Chapter 143

  Aegis of Infinity (I)

  While taking a break for kids to cultivate, I nestled myself into the isolated corner of the tent and started pondering on what art to create for Wan Lan.

  It appears that will be the trend for all kids when they break through--the system will give me one 'freebie' to make an art that pretty much only they will be able to use.

  To be honest, though, I'm not quite sure what to create. Not because there are no options--no, the options are infinite--but more that I just don't know what Wan Lan needs. So... why don't I ask her?

  "Hm?" she looked at me oddly.

  "As your Master, I'm supposed to gift you something for breaking through," I said casually. "I just happen to have a rather large depository of arts from, uh, my father and sect and such, and am just wondering what you need the most."

  "Oh. You don't have to worry about that, Master; due to my cultivation method, I probably wouldn't be able to use any of the arts anyway." Dammit, you think I don't know that?! Haah, patience, patience.

  "My depository is really large."

  "Just tell him," Long Tao voiced from the side suddenly. "No matter how insane it is, he'll probably have it."

  Hey now, don't build expectations too much! What if she asks for an art that makes her a God, huh?!

  "Oh," she eyed him warily for a moment, still not sure how to treat who she thought was a kid younger than her, yet someone who was already inches away from the Spirit Manifestation Realm. "In that case, uhm... I--when I fight, I often... lose myself. I don't know what it is, but Madame just called it 'part of my constitution'. Now, I'm still aware of my actions and can control them, but what ends up happening is that I tend to forgo my defenses and trade blow for blow." Hey, that's a rather detailed self-analysis coming from a sixteen-year-old girl. Oi, system, are you sure she isn't an old monster, too?

  "Ha ha, no, Madame pointed it out too." As though reading my mind, she laughed and quickly elaborated. "So, uhm, something in that realm, perhaps? Again, it's really fine--she's already given me so many arts that I'll likely spend a lifetime trying to master them all..."

  Hmm.

  A defensive art.

  I have a bit of experience with it going way back, but the art I made for the kids was actually already partly obsolete. They've all grown strong enough to naturally fight people in the Foundation Establishment and can probably even survive some weaker Spirit Manifestation Realm cultivators. Certainly me, at least.

  My mindset, the first go-around, was rather rigid; the only concept in my mind was to create an art that 'defends' and saves a life. Nothing else mattered. But, ultimately, defense is far more than that.

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  In the few battles that I've experienced (secondhand, yes), and while constantly watching the kids spar, I've picked up on a few ways in which martial artists here fought. At least the ones I've been exposed to the most.

  Defense isn't even secondary; it's tertiary. First comes offense, second comes movement, and only then does the defense get brought up. Most of them would much rather just avoid an attack than try defending against it, but since Wan Lan is specifically talking about defense, it sounds like she can't easily overcome that part of her that makes her go a bit 'coocoo' during a fight.

  Hmm.

  I... never actually saw her fight.

  "You two, come out with me," I called them out; Long Tao seemed to have realized why, sighing and just barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes, though thankfully coming out.

  Wan Lan followed, seeming confused for a moment.

  "It's best if I can get a feeling of how you fight since I've never actually seen you do it," I said. "I want you to go all out and try killing Long Tao."

  "E-eh?!" she exclaimed in shock, pulling back. "N-no, I--"

  "Don't worry about it," I interrupted. "It might hurt your ego a bit, but to be honest, even if there were ten of you, you still might not be able to actually do it. This will also be good for you--you'll realize your actual limits right now, rather than in a real life-or-death struggle."

  "I..." she still seemed uncertain, yet also, kind of... excited? She kept stealing glances at Long Tao, possibly wanting to 'rebuild' her shaken world by confirming he wasn't actually that strong.

  On the other hand, Long Tao walked some ten paces away, turned towards her, and just waited, looking ever bored.

  "O-okay," she nodded, steeling herself. "Senior Brother, be careful!"

  "Hm."

  She first got into a rather strange stance--she lifted her left leg, bent it inwardly, and pressed the sole of her foot into the side of her right knee. At the same time, she clasped her hands together in front of her as though in a prayer. Just as I thought it was some comedy skit, a swirling storm of purple Qi appeared around her. Luckily, we were in the middle of a forest, and there wasn't anybody for miles on end around us, so they wouldn't be able to see it.

  Demonic Qi.

  It was my first time actually seeing it in action. Light had never sparred before semi-converting it; though her Qi still had Demonic properties, unless one examined it deeply, they'd just find it odd instead.

  "Here I come!" she announced, stomping forth and kicking up no small hill of debris.

  She became a shooting blur of twilight, crossing the distance between the two in the blink of an eye, her left leg already in a full wind-down, aiming for his... shoulder.

  Haah.

  He'll get pissed; I just know it.

  Rather than evading it, he just stood his ground, eyeing her directly--the kick landed squarely, and she must have expected all hell to break loose since she immediately cried out an apology, yet stopped herself halfway through.

  Long Tao was... fine.

  Well, of course he was fine.

  He just took the kick that would probably send me back to Earth without so much as a flinch in his expression. As Wan Lan stewed in horror of what she witnessed, Long Tao smiled; no, it wasn't a smile, it was that 'Hey, I'm about to teach you a lesson' grin that bullies have just before they unleash hell on their victims.

  Oh no.

  "You," he 'gently' grabbed the ankle of the foot that was still lying flat against his shoulder. "Dare to hold back against me?"

  Oh no.

  "Long Tao, no!" It was too late.

  For the first time in my life, I bore witness to one person wielding another one as though the latter were a baseball bat. He swung her around a few times as she cried out and then hurled her out like she was a ball in some weird 'toss the person as far as they can go' sport.

  She flew for a good fifty yards, honestly, before crashing and rolling into the dirt, crying out in pain.

  ... hey! I didn't grasp a single damn thing about her fighting from that! Long Tao, you bastard, I just wanted you to let her show off a bit, not completely destroy her!