It was early morning when the Skyshark crossed the river, heading into the Kingdom’s territory. It was flying above the hills, slowly going towards the city of Elzur, the capital city of the Elroth’s Kingdom. A few Inner and Outer Disciples were manning it, helping out in transporting the goods, while Yanda was steering the airship. Lulu was standing beside him, leaning against the side of it, watching the ground below them.
“Are you going to meet with your family?” Yanda asked suddenly, after almost an hour of complete silence.
“No, not really.”
“Why not?”
“Because they would try to stuff my head with weird shit.” She rolled her eyes, sitting up on the edge of the ship’s side, looking back at Yanda, while the passing wind played with her loose hair.
“Like?”
“Do you think they are taking the Sect seriously? Don’t kid yourself! They are only seeing the profit that the pills bring to them. My brothers are already advancing way more quickly than before. On their own they were average. Now? Hailed as geniuses by others! Hmf. Not to mention the trusted people my grandfather has, all have risen in strength, to be strong and capable. They are slowly exterminating any possible resistance in our Kingdom, cementing my family’s rule for hundreds of years to come. My grandfather looks at the Sect as a source of wealth and opportunities, nothing more, nothing less. He won’t take it seriously. Yes he may think we have strong people, but that is it. In his mind, we can’t measure up to a Kingdom’s strength and deep reserves.”
“What about your father?” Yanda asked, as his father was very much the opposite in this regard.
“Almost the same. He has a little more insight into it, but if he would need to make a decision then he would go on the same route as my grandfather. They want to challenge the Naulin’s bloodline and take over the title of theirs. Be the ‘Ruler of Ten Kingdoms’.” She groaned, rolling her eyes. “Maybe not now, but after a few hundred years… they will try to do it. They are building towards that. I don’t hate them because of it, I just disagree with them on a lot of things! I want to avoid pointless arguments... Either way, me visiting them always ends up in one, so why should I go?” She sighed, shaking her head.
“I know very little about ruling and the likes…” Yanda said, speaking a bit more to her than usual. “I was never considered to be one to inherit anything, so I was let out of things like politics. Not that my small kingdom of a home would amount to… anything.” He smiled.
“Trust me Yanda, it is better this way!” Lulu answered gently. “There is a point where you either step in line and follow what is expected from a “member of the royal family” or you try to rebel. Until you are broken in.”
“Yeah, I experienced the latter.” He rolled his eyes.
“Hey! It was not I who enslaved you, I just bought you!” Lulu chuckled. “And don’t tell me I was that harsh on you! The training does not count! Master also beat both of us to a pulp when we fought against her! Do not even bring that up!”
“You still raped me.” He snorted.
“Did I?” She licked her lips. “You were so hard most of the time… Don’t tell me you did not enjoy it! You usually splurged a ton of yummy sauce on my tongue, you bad boy~”
“That was only my body’s reaction.” Yanda answered calmly, with a barely noticeable red hue on his face but still… maintaining eye contact with Lulu.
“Okay, I did rape you then.” She walked closer to him, looking up at Yanda as their faces almost met. “I can’t help it. I am obsessed with you. I want you. I love you. I’d die for you.” Lulu said with a firm voice, not tearing her eyes away. “I don’t want to lose you or see anybody else take you away from me. I’m sick, Yanda. Sick because of you… and if you still think I am just teasing you or lying. Here.” She produced a slave collar, pressing it into his hands. “Put it on me. I don’t mind! I’ll be your dog if you wish! I am tired of this wishy-washy bullshit! You just can’t take me seriously if I don’t say anything clearly, don’t you?”
“You are mad…” Yanda whispered, completely stunned.
“I am.” She nodded, still looking at him. “I bought you because it was love at first sight!”
“You could’ve released me then.” He blurted it out unconsciously.
“And then you would’ve left! Escape immediately! No. I can’t let you go…” She whispered, and her eyes were completely honest and serious.
“...”
“Think about it.” Lulu sighed, stepping backwards, leaving the slave collar in Yanda’s hands. “I am serious about this, Yanda. If you want to really get rid of me, put that collar on me and order me to leave you alone.”
“...”
