SIlver Waters
Yen Wen was shocked at the sudden decadence of the Silver Waters Sect. It had not been long since they could start selling their first seaweed crop. Despite that, they had found many buyers.
The Blue Crane kingdom was starting to experience a massive explosion in cultivation. The rising level of qi was like throwing a bottle of accelerant on an open fire.
People who had been stuck in their cultivation for years were now able to once again rise and the calming effect of the seaweed was much in demand.
The Silver Waters Sect had almost doubled in size with many new palaces and pagodas under construction.
Yen Wen’s small party of enforcers had long been spotted and the Sect had become a hive of activity. At least they seemed open to negotiation as a large tent was being erected outside the sect’s walls.
The Thunder Sect Elder standing next to Yen Wen on the deck of the Opulence snorted and said, “I’m not sure what these people want to talk about. They are clearly in the wrong. We should go in with a show of force to put them in their place.”
Yen Wen’s instincts agreed with the Elder, but she said, “Xiulan would prefer that we avoid fighting. She is trying to fade into the background of this new Kingdom. Let us see what they have to say.”
The Opulence slid next to the riverbank and Yen Wen and the Elder stepped off to make their way to the now-erected tent.
The Patriarch of the Silver Waters Sect was waiting for them with an affable expression. He had set out a tea set and was already sipping from a cup that radiated the tranquil aura of the seaweed.
The Patriarch did not rise as they approached but rather lazily gestured to the seat across the table from him, “Please take a seat. I have been expecting your arrival.”
There was only one chair and after a glance at her companion Yen Wen sat down.
She began by saying, “I see that our partnership has done wonders for the prosperity of your sect. No doubt you have been too busy with construction to spend our portion of the profits inland.”
She hoped that the Patriarch would back down if presented with the opportunity to do so.
The Patriarch sniffed disdainfully and replied, “Your little lover is giving herself too much credit. Partnership is a rather grandiose term for her exploitation of our internal conflict. Now that the heavens have seen fit to flood our region in qi all old agreements must bow down to strength.”
Yen Wen shook her head and said, “This discussion is pointless I see I am willing to forcefully replace you as sect Patriarch if you refuse to be reasonable. I thought this tent meant that you were open to seeing reason.”
The Patriarch smiled and retorted, “I just wanted to get you closer.”
Yen Wen was caught off guard when a sudden malicious killing intent locked onto her. Her instincts for danger were not yet refined through battle and she was a step too slow when the Patriarch sprang forward with a black spike aimed at her heart.
Unlike her, however, the Thunder Sect Elder was a seasoned warrior and shot forward to intercept the Patriarch.
The black spike instead was driven into the shoulder of the Elder. Yen Wen aimed a kick at the hand holding the spike, but her blow was rebuffed by a black shield of qi.
Yen Wen could only watch in horror as all of the Qi and vitality of the Elder drained out into the Patriarch. The Elder tried to resist but he could do nothing to stop the process.
The Patriarch said with a slightly demonic voice, “One is as good as another.”
Yen Wen backed up and noticed that her guards had started to battle the other cultivators of the Silver Waters Sect. She drew her bow and started picking off a few cultivators around her as the black qi still protected the Patriarch.
After a few seconds, the Elder crumbled to dust and the Black spike disappeared. The Patriarch's robes had ripped as his muscles grew and his eyes had turned pitch black.
“My new allies offer power instead of wealth and they will soon reforge this, Kingdom. I will offer you their head as a greeting gift,” threatened the Patriarch.
The Black qi shield dissipated, and the Patriarch summoned a tide of black water to push himself forward straight at Yen Wen. His power had surged to the fourth level of the Golden Core stage, and he now outclassed Yen Wen.
Yen Wen shot three qi-infused arrows at him in quick succession, but the black water rose to deflect them. Yen Wen dodged to the side and narrowly avoided a water-covered fist.
