Her Invader’s Roar didn’t match up to the full potential that she sensed within it, as could be seen by the fact that the Preserver Captain stood up only a minute after she had knocked him down, and managed to vaguely recover after five.
Still, Ru Shi didn’t feel the need to dispute the results of the battle, short as it may have been, and instead tried to proceed with other matters as calmly as he could. The only sign of the previous battle having actually happened was that every time his gaze passed Wei Yi, he would tremble just a little bit, a flash of chains appearing in his eyes. Only the Ascendant was aware that this was merely an illusion, one that would pass in a day at most, less if his mind was sturdier than that of the average man.
The first fight to occur after this was between Chao Jin and one of the other competitors, and it was nothing particularly impressive. It began slowly, with some testing attacks using slight variations on the Starry Torrent and the technique learned by her foe, elevating each attack’s strength and complexity just a little bit before the northern woman managed to unleash an attack at just the right time to win. Of course, it wasn’t just the Starry Torrent, as that would be against the intention of the trial, but in comparison to some of the modifications that Wei Yi had pulled off in the past, it wasn’t really worth describing it.
All that really mattered was that it was a good enough display for Chao Jin to pass this round, and that she did ultimately win, so after improving the healing pill that she was forced to take this time as well, for the same reasons, she stood back and casually observed the rest of the fights without much immediate active focus on them.
Once they were done, she would still go through them to see if there was anything of note for her to learn from, but it was unnecessary to do so now.
Her focus for the moment was on the Invader’s Roar, which interested her the most out of everything she had managed to develop in the Ru District so far. It had worked well enough, and gave her quite a few ideas for improvement. For one, it showed her with great clarity that the version of the technique that she was using could be greatly improved simply by refining the concept that she was utilising within her methods.
A concept was something that many techniques used, and something that she had utilised herself as well plenty of times. However, with the Invader’s Roar, she had the chance to transform a concept into actual power far more directly than with the vast majority of her methods, because the power of the Invader’s Roar’s Imitation Roar – the technique that she had derived from the skill’s materials and used in the fight – was heavily dependent on the cognitive image that she utilised while assaulting the mind of her foe. As seen with Ru Shi, her form bound by chains was very striking, but it was a rather raw, unfocused depiction of the self, very much unlike the form that it was inspired by.
She still remembered the image of the figure shrouded in light and surrounded by chains that the Realm of Potential had shown her, and it did influence her greatly. It couldn’t be used in its raw form, as it was simply not her, whether she was using similar methods or not, but she could learn from it. Wei Yi knew for a fact that she needed to minimize certain parts of the image, and then boost others so that they would be the focus. Something like the chains of Law was very much effective, but she was sure that she could make it even more effective if she intentionally made use of them.
Those chains could bind and surround a foe, then unveil their true nature to result in a far greater impact than simply showing the imagined outer shape of the Laws that bind her, the foe, and the entire world, if not even beyond. She did not, after all, know how far a world went, nor what exactly a world was. Perhaps a world was only the Planar Continents, or perhaps the otherworldly demons came from the same world, and the world encompassed a great deal more than she could have imagined.
Learning something like that would be incredibly beneficial to her, as her current source of power was also knowledge, albeit not as directly as she would have liked to have with the techniques of the Preservers.
So long as she had a proper comprehension of the world, her every method could get an immense boost in effectiveness and power, as she could obtain numerous Laws to use for her own benefits while also developing millions of other Dao in full from that simple understanding – relatively speaking, of course. The world was something that encompassed everything, after all, and so long as she understood space, she could understand the elements, life and death, energy and more, allowing her to combine the knowledge of planar energy’s true form with the world’s true state to effectively influence it in a way that no cultivator before her could possibly have done.
Her usage of Law was already similar in this regard, as she got closer to the true nature of the world, and whether she shifted to a Dao of Reality or stuck to her Dao of Law, as she wished to do for now, her strength would still be increased significantly. To affect the fabric of the world itself, directly, rather than going through the layers of additional complexity introduced by typical cultivation, was supreme.
‘My mind just can’t think of anything easier than that, can it? I have to comprehend the nature of the world, I have to consider what leads to everything being as it is instead of simply doing my best with it…’ she sighed to herself, ‘Anyway, once these fights come to an end, I should be able to get to one of the libraries of the Preservers, and possibly have a chat with one of the leaders, if they think that perfectly completing all four of their challenges is worth their time. If not… I’m certain there’s something that I could do to get their interest.’
She worked a little more on the concepts of the Invader’s Roar while she waited, of course, and made sure to emphasise the true nature of the chains in her conceptual image so that the shock would be greater.
Time passed, and as the sun begun to set, the trials were finally finished. Many had failed, and beside her, eleven had managed to get into the next step of the process, for there had to be one. It had been stated with perfect clarity at the beginning of this ceremony that only ten were necessary, and so two would have to go, regardless of who that was. If there was one thing that all twelve were rather certain of, it was that Wei Yi would be unlikely to lose her spot.