Now both of them have, once again, fallen into silence. Lulu went back to the side of the ship, watching the landscape change, while Yanda just put away the collar, going back to steering the ship.
After almost another hour, they arrived at an empty field between green hills as they landed. They were going to take a break and let Yanda rest a little to be able to keep up the control of the Skyshark on the long journey. Or at least that was what others would think, but in reality, it was to give a chance to the predicted trap to sprang. And it did so, almost immediately.
Only ten minutes after they landed, from the hills, masked figures appeared, numbering in the dozens. They started to rush down at them, roaring for battle. Going by their shouts, their goal was to capture the ship, but Lulu and Yanda knew they mostly were here to kill everybody. Especially them. In the group of bandits nobody displayed strength above the Body Refinement realm, but it did not mean there wasn’t any Harmony expert hiding amongst them.
“Elder Xendar won’t appear until we are sure everybody is here from the enemy’s side.” Lulu transmitted her voice to Yanda.
“I know.” He nodded in response “I ordered the disciples to fall back onto the ship and man the defenses. We will draw out the hidden experts.”
“Haha~ Just how I like it!” She smirked as she drew her rapier. Her body started to glow with a creamy colored light, winking at Yanda. “What do you say for a quick competition?”
“Sorry,” Yanda shook his head, summoning his trident. “I am ahead of you now. It wouldn’t be fair.” He answered as he stepped forward. Flowing water appeared below his feet and he just slid down, straight towards the ground, surfing out, to meet with the bandits.
“Tsk! Not like that I would mind losing!” Lulu shouted, following him, shooting out in a blinding light, catching up immediately.
When Yanda got close to the incoming bandits, he stomped once and multiple geysers burst out from the ground, separating the enemy into two groups. It seemed as if they agreed on it previously as Lulu was already before one of the separated groups, brandishing her rapier, sending it through the nearest person’s head. The body of the dead man was still rushing forward for a few steps before collapsing. Lulu by then has already engaged with another bandit, disarming him with only three moves and piercing his heart.
“Weak!” She giggled, dodging two swords, clearly not taking them seriously.
Yanda was much more direct and overwhelming in presence than Lulu. While holding his trident, he let his aura rumble wildly. When he struck out, from his weapon, three, highly pressurized water beams shot out. They were thin, unassuming lines. Yet with one sweep, they did not just cut three bodies in half vertically, but they even left deep scars on the ground, as grass and dirt flew up high into the air.
“Starting out with a spell already?!” Lulu shouted with a laugh while her rapier lit up brightly, blinding everyone around her. “Then I won’t hold back either!”
It was becoming so bright that the unlucky guy who was watching her weapon, to avoid its attacks, got his retinas immediately burned into crisps. He didn’t have any time to wallow in misery of going blind, because soon every feeling left his body, while his head was spinning in the air, far away from his body. “Yanda!” Lulu shouted.
At her words, Yanda just stretched out his hand, towards Lulu’s side. Fountains of blood were showering the land, after her almost lightning speed executions, beheading everyone around her. As Yanda raised his hand the blood in the air formed into crimson spikes, launching themselves at the remaining bandits, impaling them to the ground. Yanda’s hands were covered with bluish scales, glittering in the sunlight, while Lulu approached him with twinkling eyes and a wide grin.
“Fufufu, you are getting stronger and stronger~ Now you can even control blood huh?” She said while looking at the still spasming, struggling people, still trying to desperately hang onto their fading lives.
“It is made up mostly of water, so yes. But I can’t influence it yet, if it’s still inside the body.” He explained calmly.
“You did not leave any alive…” Lulu sighed, watching the last one spitting out blood and chunks of his internal organs before going limp, with a blood-spike sticking through his chest.
“Ugh… you neither!” He shuddered suddenly, remembering Ren’s request.
“True~” She stuck her tongue out. “But this was… disappointing! That’s all? It was too easy! They weren’t even at a high stage!”
“Probably they were sent to their deaths to measure our strength.” Yanda commented, looking around, trying to feel out hidden presences nearby yet could not sense anything strange.
“That would make sense.” Lulu agreed. “Then there is going to be a second wave. The question is; When or where?”
