"This is going to be annoying!" Lulu murmured, standing on her rapier's bde as she flew forward, a meter above the ground, with crossed arms before her chest, watching the setting sun. "I have more potent attacks during daylight…" She sighed, looking up at the sky. "At least it is going to be a clear night! The moonlight is not as strong, but still... Usable." She chuckled as she drew a trail of white light behind her.
Since Xendar perfected the crafting of flying weapons, most of the disciples above the 5th stage of Body Refinement already had their own flying swords or were doing Sect missions to obtain enough points to exchange for them. There were multiple kinds, and with enough contributions, one could even design their own.
Still, using one required training, discipline, and enough strength, as it constantly consumed energy if used the way Lulu did now. The only difference was that Lulu could easily afford to ride it, especially while the sun was out. With Ren's help, she developed a skill that allowed her to convert sunlight into pure energy for her use. She could also use it to empower her spells or help boost her artifacts, greatly reducing the energy cost and sparing her from exhausting herself way too early. Of course, it had its drawbacks; the more she did so, the more strain it put on her body, and if she overdid it or drew too much power from the sun, it could wreck her insides. There was even one occasion when she overdid it, and if not for Leinor being there, she would already be dead from lighting her organs on fire.
"I can't wait to reach the same level as Master~!" She smacked her lips, speeding up, imagining what she could do at the same level as Ren, flying even faster than she was now.
An hour or so ter, she finally spotted a camp in the distance as she covered way more ground than a cavalry ever could in the same timeframe. It only took them a glimpse to notice her, and immediately, three horsemen were riding towards her at full speed.
"They have sharp eyes, don't they?" Lulu pulled out a small prism from her sleeve, holding it before her while the setting sun was shining at her from behind.
The moment she did, her body lit up, releasing a creamy-colored light that began to concentrate in the prism as her eyes locked onto the closing bandits. They were wearing nomadic fur clothes and wielding drawn sabers, spreading out to surround their lonely enemy.
"I hope our guy is not amongst them. If he is… well… sorry~!" She grinned before letting go of her accumuted energy.
It was a quick fsh as the prism shattered, and three multi-colored beams shot out. The riders had no time to avoid or even react as her attack had already penetrated them through their eyes, exploding in their heads and turning their brains into mush. By the time the rest of their body recognized what was happening, they were long dead. But it was not all as her attack continued on, undisturbed for dozens of meters before dissipating.
"Well, let's see…" She produced another prism: "I have a few more left; they are not cheap, but… heh, wealth is only worth something if it gets used!"
Her fshy attacks had already alerted the whole camp by then, and many of their warriors were getting on their horses. With only one person attacking them, they did not take her seriously and, relying on their numbers, tried to overwhelm Lulu. Yet their expectations quickly turned to disbelief as a different, thicker beam of light fshed right through them, turning multiple horses and their riders into fming, screaming, horrid fireballs.
"Scatter! Don't give her easy targets!" their leader screamed as they fanned out when the next, now multiple but slower, sparkling beams arrived.
This time, it was not as successful as before, especially because the leader could summon an earth shield in front of them, ripping up the ground, throwing it in their way, and blocking Lulu's attack.
"Well, well… a Harmony Expert is still a Harmony Expert." Lulu clicked her tongue, watching her attack fail, "I wonder how strong he is compared to our Elders!" She licked her lips before she sped up, ready to fight, but as soon as she did it, a cold, steel bde fshed amongst the horsemen.
In their ranks, a bulky, mohawk-wearing, half-naked warrior brandished his saber with incredible speed, decapitating the two others beside him who were his comrades for the past five years, going through raids and life-and-death situations many times, watching each other's backs. The surprise was still in their eyes as their heads rolled away, but he just jumped off of his horse, not sparing even a gnce, flying towards the gang's leader, striking at him with his bde, shining in bright red light, spewing fming embers all around him.
"Traitor!" his opponent shouted while meeting his bde with his own, recognizing immediately that the traitor's strength was on par with his. "You hid yourself well, but only two of you won't succeed!" he roared as they fought, rising into the air and exchanging blows quickly.
"Huh. Well then, let me finish up the rest!" Lulu blinked her eyes as she reached them, jumping up from her bde, which immediately flew into her hand.
She was quick and precise, stabbing out multiple times in under one second, penetrating the soft leather armor her opponents were wearing. With her rapier, she was piercing through weak points with every forward jab of her arm, drawing fshing streaks of light behind herself.
