Chương 23: Hybrid

Ren caught her before she could fall backward, one hand behind her shoulders, the other pressing tightly over her head. His aura vanished like smoke, and in its place, his will enveloped her with the intent to be her anchor. To grasp her back from the hands of the stone-cold death. He wasn't sure if it was enough. Her body was cold to the touch. Too cold. Do something, dammit! His moonlight energy, lazy but still as trustworthy as ever, flowed into her body, desperately filling her already frozen meridians.

He wasn't sure if it could stabilize her as spiritual energy would do. It was a different type of energy altogether. He prayed it could.

"Liuxue… stay with me," he whispered, maybe to reassure himself. Maybe to suppress the guilt already gnawing at his gut. Calm down… inhale… exhale… He swept aside the panic. Focus. There had to be something. She was still breathing, even though her lips had already turned purple. There had to be. Amidst his frantic thoughts, he finally noticed something— the worm. Faded, bruised, and bloody. It wasn't merged with her roots like it was supposed to be. I should've seen this coming; it's just a halfway-formed mark…

The Requiem needed balance— death and frost energy in perfect harmony. Without it, the body couldn't handle the pure death energy's corruption. And by acting too hurriedly, without giving her time to digest the first part of the technique, he was the one who caused this. If she can't do it, then I will. A fierce glint flickered in his gaze.

"Come here—" Ren hissed through clenched teeth as he let her head fall gently to the side and grasped her hand, moonlight energy surging like a raging flood. It shivered. The worm trembled— panicked. But Ren didn't show any mercy. He bore down, his energy slamming into it, aiming to break it down and force the merge. Another strange wail echoed, and along with it, a layer of frost darted at his hand. Wherever it passed, a pain flared. Burning and freezing at once. His skin scorched, then iced over in a thick layer.

Ren lay her down on the ground, freeing his hand for what comes.

"Let's see if I'm as legendary as they told." He reached out, fingers clenching around the drifting viper phantom. The intangible echo of Liuxue's spiritual root flinched in fear, its eyes showing a humane shock. A moment later, it hissed in resistance. It bared its translucent fangs as its tail lashed at his hand. A chilly black mist trailed after.

"Shut up."

"YEEYAAA! Awgry!" Accompanied by a barely audible growling, a monstrous aura erupted momentarily. Primordial's Wrath erupted in full glory, followed by the silver scale and the dragon's materialization. Against a spiritual root, the only thing he could use was another spiritual pressure. His hand tightened, moonlight pouring through his veins until the viper shuddered. And then, he slammed the phantom straight into the worm, into the trembling mess of frost. The worm screeched. The phantom bellowed, too.

Ren ignored both as he continued to press them together. Liuxue's body arched off the ground, spine taut. Her mouth opened wide as if screaming, but no sound came. This better not kill her. Ren prayed to whatever god resides in the heavens. The ground beneath them started to rumble while frost spread outward in jagged, spiderweb-like cracks. A moment later, a wide rune flared briefly, and the cracks recovered. The worm continued to thrash violently, trying to escape the fusion.

Even under Ren's pressure, it didn't relent. Yet the viper wasn't as steadfast. It chased the worm relentlessly, snapped at it, and tried to coil around it. At last, the viper caught the unwilling worm, sinking its teeth into its illusory flesh. Everything stopped. For a moment, there was only silence. Ren held his breath, staring at her in hesitation. Liuxue suddenly drew a sharp breath. The faint, flickering image of a new mark pulsed on the back of her left hand. It wasn't a viper anymore.

Neither did it resemble a worm. This is…. A hybrid: a winged serpent covered in snowflake patterns. Liuxue collapsed back. Her chest heaved up and down erratically. Letting out his breath, Ren collapsed onto the ground beside her, vision blurring at the edges. The dragon let out one last roar and faded along with the scale.

"Shit… why does it always end with my body abused to the limits…" One arm was veined with jagged cracks, like a shattered porcelain, the cracks spidering to his shoulder. The other? Blotched and rotten, eerily corpse-like. However— She is alive. Nothing else matters. He turned his head toward her. She didn't wake up. Her lips were pale, but no longer purple. The guilt he felt slowly softened, but didn't disappear. I never learn… huh? ……. The training ground was bright.

Ruolan squinted at the morning haze and flopped down against a crooked pillar, chewing on a thin stalk of herb that tasted like cold tea. A bit bitter, but she enjoyed it. A cluster of outer sect disciples— some from the same batch and some older— were stretching or posturing across the yard. She recognized none of them, which suited her just fine. You know, getting to know new people is a hassle I hate.