“They must be nearby. I don’t feel anything suspicious. So that is suspicious enough!” Yanda murmured with furrowed brows as the blue scales covering his body slowly retreated.
“Tsk~” Lulu said, clicking her tongue and licking her lips. “You look good with those. Why not keep wearing them? I don’t mind.”
“Because they consume my energy.” He shook his head. “It’s an extra layer of armor! And you don’t wear armor just because it looks good! You wear it when you go into battle. Let’s go back to the ship!”
“Oookay… geez, I wanted something more exciting! This was seriously disappointing!” She shrugged again, not even looking back at the fresh corpses as they arrived back to the Skyshark. Not long later they rose back to the sky, continuing their journey.
The disciples, who watched the one sided massacre and annihilation, were completely fired up, as this was the first time they could see Core Disciples at work. They were awed by their strength, wondering if they are going to be the same when reaching their stage. Only half an hour has passed after they stopped once again, now only floating in the sky.
“Get to the lower levels!” Lulu ordered with a firm voice, only looking once at the other disciples. Even if they were puzzled by the sudden change, they quickly followed her orders.
“We know you are here, come out!” Yanda shouted and a little later, on their left side, around 100 meters away, two people appeared. They were dressed in completely white, covering their facial features, leaving only their eyes visible.
“They have similar outfits as the ones responsible for attacking Elder Anya.” Lulu whispered, her hands on her rapier’s hilt.
“I told you they were just testing us. Now we are finally getting the real ambush. Sending two Harmony experts for us? Generous!” Yanda smirked, ready for battle.
“I’d say, this is where the real fun begins!” Lulu grinned, not waiting anymore. She just tossed her rapier forward, jumping on it as they could not fly without their artifacts' help. “Finally I can go all out!” She laughed, pressing her hands forward, forming a triangle with her fingers and a multi-colored beam shot out, going straight for the two enemies.
“Tsk, just like Master…” Yanda grumbled as he summoned his trident, stepping on it and following Lulu into the air. “Let’s take this a bit more seriously!” He sent over a voice projection.
“I am taking it seriously!” Lulu answered.
When her attack landed, one of their enemies just raised his hand, forming a strangely transparent shield before him, looking like a prism. It split Lulu’s beam into 7 different colors, directing them outwards effortlessly.
“Oh, are they sending two people who could easily deal with us?” She raised her eyebrows.
To get their answer, Yanda also performed one of his spells. His skin got covered in blue scales, and with a swing of his trident, he was shooting out water bullets. Just as Lulu’s attack, it got easily blocked by the second person. He also raised his hand and another shield manifested, made out of brown earth that absorbed the water as it landed on.
“Seems like it.” Yanda nodded.
To not give their enemies time Yanda’s hands moved once again. From the air and from the clouds above them, water vapor descended, forming thousands of small droplets around the battlefield. The two Harmony warriors' reactions were telling. By once again taking up defensive postures they were clearly betting on exhausting Lulu and Yanda of their energies first.
“Block this!” Lulu sent out another beam. Her counterpart was already prepared for it but not for what happened next. Before Lulu’s attack could land, it split into dozens of different strands. She was using the water droplets in the air to bend her beams’ ways and reach behind the prism, hitting both in their backs. “Hah!” She shouted.
Yanda was about to follow up with an attack of his own but at the last moment he managed to form a giant water bubble instead, shielding both of them. It was the right decision as a small, perfectly round, marble-like projectile landed on it. Thankfully the impact, landing into the water of his, quickly cracked it and made it explode into small fragments, before reaching them.
“Thanks.” Lulu whispered, watching, as the one with the prism spells, lowered his hand. He was clearly responsible for the attack while his partner just stood there, blocking Lulu’s beams with another earth shield, not even looking at them. They were completely unharmed. “They are a hard nut to crack.” Lulu clicked her tongue.
“It feels like fighting against Elder Zern. They are clearly defensive type cultivators. If we exchange blows like this, we are going to run out of energy before them!” Yanda said as he kept up the water shield around them.
“Tsk… if we would be fighting on the same level, I’d be able to move quicker than them and pierce their hearts!” Lulu grumbled.
