Chapter 9. Dai Mubai
Four years had already passed.
That time was, perhaps, a little boring, but by no means bad. I calmly trained, experimented with techniques, and sometimes went for walks with Tang San and Xiao Wu when the bunny girl dragged us out to relax. Tang Hao spent almost all his time in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, protecting A Yin. And Dugu Bo would periodically visit us together with his granddaughter Dugu Yan, apparently unwilling to let go of the idea of pairing her with Tang San.
Over these years, the three of us had changed quite a lot. After all, spirit masters' bodies grow very differently in this world. By the age of twelve, we already looked like adults. And I ran into the genetics problem of Zhu Zhuqing. No, my genetics aren't bad. Looking at myself in the mirror, even without makeup, I was a beauty that would be hard to find, even among spirit masters. But my chest… why does it have to be so outrageously large? Why can't it be a neat and convenient B cup, and instead it's a very confident D? In this respect, Xiao Wu really lucked out. She's got a solid A, which promises to grow into a B in the future. Though, when I told her that, for some reason she got very offended and ignored me for a whole week—until she realized that, since I was just spending that time on training, it didn't affect me at all.
Speaking of training. Over these four years I managed to succeed with two techniques. First, the offensive skill I created, which I called "Mini Supernova." At the moment of casting, due to the rapidly rotating plasma, the little sphere looked like a small, brightly glowing star that exploded after colliding with an enemy. Of course, the explosion is nowhere near a real supernova, but the comparison felt fitting. It took me a lot of time to arrive at the right ratio between rotational speed and pressure of the layers on each other, so as to win enough stability time before it hit a target. And a separate topic was calculating how fast I needed to launch the technique so as not to injure myself. In the end, the technique consists of several stages.
First, two sufficiently dense layers are created, then rotation is initiated, and finally a careful collision and stabilization. All of this is done within 1–2 seconds, and then the sphere is pushed forward by a directed burst of spirit power in the desired direction, which the sphere can easily maintain on its own until it collides with something or one of the layers destabilizes. The main thing is to get out of the technique's blast radius in time, otherwise you can get hit yourself.
For support-type spirit masters, who have large reserves of energy but lower physical attributes, this technique should become a way to deal damage without relying solely on others. And if you imagine an entire formation of spirit masters launching this technique, then in war it might turn out to be even more effective than the weapons Tang San sold to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
The second technique was a bit simpler. At first I tried to copy Soru from One Piece, but I quickly realized that it's physically impossible to stomp the ground ten times at once with your feet and get acceleration out of it without literally bending time itself. Physics won't wait while you do several more steps—after the first one you're already moving. In the end, I went with the most basic and realistic method—essentially an analogue of shunpo. The idea is to sharply release spirit energy at the moment your foot touches the ground, thereby giving yourself enormous linear acceleration. I did have to fiddle with it, of course—learning not only to use the right amount of energy, but also to set the direction correctly, so I wouldn't go flying off to the wrong side.
The result was a technique that, under all my buffs, could increase my speed by an additional 30% for a brief instant. On the one hand, that sounds like not much and comes with the drawback of being linear. But on the other hand, I can suddenly surprise an opponent who's gotten used to my speed. And without all my buffs, especially the ring's, things got more interesting. Without summoning my spirit and using only this technique, I managed to reach a speed that, while still below my peak, would be extremely useful for other spirit masters—especially power-types—for closing the distance, and for support-types—an excellent way to open that distance.
Thus, I was completely satisfied with the results of my research and had almost no doubt that even if you set aside how valuable I am as a spirit master on my own, just by using these techniques and my other theories we'd be able to negotiate with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
By the way, we did manage to solve the problem of Xiao Wu lagging far behind us. Dugu Bo helped with that. Naturally he wanted a better future for his granddaughter as well, so in exchange for help with obtaining what we needed, we shared information about whale glue with him, and Tang San helped him take it, also selecting an appropriate immortal herb. And despite all his strength, that old man didn't dare hunt in the ocean depths for too long and ran as soon as he got what he needed. There are still quite a few very powerful beasts living down there, not to mention the whale whose age is approaching a million years.