Hence, some considered which other participant they might be able to succeed against, whereas a few actually focused on the Ascendant even more as a result. They knew that she could read quickly, comprehend vast amounts of information quickly, and manifest a technique that easily incapacitated the Preserver Captain for quite a while – in terms of a battle, not the world as a whole – so she would be a tough opponent, but that made them think that there had to be something that she was weak to. If there was, then taking advantage of it and defeating her would give them the perfect opportunity to secure a position that others would be afraid to challenge, especially if they won flawlessly.
The initial words of Ru Shi had implied an additional trial in this situation, but after he took one look at the focused expressions of eleven candidates, he changed his mind. It would be best for the Preservers to get the best, and if they managed to determine this in battle rather than in some other way, he wouldn’t lose out anyway.
It was not actually necessary to limit the number of new honorary Preservers, given that their power in comparison to true Preservers would be rather insignificant, and their status wouldn’t be that high even in the Ru District, not to mention outside of it, so he could always invite those that lost a battle a few days later. Depending on their timing in entering the libraries of the Preservers, it was even possible for them to never know that this even happened, meaning that no particular explanations would even need to be made.
“Wei Yi, was it? I challenge you!” the silence of the contemplating candidates was broken when one of them suddenly stepped out and pointed at the Ascendant.
He was a typical southern man, tall, strong and clad in a thick layer of fur and a few pieces of plate, and his voice boomed clearly when he made his declaration. With his aura being clearly displayed since the start, there was no doubt that he was in the fifth realm as well as his chosen opponent, meaning that this wouldn’t put him at as much of a disadvantage as he could have had against a far stronger enemy.
“Oh, do you? What do you want to compete in? Another fight, or something else?”
“How about a game of cards?”
“No.”
The man shrugged, not displaying whether he had been hoping to actually win with a card game, and instead waved to the fading barrier that had been put in the middle of the square.
“A fight of sorts will be sufficient, so long as it is fair. I have obtained methods regarding water-type energy, so I would partake in a competition to see who can shape the most elaborate and most appealing object out of the contents of a bowl of water,” the man proposed, “It should be an excellent trial for our abilities and understanding of what we are doing.”
“Is that so? Any other rules you want to specify?” she asked, as he was clearly attempting to put himself in a state that would be most beneficial to him and so wanted to make sure that he didn’t slip up in that regard. After all, she was very much interested in challenges that might provoke some inspiration for herself, so if he accidentally made it very easy for her to win, she would be rather disappointed at the missed opportunity, among other things, “After all, if one of us attempts to select the winner, it wouldn’t be very fair, but Ru Shi doesn’t know how to judge our performance just yet.”
“Well, that was most of it. The only thing I would like to add is that these objects, sculptures, or whatever you would like to call them, should have the ability to remain stable for at least fifteen seconds without visible palpations, with or without personal involvement.”
‘So that’s what he thinks I won’t be able to do. His earth-type cultivation might actually allow him to use the stuff found in the manuals and materials to achieve that specification, but I don’t see any reason that I won’t be able to do the same, with or without physical water… Nah, I’ll do something better, so long as I can,’ the Ascendant thought, shrugging, “Alright, if you wish. I have no issues with this, so if the Captain doesn’t…”
“I can adjudicate this, so you may proceed once… Ru Qi, fetch a large bowl of water and make sure it doesn’t freeze!” the Preserver Captain instructed.
The other Preserver followed the instruction quickly, rushing out and rushing back in after only a few moments, carrying a bowl full of water into the square. It was prevented from spilling out with the use of a layer of planar energy, which he dispelled the moment that he put it down in the middle of the barrier, making sure to reinforce it prior to departing.
Wei Yi and the southern man glanced at one another, asking a silent question to one another. In theory, going first would put one at a disadvantage, as their foe could learn something from their attempt and therefore win just with that benefit. This was a problem even if they had been evenly matched, but it was undeniable that one was a much faster learner than the other, meaning that the southern man really didn’t wish to give her any help.
“As the one to issue the challenge, you should go first,” Ru Shi said, interrupting their brief staring contest, “It was one made in the belief you would win, is it not?”
“… That was the intention, of course. Very well, I shall be first, but take note of this if the outcome is close!” the man proclaimed, stepping up to the barrier’s edge, “At that point, I would at the very least like to request the declaration of a tie!”
‘You’re already assuming defeat. That’s in no way beneficial to you, but I guess I won’t tell you that for now. Maybe later, if he takes the defeat well and is open to actually listening to me, unlike a few that have lost to me and then got rather frustrated and angry,’ she thought as he proceeded into the middle of the barrier, stepping up to the bowl and sitting down on his knees.
His eyes shut and he focused, keeping his hands on his legs for now as he clearly took the time to process everything he was intending to attempt. Even if the basic idea of the technique he wished to use was already settled in his mind, there was a lot that he still had to calculate and understand prior to being able to display something that had a chance of victory. In fact, calculation was an aspect that many needed to consider whenever manifesting a planar construct, but it was often skipped by the understanding of the technique they used, as it was usually considered and done by the creator of the technique in advance.
They had not set any specification of how long they would have, so there was no attempt to speed him up from anyone in the area, not that some didn’t wish to do so. While reading books hadn’t been the most exciting thing even for those that enjoyed the prospect, doing absolutely nothing was duller.
Nineteen minutes and several seconds after he began, he finally moved his hands and focused his energy upon the bowl of water, within which a litre of fluid was contained.