“They are taking advantage of being in a higher realm.” He shook his head, “I would do the same.”
“Ride me.” Lulu spoke up suddenly, stunning Yanda.
“This is not the time-”
“Idiot.” She grinned at his response “I can control my rapier very well! They are inside the distance I can let it travel forward! You just have to stand on it and I’ll guide it! You can stab them with your thick and lovely weapon of your own~ I can move you faster than you can do it on your own!”
“And you did not mean it like that... Haah, okay, I’m in!” Yanda answered, shaking his head.
Lulu just laughed at his words, before jumping backwards, landing on the side railing of the Skyshark. Yanda moved at the same time and with a quick step he was already on the thin blade, balancing on it easily. Lulu’s affinity was shining around it and before anyone could react, Yanda already flashed between the Harmony experts.
“Master always told me, I could be faster than her~” Lulu looked on with complete focus as she carried Yanda forward with her weapon.
The sudden attack caught their enemies off guard and he could land hits with his trident easily. He managed in separating them with the first and second sweeps and going after the one with the prism ability first. Yanda executed the moves he learned from Ren, utilizing the same spear techniques as her, landing attack after attack in a few seconds only.
The man in white could only cover his body with his powers, blocking the incoming attacks, leaving sparks and chunks of his quartz-like armor scattering to the sides with every hit that landed. The really surprising thing for him was the seamless teamwork between Lulu and Yanda. The seemingly weaker girl carried him effortlessly and in complete sync of his strikes. It felt like Yanda and Lulu’s rapier were morphing into a single entity.
Yanda’s strikes only took a few seconds of time to execute yet he already placed one of their enemies onto his backfoot. That was when the second one finally found his own footing and rejoined the fight, aiming at Yanda’s back. Now that Yanda could completely focus on just attacking and not bother with flying, he didn’t even look back. He just formed a rippling water shield behind his back from the vapor still lingering around them.
The incoming attack, an enlarged fist, covered in rocks and dirt, landed on it just as the shield had formed. When it made contact, the fist started to sink into it as the shield transformed. It was covering the attacking hand like a sticky goo, finally stopping its momentum. Before he could pull his fist back, the trident’s backend was whizzing towards his chest. He wanted to put his hand before it to stop it but being covered with the strange water, he was unable to move it. Yanda’s attack landed square on his chest, releasing a loud thud, sending the man flying backwards with a strong force.
Lulu didn’t want to risk it too much and quickly pulled Yanda back, even if he could still go on. The previous exchange of moves only took a few seconds to execute and when Yanda looked back he could clearly feel the anger of the two assassins. Both of them were wearing armors, made out of their powers but they were chipped and cracked. He still could not cause real damage to their bodies but their pride clearly suffered a critical hit.
“You riled them up good~” Lulu giggled as Yanda arrived back to the ship, jumping off of her weapon.
“Yeah, but they are hard to hit, literally! One is made out of granite, while the other is made from compressed dirt.” He shook his hands that were a bit numb now.
Just after finishing his words, the Harmony Experts both raised their hands. Lulu and Yanda could feel the energy around them getting much more violent. From the air two, meteor-like attacks were heading towards the ship, trying to blast it to all hell, with them still on it.
“Well… fuck.” Lulu said, looking upwards. “I have nothing against that.”
“Me neither.” Yanda shrugged.
“Don’t worry. I do.” Xendar’s voice came from nowhere as a thick, blue lightning flashed, blasting the meteors into pieces.
Thunder still rang out in the sky when his figure appeared in the sky. Instead of rain, rocks fell towards the ground while Xendar stood straight as his spear. He was looking at the two with one hand behind his back, and the other holding his blue energy spear, pointing towards them.
“If you have any other tricks… it is time to play it. If not, give up and follow me back to the Sect for punishment.” Xendar spoke calmly, watching the two white clothed cultivators with an expressionless face. Yet inside his eyes lightning bolts were flashing constantly. “Or not.” He spoke again, after a short pause. “I’d prefer that… to be honest.” He whispered as his aura was constantly rising, starting to gather real storm clouds above them. “I have too much pent up anger… So please… do try and resist.” Whispered, breathing out pure electricity from his mouth.