Of course, Dugu Yan, unlike us, had no chance of absorbing a black ring as her fourth, and even less as her third, since she had nothing that could protect her mind. Whereas I was protected by my second spirit and by the fact that I'd been nourishing my spiritual sea essentially every morning since the age of six. As for Tang San, things were even simpler. His eye technique allows him, from a certain point, to attack an enemy's mind. And after absorbing his second ring and spending some time stabilizing from taking the Fiery Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, he used one of the herbs in the garden as eye drops, which helped him reach the necessary stage. In the end, he simply and literally destroyed the exhausted minds of the spirit beasts before absorbing his third and fourth rings, without worrying about spiritual backlash.
Xiao Wu, on the other hand, didn't have to concern herself with hunting spirit beasts at all. As a reincarnated hundred-thousand-year spirit beast, she can cultivate the most suitable ring for herself on her own, which is why her third, fourth, and fifth rings were black.
Where did the fifth come from? In fact, over these four years Tang San and Xiao Wu successfully caught up to me in rank. Tang San, most likely thanks to his cultivation technique, which was obviously better than my own cobbled-together one. As for Xiao Wu, the only explanation that came to mind was her nature as a hundred‑thousand‑year beast.
And in the end, at the close of that period, I was rank 50, Tang San was 50, and Xiao Wu was 52.
I could've obtained my fifth ring about a year ago, but there was a problem. During that time, Dugu Bo wasn't getting in touch, and Tang Hao, apparently realizing that we were in no danger here at all, was in no rush to show up—or maybe he was just playing the quiet guardian again, deciding to simply watch from the shadows, like he did in the canon.
In theory we could have gone to get our fifth rings ourselves, but in his case he really ought to get his fifth ring in a completely different way. It's already about time for him to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, which will naturally grant him the most suitable fifth ring and, more importantly, cause his first spirit to evolve. And besides, in our situation it was too dangerous for just the three of us to go after beasts around fifty thousand years old. So I insisted that until either he or I got our fifth ring, we wouldn't go hunting on our own without backup—especially since our spirit power was accumulating anyway, which later, when we absorb the ring, will just result in an instant jump of several ranks.
Heaven Dou Empire, Balak Kingdom, Suotuo City.
Compared to Nuoding City, Suotuo was truly large, and the contrast felt like you'd arrived from some small remote town to one of the provincial capitals of a country. It was incredibly lively here. And while our little group of two beautiful girls and a boy stood out easily in that other city, if only because of the unhurried and rather dull lives of its residents, here people were in too much of a hurry on their own business, completely ignoring others. For a moment it even reminded me of big cities from my past life—with the amendment of different architecture and level of technology.
"I don't understand why we need to go to this Shrek. Any academy would gladly accept us for free anyway," Xiao Wu complained yet again, annoyed at how far we'd had to walk.
"By the way, the teacher only sent me there. You and Zhuqing volunteered yourselves. Be glad at least that the Balak Kingdom borders the Fasinuo Province, or you'd be sulking even more," Tang San replied with a slight smile.
"Shameless, I'm only going there for your sake. You're my brother," Xiao Wu's face lit up with a cute, slightly sly smile. "Anyway, the entrance exam is the day after tomorrow, so you're absolutely obliged to walk around with us these two days to heal the wounds on my tender little heart."
"I'm out," I cut into the couple's conversation. "You two go on by yourselves, I've got my own business for now."
Without waiting for their reply, I simply summoned my spirit and slipped into the shadows. To be honest, their relationship made me a little jealous. Especially how close they are. As for me, nothing like that is in the cards.
I will never date a man because of my past life, and finding a girl I genuinely like who's also okay with being in a relationship with another girl isn't that easy. In fact, it's very hard, especially since for me it's just as important that our personalities are compatible. And that's even trickier, given how passive I am in social situations.
Still, I did have a bit of a plan. Without me, those two would most likely, just like in the canon and without even realizing it, end up at a lovers' hotel when looking for a place to spend the night—and that's where they would meet Dai Mubai. I really didn't want to create misunderstandings about why I was in such a place together with Xiao Wu and Tang San. So I quietly followed them, waiting for the moment of their encounter.
