57 Chapter 56: Counterattack (1/2)
”Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Tang Qi Hong looked around nervously. Beside her, Zhu Jiao shrugged.
”Well, it's the only way.”
”Yeah, we need to get that idiot out of there,” Ban Zhang agreed as he crouched down beneath the grass. ”Unless you've a better idea?”
”No, but…”
”Don't worry. As long as we follow Teacher Jiao's lead, there shouldn't be a problem.” Tong Xue assured Tang Qi Hong before gesturing toward Teacher Jiao, who was at the front. All around them, heavily armored adults marched toward the gigantic warehouse that served as the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect's base. Troops alighted from armored personnel carriers and formed a perimeter. Even though they didn't bear rifles – ranged projectile weapons were pointless in a world where people could shoot qi blasts out of their hands – they wielded sharp pointy sticks…ahem, swords, staffs, spears and an assortment of other melee weapons.
The great Zhou Dynasty had sent a huge force of Imperial Guard to destroy the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect once for all. After receiving a large influx of reports where dozens of villages were raided and massacred by the despicable Chinese Parasol Tree Sect, the royal family couldn't sit still any longer and sent out the Imperial Guard.
The commander, recognizing the level of threat that this upstart demonic sect posed, having destroyed dozens of villages and claimed countless lives of citizens, had pulled together several regiments of martial artists, banding them together to exterminate the demonic villains with extreme prejudice.
”Stay with me, guys,” Teacher Jiao told the middle school students without turning back. He had grudgingly gave them permission to participate in the mission, on the condition that they remained under close supervision. He wasn't about to lose any more students to the despicable demonic martial artists, yet at the same time he recognized that this would provide his students valuable and much-needed experience.
”Yes, Teacher Jiao.”
The students followed closely. Originally Xiao Zhang had not intended to send a small delegate of Wu Ling Academy teachers and students to the frontlines, choosing to leave it to the Imperial Guard. However, my classmates had apparently petitioned him, and he finally gave his permission on the grounds that it would provide experience. That was when the condition was set, and Teacher Jiao personally volunteered to be their chaperon.
”We do need to at least show that we're invested in the safety of our students, and we don't just leave everything to a third party.”
After acknowledging that, the participating staff had drawn up a plan. Among the students, however, only my closest friends participated. The majority of the student body recognized the massive risks inherent within this mission and had chosen to stay out of it. I honestly didn't blame them. They had no reason to put their lives in danger for someone they didn't know.
Master was correct in that regard. Unless you were strong enough and confident that you would be able to survive, it was the height of folly to throw yourself into danger where your chances of survival were extremely low.
The demonic martial artists of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect were alerted to their presence and were all streaming out to meet the Imperial Guardsmen with their own demonic martial arts and ominous weapons. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands of crazed cultists, shouting praises for their revered leader as they sought to butcher and slaughter in his name.
”Whoa…”
Zhu Jiao's eyes widened when he saw the solid, steel wall of implacable Imperial Guardsmen hold the onslaught of demonic cultists back, stemming the tide of menacing weapons and demonic techniques. The rogue martial artists broke over the Martial Arts Alliance troops, their front ranks impaled by mystic spears or cut down by sacred swords.
”Quick! Use this chance to infiltrate their base! We're going to look for Fei Wu and rescue him from there!”
Teacher Jiao issued instructions to the following students, and they hurried after him as he sought an alternative route through the tide of traitors.
”Do you think Fei Wu is still alive?” Tong Xue asked nervously as they tried to weave around a point in the enemy's defenses that seemed the weakest. A platoon of Imperial Guardsmen had breached the defenses at one of the warehouse's smaller entrances, the orthodox martial artists combating demonic ones with explosions of qi and elemental blasts. The sheer violence and power that saturated the air unnerved the young middle school students.
”He has to be, right?” Tang Qi Hong snapped. ”He can't die!”
”The villagers said that the demonic sect kidnapped him. That means they don't plan to kill him, at least not yet.”
Tong Xue shook his head at Ban Zhang's deduction. ”That was over two weeks ago. The villagers also mentioned that the demonic sect was abducting people to drain them of their qi. Fei Wu could very well be…”
”Does it matter?” Zhu Jiao interrupted. ”Fei Wu might be dead, or he might not. But we won't find out until we get in there. If he's still alive, then he needs rescuing. Otherwise, we'll avenge him. Standing around and talking about isn't going to achieve anything.”
Tong Xue hesitated, and nodded. Smiling he punched a fist into his palm. ”You're right. No point overthinking about it. We'll do the things that we can do. One step at a time!”
”Yeah. And besides…” Zhu Jiao grinned. ”I know how tough Fei Wu is. He's not going to die so easily.”
*
Zhu Jiao was right. Despite all the torments and excruciating agonies inflicted upon my body, I was still alive, still hanging on. In fact, I was probably in better shape than before.
It took me a day or two to absorb all the qi from the Parasitic Wasp larvae embedded within my flesh and organs, greedily draining the qi from them like a man on the verge of dying from thirst. Completely robbed of their life essences and qi, the larvae broke down and completely decomposed into qi, which I lapped up.
Right now, there was no trace that any of the Parasitic Wasp larvae had ever inhabited my body. While at first I found it difficult to integrate and incorporate their inhuman qi into my own innate qi, I had experience from my time in Sen Lin Forest.