His planar energy spread throughout the liquid, and prompted it to rise out of the bowl, the water forming the rudimentary form of a pineapple, a northern fruit that was very popular amongst men in particular. Down at the south, and even in the Central Plains, the popularity was slightly lesser, so it was quite a surprise to see it as the product of his lengthy deliberation. Still, it was a sensible enough choice.
A pineapple wasn’t the most complex shape in the world, nor the most varied, but still had enough to make it more complex than a simple sphere or cube. With this, it was clear that he was doing more than just holding up a bit of water with planar energy.
This sculpture lasted for exactly sixteen seconds before it fell back into the world and nearly splashed out, with the water being contained at the last moment with a cosmic barrier.
“There, I have done it. Now, it is your turn,” the man said, stepping out on clearly unsteady legs.
“Why a fruit of all things, by the way? Other than the shape making it rather easy to form, of course,” the Ascendant asked as she took a step towards the barrier.
“I have never been to the north, but I have studied many texts of the kinds of things that they have there. I found it interesting enough, so I have attempted to recreate some of them in various methods before. There are a few objects that I have sculpted, which I could display to you,” he explained, crossing his arms in an attempt to look stronger than he felt at that moment, “In fact, I might attempt to hire an array master to create something like this in a more permanent manner.”
She didn’t comment, as she had a feeling that she would say something rude to him regarding the quality of his work, and simply stepped inside. It was better to focus on what she was attempting to do rather than the chatter before it.
Unlike her opponent, she didn’t just want to hold up a bit of water in the air. No, that was possible, but simply too easy when she had so much more ability and potential, not to mention all of the Dao and Laws that she had comprehended in her life – primarily in the last two years, admittedly. If that was not to be used, and if she just allowed her ability to be overlooked by herself, it would be a complete waste of it, regardless of the source and purpose of it. Manifesting a water sculpture might be easy enough, especially with all of the material provided by the Preservers, but it could lead to something greater.
For that reason, as she reached out towards the bowl and prepared, she didn’t try to direct her planar energy into the container. Instead, she forced it to change.
The Truth of the Universe had changed her energy for her many times since they awoke, so she was very used to the feeling, and she was also aware that this was something that she was only capable of due to them. Without them, to fundamentally alter the structure of the energy with but a thought would be impossible, at least so long as she was bound by the world’s Laws and planar energy itself.
As a result, she had relied on them for a long time to do what she could not, and this time, she didn’t intend to shoulder all of the responsibility herself, either. Instead, she wanted to force the change when it might otherwise be restricted, as it usually was before she fully comprehended a new kind of energy. This time, she did not yet have the full cultivation method laid out and perfected, and she didn’t intend to waste her time coming up with a cultivation method, as she knew exactly what she wanted to achieve and knew that she wouldn’t be giving it to anyone else.
In a single breath, a decade passed within her mind. A simple act of raising a hand was completed with countless effective hours of thought and contemplation, and when her planar energy did leave the body, it did so in a very uncertain state. It almost looked as if it flickered in and out of existence.
There was only a lone spark, flickering in and out of reality and the view of the audience, as well as the judge and her opponent. Quietly and slowly, it fell upon the water in the bowl, and seemed to do naught but lay there, sinking into the water at an even slower pace than it had prior to landing. It should have been even duller than the previous preparation of the southern man, and yet it was oddly entrancing, somehow.
“… Wait, is the water-”
“It is rising! The water is actually rising!” one of those that successfully passed the previous challenges and now observed the proceedings exclaimed, their eyes widening as they witnessed something seemingly simple, yet absolutely incredible. To someone unfamiliar with cultivation and planar techniques, it might not seem that way, but no-one present was anything less than an expert.
Bound planar energy didn’t propagate, it couldn’t grow, it couldn’t just randomly enter materials and affect them beyond cutting into them or exploding them. And yet, that is what they saw.
From the water, a thin strand akin to the shoot of a plant rose up, something slowly blooming at the top of it. It took a little while, but more strands, branches, one might say, began to grow, and the slight bulge at the top spread out into a flower that grew bigger and more detailed with every moment that they existed. These flowers looked to be a cross between a lily and a water lily, with the higher number of petals of the latter and the many leaves that grew from the stem of the former, making it rather easy to find a name for the energy and technique that came out of it.
‘Water Lily… Mysterious Water Lily, if I am to stick to my usual naming scheme. It is… quite beautiful, actually. The best thing is that it should be able to grow on its own…’ Wei Yi thought, allowing her mind to calm down a little from the previous extensive contemplation and calculation, ‘Come to think of it, every one of my dual types of energy has resulted in something significantly more effective than a simple alternate form of planar energy. Each one has a special ability, sometimes based on the combination of two elements, sometimes coming from the way in which it is accomplished, like with my lightning energy. The five elements seem so simple on first glance, so clear, but there is a lot to be derived from them, that much is clear.’
From a lone stem appeared more and more flowers, and as they did so, she felt that her own energy became stronger. Her cosmic energy didn’t rise by a full stage, but her bloodline did, meaning that her overall capability received yet another small boost. With this in mind, she did want to go on and create every other combination of elements that she could, but it was far more difficult to do this than to say it, and she couldn’t exactly get all of the right inspiration in an instant, forcing her to delay it for now.