Soon, watching that pair, I couldn't help the twitch at the corner of my lips. Xiao Wu was standing in front of a three-story building that looked from the outside like a scarlet rosebud—it was precisely that lovers' hotel. Sure, I knew this would very likely happen, and the two of them don't have much life experience in this regard despite their pasts. But it still looked like some young girl inviting her beloved to share the night with her, which might be perfectly normal for this world, but for someone from the 21st century, considering the apparent age of their bodies, it seemed pretty wild.
However, I didn't have time to dwell on that, because after they went inside the hotel, the one I'd been waiting for appeared.
Dai Mubai. He should be fifteen now, but he looked like a full-grown man of about twenty‑five, walking into that hotel with two beauties in his arms, his intentions perfectly obvious.
I dismissed my spirit and followed the trio in at an unhurried pace, feeling a strange sense of anticipation.
"Do I really want to mess with him that badly?" the thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately brushed it aside. In a sense, I was still offended by him for that sparring match when I was six. The feeling of near-death had been anything but pleasant.
And I also got a certain satisfaction from being able to walk behind him like this while, simply because of the difference in strength, he wasn't even capable of noticing me. I followed them all the way to the front desk, where he discovered that Xiao Wu and Tang San were already paying for the last available room.
"Kid, are you new here?" Dai Mubai cut in.
"Sorry, and you are…?" the nervous hotel clerk behind the desk began.
"Get the manager out here, now!" Realizing he hadn't been recognized, the prince slammed his hand on the counter and demanded, causing the worker to panic and immediately run off to find the manager.
"Excuse us, but we were here first," Tang San tried to speak politely.
"So what?" Dai Mubai exhaled in a contemptuous tone before looking over at Tang San and Xiao Wu.
"So what? We were here first," Xiao Wu stepped forward defiantly.
"Well, now this is interesting," the blond smirked. "Judging by that bold tone, you're spirit masters too. Go on, attack. You can try to beat me, or you can run away like dogs."
He was already getting ready to fight, clearly believing in his superiority because of how young his opponents looked. I chose that moment to intervene.
"Long time no see, Dai Mubai," I said coldly, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
The blond flinched, realizing I'd been standing behind him all this time, and immediately turned to me.
"Zhuqing, you know him?" Xiao Wu asked at once, pointing a finger at Dai Mubai.
"Of course I know him. It would be strange if I didn't. He's my fiancé," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest while taking a better look at his companions. I had to admit, they really were first-class beauties with stunning figures. Clearly, the imperial family wasn't denying him money.
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai, having heard my words, quickly realized who I was, despite how much I'd changed since our last meeting. And seeing the way I was appraising the girls next to him, he started to panic a little.
"Zhu Zhuqing, it's not what it looks like," he began to justify himself.
"No need," I cut him off, raising my hand, then continued, "I don't care who you sleep with. I decided long ago that you'd never have any hope of being closer to me than just a friend. But you owe me something."
"What are you talking about? Did you forget the rules? They'll kill us," the blond suddenly frowned and, stepping away from the girls, took a step toward me. Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged glances and decided to just watch how this would play out.
"Dai Mubai. In the Star Luo Empire, strength is respected. If you're not a coward, we'll settle this in a duel," I stated icily, then added, "This time there won't be some bastard at your side to interfere."
"You're still upset about that time? You slit my stomach open!"
"For a fight between spirit masters that's nothing special, there was a healer right there. But I was almost killed. And I got punished on top of it," I replied.
"..." He clenched his teeth in frustration, then after a short silence still asked, "What are the terms?"
"Fight me here and now. If you win, I'll do everything necessary to make sure you become emperor. But if I win, then nothing will connect us anymore except belonging to the same empire and allied clans. And of course, you give up the room to my friends. They've decided to take such a big step, and then you show up," I couldn't resist teasing that particular couple.
"Big step?" Xiao Wu asked blankly, tilting her head cutely, which drew giggles from the girls who had come with Dai Mubai. They decided to enlighten her as to what was meant, causing both Xiao Wu's and Tang San's faces, who heard everything, to turn bright red.
"When did you have time to get acquainted with them?" Dai Mubai asked, glancing at the couple I'd mentioned.
"That's not important. Better answer: are you accepting my challenge, or did you chicken out?"
