Chapter 78 - "Who Am I Supposed To Root For?" (1/2)
The image was bright and crisp, Shin Sumi was transported instantly.
As if she was watching the scene herself but couldn't move. Even more than just light, the Imagery Stone also provided sound. It was an experience like no other. The only difference with a real memory was that she was left devoid of divine sense.
From the moment the Imagery Stone started displaying in her mind, Shin Sumi recognized the place where the scene had been recorded.
”This is the middle of the market. Is that... Sui Lin?” a girl with a long white dress clinging to her silhouette had appeared in focus. ”And there's Mua Lin coming! When was this recorded? After their fight?”
Mua Lin was approaching Sui Lin, her hands tucked inside her sleeves.
”Sister Sui...” called the petite girl. ”Mua Lin?” Sui Lin had now noticed her and was checking her up and down.
Sending the question from Sui Lin's eyes, Mui Lin answered.
”My injuries are all fine now, thank you for your concern. I wanted to talk to you and... On the behalf of my brother I sincerely apologize. He acted out of his place and had Bai Fulong not been there, you...”
Not able to finish her sentence, Mua Lin dropped to her knees and bowed so low her forehead was nearly touching the ground. It was the most respectful apology she could make.
After their fight two days earlier, Mua Jin had tried to kill Sui Lin while she was exhausted and injured, caught in a rage which cultivators should be able to control.
”Get up, Sister Mua, don't bow to the floor for such a trivial matter” Sui Lin helped her to her feet again. ”As you said, Bai Fulong was there, and Mua Jin paid deeply for his affront.”
The image of the strange white crescent appearing, suddenly gutting Mua Jin from nowhere, was stuck in Sui Lin's eyes.
”I was already unconscious from your Cold Star Ice Whistle, but I heard that Jin'er took out his Blood Blade... You may not know it but my brother is nearly as strong as me, so how did Bai Fulong stop him in time?”
More than simply apologizing to Sui Lin, Mua Lin had come to try and piece together what happened that day after her defeat.
”That guy, he...” Sui Lin didn't know what to say, ”he just appeared out of nowhere right as your brother was going to attack. He summoned a white claw or a moon crescent and the next moment your brother was already done for.”
”What kind of attack was it? It broke the Blood Blade and still tore half of Jin'er's abdomen.”
Sui Lin sighed ”I don't know what that technique was but it's definitely a high ranked finisher. It lasted only a short amount of time and I was too weak to properly catch it but... Bai Fulong seems to have hidden his trump cards well. I fought him once before when we were still in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, it was a hard earned victory for me.”
Looking deep into Mua Lin's eyes, she continued ”I don't know what kind of training this guy has been up to, but his strength is definitely amongst ours. And this technique of his... it gives me shivers just to think about it.”
Sui Lin was confident that Mua Lin would not go against Bai Fulong. Despite having hurt her brother to the point that he was still in a coma with half his torso missing, she understood that it was all her brother's mistake and he deserved his punishment.
And yet, the white robed girl couldn't help but give a silent warning to Mua Lin.
The Imagery Stone chose this moment to end its transmission. That was the extent of what had been recorded on the piece of jade.
Shin Sumi had no time to wonder who had recorded the scene, or how, when a voice started talking in her head.
After the meeting between Sui Lin and Mua Lin, Fen Wudao had added his own voice to the formation.
”Sister Seventh Ghost, I just had this peculiar scene given to me by one of our Ghost elders. I don't know which one of them recorded the Imagery Stone but it is evident to me that you left quite a big impression on them.”
Shin Sumi was trembling inside. What she feared had happened, the Ghost Pavilion had found out about what she did. And yet she couldn't discern any sarcasm in Fen Wudao's divine sense message.
”From the description told by Sui Lin, I can't imagine you have used anything else but the White Claw Dusk Cleaver. I have to say, even I am impressed that you managed to learn that technique proficiently in such a short time. And that would also mean that you're now in the second step of the Liquid Realm.
I'm very curious about your progress. Since you defeated Mua Jin and rendered him unable to fight for a while, you should have taken his place on the Sword Pavilion ranking and secured a place for the Cross Branch Arena.”
Fen Wudao had a very bright mind. From such few clues he had basically painted a perfect picture of Shin Sumi's recent progression.
”After the Cross Branch Arena is over, would you like to exchange pointers with me, Sister Seventh Ghost? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you.” After that the divine sense message ended.
Shin Sumi blinked a few times. During the entire message, Fen Wudao had remained very calm whereas she thought she would be in trouble for possibly divulging the existence of the Ghost Pavilion.
”Exchange pointers with Big Brother Fen...” Shin Sumi thought back to the only time she had done something similar. She had been instructed by the Patriarch and Fen Wudao to meet them right before they offered her a place in the Ghost Pavilion.
”Could it be that they have something in mind for me? Since I got introduced to the Ghosts and received the three scrolls I have had no contact with the Ghost Pavilion at all. Were they waiting for me to reach the second step of the Liquid Realm?”
These were just suppositions in the mind of Shin Sumi. Not bothering herself with it for too long, she eventually decided that there was no way to know for sure until the moment to meet Fen Wudao arrived.
”In the meantime I need to settle a few things.”
The time had come for her to go back to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion main building. The third round for deciding the disciples' ranking was to start soon.
Shin Sumi strode into the grand hall with fifteen other disciples. They were all gauging each other silently as only half of them would remain after the end of the day.
Contrary to the previous times, though, the atmosphere was not heavy at all. To all these proud disciples, the pressure had gone down significantly.
”You're right, brother, but I wouldn't feel too dejected if I don't succeed in this round. At least we won't be sent to the Dark Fortress for secluded training.”
The punition that was the terrifying Dark Fortress no longer loomed over them, as per the words of Elder Azure Cloud.
It was the sole reason Shin Sumi had not wished to drop out of the tournament earlier, but now she was free to do so, as long as it remained convincing enough in the eyes of the Elders judging the disciples' prowess.
”Because Mua Jin was incapacitated by me while both of us were in perfect fighting condition, what's more in a Star Arena, I've secured a place in the Star-Sword Pavilion top six. There is no reason for me to continue here, unless I want a possibility at fighting myself in the Cross Branch Arena hihihi.”
Shin Sumi's train of thoughts was interrupted by a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she discovered Fu Xue, her face warmed by a beautiful large smile.
”Sister Yan, I'm so excited! We made it! We'll most definitely end up in the top six! I'll get to fight the top disciples of the Star-Sword and Light-Breaker Pavilion soon!”
”Sister Fu, are you not jumping to conclusions a little bit? There are still sixteen of us, and then only the top six out of eight will remain.”
”Come on don't be such a downer. This will be as easy as falling asleep, I can already tell you the names of the top six with ninety percent confidence.”
Shin Sumi listened to Fu Xue's list of names. For the most part she agreed with her, having already ascertained a lot of the disciple's strengths during the previous rounds. But how could Fu Xue know that she herself would not be participating?
Another thought popped into her head suddenly.
”So you are confident you'll win against Bai Xuengen in a breeze? He's your opponent today. Have you seen his last fight?! He seemed pretty strong to me.”
Fu Xue instantly stopped bubbling around. Her eyebrows dropped and her cheeks flushed in an angry red tint.
”What? You think he's stronger than me?! Sister Yan, don't joke around like this. That Bai fellow made a pretty big wave the last time but he was practically going against trash. I'll make him bite the dust teehee.” Despite the harsh words, Fu Xue ended with a smile and a laugh.
Shin Sumi sighed internally. Fu Xue and her unreadable mind sometimes scared her a little bit. What happened to the very shy girl she had met during the Rising Star Tournament?