The battle around them was going in her favour as the silver waters sect had underestimated the strength of Xiulan’s guards but the outcome of that conflict would not matter if Yen Wen fell.
Yen Wen threw her left leg into a kick that managed to connect with the Patriarch, but the man had allowed the kick to land so that he could trade blows.
Yen Wen felt one of her ribs crack as a fist connected with her left side. Black water started to corrode her clothes and skin and she was sent flying.
Her kick had done some damage but no more than bruising. Yen Wen got to her feet and realised that she was going to have to fight in an unorthodox way if she wanted to kill this monster.
The Patriarch was confident and laughed as he moved forward to strike again. Yen Wen moved her right leg and infused it with Qi as if she was content to trade blows once again.
Once the Patriarch allowed the kick through though she instead hooked her leg around his. Another punch drove the breath from her body but she stubbornly ignored the pain maintaining her grapple with the Patriarch.
The man realised something was wrong and both of them were sent tumbling to the ground. Before he could recover Yen Wen drove a Qi-infused arrow into the Patriarch's eye.
He screamed but did not die and rained punches on Yen Wen. She clung on for dear life as she drove the arrow deeper until it reached the man’s brain. He spasmed and then fell still.
Before Yen Wen could relax a wave of Black Qi blasted out of the Patriarch. Instead of throwing her back, the qi rolled through her, and Yen Wen felt an intrusive presence of malice enter her mind.
It whispered of power and attempted to seduce her into allowing herself to succumb to carnage.
Only the thought of Xiulan allowed her to weather the temptation. Eventually, the presence receded and Yen Wen shakily stood up. The death of their leader had taken the fight out of the sect members and many were fleeing back behind their walls.
Yen Wen downed a healing pill that Zheng Ling had given her and motioned to her guards proclaiming, “Don’t leave anything standing.”
Her forces streamed towards the sect and began to tear down the structures and loot the sect.
Yen Wen looked at the pile of ashes that was once the Elder and sighed. This did not feel like a victory.
SIlver Waters
Yen Wen was shocked at the sudden decadence of the Silver Waters Sect. It had not been long since they could start selling their first seaweed crop. Despite that, they had found many buyers.
The Blue Crane kingdom was starting to experience a massive explosion in cultivation. The rising level of qi was like throwing a bottle of accelerant on an open fire.
People who had been stuck in their cultivation for years were now able to once again rise and the calming effect of the seaweed was much in demand.
The Silver Waters Sect had almost doubled in size with many new palaces and pagodas under construction.
Yen Wen’s small party of enforcers had long been spotted and the Sect had become a hive of activity. At least they seemed open to negotiation as a large tent was being erected outside the sect’s walls.
The Thunder Sect Elder standing next to Yen Wen on the deck of the Opulence snorted and said, “I’m not sure what these people want to talk about. They are clearly in the wrong. We should go in with a show of force to put them in their place.”
Yen Wen’s instincts agreed with the Elder, but she said, “Xiulan would prefer that we avoid fighting. She is trying to fade into the background of this new Kingdom. Let us see what they have to say.”
The Opulence slid next to the riverbank and Yen Wen and the Elder stepped off to make their way to the now-erected tent.
The Patriarch of the Silver Waters Sect was waiting for them with an affable expression. He had set out a tea set and was already sipping from a cup that radiated the tranquil aura of the seaweed.
The Patriarch did not rise as they approached but rather lazily gestured to the seat across the table from him, “Please take a seat. I have been expecting your arrival.”
There was only one chair and after a glance at her companion Yen Wen sat down.
She began by saying, “I see that our partnership has done wonders for the prosperity of your sect. No doubt you have been too busy with construction to spend our portion of the profits inland.”
She hoped that the Patriarch would back down if presented with the opportunity to do so.
The Patriarch sniffed disdainfully and replied, “Your little lover is giving herself too much credit. Partnership is a rather grandiose term for her exploitation of our internal conflict. Now that the heavens have seen fit to flood our region in qi all old agreements must bow down to strength.”