"I accept," the young man frowned, and at that very moment a well-dressed middle‑aged man ran into the lobby.
"Boss Dai, please, no fighting in the hotel, at least go outside!" The man was in a panic, clearly understanding that a fight between spirit masters promised havoc in his establishment.
"Silence!" the prince roared at him, then added more calmly, "I'll cover any losses."
"B-but…"
"Here, take this and stay out of the way," I said irritably, pulling a pouch of gold coins from my ring and tossing it to the manager.
He opened it and froze. For an ordinary hotel, that much gold could easily cover any expenses, including the cost of repairs—if there even ended up being any. So saying nothing more, he just gave a comically deep bow and scurried off to the side.
"Zhu Zhuqing, maybe seeing me like this made you think I've just been fooling around all this time, but know this: I haven't neglected my training. Time is still on my side, regardless of your talent." With that, he summoned his spirit. His body immediately transformed, becoming larger and stronger, with big claws on his hands, and three rings floated around him—two yellow and one purple, which for ordinary spirit masters already qualified as genius level. "Dai Mubai, spirit: Evil-Eyed White Tiger, Spirit Elder, rank 37."
"You really haven't been standing still, but let me show you what it means to truly make use of every opportunity." I summoned my own spirit which, unlike his, didn't change my outward appearance much—mainly turning my eyes a different color, shifting my hairstyle into cat‑ear‑like tufts, and making the ribbon that was part of my outfit sway behind me like a tail. Then my rings appeared: one white, one purple, and two black, plunging the room into a silence in which my words could be heard perfectly clearly: "Zhu Zhuqing, spirit: Hell Civet. Spirit King, rank 50."
I saw his pupils dilate in shock. If I'd wanted to, I could have ended it right then, not giving him a chance to recover. But then he might not have fully accepted his defeat.
"Have you come to your senses?" I asked. "If you keep standing there like an idiot, I'll just finish this."
"How is that possible? You're twelve."
"So what?" I answered him in the same contemptuous tone he'd used with Tang San. "Attack."
Silently, he activated his first and third rings, making his figure even bulkier, and the character "king" on his forehead lit up. Then he launched himself into an attack. I didn't move from where I stood. By now my physical stats were on the level of a peak Spirit Emperor's. I didn't cripple him or cut him. As soon as his fist came within reach, I simply grabbed his forearm with raw strength, shattered the barrier from his first ring in an instant, and sharply threw him over my shoulder. For him, it must have felt as if he'd just lunged in, and then suddenly found himself on the floor.
"Dai Mubai, let's be honest: even without using my spirit, you're no match for me," I said, looking down at him.
Dai Mubai lay on the floor, breathing heavily. The impact with the ground and the ease with which his White Tiger barrier had been destroyed—not even by claws or a spirit skill, but with bare hands—hit him far harder than any physical pain could. And what was worse was the pressure. Since ancient times, the White Tiger suppressed the Hell Civet. Now he felt his spirit being pressed to the ground under the Hell Civet's aura, and at the same time he could feel the bond beginning to fade—the very bond that allowed the Dai and Zhu families to use spirit fusion. Realizing this, something inside him seemed to break. He dismissed his spirit, his body returned to normal, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Looks like I was too full of myself." He started to get up when suddenly a girl's hand appeared before him, offering help.
"You?" he stared in bewilderment at the hand held out to him.
"I already said, I have nothing against your womanizing. And now I have nothing against you either. I just don't want to be your fiancée. And I don't want to be the Star Luo Empress."
Clearly not understanding what was going on, Dai Mubai dazedly accepted the offered help.
"Tang San, Xiao Wu. Have lots of fun," Zhu Zhuqing said to the couple, cheerfully waving to them in farewell, and then simply left, while Dai Mubai, eyes empty, continued to stare after her.
"Mubai, are you alright?" The twin sisters who'd come with the blond, feeling that something was wrong, walked up to him and hugged him from both sides.
"Leave."
"What did you say?" one of the sisters asked uncertainly.
"I said, leave!" Dai Mubai snarled.
"Hmph, fine then. You're not that great anyway," the clearly offended girls snorted and walked off, while the young man kept staring blankly in the direction Zhu Zhuqing had gone.