Yet her gaze slid undeniably toward the one familiar face: Liu Wenhai, trying different poses with excitement, pausing from time to time to check his new technique. His hands sparked every few steps. The twitchy kind, born of nerves. He is the most troublesome kind— clingy, super chatty, and worse, likable… She wasn't sure how he was managing it, but the boy somehow made her want to punch him in the face and pat his head, calling him good boy at the same time. Huh, Ruolan, you'll be so busy with such a teammate.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Thinking about her teammates, her cheap Master hadn't shown up yet, and neither had Liuxue. Two days in and he's already vanished. Amazing. She'd been watching both. Unlike Lightning Pup, she didn't know what to feel about them yet. Liuxue was probably not that hard to understand, just needed time to unravel her frosty walls, and wola, she would turn out to be the sweetest girl. Or a cruel killer. She wasn't sure. But this Wang Ren…

There was something off about the man. Even in the short time they talked, he intrigued her. Of course, not in the romantic sense. That would probably cause her to meet her end in the scary senior sister's hands. Anyway, he wasn't like the other Eldest Disciples she met, no— there was a depth beneath what he showed. An abyss. The kind that didn't reflect light, filled with mysteries, and… Deadly danger. A breeze rolled through the arena, stirring her hair. She couldn't help but lick her lips, smirking.

That's when a shadow appeared over her.

"Hey, Ruolan! Take a look at this," shouted Wenhai, smiling widely. He took a wide step forward, one hand at the front and the other at his back, and he stomped into a flying kick on the empty air. Then, he turned toward her with an expectant look.

"Isn't it cool? It says I can use double lightning with one kick if I learned right!" She twirled the stalk between her teeth, savoring its essence. Today was supposed to be a warm-up only. No techniques yet. Just waiting. But this fool couldn't hold himself back.

"Yeah, yeah, super cool," she muttered offhandedly. She took out a book, too. Whatever. If our puppy started, I can't fall back as the witch, right? After all, it wasn't my mistake that you missed the timing, Senior Brother. She flipped open her book— a light brown thing with no title on the spine and enough herbal drawings to make it look innocent. It wasn't. Page eight was currently about how to brew a sleep mist potent enough to make a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator snore like a pig.

But that wasn't the main thing. It lets me integrate such poisons into my aura, senses, and even my very being. Now that's art. Ruolan was aware of such techniques, of course. But to actually obtain them? Not even offering her clan as a whole could make that anything more than a distant dream. And yet, for her senior brother, it was as simple as speaking. Just this is enough for me to stop talking badly about you, my cheap master. She smiled to herself, as even the straw felt sweeter. Then she frowned a little.

I wonder what Liuxue got from the section eight. It must be something legendary, since it caused a Council meeting even with Ren's backing. Don't make me wait that much, Iceberg. I'm not that patient. Time passed as she focused on the unnamed book. She was halfway through a paragraph on harvesting Hollow-Crest Serpent's illusion-making poison when faint whispers brushed past her ears. Soft at first. Purposefully soft, most likely.

"These two are his disciples, huh?"

"I didn't expect big brother Ren to have such low-class taste… And I even thought of being his disciple."

"What a shame."

"I think they are pitiful. Just look at them, only one day passed, and Senior Brother isn't even around." Ruolan kept her deadpan face. She let the words drip into one ear and fly out the other, her face still serene. Ohhh. Here I was thinking something was lacking. She was already used to others' envious stares, vile whispers, and exaggerated rumors. But a flick of her eyes to the side told her that someone wasn't like her. Wenhai had gone still. His fists clenched.

The little sparks around his fingertips flared to life. Crude spiritual energy control. And he is a scion of the Liu Clan… She shook her head in exasperation, but remained silent.

"Say that again," Wenhai growled, spinning toward the cluster of older disciples near the sparring dummies. The leader of their 'little' pack had the kind of face that made you want to throw a brick at it— at most two years older than them. But he put on an amused smile as if listening to a child's tantrums.

"Oh? Did we offend our young master?" he said with mock sweetness. Ruolan didn't react. Dealing with every mockery would be a fool's errand. However, someone seemed to think otherwise. Wenhai was already moving. A flash of red arcs burst around his limbs as he rushed forward. His footwork wasn't bad, but he obviously knew nothing about fighting. Brute force, with no hint of martial technique. He threw a kick, but it easily got blocked. Then he tried a low sweep. Vain attempt. Attempting to grab and wrestle?

Utter stupidity. Just as the older disciple smirked, a small spark flared. Wenhai punched wide. He passed the older boy's block and hit his shoulder, forcing him to backpedal. Oh? Not bad. At least he knows how to throw a punch. The smirk vanished from the older boy's face for a moment. His palm blocked Wenhai's second punch, yet his foot still slid half a step back in the dirt. Wenhai grinned.