Once the flower grew sufficiently, she turned to the man that had challenged her and said, “I don’t want to speak out of turn, or for the Preserver Captain, but I think this is likely to win over your rendition of a pineapple.”
“Seems so. Captain, are you in agreement?”
“There isn’t much competition, frankly. Whether I look at the time taken, the overall result, the ingenuity, complexity or any other aspect, Wei Yi wins by a very clear margin,” Ru Shi stated, looking at the water lily that continued to grow, “If it keeps going like this, I suspect the Preserver Commander will be interested in keeping this in his office.”
The comment was simple, but it showed a great deal. Anything that interested powerful figures, especially learned and intelligent ones, had to be noteworthy in some regard, and unlike certain niche items that didn’t usually appeal to anyone but those types, flowers were seen fondly by most. Thus, it won over the transient pineapple water sculpture even when it came to general appeal, meaning that it would be preferred in a situation where it and the pineapple where shown side by side.
Even if the southern man disagreed with this judgement, there was nothing he could do about it. He sighed and shrugged.
“Very well, it seems that I have failed… So, I will challenge you instead!” he attempted again.
“There will only be one attempt, and you did not succeed. You may leave,” the Preserver Captain interrupted, “If we permit everyone to challenge everyone else at least once, then this will take a whole day, if not more. We do not have time for that, and you hardly need another attempt once you have failed a challenge that you had set out.”
The southern man was clearly unhappy with the decision, but there wasn’t much that he could say in this regard. After a few moments of quiet grumbling, he walked off slowly, clearly glancing back in the hopes of discovering some opportunity to join the Preservers, nonetheless.
Nothing of the sort came, at least not immediately, leaving eleven people that were attempting to become honorary Preservers. Rightfully, this should have elicited another trial, duel or something of the sort, but the Ascendant wished to cut it short mostly due to not seeing the possibility of anything sufficiently interesting occurring without her involvement. There was much to learn from the people here, but the chances of it being demonstrated in an attempt to score an easier victory over another were unfortunately low. To avoid something unnecessary like that, she went over to the Preserver Captain and leaned over slightly to whisper in his ear.
“Don’t need to take my word for it, but I’d say that man over there cheated a little bit.”
“He… how?”
“First trial, he had not used the method of the technique you gave him, but a similar one that I had found in a library not far from here. Second part, the summary included several details that he hadn’t actually obtained, based on what he could have possibly read with his gaze and spiritual perception. Third part, he-”
“All of them, right?”
“Pretty much, yeah. If you want to knock someone out quickly, you can do it with him under the premise of trying him out later, while paying a little more attention to his actions. It’d be a good idea even if you don’t kick him out.”
“… Very well, I shall do this. As someone that is about to become an honorary member of the Preservers, I suppose that you have the right to comment on this matter.”
She nodded and walked away again, waiting for the following events to finish up. Whether the man was kicked out or kept in, and regardless of how it happened, she didn’t do more than ensure that anything that happened was kept in her memory for later confirmation. Frankly, the development of the Mysterious Water Lily and the ideas that she had come up with regarding the usage of the Truth of the Universe as a result took a lot out of her, so she wanted to get onto that which mattered to her as quickly as she could.
The man was told to leave, the rest of the people convened and were officially granted the title of honorary Preservers, and then were led into the archive that they had gathered outside of. Therein they were granted tokens of their identity and permitted to enter the place where their important texts were actually kept, barred from the outside world via an incredibly thick layer of material that deterred spiritual perception and prevented them from being seen by Wei Yi.
Some explanation followed, but just as with everything before it, she filed it away and prepared to check it out later. Instead, she attempted to make use of her current mental capacity to obtain everything she could from the library and study in full the main techniques of the Preservers.
There were only a few techniques, and they all fit under the category of knowledge-based methods, to the extent that she felt rather confident about putting them all under a Knowledge Dao. In just a few moments, she was able to find the very thing that she had been seeking, Knowledge Amplification, but she also found Knowledge Slam, a simple enough attack method that made use of a book, Shielded Eyes, which manifested a book that would consume attacks, and Learned Blast, which, unsurprisingly, required a book to slam the air and manifest a large bolt of energy to attack a more distant enemy than the Knowledge Slam would allow.
Wei Yi had a few things to say about their naming sense, but before she got the chance, her spiritual perception alerted her to an approaching figure.
“Seventh realm…” she muttered, turning to the person, “I assume you’re the Patriarch?”
“A very calm and disinterested response, Wei Yi, Ascendant. Were you not intending to speak with me during your visit?” the man asked, his voice needing to pass through a rather thick haze that had formed around her consciousness.
“On the contrary, actually, but I am going to need a moment to recover. I had not intended to create a new combination of elements today, and I had slightly overworked myself. I will require just a moment, so if this is not urgent…” she didn’t finish, and instead leaned against the bookshelf she had been obtaining her information from and shut her eyes, grabbing the large amount of information in her mind and slowly beginning to separate it all into relevant areas.
There was a lot to work on, so she presumed it could almost take a whole minute to go through everything, especially if more appeared while she was doing so, like from the Patriarch.