It was early morning when the Skyshark crossed the river, heading into the Kingdom’s territory. It was flying above the hills, slowly going towards the city of Elzur, the capital city of the Elroth’s Kingdom. A few Inner and Outer Disciples were manning it, helping out in transporting the goods, while Yanda was steering the airship. Lulu was standing beside him, leaning against the side of it, watching the ground below them.
“Are you going to meet with your family?” Yanda asked suddenly, after almost an hour of complete silence.
“No, not really.”
“Why not?”
“Because they would try to stuff my head with weird shit.” She rolled her eyes, sitting up on the edge of the ship’s side, looking back at Yanda, while the passing wind played with her loose hair.
“Like?”
“Do you think they are taking the Sect seriously? Don’t kid yourself! They are only seeing the profit that the pills bring to them. My brothers are already advancing way more quickly than before. On their own they were average. Now? Hailed as geniuses by others! Hmf. Not to mention the trusted people my grandfather has, all have risen in strength, to be strong and capable. They are slowly exterminating any possible resistance in our Kingdom, cementing my family’s rule for hundreds of years to come. My grandfather looks at the Sect as a source of wealth and opportunities, nothing more, nothing less. He won’t take it seriously. Yes he may think we have strong people, but that is it. In his mind, we can’t measure up to a Kingdom’s strength and deep reserves.”
“What about your father?” Yanda asked, as his father was very much the opposite in this regard.
“Almost the same. He has a little more insight into it, but if he would need to make a decision then he would go on the same route as my grandfather. They want to challenge the Naulin’s bloodline and take over the title of theirs. Be the ‘Ruler of Ten Kingdoms’.” She groaned, rolling her eyes. “Maybe not now, but after a few hundred years… they will try to do it. They are building towards that. I don’t hate them because of it, I just disagree with them on a lot of things! I want to avoid pointless arguments... Either way, me visiting them always ends up in one, so why should I go?” She sighed, shaking her head.
“I know very little about ruling and the likes…” Yanda said, speaking a bit more to her than usual. “I was never considered to be one to inherit anything, so I was let out of things like politics. Not that my small kingdom of a home would amount to… anything.” He smiled.
“Trust me Yanda, it is better this way!” Lulu answered gently. “There is a point where you either step in line and follow what is expected from a “member of the royal family” or you try to rebel. Until you are broken in.”
“Yeah, I experienced the latter.” He rolled his eyes.
“Hey! It was not I who enslaved you, I just bought you!” Lulu chuckled. “And don’t tell me I was that harsh on you! The training does not count! Master also beat both of us to a pulp when we fought against her! Do not even bring that up!”
“You still raped me.” He snorted.
“Did I?” She licked her lips. “You were so hard most of the time… Don’t tell me you did not enjoy it! You usually splurged a ton of yummy sauce on my tongue, you bad boy~”
“That was only my body’s reaction.” Yanda answered calmly, with a barely noticeable red hue on his face but still… maintaining eye contact with Lulu.
“Okay, I did rape you then.” She walked closer to him, looking up at Yanda as their faces almost met. “I can’t help it. I am obsessed with you. I want you. I love you. I’d die for you.” Lulu said with a firm voice, not tearing her eyes away. “I don’t want to lose you or see anybody else take you away from me. I’m sick, Yanda. Sick because of you… and if you still think I am just teasing you or lying. Here.” She produced a slave collar, pressing it into his hands. “Put it on me. I don’t mind! I’ll be your dog if you wish! I am tired of this wishy-washy bullshit! You just can’t take me seriously if I don’t say anything clearly, don’t you?”
“You are mad…” Yanda whispered, completely stunned.
“I am.” She nodded, still looking at him. “I bought you because it was love at first sight!”
“You could’ve released me then.” He blurted it out unconsciously.
“And then you would’ve left! Escape immediately! No. I can’t let you go…” She whispered, and her eyes were completely honest and serious.
“...”
“Think about it.” Lulu sighed, stepping backwards, leaving the slave collar in Yanda’s hands. “I am serious about this, Yanda. If you want to really get rid of me, put that collar on me and order me to leave you alone.”
“...”