Yen Wen shook her head and said, “This discussion is pointless I see I am willing to forcefully replace you as sect Patriarch if you refuse to be reasonable. I thought this tent meant that you were open to seeing reason.”
The Patriarch smiled and retorted, “I just wanted to get you closer.”
Yen Wen was caught off guard when a sudden malicious killing intent locked onto her. Her instincts for danger were not yet refined through battle and she was a step too slow when the Patriarch sprang forward with a black spike aimed at her heart.
Unlike her, however, the Thunder Sect Elder was a seasoned warrior and shot forward to intercept the Patriarch.
The black spike instead was driven into the shoulder of the Elder. Yen Wen aimed a kick at the hand holding the spike, but her blow was rebuffed by a black shield of qi.
Yen Wen could only watch in horror as all of the Qi and vitality of the Elder drained out into the Patriarch. The Elder tried to resist but he could do nothing to stop the process.
The Patriarch said with a slightly demonic voice, “One is as good as another.”
Yen Wen backed up and noticed that her guards had started to battle the other cultivators of the Silver Waters Sect. She drew her bow and started picking off a few cultivators around her as the black qi still protected the Patriarch.
After a few seconds, the Elder crumbled to dust and the Black spike disappeared. The Patriarch's robes had ripped as his muscles grew and his eyes had turned pitch black.
“My new allies offer power instead of wealth and they will soon reforge this, Kingdom. I will offer you their head as a greeting gift,” threatened the Patriarch.
The Black qi shield dissipated, and the Patriarch summoned a tide of black water to push himself forward straight at Yen Wen. His power had surged to the fourth level of the Golden Core stage, and he now outclassed Yen Wen.
Yen Wen shot three qi-infused arrows at him in quick succession, but the black water rose to deflect them. Yen Wen dodged to the side and narrowly avoided a water-covered fist.
The battle around them was going in her favour as the silver waters sect had underestimated the strength of Xiulan’s guards but the outcome of that conflict would not matter if Yen Wen fell.
Yen Wen threw her left leg into a kick that managed to connect with the Patriarch, but the man had allowed the kick to land so that he could trade blows.
Yen Wen felt one of her ribs crack as a fist connected with her left side. Black water started to corrode her clothes and skin and she was sent flying.
Her kick had done some damage but no more than bruising. Yen Wen got to her feet and realised that she was going to have to fight in an unorthodox way if she wanted to kill this monster.
The Patriarch was confident and laughed as he moved forward to strike again. Yen Wen moved her right leg and infused it with Qi as if she was content to trade blows once again.
Once the Patriarch allowed the kick through though she instead hooked her leg around his. Another punch drove the breath from her body but she stubbornly ignored the pain maintaining her grapple with the Patriarch.
The man realised something was wrong and both of them were sent tumbling to the ground. Before he could recover Yen Wen drove a Qi-infused arrow into the Patriarch's eye.
He screamed but did not die and rained punches on Yen Wen. She clung on for dear life as she drove the arrow deeper until it reached the man’s brain. He spasmed and then fell still.
Before Yen Wen could relax a wave of Black Qi blasted out of the Patriarch. Instead of throwing her back, the qi rolled through her, and Yen Wen felt an intrusive presence of malice enter her mind.
It whispered of power and attempted to seduce her into allowing herself to succumb to carnage.
Only the thought of Xiulan allowed her to weather the temptation. Eventually, the presence receded and Yen Wen shakily stood up. The death of their leader had taken the fight out of the sect members and many were fleeing back behind their walls.
Yen Wen downed a healing pill that Zheng Ling had given her and motioned to her guards proclaiming, “Don’t leave anything standing.”
Her forces streamed towards the sect and began to tear down the structures and loot the sect.
Yen Wen looked at the pile of ashes that was once the Elder and sighed. This did not feel like a victory.