Her Invader’s Roar didn’t match up to the full potential that she sensed within it, as could be seen by the fact that the Preserver Captain stood up only a minute after she had knocked him down, and managed to vaguely recover after five.
Still, Ru Shi didn’t feel the need to dispute the results of the battle, short as it may have been, and instead tried to proceed with other matters as calmly as he could. The only sign of the previous battle having actually happened was that every time his gaze passed Wei Yi, he would tremble just a little bit, a flash of chains appearing in his eyes. Only the Ascendant was aware that this was merely an illusion, one that would pass in a day at most, less if his mind was sturdier than that of the average man.
The first fight to occur after this was between Chao Jin and one of the other competitors, and it was nothing particularly impressive. It began slowly, with some testing attacks using slight variations on the Starry Torrent and the technique learned by her foe, elevating each attack’s strength and complexity just a little bit before the northern woman managed to unleash an attack at just the right time to win. Of course, it wasn’t just the Starry Torrent, as that would be against the intention of the trial, but in comparison to some of the modifications that Wei Yi had pulled off in the past, it wasn’t really worth describing it.
All that really mattered was that it was a good enough display for Chao Jin to pass this round, and that she did ultimately win, so after improving the healing pill that she was forced to take this time as well, for the same reasons, she stood back and casually observed the rest of the fights without much immediate active focus on them.
Once they were done, she would still go through them to see if there was anything of note for her to learn from, but it was unnecessary to do so now.
Her focus for the moment was on the Invader’s Roar, which interested her the most out of everything she had managed to develop in the Ru District so far. It had worked well enough, and gave her quite a few ideas for improvement. For one, it showed her with great clarity that the version of the technique that she was using could be greatly improved simply by refining the concept that she was utilising within her methods.
A concept was something that many techniques used, and something that she had utilised herself as well plenty of times. However, with the Invader’s Roar, she had the chance to transform a concept into actual power far more directly than with the vast majority of her methods, because the power of the Invader’s Roar’s Imitation Roar – the technique that she had derived from the skill’s materials and used in the fight – was heavily dependent on the cognitive image that she utilised while assaulting the mind of her foe. As seen with Ru Shi, her form bound by chains was very striking, but it was a rather raw, unfocused depiction of the self, very much unlike the form that it was inspired by.
She still remembered the image of the figure shrouded in light and surrounded by chains that the Realm of Potential had shown her, and it did influence her greatly. It couldn’t be used in its raw form, as it was simply not her, whether she was using similar methods or not, but she could learn from it. Wei Yi knew for a fact that she needed to minimize certain parts of the image, and then boost others so that they would be the focus. Something like the chains of Law was very much effective, but she was sure that she could make it even more effective if she intentionally made use of them.
Those chains could bind and surround a foe, then unveil their true nature to result in a far greater impact than simply showing the imagined outer shape of the Laws that bind her, the foe, and the entire world, if not even beyond. She did not, after all, know how far a world went, nor what exactly a world was. Perhaps a world was only the Planar Continents, or perhaps the otherworldly demons came from the same world, and the world encompassed a great deal more than she could have imagined.
Learning something like that would be incredibly beneficial to her, as her current source of power was also knowledge, albeit not as directly as she would have liked to have with the techniques of the Preservers.
So long as she had a proper comprehension of the world, her every method could get an immense boost in effectiveness and power, as she could obtain numerous Laws to use for her own benefits while also developing millions of other Dao in full from that simple understanding – relatively speaking, of course. The world was something that encompassed everything, after all, and so long as she understood space, she could understand the elements, life and death, energy and more, allowing her to combine the knowledge of planar energy’s true form with the world’s true state to effectively influence it in a way that no cultivator before her could possibly have done.
Her usage of Law was already similar in this regard, as she got closer to the true nature of the world, and whether she shifted to a Dao of Reality or stuck to her Dao of Law, as she wished to do for now, her strength would still be increased significantly. To affect the fabric of the world itself, directly, rather than going through the layers of additional complexity introduced by typical cultivation, was supreme.
‘My mind just can’t think of anything easier than that, can it? I have to comprehend the nature of the world, I have to consider what leads to everything being as it is instead of simply doing my best with it…’ she sighed to herself, ‘Anyway, once these fights come to an end, I should be able to get to one of the libraries of the Preservers, and possibly have a chat with one of the leaders, if they think that perfectly completing all four of their challenges is worth their time. If not… I’m certain there’s something that I could do to get their interest.’
She worked a little more on the concepts of the Invader’s Roar while she waited, of course, and made sure to emphasise the true nature of the chains in her conceptual image so that the shock would be greater.
Time passed, and as the sun begun to set, the trials were finally finished. Many had failed, and beside her, eleven had managed to get into the next step of the process, for there had to be one. It had been stated with perfect clarity at the beginning of this ceremony that only ten were necessary, and so two would have to go, regardless of who that was. If there was one thing that all twelve were rather certain of, it was that Wei Yi would be unlikely to lose her spot.
