Chapter 85

  The Eternal Veil (VII)

  The first to strike was Dai Xiu--she rushed in as soon as she saw a cloaked figure emerge from one of the houses. Ducking underneath a panicked, stray attack, she elbowed the man directly into the jaw and caused the neck to snap back so violently the skin around his throat was lacerated.

  At the same time, Xi Zhao drew his sword and slashed diagonally--at the seeming nothing. Yet, a mere breath later, a bloodied cloak appeared as a head fell down, rolling against the unpaved street.

  Neither stopped, pressing onwards.

  Dai Xiu didn't bother dodging much of anything--swords, daggers, axes, and a myriad of other hidden weapons all landed on her body and yet bounced off it like it was stretched cloth. In the meantime, sounds of the broken bones and cries of anguish began to write a loud and droning symphony. There wasn't much blood on her end, as most of the time her punches or kicks caused internal damage.

  Rather, the styles of the two were almost diametrically opposed, Long Tao mused as he silently observed.

  She was a violent tempest, and he a silent wind. While she left behind her a scenery of bodies broken beyond ken, yet bloodless, he left mostly a crimson river and a field of detached heads and limbs. And yet, almost no one on his end made a sound.

  Before long, both were facing assaults by over ten cloaked figures each--XI Zhao expertly ducked and weaved, stabbing and slashing at every minor opportunity... but it wasn't perfect.

  He'd been hit a few times and was bleeding.

  Dai Xiu wasn't much better off--the strategy of simply taking on the hits ceased being as effective when she faced people at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, who could actually break the natural barrier of her body.

  That hardly stopped her from recklessly barreling in and using her body as a weapon.

  Long Tao neither interfered nor spoke up--as headstrong as they were, they were still... kids. Unchiseled, dull blades that had to experience blood, as much of it as possible, to sharpen themselves. No legend had ever been groomed in a glass house--even the privileged ones, the truly strong ones, risked their lives constantly.

  Before long they began to struggle, their Qi depleting, but there was no hesitation in their moves. Especially once they started using the footwork...

  Even Long Tao was ever so slightly impressed--it was a fascinating little thing, capable of 'cheating' the position and momentum even for someone at the Qi Condensation Stage. Naturally, the span of their movements was extremely limited, but for a fight of this level... it was enough.

  Xi Zhao clashed with another sword-wielding figure, suddenly repelled. A masked figure shifted into a shadow and stirred forward, an earmark of someone at the Foundation Establishment.

  The young boy pulled back and swiped backwards, blocking a strike, ducking immediately to the side, and dodging a stab. At the same time, he retaliated, his sword staggering oddly midair before descending, actually managing to chop off the cloaked figure's hand.

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  It was a bit of a cheat, Long Tao mused, to have a temporal form at this stage. While he could easily see through the reality of the attack, he suspected there weren't actually all that many who could. Even Elders of the Sect would likely struggle to keep up with the attack. They were strong enough to respond to it, but it would be simply because they were that much faster than him due to their realms.

  Unlike other cloaked figures, this one didn't panic; rather than flailing about after being hurt, they calmly retreated and blended back in with the rest who threw themselves at the exhausted boy. Yet, he didn't keel over. Rather, he pressed onwards.

  Dai Xiu, similarly, was staggering her breathing, her whole robes dyed crimson. She was actually at a bit of an advantage altogether, as she was quite short. Nobody was sparring with twelve-year-olds, and most martial arts were designed with appropriate heights in mind.

  He frowned slightly before sighing and suddenly pushing forward, taking out a sword from his scabbard and joining the dance--not because he wanted to, but because he felt the peering eyes finally break through.

  With Elder Qin's eyes on him, he couldn't appear like a tourist. Before the veil was fully undone, he purposefully let himself be hit a few times so he appeared haggard before engaging in combat with some random mid-Foundation Establishment Realm figure, capping his realm at the sixth stage.

  Unlike his Master, he didn't trust the other old man--not for nothing, either, as, in his experience, it was the old who most often found themselves tempted, whether they expected to be or not.

  **

  He'd been fully expecting to see the three kids struggling mightily and to jump straight in to save them. And though, yes, they were struggling, it was... vastly beyond his expectations.

  Though he was a bit surprised that there were only a few Foundation Establishment Realm figures, that was far more than enough to kill three kids who'd just recently started cultivating.

  And yet, the three lived--no, not lived. They... thrived. He watched, in real time, as the edges of their swords grew sharper and sharper. What hit them once never hit them again.

  Elder Qin found himself short of breath, eyes widening at the marvel.

  No wonder...

  It truly was no wonder why Elder Lu was so confident in being able to win the war of the youngest generation. Maybe not today, but if they manage to somehow delay the war for at least a year... these three would sweep through the entire competition without any issues.

  He glanced over at the spear-tipped figure standing by the edge, hands behind his back, seeming... thoughtful. While it would be easy to simply assign all of this reality to the kids themselves, the truth was that Elder Lu didn't steal them from anyone. Rather, he saw what nobody else did--whether by accident or not... it didn't matter.

  "Light," he glanced at the small girl sitting by his side, seeming bored. "What is Elder Lu like?"

  "Hm?" She glanced up at him, her stoic face crumbling for a moment as she smiled almost imperceptibly.

  "Useless."

  "E-eh?"

  "Complete waste. Didn't teach us a single thing."

  "..."

  "Spends his days staring at the sky and mumbling some crazy things to himself."

  His eyebrows twitched; though this little dragon never quite respected him, she'd always at least put on a front. And yet, there she was, in no uncertain terms telling him: stay away.

  What was it, he wondered? What was it that had these kids so riled up when it came to him?

  All of them were talents that, if they revealed themselves today, would become the most essential disciples of the sect tomorrow. All resources would be poured into them, they'd be given everything they want, and they'd be taken care of by the entire army of Elders... and yet, here they were, bleeding and hurting, just to prove him right.

  For a moment... he felt envy, but he buried it.

  It was good this way.

  The legacy of his home would live on, even after the sect disappears. He'd already given Elder Lu the first clue, and one day the man will understand it whole. Spirit Sword Sect was always meant to be a temporary prison, but now that the world had forged the keys... it was time for it to go.

  But its legacy, so long as that man persisted, would be safe. Safe... and conquering.