What the others saw was only a blinding fsh before they fell off their horses, dead. Most of them were considered strong in the gang, being at the 5th or even 6th stage of body refinement... They rampaged through caravans, killing guards and even taking the fight to the region's army if they were facing off against the same number of people. They were... great warriors, and that fact would still hold true against most forces, but the times were changing, and soon, the world would have to realize that the old way of determining strength was... out of date. Someone who was a disciple of the region's first Sect could wield power far greater than those who cultivate by themselves, in vagabond groups, in the army, or even in wealthy families.
They would have no chance against someone from the Immortal Wonders.
The new system trained within the Sect, which focuses solely on improving one's strength, developing spells and new techniques, and being at the forefront of innovation in cultivation, producing pills, artifacts, and other external support to raise a cultivator's strength and capability, would outshine everything around it. Not to mention, only the most talented, promising people could gain entry, making one of the weakest members of the Sect still a powerhouse in their own right, wandering the outside world. One who wears the bck and purple attire of the Immortal Wonders Sect would soon be known as someone who can only be challenged by others who were in a higher stage or even in a higher realm than the disciple they were facing.
Lulu, who was only at the 7th stage of the body refinement realm, wielded spells and power only seen carried by those who had already procimed themselves as Harmony Experts. These bandits, who were trained by themselves, by the sword, and by battle, may have experiences that she cked, but against overwhelming power, it meant nothing. Their inner strength and energies were weak and shallow compared to hers, unable to match Lulu, and any defenses they put up were demolished as soon as they met her attacks, resulting in their swift deaths. When she was done, letting the blood drip from her rapier, breathing a bit quicker than usual, she looked up to the sky where the two harmony realm experts were fighting, itching to join in.
"Mmm… which one was the leader?" She tilted her head, pursing her lips. "Oh man… Master would be angry if I just shot down both of them, no?" She shrugged, giving up the sudden idea of using one of her remaining prisms, and instead lifted her rapier up at them. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe~!" Then she shot out in a burst of creamy light, unching herself into the sky as the tip of her rapier pierced the back of the bandit leader, who was preoccupied, fighting with the undercover agent. The mole, pnted by the Empire, was already bleeding from dozens of cuts, yet he still attacked with a determined, zealous expression, forgoing any defense to bring him down once and for all. Even if it would mean his own death.
"You-!" the bandit leader coughed up blood when the rapier went through him. The pain did not even register in his mind, disbelieving that a surprise attack would come from the ground, not even thinking for a second that his men could fail to keep one girl contained. But he could say no more as his opposition jumped in quickly, cutting his head off and, before it could fall to the ground, incinerating it with another fireball.
"Thank you…" The Empire's agent said with a low voice, as blood flowed from his mouth, wobbling in the air before Lulu just tossed the headless body away. She just pulled her rapier out, already falling out of the sky, down towards the ground, so she had to quickly stand on it, catching the injured soldier, who suddenly also began plummeting from the sky.
"Whoa, you are going to the extreme, you know that?" She shook her head as she flew down, carrying him.
"I committed a lot of crimes… I just want to atone and die with a clean consciousness." He whispered content with his fate.
"You were ordered to be part of this gang, no? Why go so far? Honestly… you just followed orders like a good soldier." She rolled her eyes before producing a pill and putting it into his mouth, which dissolved immediately.
"Wha-?" He tried to ask, but soon he really felt better, and his energy was returning in spades. When Lulu nded, she put him down as he could already stand on his own two feet without any help. "How?" He asked, befuddled.
"Secret~!" She winked at him. "You are lucky I have a Master loaded with the good stuff, or you would be dead in a few minutes. You lost a lot of blood, you know! Well… the scars are going to remain, but hey, a lot of girls find it sexy..." She stretched with a groan as the night slowly descended on them.
"Thank you for saving my life, My Lady…" He bowed to her as she giggled, clearly satisfied by his reaction.
"See? You didn't want to die in reality. You can be honest with me~! So chin up, you did a good job! You need to be decorated, not buried. Come, come, help me count them, and if there is even one who is missing, I need to find him quickly! I want to be back in the city before sunrise!" She ughed happily, swallowing a pill to regain energy and giving one to him, too, to make sure he would feel rewarded.
As it was happening, in the distance, Ren was floating in the air, with a satisfied smile and folded arms, nodding her head.
"Well, well, well! Years of work finally pay off a little, huh? You lost a lot of your thorns, girl!" She chuckled, satisfied, as she watched her cure the soldier. "But still… some remains… look at you, parading around like a savior and saint, ahaha… I still need to work on you more when we get back..." She sighed as she shook her head, staying out of sight and out of mind, continuing to observe her, just as the remaining clone followed Yanda on his part of the mission.