Hence, some considered which other participant they might be able to succeed against, whereas a few actually focused on the Ascendant even more as a result. They knew that she could read quickly, comprehend vast amounts of information quickly, and manifest a technique that easily incapacitated the Preserver Captain for quite a while – in terms of a battle, not the world as a whole – so she would be a tough opponent, but that made them think that there had to be something that she was weak to. If there was, then taking advantage of it and defeating her would give them the perfect opportunity to secure a position that others would be afraid to challenge, especially if they won flawlessly.
The initial words of Ru Shi had implied an additional trial in this situation, but after he took one look at the focused expressions of eleven candidates, he changed his mind. It would be best for the Preservers to get the best, and if they managed to determine this in battle rather than in some other way, he wouldn’t lose out anyway.
It was not actually necessary to limit the number of new honorary Preservers, given that their power in comparison to true Preservers would be rather insignificant, and their status wouldn’t be that high even in the Ru District, not to mention outside of it, so he could always invite those that lost a battle a few days later. Depending on their timing in entering the libraries of the Preservers, it was even possible for them to never know that this even happened, meaning that no particular explanations would even need to be made.
“Wei Yi, was it? I challenge you!” the silence of the contemplating candidates was broken when one of them suddenly stepped out and pointed at the Ascendant.
He was a typical southern man, tall, strong and clad in a thick layer of fur and a few pieces of plate, and his voice boomed clearly when he made his declaration. With his aura being clearly displayed since the start, there was no doubt that he was in the fifth realm as well as his chosen opponent, meaning that this wouldn’t put him at as much of a disadvantage as he could have had against a far stronger enemy.
“Oh, do you? What do you want to compete in? Another fight, or something else?”
“How about a game of cards?”
“No.”
The man shrugged, not displaying whether he had been hoping to actually win with a card game, and instead waved to the fading barrier that had been put in the middle of the square.
“A fight of sorts will be sufficient, so long as it is fair. I have obtained methods regarding water-type energy, so I would partake in a competition to see who can shape the most elaborate and most appealing object out of the contents of a bowl of water,” the man proposed, “It should be an excellent trial for our abilities and understanding of what we are doing.”
“Is that so? Any other rules you want to specify?” she asked, as he was clearly attempting to put himself in a state that would be most beneficial to him and so wanted to make sure that he didn’t slip up in that regard. After all, she was very much interested in challenges that might provoke some inspiration for herself, so if he accidentally made it very easy for her to win, she would be rather disappointed at the missed opportunity, among other things, “After all, if one of us attempts to select the winner, it wouldn’t be very fair, but Ru Shi doesn’t know how to judge our performance just yet.”
“Well, that was most of it. The only thing I would like to add is that these objects, sculptures, or whatever you would like to call them, should have the ability to remain stable for at least fifteen seconds without visible palpations, with or without personal involvement.”
‘So that’s what he thinks I won’t be able to do. His earth-type cultivation might actually allow him to use the stuff found in the manuals and materials to achieve that specification, but I don’t see any reason that I won’t be able to do the same, with or without physical water… Nah, I’ll do something better, so long as I can,’ the Ascendant thought, shrugging, “Alright, if you wish. I have no issues with this, so if the Captain doesn’t…”
“I can adjudicate this, so you may proceed once… Ru Qi, fetch a large bowl of water and make sure it doesn’t freeze!” the Preserver Captain instructed.
The other Preserver followed the instruction quickly, rushing out and rushing back in after only a few moments, carrying a bowl full of water into the square. It was prevented from spilling out with the use of a layer of planar energy, which he dispelled the moment that he put it down in the middle of the barrier, making sure to reinforce it prior to departing.
Wei Yi and the southern man glanced at one another, asking a silent question to one another. In theory, going first would put one at a disadvantage, as their foe could learn something from their attempt and therefore win just with that benefit. This was a problem even if they had been evenly matched, but it was undeniable that one was a much faster learner than the other, meaning that the southern man really didn’t wish to give her any help.
“As the one to issue the challenge, you should go first,” Ru Shi said, interrupting their brief staring contest, “It was one made in the belief you would win, is it not?”
“… That was the intention, of course. Very well, I shall be first, but take note of this if the outcome is close!” the man proclaimed, stepping up to the barrier’s edge, “At that point, I would at the very least like to request the declaration of a tie!”
‘You’re already assuming defeat. That’s in no way beneficial to you, but I guess I won’t tell you that for now. Maybe later, if he takes the defeat well and is open to actually listening to me, unlike a few that have lost to me and then got rather frustrated and angry,’ she thought as he proceeded into the middle of the barrier, stepping up to the bowl and sitting down on his knees.
His eyes shut and he focused, keeping his hands on his legs for now as he clearly took the time to process everything he was intending to attempt. Even if the basic idea of the technique he wished to use was already settled in his mind, there was a lot that he still had to calculate and understand prior to being able to display something that had a chance of victory. In fact, calculation was an aspect that many needed to consider whenever manifesting a planar construct, but it was often skipped by the understanding of the technique they used, as it was usually considered and done by the creator of the technique in advance.
They had not set any specification of how long they would have, so there was no attempt to speed him up from anyone in the area, not that some didn’t wish to do so. While reading books hadn’t been the most exciting thing even for those that enjoyed the prospect, doing absolutely nothing was duller.
Nineteen minutes and several seconds after he began, he finally moved his hands and focused his energy upon the bowl of water, within which a litre of fluid was contained.