Now both of them have, once again, fallen into silence. Lulu went back to the side of the ship, watching the landscape change, while Yanda just put away the collar, going back to steering the ship.
After almost another hour, they arrived at an empty field between green hills as they landed. They were going to take a break and let Yanda rest a little to be able to keep up the control of the Skyshark on the long journey. Or at least that was what others would think, but in reality, it was to give a chance to the predicted trap to sprang. And it did so, almost immediately.
Only ten minutes after they landed, from the hills, masked figures appeared, numbering in the dozens. They started to rush down at them, roaring for battle. Going by their shouts, their goal was to capture the ship, but Lulu and Yanda knew they mostly were here to kill everybody. Especially them. In the group of bandits nobody displayed strength above the Body Refinement realm, but it did not mean there wasn’t any Harmony expert hiding amongst them.
“Elder Xendar won’t appear until we are sure everybody is here from the enemy’s side.” Lulu transmitted her voice to Yanda.
“I know.” He nodded in response “I ordered the disciples to fall back onto the ship and man the defenses. We will draw out the hidden experts.”
“Haha~ Just how I like it!” She smirked as she drew her rapier. Her body started to glow with a creamy colored light, winking at Yanda. “What do you say for a quick competition?”
“Sorry,” Yanda shook his head, summoning his trident. “I am ahead of you now. It wouldn’t be fair.” He answered as he stepped forward. Flowing water appeared below his feet and he just slid down, straight towards the ground, surfing out, to meet with the bandits.
“Tsk! Not like that I would mind losing!” Lulu shouted, following him, shooting out in a blinding light, catching up immediately.
When Yanda got close to the incoming bandits, he stomped once and multiple geysers burst out from the ground, separating the enemy into two groups. It seemed as if they agreed on it previously as Lulu was already before one of the separated groups, brandishing her rapier, sending it through the nearest person’s head. The body of the dead man was still rushing forward for a few steps before collapsing. Lulu by then has already engaged with another bandit, disarming him with only three moves and piercing his heart.
“Weak!” She giggled, dodging two swords, clearly not taking them seriously.
Yanda was much more direct and overwhelming in presence than Lulu. While holding his trident, he let his aura rumble wildly. When he struck out, from his weapon, three, highly pressurized water beams shot out. They were thin, unassuming lines. Yet with one sweep, they did not just cut three bodies in half vertically, but they even left deep scars on the ground, as grass and dirt flew up high into the air.
“Starting out with a spell already?!” Lulu shouted with a laugh while her rapier lit up brightly, blinding everyone around her. “Then I won’t hold back either!”
It was becoming so bright that the unlucky guy who was watching her weapon, to avoid its attacks, got his retinas immediately burned into crisps. He didn’t have any time to wallow in misery of going blind, because soon every feeling left his body, while his head was spinning in the air, far away from his body. “Yanda!” Lulu shouted.
At her words, Yanda just stretched out his hand, towards Lulu’s side. Fountains of blood were showering the land, after her almost lightning speed executions, beheading everyone around her. As Yanda raised his hand the blood in the air formed into crimson spikes, launching themselves at the remaining bandits, impaling them to the ground. Yanda’s hands were covered with bluish scales, glittering in the sunlight, while Lulu approached him with twinkling eyes and a wide grin.
“Fufufu, you are getting stronger and stronger~ Now you can even control blood huh?” She said while looking at the still spasming, struggling people, still trying to desperately hang onto their fading lives.
“It is made up mostly of water, so yes. But I can’t influence it yet, if it’s still inside the body.” He explained calmly.
“You did not leave any alive…” Lulu sighed, watching the last one spitting out blood and chunks of his internal organs before going limp, with a blood-spike sticking through his chest.
“Ugh… you neither!” He shuddered suddenly, remembering Ren’s request.
“True~” She stuck her tongue out. “But this was… disappointing! That’s all? It was too easy! They weren’t even at a high stage!”
“Probably they were sent to their deaths to measure our strength.” Yanda commented, looking around, trying to feel out hidden presences nearby yet could not sense anything strange.
“That would make sense.” Lulu agreed. “Then there is going to be a second wave. The question is; When or where?”
