Cultivation System: Elder Edition

Chapter 324

Truths and Lies (X)

"Come on out, now! I need to fight you all!"

Hm.

Hmmmm.

Okay, I'm scared.

Holy shit, what is this status window?!! There's so much crap to unpack that I don't even know where to begin--no, no, I do. Of all the things, the most shocking one was actually the 'Heavenly Chosen' trait. This is only the second time this has ever appeared, the first one being for Long Tao.

Nobody else between him and this woman (I almost called her young, despite her being my age? Ugh, I'm becoming that old guy, aren't I?) has ever had it, which means that it's extremely rare, considering what kind of insane prodigies I've inspected since then.

I'm not quite clear on what the trait itself entails, to be honest--Long Tao, I feel, is a 'protagonist' more so because he's a reincarnated monster rather than Heavenly Chosen, though it is entirely possible that it's a thick canopy that shields young cultivators from premature deaths. Or maybe it guarantees smooth sailing to a degree?

I don't know.

All I know is that it's exceedingly rare, and that, in my head, puts her on par with Long Tao. Not as strong, of course, but in the same wheelhouse, as it were.

Then there was the assortment of other, insane crap--like most 'prodigies', she has some... unsavory aspects to her. Obsessive and Sadistic are one of those pairings that really make for either the most dangerous stalker to ever exist or a psychotic cult leader that will eventually go out in a massive blaze of glory. A literal one, at that.

The topping of the wretched cake that is her entire self is the Brain-Worm; seeing as she's already learned the same cultivation method as her father did, she was taken into the 'cult' (or whatever it is) already, and yet, somebody actually dared infect her with it. Can't be any random dude from the street, so it's probably some internal struggle that she's merely the victim of.

If possible, I don't want to entangle with the crazy any more than necessary, but before I could utter a sound, all four kids descended from their seats, though they didn't surround her. Rather, they all decided to go to their own arenas, one per the rectangle.

This... well, pissed her off, to say the least.

"... what are you doing?" she hissed, cackling. "He he, funny. You lot are very, very funny. I like funny. I don't like stupid or arrogant. And you are being both. I will give you one more chance: attack me, all four of you at once, or suffer the consequences. No, no, that won't get you--if you don't attack me, I will have my Father behead your Master and display his shame on the city's tallest tower."

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Hm.

Well, one thing is for sure: she knew just how to get them all riled up to the umpteenth degree. None of the four kids said anything as their expressions dropped, though they did migrate to the arena. But... my gut was screaming at me. Louder than it ever had before.

The first to attack was Wan Lan--it wasn't a particularly grandiose attack, just a simple punch. The woman responded by shuffling Qi suffused with wind and blasting outwardly, sending Wan Lan barreling back. At the same time, tendrils of darkness appeared around her and lashed toward her rear, which she nimbly dodged by reversing the outward blow of the wind--she manifested a pebble-sized bundle of wind and shot it at herself, using it to evade the lashes and retaliate at the same time, conjuring up a massive bolt of lightning in her right hand and hurling it toward Light.

It wasn't particularly fast, as the woman was clearly holding back, for better or worse, prompting Light to respond just as lethargically--that little gremlin audibly yawned, stretched, and only then shuffled to the side, dodging the bolt of lightning.

"Pfft, ha ha ha~" Only a few people laughed--kids in the arena, Rayce, and a few muffled sounds from the blocked balcony above—but it was enough for the woman's face to distort as her smile turned into a bedeviled grin.

"Funny, funny indeed. Funniest, even!" she cackled. "Let's see if you find this funny!"

She slammed her palms together, drifting upward as though flying--she wasn't, at least not how cultivators traditionally fly. Instead, she conjured a squall of wind beneath her feet that lifted her up.

As soon as the thunderous roar of her palms slamming together burst out, the skies above--which were perfectly clear and sunny just a moment ago--turned desolately grey, with lightning streaks coiling around rapidly and violently.

Within the blink of an eye, several dozen bolts of lightning slammed down into the arena, some as thin as a strand of hair and some as thick as an arm, with the former tearing open small holes in the stone and the latter just drilling straight through like borers.

I nearly yelped, my eyes immediately darting to the four shadows that had nimbly dodged it, speedily retaliating as Dai Xiu punched so hard that the burst of wind reached the woman that was good forty feet up in the air. The latter merely pushed out with her palm and dispelled it with a wide grin, turning sideways and dodging a bolt of twilight-colored Qi that Light had sent.

In the midst of my daze, the entire audience seemed to suddenly stand up and cheer, so much so that the world quaked.

"YOUNG LADY YAWEN!!"

"YOUNG LADY, KILL THEM!!"

"ETHEREAL RAIN!!"

My eyebrows twitched; this feeling was... strangely nostalgic. Reminded me of attending Jaguars games against the Patriots. I wasn't even from Florida and had never lived there, but when I was eight, I thought jaguars were the coolest animals in the world, even cooler than dragons. And, well, the rest is history.

Being drowned out by opposing roars isn't an unfamiliar feeling to me, but I worried for the kids; how would they endure being rooted against by thousands of people, and very loudly at that?

... turns out, they didn't seem to give a rat's ass?

Xi Zhao remained in the back, oddly not even drawing out his sword, while Wan Lan and Dai Xiu would jump as high as they could to try and attack while Light supported them with occasional lashes. It was clear that the battle was mostly just performative, even as far as the woman was concerned, as despite her attack being legitimately terrifying, none of the truly massive bolts of lightning came anywhere close to any of the kids.

Was it a coincidence? I don't think--nope, it was; she just ripped open a boulder the size of a small house, set it on fire, and threw it directly at Xi Zhao.