His planar energy spread throughout the liquid, and prompted it to rise out of the bowl, the water forming the rudimentary form of a pineapple, a northern fruit that was very popular amongst men in particular. Down at the south, and even in the Central Plains, the popularity was slightly lesser, so it was quite a surprise to see it as the product of his lengthy deliberation. Still, it was a sensible enough choice.
A pineapple wasn’t the most complex shape in the world, nor the most varied, but still had enough to make it more complex than a simple sphere or cube. With this, it was clear that he was doing more than just holding up a bit of water with planar energy.
This sculpture lasted for exactly sixteen seconds before it fell back into the world and nearly splashed out, with the water being contained at the last moment with a cosmic barrier.
“There, I have done it. Now, it is your turn,” the man said, stepping out on clearly unsteady legs.
“Why a fruit of all things, by the way? Other than the shape making it rather easy to form, of course,” the Ascendant asked as she took a step towards the barrier.
“I have never been to the north, but I have studied many texts of the kinds of things that they have there. I found it interesting enough, so I have attempted to recreate some of them in various methods before. There are a few objects that I have sculpted, which I could display to you,” he explained, crossing his arms in an attempt to look stronger than he felt at that moment, “In fact, I might attempt to hire an array master to create something like this in a more permanent manner.”
She didn’t comment, as she had a feeling that she would say something rude to him regarding the quality of his work, and simply stepped inside. It was better to focus on what she was attempting to do rather than the chatter before it.
Unlike her opponent, she didn’t just want to hold up a bit of water in the air. No, that was possible, but simply too easy when she had so much more ability and potential, not to mention all of the Dao and Laws that she had comprehended in her life – primarily in the last two years, admittedly. If that was not to be used, and if she just allowed her ability to be overlooked by herself, it would be a complete waste of it, regardless of the source and purpose of it. Manifesting a water sculpture might be easy enough, especially with all of the material provided by the Preservers, but it could lead to something greater.
For that reason, as she reached out towards the bowl and prepared, she didn’t try to direct her planar energy into the container. Instead, she forced it to change.
The Truth of the Universe had changed her energy for her many times since they awoke, so she was very used to the feeling, and she was also aware that this was something that she was only capable of due to them. Without them, to fundamentally alter the structure of the energy with but a thought would be impossible, at least so long as she was bound by the world’s Laws and planar energy itself.
As a result, she had relied on them for a long time to do what she could not, and this time, she didn’t intend to shoulder all of the responsibility herself, either. Instead, she wanted to force the change when it might otherwise be restricted, as it usually was before she fully comprehended a new kind of energy. This time, she did not yet have the full cultivation method laid out and perfected, and she didn’t intend to waste her time coming up with a cultivation method, as she knew exactly what she wanted to achieve and knew that she wouldn’t be giving it to anyone else.
In a single breath, a decade passed within her mind. A simple act of raising a hand was completed with countless effective hours of thought and contemplation, and when her planar energy did leave the body, it did so in a very uncertain state. It almost looked as if it flickered in and out of existence.
There was only a lone spark, flickering in and out of reality and the view of the audience, as well as the judge and her opponent. Quietly and slowly, it fell upon the water in the bowl, and seemed to do naught but lay there, sinking into the water at an even slower pace than it had prior to landing. It should have been even duller than the previous preparation of the southern man, and yet it was oddly entrancing, somehow.
“… Wait, is the water-”
“It is rising! The water is actually rising!” one of those that successfully passed the previous challenges and now observed the proceedings exclaimed, their eyes widening as they witnessed something seemingly simple, yet absolutely incredible. To someone unfamiliar with cultivation and planar techniques, it might not seem that way, but no-one present was anything less than an expert.
Bound planar energy didn’t propagate, it couldn’t grow, it couldn’t just randomly enter materials and affect them beyond cutting into them or exploding them. And yet, that is what they saw.
From the water, a thin strand akin to the shoot of a plant rose up, something slowly blooming at the top of it. It took a little while, but more strands, branches, one might say, began to grow, and the slight bulge at the top spread out into a flower that grew bigger and more detailed with every moment that they existed. These flowers looked to be a cross between a lily and a water lily, with the higher number of petals of the latter and the many leaves that grew from the stem of the former, making it rather easy to find a name for the energy and technique that came out of it.
‘Water Lily… Mysterious Water Lily, if I am to stick to my usual naming scheme. It is… quite beautiful, actually. The best thing is that it should be able to grow on its own…’ Wei Yi thought, allowing her mind to calm down a little from the previous extensive contemplation and calculation, ‘Come to think of it, every one of my dual types of energy has resulted in something significantly more effective than a simple alternate form of planar energy. Each one has a special ability, sometimes based on the combination of two elements, sometimes coming from the way in which it is accomplished, like with my lightning energy. The five elements seem so simple on first glance, so clear, but there is a lot to be derived from them, that much is clear.’
From a lone stem appeared more and more flowers, and as they did so, she felt that her own energy became stronger. Her cosmic energy didn’t rise by a full stage, but her bloodline did, meaning that her overall capability received yet another small boost. With this in mind, she did want to go on and create every other combination of elements that she could, but it was far more difficult to do this than to say it, and she couldn’t exactly get all of the right inspiration in an instant, forcing her to delay it for now.