“They must be nearby. I don’t feel anything suspicious. So that is suspicious enough!” Yanda murmured with furrowed brows as the blue scales covering his body slowly retreated.
“Tsk~” Lulu said, clicking her tongue and licking her lips. “You look good with those. Why not keep wearing them? I don’t mind.”
“Because they consume my energy.” He shook his head. “It’s an extra layer of armor! And you don’t wear armor just because it looks good! You wear it when you go into battle. Let’s go back to the ship!”
“Oookay… geez, I wanted something more exciting! This was seriously disappointing!” She shrugged again, not even looking back at the fresh corpses as they arrived back to the Skyshark. Not long later they rose back to the sky, continuing their journey.
The disciples, who watched the one sided massacre and annihilation, were completely fired up, as this was the first time they could see Core Disciples at work. They were awed by their strength, wondering if they are going to be the same when reaching their stage. Only half an hour has passed after they stopped once again, now only floating in the sky.
“Get to the lower levels!” Lulu ordered with a firm voice, only looking once at the other disciples. Even if they were puzzled by the sudden change, they quickly followed her orders.
“We know you are here, come out!” Yanda shouted and a little later, on their left side, around 100 meters away, two people appeared. They were dressed in completely white, covering their facial features, leaving only their eyes visible.
“They have similar outfits as the ones responsible for attacking Elder Anya.” Lulu whispered, her hands on her rapier’s hilt.
“I told you they were just testing us. Now we are finally getting the real ambush. Sending two Harmony experts for us? Generous!” Yanda smirked, ready for battle.
“I’d say, this is where the real fun begins!” Lulu grinned, not waiting anymore. She just tossed her rapier forward, jumping on it as they could not fly without their artifacts' help. “Finally I can go all out!” She laughed, pressing her hands forward, forming a triangle with her fingers and a multi-colored beam shot out, going straight for the two enemies.
“Tsk, just like Master…” Yanda grumbled as he summoned his trident, stepping on it and following Lulu into the air. “Let’s take this a bit more seriously!” He sent over a voice projection.
“I am taking it seriously!” Lulu answered.
When her attack landed, one of their enemies just raised his hand, forming a strangely transparent shield before him, looking like a prism. It split Lulu’s beam into 7 different colors, directing them outwards effortlessly.
“Oh, are they sending two people who could easily deal with us?” She raised her eyebrows.
To get their answer, Yanda also performed one of his spells. His skin got covered in blue scales, and with a swing of his trident, he was shooting out water bullets. Just as Lulu’s attack, it got easily blocked by the second person. He also raised his hand and another shield manifested, made out of brown earth that absorbed the water as it landed on.
“Seems like it.” Yanda nodded.
To not give their enemies time Yanda’s hands moved once again. From the air and from the clouds above them, water vapor descended, forming thousands of small droplets around the battlefield. The two Harmony warriors' reactions were telling. By once again taking up defensive postures they were clearly betting on exhausting Lulu and Yanda of their energies first.
“Block this!” Lulu sent out another beam. Her counterpart was already prepared for it but not for what happened next. Before Lulu’s attack could land, it split into dozens of different strands. She was using the water droplets in the air to bend her beams’ ways and reach behind the prism, hitting both in their backs. “Hah!” She shouted.
Yanda was about to follow up with an attack of his own but at the last moment he managed to form a giant water bubble instead, shielding both of them. It was the right decision as a small, perfectly round, marble-like projectile landed on it. Thankfully the impact, landing into the water of his, quickly cracked it and made it explode into small fragments, before reaching them.
“Thanks.” Lulu whispered, watching, as the one with the prism spells, lowered his hand. He was clearly responsible for the attack while his partner just stood there, blocking Lulu’s beams with another earth shield, not even looking at them. They were completely unharmed. “They are a hard nut to crack.” Lulu clicked her tongue.
“It feels like fighting against Elder Zern. They are clearly defensive type cultivators. If we exchange blows like this, we are going to run out of energy before them!” Yanda said as he kept up the water shield around them.
“Tsk… if we would be fighting on the same level, I’d be able to move quicker than them and pierce their hearts!” Lulu grumbled.
