Chapter 129: Am I to Act as Bait?

~~~

A message from Elder Xue awaits Liu Jin outside the isolation chamber. The disciple who delivers it has tired eyes and moves stiffly as if he had been standing in attention for a long time. Liu Jin hopes the fault does not lie with him. Keeping track of time inside his soul had relied heavily on guesswork. It would be unfortunate if he had unknowingly made this disciple wait for days.

Liu Jin decides not to ask.

Instead, Liu Jin thanks the disciple for his services and heads for the baths. The message may have said he is to report to Elder Xue’s study right away, but it would be unseemly to meet Elder Xue as he is right now. Putting aside the impurities Liu Jin has purged from his body while cultivating, some Poison Qi had leaked out during the process. Neither had done his clothes any favors.

Thirty minutes later, Liu Jin stands before Elder Xue, cleaned up and dressed in a new set of robes.

“Curious,” Elder Xue says as she creates a small butterfly made out of flames. It flies from the tip of her finger and passes through the walls. A message of some sort, Liu Jin guesses. “You are here earlier than I expected.”

“Did I somehow leave the isolation chamber before my allotted time?”

If so, is there a proper way to ask to go back inside? Liu Jin has yet to figure out how to take out Old Jiang’s manual from his soul. The only way he can read it is while deep in meditation.

“Hardly. You went three days over your limit.”

So the disciple waiting for him had been standing for a while because of him. Liu Jin makes a mental note to do something nice for him in the future.

“And Elder Xue expected me to take even longer?”

“You are in the Spirit Realm,” Elder Xue says as if that explains it all. “Young ones often lose themselves when they first dive into their soul.”

Despite Liu Jin never telling Elder Xue he planned on diving into his soul, she speaks as though he couldn’t possibly have done anything else. It does not surprise him, but…

“Is diving into one’s soul so common once one enters the Spirit Realm?”

It nettles him.

“On the contrary, most are not capable of it until they have reached the mid-levels of the Spirit Realm.” Elder Xue waves her hand dismissively as if brushing some dust away. “You, however, have been attempting to master your soul since the day we met. Now that your cultivation level has reached this point, it was simply a matter of having the right opportunity. Still, I must congratulate you on the results of your cultivation.”

Spirit Realm, Level Five.

That is the level Liu Jin has reached after his isolation training.

“Of course,” Elder Xue adds, “had you not halted your entry to the Spirit Realm for so long, it is unlikely your progress would have been quite this dramatic. Your current level is simply what was owed.”

Liu Jin tilts his head to the side. Elder Xue, it seems, is determined to keep throwing him off balance.

“Elder Xue was aware I was halting my process?”

The stare Elder Xue shoots at him is decidedly unimpressed.

“Child,” she stresses the word. “Your companions may not have noticed. Your lover may not have noticed. Even Young Master Feng Zhi may not have noticed. I, however, am an Emperor. From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were blocking your meridians to halt your progress.”

Liu Jin’s cheeks color.

So all this time…

“You are lucky most of the Elders were too busy watching Young Master Feng Hao’s performance back then. Had Elder Fa or Elder Dang had taken notice of you instead, you could have ended in quite a different situation.”

If you succeed despite all your flaws, you are clearly doing something right. Liu Jin reminds himself of the words of his Master and does his best to take comfort in them to lessen the embarrassment he feels.

It is not enough.

Mercifully, a knock on the door saves Liu Jin from saying anything else.

“Enter.”

A motion from Elder Xue’s hand unlocks the door. To Liu Jin’s surprise, the person who enters Elder Xue’s study is none other than Senior Brother Luo, the disciple who made a deal with Liu Jin to gain access to Soaring Feather’s feathers once the bird reaches adulthood. Though Senior Brother Luo kneels and lowers his head as soon as he enters the room, he does not do so quickly enough for Liu Jin to miss the bruises on his face.

“Elder Xue,” he says. “This disciple is here to answer your summons.”

“Rise,” Elder Xue commands.

As Senior Brother Luo does so, the full extent of his injuries is revealed. The right side of his face may be full of bruises, but the left side has a large burn scar which has disfigured the left side of his mouth, leaving him sporting a parody of a half-grin.

“Tell me once more how you acquired those wounds.”

If the question offends him, Senior Brother Luo does not let it show. A brief flash of confusion when he notices Liu Jin’s presence is all that appears on his face.

“Of course, honored Elder. It happened almost a week ago.”

Liu Jin’s mind quickly makes the calculations. The regenerative abilities of cultivators grow with every level. For someone in the Spirit Realm to look like Senior Brother Luo does after a week…

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He is lucky to be alive.

“After many nights spent translating, I felt the need to take a walk around the compound. This is something I often do ‘lest I forget how the light of the sun looks like. As I was preparing to do this, some of my comrades offered themselves for a series of quick challenges.”

“Quick challenges?” Liu Jin asks.

Rather than reply right away, Senior Brother Luo’s eyes move over to Elder Xue as if expecting her to reprimand Liu Jin for speaking out of turn. When the reprimand does not come, he answers.

“It is a security measure we have adopted during the time Brother Qing was in isolation training. The rules say we are only forced to accept three guaranteed challenges. However, there is no mention made of how serious the fights must be. Quick challenges are, as the name implies, quick. Barely light work.”

“Which would satisfy the letter of the law enough to prevent Senior Brother Luo from being challenged.” Liu Jin hums. “Clever.”

“I am pleased Brother Qing thinks so. However, our preparation was for naught. It did not stop a group of cloaked fighters from challenging me. When I refused, as was my right, they attacked me all at once.” His hand twitches, almost rising to touch his burned face. “I fully believe I would have been killed had I not been able to get away.”

Killed.