It didn't matter what creature they were. If they were living organisms, that I could consume their qi and make it my own. Of course, it would require some time, but time was something I had in abundance. In between Ba Yun's torture sessions, I would meditate, cultivate and incorporate the foreign qi into my own, assimilating the demonic bugs' qi and making it part of me.
Thanks to that, I was feeling a bit more robust than before. If this was a proper wuxia or xianxia story, I would be listing the breakthroughs or whatever I made, but all those weird realms and stages and levels were meaningless to me. I didn't know how to estimate all those weird stages. What I did know for sure, however, was that I felt better and a bit stronger than before.
Was it enough to make up the difference between me and Ba Yun? I didn't know that. But I also continually purified my qi, to the point that it was highly volatile and I could set off a spark by just rubbing it against the surrounding qi.
”Hu…”
Keeping my eyes closed, I continued to purify my qi, waiting and biding my chance. Not yet…at least, not until…
Boom.
A distant explosion thundered somewhere faraway, but I didn't bother to raise my head and looked around. I was too absorbed in my own cultivation to pay any attention to mundane reality. Besides, I was in quite the predicament right now, and was in no position to pay attention to the troubles of anyone else.
But there's a battle going on…lots of people are fighting…I can sense their qi. I can feel the combat…what's going on? Is the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect under attack? By who?
That didn't matter. The only thing I needed to know was that this was my big chance to escape from here.
”Fei Wu.”
Before I knew it, Ba Yun had showed up. I didn't even hear him open the door. The sound must have been drowned out by the explosions and noise of combat.
”We're being attacked by the Martial Arts Alliance. The royal family has finally sent their Imperial Guard after us.”
”Heh.” I smirked while keeping my head down. ”So what do you want me to do? Are you trying to recruit me into the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect?”
”Dream on. As if trash like you will ever be allowed into our great sect.”
Sneering, Ba Yun looked down on me with pure condescension.
”I originally planned on taking my time and torturing you today as well, but…duty calls. As one of the elders, my duty is to fight and protect our base from those orthodox sects rubbish.”
”Then why are you here?”
”Hmph.” Ba Yun snorted, as if he couldn't believe that I had the gall to question him. ”To prepare for battle, of course?”
I chuckled. ”Really? I thought you just want to slack and run away from duty.”
”No, no, no. what do you think I am?”
”A bastard,” I replied honestly. ”A fucking psychotic bastard who should be rotting in hell.”
Ba Yun laughed at that and shook his head. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I immediately felt a burning sensation.
The guy was trying to suck my qi.
”I had a lot of fun, you know. I enjoyed my two weeks with you. It was really fun and amusing to see you struggle, to break you down, to build you back up, and then to break you down again.”
”I'm glad you enjoyed it,” I retorted, my voice dripping heavily with sarcasm.
”But alas, it all comes to an end here. This might be the last time I'll get to see you. I don't doubt that I'll survive this battle, but we might be forced to escape, relocate and find a new base. Obviously, if that happens, I won't be able to bring you along. Or some of the orthodox martial artists might come across this place during the thick of fighting and rescue you. That would be terrible, but I can't stay here to guard you. I am needed elsewhere.”
”How terrible indeed.”
”So…I've decided. As much as it pains me to, I've decided to end your sorry existence right here and right now. You'll become a part of me.”
I said nothing and focused on his hand, resisting the irresistible pull and locking the flow of my qi in place.
”The Demonic Shadow Strike, one of the demonic martial arts that the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect practices, includes a technique that allows the user to suck qi from another person. That's what our leader is using, and that's what he taught us. Thanks to that technique, we're able to rapidly increase our strength. That's why, even after the destruction of the Heaven and Earth Sect and many other demonic sects, the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect is able to rise and grow powerful in such a period of time. The downside is that we had to find a lot of necessary sacrifices, but the outlying villages were perfect for that. With the defenses concentrated in the cities and the capital, the rural villages in the countryside were left vulnerable to attack.”
”…”
”Sucking the qi from one common villager might not be efficient. It wouldn't increase our qi by much, and it's not worth the effort. However, sucking the qi from a hundred…from a thousand villagers… now that's going to make a hell lot of difference. It would help us improve our cultivation by leaps and bounds in a relatively shorter time than it takes you so-called orthodox martial artists to raise your realms and levels.”
I continued to maintain my silence, even though Ba Yun made a horrible mistake. He thought I was an orthodox martial artist?
Oh, how terribly mistaken he was.
”On the other hand…a single martial artist is worth ten thousand normal villagers.”
Ba Yun licked his lips as he strengthened the qi absorption technique, trying to force my qi out of him. He looked perplexed when it didn't work. Ignoring the aberration, he continued to spew his longwinded rhetoric.
”It's also fate that you share the same type of qi and elemental affinity as me, that you use similar techniques as me. I will be able to immediately assimilate your qi and go straight to battle after this, stronger than before!”
”…fate indeed. Except that if you truly believe that I use similar techniques to yours, you're deluded. Our techniques are worlds apart.”
”What did you say, trash?”
I didn't reply. Instead of using words, I showed him using actions.
”!!!!!”
Ba Yun's eyes widened when he realized that something was wrong. Even though he was trying to suck my qi, his qi was being absorbed by me instead. The flow of qi reversed and he wasn't able to stem the currents of his qi from surging into me.
”You bastard!” he roared as he forcibly tore his steaming hand away from my shoulder, staggering backward and clutching his fingers. ”What did you just do to me?!”
”What, the same thing you tried to do to me, of course.”
”You fucker!”