Once the flower grew sufficiently, she turned to the man that had challenged her and said, “I don’t want to speak out of turn, or for the Preserver Captain, but I think this is likely to win over your rendition of a pineapple.”
“Seems so. Captain, are you in agreement?”
“There isn’t much competition, frankly. Whether I look at the time taken, the overall result, the ingenuity, complexity or any other aspect, Wei Yi wins by a very clear margin,” Ru Shi stated, looking at the water lily that continued to grow, “If it keeps going like this, I suspect the Preserver Commander will be interested in keeping this in his office.”
The comment was simple, but it showed a great deal. Anything that interested powerful figures, especially learned and intelligent ones, had to be noteworthy in some regard, and unlike certain niche items that didn’t usually appeal to anyone but those types, flowers were seen fondly by most. Thus, it won over the transient pineapple water sculpture even when it came to general appeal, meaning that it would be preferred in a situation where it and the pineapple where shown side by side.
Even if the southern man disagreed with this judgement, there was nothing he could do about it. He sighed and shrugged.
“Very well, it seems that I have failed… So, I will challenge you instead!” he attempted again.
“There will only be one attempt, and you did not succeed. You may leave,” the Preserver Captain interrupted, “If we permit everyone to challenge everyone else at least once, then this will take a whole day, if not more. We do not have time for that, and you hardly need another attempt once you have failed a challenge that you had set out.”
The southern man was clearly unhappy with the decision, but there wasn’t much that he could say in this regard. After a few moments of quiet grumbling, he walked off slowly, clearly glancing back in the hopes of discovering some opportunity to join the Preservers, nonetheless.
Nothing of the sort came, at least not immediately, leaving eleven people that were attempting to become honorary Preservers. Rightfully, this should have elicited another trial, duel or something of the sort, but the Ascendant wished to cut it short mostly due to not seeing the possibility of anything sufficiently interesting occurring without her involvement. There was much to learn from the people here, but the chances of it being demonstrated in an attempt to score an easier victory over another were unfortunately low. To avoid something unnecessary like that, she went over to the Preserver Captain and leaned over slightly to whisper in his ear.
“Don’t need to take my word for it, but I’d say that man over there cheated a little bit.”
“He… how?”
“First trial, he had not used the method of the technique you gave him, but a similar one that I had found in a library not far from here. Second part, the summary included several details that he hadn’t actually obtained, based on what he could have possibly read with his gaze and spiritual perception. Third part, he-”
“All of them, right?”
“Pretty much, yeah. If you want to knock someone out quickly, you can do it with him under the premise of trying him out later, while paying a little more attention to his actions. It’d be a good idea even if you don’t kick him out.”
“… Very well, I shall do this. As someone that is about to become an honorary member of the Preservers, I suppose that you have the right to comment on this matter.”
She nodded and walked away again, waiting for the following events to finish up. Whether the man was kicked out or kept in, and regardless of how it happened, she didn’t do more than ensure that anything that happened was kept in her memory for later confirmation. Frankly, the development of the Mysterious Water Lily and the ideas that she had come up with regarding the usage of the Truth of the Universe as a result took a lot out of her, so she wanted to get onto that which mattered to her as quickly as she could.
The man was told to leave, the rest of the people convened and were officially granted the title of honorary Preservers, and then were led into the archive that they had gathered outside of. Therein they were granted tokens of their identity and permitted to enter the place where their important texts were actually kept, barred from the outside world via an incredibly thick layer of material that deterred spiritual perception and prevented them from being seen by Wei Yi.
Some explanation followed, but just as with everything before it, she filed it away and prepared to check it out later. Instead, she attempted to make use of her current mental capacity to obtain everything she could from the library and study in full the main techniques of the Preservers.
There were only a few techniques, and they all fit under the category of knowledge-based methods, to the extent that she felt rather confident about putting them all under a Knowledge Dao. In just a few moments, she was able to find the very thing that she had been seeking, Knowledge Amplification, but she also found Knowledge Slam, a simple enough attack method that made use of a book, Shielded Eyes, which manifested a book that would consume attacks, and Learned Blast, which, unsurprisingly, required a book to slam the air and manifest a large bolt of energy to attack a more distant enemy than the Knowledge Slam would allow.
Wei Yi had a few things to say about their naming sense, but before she got the chance, her spiritual perception alerted her to an approaching figure.
“Seventh realm…” she muttered, turning to the person, “I assume you’re the Patriarch?”
“A very calm and disinterested response, Wei Yi, Ascendant. Were you not intending to speak with me during your visit?” the man asked, his voice needing to pass through a rather thick haze that had formed around her consciousness.
“On the contrary, actually, but I am going to need a moment to recover. I had not intended to create a new combination of elements today, and I had slightly overworked myself. I will require just a moment, so if this is not urgent…” she didn’t finish, and instead leaned against the bookshelf she had been obtaining her information from and shut her eyes, grabbing the large amount of information in her mind and slowly beginning to separate it all into relevant areas.
There was a lot to work on, so she presumed it could almost take a whole minute to go through everything, especially if more appeared while she was doing so, like from the Patriarch.
