Chapter 269

  Enduring Eternity (I)

  Xing Feng's status window certainly changed quite a bit in the span of perhaps fifteen hours or so.

  [Target: Xing Feng]

  [Age: 10]

  [Talent: Peak Heaven]

  [Cultivation Realm: Fourth Stage of Qi Condensation]

  [Cultivation Method: Spirit Sword Harmony, First Volume]

  [Cultivation Arts: None]

  [...]

  [Traits]

  [Lucky (Epic) -- uniquely lucky; favorable things happen for seemingly no reason]

  [Quiet (Common) -- a naturally withdrawn countenance]

  [...]

  [Special Physique Detected: Martial Body (Jade)]

  [...]

  [Martial Body (Jade): a physique that alters one's perception of reality when they wield any weapon or use the equivalent weapon art; it shines the brightest once the person masters dozens of weapon arts, using them interchangeably and at will to dominate any battlefield]

  [...]

  [Recommendation: A mortal remade, Host is recommended to simply give his Disciple a bit of time to fully realize the newfound talent and physique. Once the target breaks into the Foundation Establishment, you may teach them specific Weapon Arts]

  [...]

  [Final assessment: from null potential to one of the heavens, though the end path is limited due to the artificial nature of the roots, it is only so when compared against the utterly unique, heaven-loved, of which there are staggeringly few in all of the worlds]

  For my own sanity's sake, everyone kept their mouths shut--even if they knew what I pulled off wasn't exactly normal, they at least didn't get into my face about it.

  Especially Long Tao.

  Because, and I feel this strongly, the only reason Lao Shun isn't currently barraging me with questions is because he's following Long Tao's example.

  Great news for me--at least for now.

  "No, no, Zhao! Attack me from this side!" Dai Xiu ordered the somewhat tired-seeming Xi Zhao. "And don't hold back, okay?! If you do, I will yell at you!"

  They weren't sparring, per se, and it was more Dai Xiu trying to iron out the few weaknesses she picked up. Namely, she was most often hurt by somebody attacking from her left side; she favored her right quite a bit, and it, I guess, passively impacted the way she perceives things. Her ability to react to attacks she doesn't see coming, according to her, mind you, is abysmal, and she needs to fix it as soon as possible.

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  As such, she employed the whetstone she now started calling Zhao, telling him to attack her with all he's got from the blind spot.

  He, of course, held back as he'd most certainly injured her; she got mad, yelled at him, and they've been at it for at least an hour now.

  "They... hate each other?" Xing Feng voiced.

  "No, no, they don't hate each other," Wan Lan explained. "It's just... that's how they show they like each other, okay? But--they're a special case! Don't be like them!"

  The young boy nodded fervently, all while Light stared at him curiously for a moment before turning toward me.

  "I'm still the youngest," she said.

  "... uhm. Yes?"

  "Hm. Good." She smiled stealthily and looked away, and I was left wondering what exactly she meant.

  Maybe she means we'll keep spoiling her because she's the youngest? Or... maybe she's already worried about growing old and likes being the youngest?

  ... yeah.

  If I knew what the hell kids thought, I'd have gone into child psychology.

  Besides that, one more thing of note happened: the flower that was here, the system actually told me what it is.

  Well, I use told very loosely here, as I don't have an iota of an idea what it does.

  [Mirror-Flower (???) -- reveals the truth]

  Perfect.

  ... what truth? Who the hell knows...

  The funny bit was that neither Lao Shun nor Long Tao seemed particularly interested in the flower--they examined it, sure, but it seems both concluded it was just some random, worthless thing and gave up on it. Even though the system is being extremely vague, the fact that its rarity is considered unknown tells me that this thing is far from ordinary.

  How unordinary it is, I guess time will tell.

  I turned my gaze to the side and saw Long Tao stirring the pot full of food--he'd become quite committed to cooking, though, to be honest... he was not good. I mean, he made mostly edible things, but I was able to cook better than him when I was like 14, and I could not cook when I was 14.

  "... in some ways, you are far more monstrous than any of your Disciples," Lao Shun sat down next to me and said rather abruptly. "I suppose that's why they're your Disciples. I've committed a grave error in judgement when I chose to follow you, did I not?"

  "Oh, the gravest," I said as he smiled, turning his head toward me. "And the stupidest, too. Can't leave that out."

  "Certainly cannot. Oh well. Legends are not made by the chairbound alchemists who never leave their gilded towers. If I must suffer to see the myths being written... then suffer I shall. What are your plans now?" he asked, and I really didn't have a ready answer.

  What were our plans?

  I thought it was going after Sages, but I get this distinct impression that Long Tao had cooled on the prospect, likely realizing we were nowhere near strong enough yet--and that's with him already recognizing that (partly) back in the city.

  But I also don't know where else to go; my initial plan, when we were running from the sect, was to eventually round down south and then move eastward. All the books and pamphlets and tomes I'd read in the sect's library indicated that the land east of the Heaven-Piercing Peaks was abundant with resources and opportunities. I mean, the texts are probably exaggerated to a degree, but if there wasn't a nugget of truth in there, most of them would not be saying it.

  But we are almost as far away from the east as we can be.

  We could turn south and retreat, but it'd likely take months longer, not to mention how boring it'd be.

  "If you don't, or if your plans changed," he said. "I may have an idea."

  "Oh?" I looked over at him, feeling glad that I'd taken him in for the first time, practically.

  "Are you familiar with the Moon Lake?"

  "... vaguely."

  "So, you aren't," he grinned rather cheekily. "One of the reasons why I accepted the Madame's invitation to come here was because the symptoms sounded familiar to that of the parasite, but another was because there was something else here that I wanted to attend after: the Moon Festival. It happens once in a while, from what I recall, and the scheduled date for it is in about a month."

  "What is it?" I asked since he literally shut his mouth until I did. And, of course, he grinned at my question. I mean, he must be enjoying it slightly, at least, this tiny sense of victory after being repeatedly shocked ever since joining us...

  "It's a hunt," he said. "Well, a competition--but also a hunt. Supposedly, at the bottom of the lake resides an ancient Flood Dragon who failed to evolve into a full Dragon; ashamed, it rooted itself in the lakebed and died there, leaving behind an entire, intact corpse."

  "You believe it?"

  "Of course not," he shrugged. "If there ever was a full, intact corpse of any kind of dragon in there, it's been taken a long, long, long time ago. No, the dragon is mostly just an excuse that allows us to roam free in the lake's waters. And though there are no dragons there, there still are things worth visiting for.

  "Namely, Red Lotus, a key ingredient in concocting the Six-Flower Pill, something all your Disciples could really use..."