"Heh, and I even thought you were something great since you dared to talk shit about the Eldest Brother." Oh, Ruolan fought back the urge to face slap. Yeah, no. He is worse than a beginner. I take it back. The older boy snorted.

"Cloudstep Echo." A thin yellow flare covered his feet as the air fluctuated and pushed him when he stomped. He ran circles around Wenhai, like a predator watching its prey, awaiting the best time to catch it off guard. Popping sounds echoed whenever his feet touched the ground. Wenhai barely turned in time before catching a palm strike to the ribs. His half-assed block deflected aside and a follow-up sweep hooked his knee. Then a sharp shoulder check sent him stumbling sideways.

Surprisingly, Wenhai punched at the soil and regained his balance. But he still fell short as the older disciple flicked two fingers forward. A burst of light traveled down his fingers and shot to Wenhai's face.

"Falling Petal!" The light scattered at the contact. It didn't have any effect, other than distracting Wenhai for a split second. The older disciple's palm landed in Wenhai's chest. It sent him flying backward into the dirt, skidding near the training circle's edge. Groans followed. A few chuckled. Someone clapped once, then thought better of it. At least not everyone was stupid. Ruolan snapped shut her book and put it into her inner pocket. She stood up and walked over. Wenhai was wheezing, clutching his chest.

Forcing his eyes open, he gave her an aggrieved look, truly resembling a beaten puppy. It seemed their new master had a better sense of naming than she thought. She stuck a smelly leaf into his mouth. Although his face contorted, he didn't complain. Or to be more exact, he couldn't. Only then did Ruolan turn to the showman.

"You use techniques on a kid who hasn't even finished breathing exercises. Excellent behavior. Really," Ruolan said, her voice flat. The older disciple didn't respond. Yet the curve at his lips told her enough. You wanna play like this? Heh. Ruolan looked up at him. There were only three steps between them. It was a bit far.

"You must feel really strong right now. It's adorable." He raised an eyebrow.

"Just putting a rude kid in his place. What, you want some, too?"

"Oh," she cooed.

"A foolish brat trying to play games far beyond his age… Yeah, that's it." She paused, one finger tapping at her chin in wonder. The boy stiffened. An awkward silence ensued for a brief moment.

"After all, why else would you slander the Eldest Brother right in front of his new disciples unless you have something to gain… or someone to impress?" Ruolan continued. She wavered from side to side on one foot, hands behind her back, still chewing on her straw.

"Where I'm from, we call people like you cannonfodders. Loud and showy, but without real finesse." The boy's lips twitched. At this point, everyone was watching them, already stopped their training. The boy stepped forward, grabbing her robe's collar.

"Watch your mouth, you little…" he trailed off, his gaze flickering around. He looks like one of those cheap clowns. Ruolan tilted her head, a sweet smile plastered on her lips. She never liked them.

"Didn't your elders ever warn you about walking up to a pretty girl?" He blinked. But his confusion didn't last long as veins bulged across his skin. His lips twitched, only to bubble like an idiot.

"Aww, I didn't know my beauty was this dazzling." Ruolan leaned in. She pretended to be a bashful maiden, her cheeks blushed. Unfortunately, instead of confessing his feelings, the boy's hand slipped from her robe. He collapsed. The spiritual energy along his body twitched just slightly out of sync. Gasps rose.

"Don't worry. It's mild. You'll just feel fuzzy for an hour. Maybe until night if you resist it. I hope." Ruolan said. Although she covered her mouth with one hand in time, she couldn't keep herself from chuckling. The color drained from his face.

"Just for your knowledge, I didn't use much," she added, voice low and smug.

"Just a flirtatious dose." The crowd retreated a few steps. Ruolan acted as if she hadn't noticed. Her gaze swept around.

"So, do you need anything from this witch?" The crowd took another step back as if they had decided beforehand. Even though some scowled, they made the wise decision and remained silent after seeing a few suspicious-looking bottles flash in and out of her sleeves.

"Good, I expected as much." Ruolan turned, already bored, and walked back to Wenhai. He was sitting upright again, red-faced, trying to act as if nothing had happened. Yet all his emotions were on his face like an open book. Without saying anything, she grabbed the back of his collar and started dragging him away.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Come on, Pup, we've got a cheap master to find." And remind him to take better care of his enemies, and learn how much we are worth in his eyes at the same time. … Her gaze flicked up, locking for a brief second on the shadowed figures watching from the arena's edge. A chill crawled beneath her scalp. …lest he loses his new, precious disciples.