“They are taking advantage of being in a higher realm.” He shook his head, “I would do the same.”
“Ride me.” Lulu spoke up suddenly, stunning Yanda.
“This is not the time-”
“Idiot.” She grinned at his response “I can control my rapier very well! They are inside the distance I can let it travel forward! You just have to stand on it and I’ll guide it! You can stab them with your thick and lovely weapon of your own~ I can move you faster than you can do it on your own!”
“And you did not mean it like that... Haah, okay, I’m in!” Yanda answered, shaking his head.
Lulu just laughed at his words, before jumping backwards, landing on the side railing of the Skyshark. Yanda moved at the same time and with a quick step he was already on the thin blade, balancing on it easily. Lulu’s affinity was shining around it and before anyone could react, Yanda already flashed between the Harmony experts.
“Master always told me, I could be faster than her~” Lulu looked on with complete focus as she carried Yanda forward with her weapon.
The sudden attack caught their enemies off guard and he could land hits with his trident easily. He managed in separating them with the first and second sweeps and going after the one with the prism ability first. Yanda executed the moves he learned from Ren, utilizing the same spear techniques as her, landing attack after attack in a few seconds only.
The man in white could only cover his body with his powers, blocking the incoming attacks, leaving sparks and chunks of his quartz-like armor scattering to the sides with every hit that landed. The really surprising thing for him was the seamless teamwork between Lulu and Yanda. The seemingly weaker girl carried him effortlessly and in complete sync of his strikes. It felt like Yanda and Lulu’s rapier were morphing into a single entity.
Yanda’s strikes only took a few seconds of time to execute yet he already placed one of their enemies onto his backfoot. That was when the second one finally found his own footing and rejoined the fight, aiming at Yanda’s back. Now that Yanda could completely focus on just attacking and not bother with flying, he didn’t even look back. He just formed a rippling water shield behind his back from the vapor still lingering around them.
The incoming attack, an enlarged fist, covered in rocks and dirt, landed on it just as the shield had formed. When it made contact, the fist started to sink into it as the shield transformed. It was covering the attacking hand like a sticky goo, finally stopping its momentum. Before he could pull his fist back, the trident’s backend was whizzing towards his chest. He wanted to put his hand before it to stop it but being covered with the strange water, he was unable to move it. Yanda’s attack landed square on his chest, releasing a loud thud, sending the man flying backwards with a strong force.
Lulu didn’t want to risk it too much and quickly pulled Yanda back, even if he could still go on. The previous exchange of moves only took a few seconds to execute and when Yanda looked back he could clearly feel the anger of the two assassins. Both of them were wearing armors, made out of their powers but they were chipped and cracked. He still could not cause real damage to their bodies but their pride clearly suffered a critical hit.
“You riled them up good~” Lulu giggled as Yanda arrived back to the ship, jumping off of her weapon.
“Yeah, but they are hard to hit, literally! One is made out of granite, while the other is made from compressed dirt.” He shook his hands that were a bit numb now.
Just after finishing his words, the Harmony Experts both raised their hands. Lulu and Yanda could feel the energy around them getting much more violent. From the air two, meteor-like attacks were heading towards the ship, trying to blast it to all hell, with them still on it.
“Well… fuck.” Lulu said, looking upwards. “I have nothing against that.”
“Me neither.” Yanda shrugged.
“Don’t worry. I do.” Xendar’s voice came from nowhere as a thick, blue lightning flashed, blasting the meteors into pieces.
Thunder still rang out in the sky when his figure appeared in the sky. Instead of rain, rocks fell towards the ground while Xendar stood straight as his spear. He was looking at the two with one hand behind his back, and the other holding his blue energy spear, pointing towards them.
“If you have any other tricks… it is time to play it. If not, give up and follow me back to the Sect for punishment.” Xendar spoke calmly, watching the two white clothed cultivators with an expressionless face. Yet inside his eyes lightning bolts were flashing constantly. “Or not.” He spoke again, after a short pause. “I’d prefer that… to be honest.” He whispered as his aura was constantly rising, starting to gather real storm clouds above them. “I have too much pent up anger… So please… do try and resist.” Whispered, breathing out pure electricity from his mouth.
