Leaving A Legacy

POV change:

Bao Hua strained his aching muscles to carry the limp body on his shoulder just a bit further. He was exhausted from the constant battles of the day. But it was nothing compared to the helplessness of watching the friends he had made these past months slowly succumb to wounds and unlucky encounters.

Uncaring of the sentiment of those like Bao Hua, the expedition leader Cheng Lei had continued to treat the whole thing like a pleasant walk in a park. He accepted their casualties without much reaction, as though it was only right that they give up their lives for the success of the expedition.

‘The worst kind of young master. If I had known, I never would have joined this expedition,' Hua thought to himself. But he continued to swallow his frustration because the 20 or so disciples that remained of the original 40 still needed the artifacts and treasures that Cheng Lei owned to guide them out of this terrible place. They were just a few days away from the anomaly, and without Cheng Lei to protect them, they would be struck by dozens of bolts of lightning and killed.

A part of his frustration was because of his own brother Ren, who stood in stark contrast to someone like Cheng Lei. Knowing someone could be that trustworthy and dependable hurt more when they were the rare exception.

Hua admitted to himself that his thoughts were rambling as he struggled to reach the secure campsite set up by Cheng Lei. This whole expedition was cursed. They had been sent to explore a region of forests that had been suffering from an anomalous lightning disaster. And almost as soon as they entered, they had encountered fleeing beasts, danger zones caused by rampaging qi flows, and even lightning strikes.

It had only gotten worse the deeper they traveled. Evidence emerged that a beast tyrant had moved into the region with the greatest lightning strikes and was causing a beast tide. Additionally, the lightning strikes became stronger and more frequent the closer they got. Cheng Lei had pushed forward relentlessly and ignored all protests and suggestions to retreat.

At that time, Hua felt that was the right thing to do as a cultivator. Why flee at the first sign of hardship? They had an important task to accomplish here, and they should work together to get it done. They had to find out the cause of the lightning disaster and then test a certain device the sect had given before collecting any treasures and returning. He had more complicated feelings about it now.

He finally reached the camp, which was safe from unpredictable lightning strikes, and felt an intense relief. Hua collapsed after making sure the disciple he was carrying received treatment. He lay there breathing heavily for a scant few moments when he felt a boot poking his ribs. He tried to ignore it but was prodded even harder. He sat up with a pained groan after a sharp kick and cursed at the old man who even now maintained a relaxed appearance in the depths of the deadly forest.

The old man was Cheng Lei’s attendant and stuck around him most of the time, but he had taken an interest in Hua halfway through the expedition. Ever since, the old man had bothered him whenever he tried to practice his sword skills. The old man had gotten progressively nosier and gave vague, silly-sounding advice like 'slow is fast', breaking Hua’s flow. When Hua tried to meditate, he often got the sensation of being watched. Then he started to get that sensation at other times too.

Whenever Hua grew annoyed, he cursed and tried to chase him away, but the old man would just laugh and ignore him. With his position as Cheng Lei’s attendant, he couldn’t be touched, and he used that fact to mercilessly torment Hua.

“What do you want now, you old fart!?” Hua lacked the strength to shout. All he wanted to do was fall asleep and regain enough energy to continue fighting to survive the next day.

“Where is the respect for your elders, you smelly brat!? And after I came all this way to commend you for bringing back that disciple safely?” He was grinning, not a trace of the mock anger on his face.

“Did you have to kick me for that?” Hua whined. But he knew better. This was when he normally practiced his sword and meditated on the days' fights like those sword cultivators his brother had told him about. If he fell asleep now, he would be breaking his own routine. For all that the old man was nosy and bothersome, he was a fellow swordsman. He didn’t know why he thought that, as the old attendant had never drawn his blade, always cowering behind Cheng Lei, but Hua just knew. And the rude kick was his way of reminding a fellow swordsman not to skip practice.

Despite his complaints and his protesting body, Hua stood and formed a stance. The large sword was chipped and worn, but instead of looking shabby, it held the appearance of a veteran. In his hands, it was absolutely steady and precise as he practiced his stances. Even as his muscles trembled and some of his wounds reopened, his breathing grew steadier, and the transition to the next stance grew smoother.

Hua’s eyes were closed, but he still felt approval radiating from not far away. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

"Please, senior! Slow down! I’m falling!”

Ren rolled his eyes at the dramatic young disciple he was escorting to the inner sect. As a senior with a proper flying sword, he had wanted to repay the kindness others had done to him. He had started responding to requests from other new inner sect disciples to fly them to and from the inner sect.

Somehow they always responded the same way. Screaming and clinging to his robes as though they were being slaughtered. This was the slowest he could fly! He hadn’t even engaged the second or third speed arrays. Not to mention he was at the front protecting them with his qi and receiving the worst of the wind. Was it not enough?

This particularly dramatic disciple insisted on traveling the remaining distance on foot. It would likely take them days. If he had persisted for just a brief while longer, they would already have arrived. But he rejected Ren’s kind intentions and firmly insisted. Ren obliged while trying to hide how silly he thought the disciple was being.

Ren didn’t think about the stubborn boy any longer and flew on. He was going to examine the trials he had set up in the outer sect regions. His cultivation strongly indicated they had been found and attempted already. He was vibrating with excitement to review the information his arrays had recorded.

