation. So forgive our inability to be a sincere host to our benefactor."
The elder's style of speaking was borderline obsolete, but the contents of his speech brought Han Xuhan such relief that he found the dialect to be music to his ears.
"This one thanks you, elder," he said with a polite nod.
"It was the most painful feat of my life. The tribulation bolts are too scary. And that reminds me, shouldn't Brother Ce be taken to a safe zone to complete his enlightenment?" Han Xuhan gestured emphatically at the raging sea waves crashing right at the bottom of their feet. The seawater level was already close to reaching the top of the third wall.
His worried tone did not move the elder, which was apparent from his reply.
"What tribulation?"
"...."
Behind him, Hong Wei started snickering loudly.
"But...the lightning bolts..." he muttered in a daze.
"Just another type of disaster that's included in the tournament." The elder's answer was as cold as his heart was becoming.
Slowly, Han Xuhan turned around and faced Shangguang Ce and Hong Wei.
The mutilated body of his friend had sat up at some point when he wasn't looking. Shangguang Ce grinned hideously as their eyes met.
"I must say, Brother Ran, that was very kind of you. Sharing the trial of our sect in the tournament despite not knowing us at all? That takes something special inside."
It took the entirety of his willpower to not turn red in the face and start beating someone up.
He simply took a few seconds to digest the revelation and then said, "Oh. Okay. I see."
Shangguang Ce waited for a few more seconds to gauge his reaction and was promptly disappointed.
"So....why were you meditating in the middle of these disasters?" Han Xuhan asked, scratching his head. He found it to be in his best interest to revert to his retarded persona.
"The lightning bolts require one to be in a state of deep meditation to survive the trial unscathed."
Han Xuhan asked in puzzlement, "Have you taken a look at yourself, brother Ce? I've seen zombies that look better than you."
"...Unscathed spiritually, I meant. The lightning strikes attack your spirit, your celestial form, the disembodied consciousness that you use to traverse inside your dao tower," Shangguang Ce explained.
"Initially we had the regular plan of action in mind for you. We'd lead you inside and 'extract' information from you in a way you wouldn't like. But when the flood trial struck, that plan had to be halted. So I sent little Wei to call for an Elder right before I entered meditation. I must say, it was rather risky to surrender my physical form, unprotected, to an outsider, furthermore a competitor. When my consciousness had returned, I was pleasantly surprised to see your heroic actions under such stressful circumstances."
There wasn't anything heroic about my actions.
Han Xuhan wanted to explain that he had actually run away at the first chance. The only reason he had attempted to save Shangguang Ce was because it was hard to not feel mentally disturbed when someone was slowly drowning to their death right in front of him.
On second thought, it would probably be advantageous for him to not explain any of that.
Han Xuhan was about to sigh despondently when he noticed an issue with Shangguang Ce's recollection of the events.
The cracks in the sky had opened up AFTER Shangguang Ce had 'started meditating'. He couldn't have known about the threat of the flood during the middle of his enlightenment. And he most certainly did not know that it was about to happen prior to entering his meditation.
Shangguang Ce was lying!
For a second, Xuhan was tempted to point that out, but he reconsidered. Firstly, that would be pretty out of character for his current persona, although he wasn't sure they were convinced of his act.
But more importantly, the fact that he was lying meant this could possibly be both a trap as well a chamber of secrets. There were many possibilities– were they aware of the exact time when the disaster would strike? Was there a problem with being able to predict the advent of tournament trials? Was Shangguang Ce trying to hide the fact that he was a ghost cultivator? Why did Hong Wei not contradict his claim? Who were they trying to convince-- him, or the Elder?
The Sunrider sect's business slowly took up a suspicious flair inside his mind as all the details and inconsistencies lined up.
He gradually began to find it way too unsafe to spend a single more second here than necessary.
"Well, since it seems to have been ascertained that my character is as unblemished as the beautiful moon, I would love some help in getting back to my sect. I have sustained several small injuries and some of Brother Ce's lightning bolts splashed on my body as well. The report I made on your weak defenses has been lost in the flood. How unlucky!"
"Oh, we'll be more than happy to help you recover-"
"Ah, no. That can't be done. You see, I have a special physique. I require medical assistance from the healers in my sect who are experienced in treating my body. It's quite a hassle, to be honest," Han Xuhan hurriedly interrupted Shangguang Ce. Looking surprised for a brief moment, Shangguang Ce nodded and gestured toward the Elder politely. The Elder, who had maintained his silence this entire time, spoke up.
"What kind of assistance do you require, young man?"
Han Xuhan fell down a deeper rabbit hole of suspicion. From the looks of it, the Sunrider Sect had been here inside the Archipelago for a fairly long time. They were well aware of how things worked here, what the rules and customs of the tournament were at the moment, and even the nature of the tournament's trials.
Why was the elder unaware of the fact that they had to jump down or fly above to reach other sects?
Maybe he was just overthinking it. Shaking his head forcefully, Han Xuhan explained his plan of action.
"I need you to help me get back to my sect, Elder. Since I reached your sect by falling down from my sect, I should be able to return if I manage to fly up, right?"
Han Xuhan knew how stupid his logic sounded. But currently, he could think of no other strategy with the clues he had on his hands.
The elder did not reply for some reason.
Han Xuhan looked from Shangguang Ce to Hong Wei to the elder, all three of whom had wooden expressions on their face.
"Yeah...that's not going to work, at least not that simply," Hong Wei muttered somewhat snidely.
"Are you aware of what dimensions are, brother Ran?"
"Should I?" Han Xuhan asked Shangguang Ce in a confused tone.
Shangguang Ce scratched his nose, seemingly about to say something. But then he apparently reconsidered.
"What sort of cultivation technique do you practice, by the way? Summoning undead soldiers? That's not something I see every day."
Hong Wei's loud musings brought a wave of panic inside Han Xuhan's heart. Looking above in the direction she was gazing at, he saw Tun Shi Tian circling them silently.
He had forgotten to cancel the owl's summoning cycle.
Ignoring the urge to cuss, he nodded to Hong Wei's question.
"Do you practice any other technique? Ones related to souls or spirits?" She asked.
"No."
"Then flying up is perhaps your best bet. Good luck, I guess."
"Once you've been here for a while, you'll realize how transportation between sects works here. Don't sweat it, brother Ran. I could have taught you myself, but since you don't know what dimensions are, we can't do that."
Han Xuhan noticed a faint smirk on Shangguang Ce's face as he spoke.
Did his retarded persona get exposed?
Was Shangguang Ce mocking him in a roundabout way?
Han Xuhan pretended not to notice anything and walked toward the elder while he canceled Tun Shi Tian's summon.
"Please carry him near the rift line above, elder," Shangguang Ce requested. The elder nodded curtly and grabbed Han Xuhan's forearm. Han Xuhan memorized the phrase as he considered the possible implications.
"Are you ready?" the Elder said, seconds before a mechanical buzz sounded from the elder's back.
Han Xuhan had barely finished nodding in affirmation when the elder soared upwards like an arrow.
While feeling the bursts of wind on his face, something occurred to Xuhan.
How come he hadn't broken his back after his fall? From the looks of it, he had fallen a height that could definitely turn someone of his cultivation into a gooey splatter.
He looked up at the elder dragging him higher and higher, and noticed something that made his heart flutter uncontrollably.
No, it wasn't the elder's handsomeness. He had found himself facing a pair of...thrusters.
Merely a foot wide, with a metallic sheen, the polished device had stable blue flames coming out of three tubes incessantly...This was absolutely a top-notch piece of technology out of sci-fi novels, attached to the Elder's back.