The rare break from body cultivation may also have played a part in his jovial mood. For months he had been pushing himself to the limit, and the little recovery he had made after being subjected to the killing intent from the snakeskin had likely been lost. The decision to stop and allow his mental and physical state to recover before his next breakthrough had come easily.

Ren had always worked hard, but his recent efforts had been a bit extreme. So without a passenger, he engaged the second speed array and began to have fun. The wind was screaming past him, and he had to deflect it while simultaneously using it to anchor himself to the sword. The beautiful scenery was blurring past him as he rose high until he almost reached the clouds. Then he stopped powering the sword and just fell.

By the time he arrived at the first trial, his hair and clothes were a mess and he was laughing to himself. He felt lighter than he had in months. To avoid attention, he had landed away from the cliffs and made the rest of the journey up on foot. He was quickly proven right to have done so when he noticed there were many disciples heading in the same direction. Ren stopped and tried to ask one of them where they were all going.

"Oh, are you new here, junior? At the top of these cliffs is the first challenge of the renowned ‘Challenger’. Although it’s said to be the simplest, don’t underestimate it.” The talkative young man explained. His voice carried far in his enthusiasm, and a few others who heard matched their pace and joined the conversation.

“I heard there have been more challenges discovered recently!” a disciple with ripped sleeves said.

He was quickly corrected by a prim disciple who said, “Where have you been for the last few months? Everyone knows the missing 3rd challenge was uncovered in the narrow cliffs over a month ago!”

The ripped-sleeves boy looked annoyed at being corrected and defended himself, “I meant the 6th, but I’ve sworn not to reveal it.”

The others didn’t look convinced. Nor was Ren, seeing as he had only built 5 so far. He continued to listen to the hotly debated opinions of those around him with a sense of disconnect. He had never imagined that these challenges of his would have grown this popular and gathered a devoted bunch of trial takers and trial seekers. Turned out that being the first to discover the challenges gained nearly as much prestige as those who earned a rank.

Ren recalled that the prizes for the first two challenges had been limited. Curious to know what the others thought about it, he asked them. Surprisingly, no one had yet noticed his inner sect robes and thought him new to the sect and didn’t mind explaining.

“So what if the original rewards are gone? Some very kind and responsible Inner Sect disciples provided contribution points to be awarded for a successful challenge. I’ve heard they’ve offered a reward if the Challenger appears and claims their due for contributing greatly to the sect.”

Ren was shocked. Even inner sect disciples were involved. And how could they afford to pay the thousands who flocked to the challenges? Some elder must surely be backing them. That had implications of its own.

“So what if they offer points? I wouldn’t accept even if I earned a rank. This is a pure challenge, and to win is its own reward!” Ripped sleeves was being boisterous, but many others were nodding in agreement. He continued and said, “That Challenger must be someone very wise. They knew exactly what the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect would desire. Today, I’m going to test my new sword technique and footwork.”

Ren chose to avoid responsibility for part of the second comment. Yes. This was all according to plan.

The prim disciple reluctantly agreed and said, “The loudmouth is right. The challenges are very well suited for their ranks, and those who attempt them often think up creative solutions to win. I doubt it’s true for everyone, but it's undeniable that many who are stuck or in a bottleneck in their techniques find a way forward after the challenges.”

Ren didn’t know what to say. If he had anything to do with that, then it was unknowingly done. His manual had promised that balance would be maintained and he wasn’t simply stealing other people’s providence, but to think that it could cause something like this? It was a good manual, but he doubted that the little energy that flowed out during breakthroughs could power all this.

No, something else was happening here. Ren had a few theories come to mind, but he wanted to do some more research before he came to any conclusions. By then, they were approaching the first challenge and the small crowd that waited around it.

Someone was stepping up for an attempt after waiting in line. The slightly middle-aged disciple was wielding two swords. There was some murmuring as others tried to predict how the attempt would go. The thin wind blades from the array began their assault. The blades were weak but numerous and could quickly build up damage.

The dual wielder moved his swords in a flashy display where he shattered each blade as he advanced. He was ostentatiously clashing with the array head-on, but the wind razor strike formation soon found ways to attack him from all directions. His swords started to miss and occasionally let attacks through. There was some laughter, but most looked on closely.

To Ren, it looked obvious that the dual wielder was strong enough to succeed, but from the looks on the faces of the crowd, they were anticipating him earning a rank. Ren started to blend into the crowd as he cheered on the flashy attempt at glory. No one could have possibly suspected his hidden identity as the Challenger that everyone was praising.

When the dual wielder passed, there was much cheering as everyone waited for him to choose to leave his mark and for the results to be announced. The flat rock flickered, and a new line appeared on the 14th of 25 places with the name and the time it had taken for the attempt. That innocent mistake where the foundation that kept records made them public had set much of this in motion. Everyone burst out clapping and cheering for the attempt, and the man emerged with slightly ripped robes and a broad smile on his face.

Caught up in the atmosphere, Ren joined in. It was a very decent attempt in his opinion. A bit unnecessarily flashy but still very good. And with all that he had seen here, Ren couldn’t wait to see what the other trials would be like!