Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

“Seriously? You advanced here?! In the wild?”

I looked at Shao Lin quizzically. [I don’t understand. What’s wrong?]

He appeared genuinely surprised. “Don’t you feel vulnerable? Your Soul just advanced, your shell should be still too fresh to take any significant strain, for a few weeks at least.”

Then it was my turn to look surprised. I have never before experienced the weakness he spoke of, and I didn’t feel it then. Just in case, I flared my Qi, empowering my body. It felt just fine. Better even, smoother, stronger.

To make sure, I even blasted the Sun Ray, as I decided to call it, from my eyes at full power.

A few moments later I stopped, completely convinced. [I feel fine. Better than ever.]

He just looked at me for a few moments and then just shook his head. “You are so weird.”

[Am I? … Well, anyway, ready to go?]

Shao Lin stood up and did a few stretches and tested his mobility. “Yeah, I’m ready. Just keep in mind I won’t be of much help in a fight. That damn lizard really messed me up.”

[No worries, just stay back. I’ll take the vanguard.]

We continued our travel at a moderate pace. Around 100km/h if I had to guess.

Considering we could approach a large fraction of the speed of sound if we really tried, I would say that was kinda slow. Especially when every twitch of the foot could launch you forward at crazy speeds.

But such high speeds weren’t sustainable anyway, as they used way too much energy to overpower wind resistance. Even when falling down with the help of increased gravity it was difficult to achieve that.

And unless we wanted to make a highway through the ancient forest, going slower was best. Too many obstacles were in the way.

We ran for… a certain amount of time. I calculated we should be reaching our destination soon enough.

The sun was high in the sky and the gray clouds parted, giving the white landscape some unneeded glare. Even in the shadow of the forest, the light was too much. Not enough to hurt, but just enough to be annoying.

I still had my Arcane Eyes active as I guided us away from unnecessary trouble. However, after such a long time of constant attention, my concentration slipped and I failed to notice a group coming our way. Fast.

[Aw, crap.]

“What is it?”

[A group of people are coming here. All of them in the Golden Core Realm.]

“Damn, Brilliant Sword Sect?”

[Probably… You should hide just in case. I’ll try to deal with them.]

Shao Lin nodded and took a few steps back and cloaked himself and hid behind a tree.

“Be careful.”

I just waved him off. He was worrying too much. I would be fine.

Having formed a seat out of stone, I sat down and waited. It didn’t take long, half a minute at most.

Seven people came, all of them in the familiar green robes. Brilliant Sword Sect Disciples. I smiled warmly. What a coincidence, I recognized four of them, only their names escaped me momentarily. I guess they weren’t important.

“Halt! There’s someone!” Their leader shouted, and they came to an immediate stop.

[Hello, gentlemen… And ladies. Nice day, isn’t it?]

My Arcane Eyes didn’t even turn off when greeting them. While I could clearly see their Auras, their robes were of better quality and prevented me from looking through. A shame, really. There were three very nice-looking women.

“It’s you!” A woman shouted, rage clear on her face. She turned then to the leader-guy. “It’s him! That’s the pervert who stole from us!”

A light bulb lit up in my head. I suddenly remembered who they were.

[Chunky? Is that you? How are your hands?]

“It’s Chun Ke, you bastard! Next time I’ll chop off both your heads!”

Feisty woman. I just laughed. She was so overly dramatic.

Meanwhile, one of the other guys whispered something to the guy up front. His expression soured despite being dark already.

“So, you are that guy…” He began.

[I have no idea what you are talking about. And who are you even?]

“I am Amar! Core Disciple of the Brill-!”

[Yes, yes… You are important. What do you want?] I was slightly impatient. We were so close to the place of my death where my treasures waited for me. If they could kindly fuck off quickly, that would be fantastic.

“You… Hmm. An enemy so deep inside our territory, don’t you think you are pretty arrogant?”

[Hmm, not really?]

A sudden light beam destroyed my seat and I fell on my but.

“Stand when speaking to your Seniors! Insolent brat!”

I quietly chuckled and stood up. That guy was pissing me off.

“Senior, maybe we should try avoiding conflict. He is pretty strong…” One of the guys said. I believe his name was Fang. I remembered him as being the smart one.

But, obviously, his Senior Amar was just as braindead as the rest of them. “Fang. I have listened to your story. I know you aren’t the best fighter, but the way you went about it last time… it’s a disgrace.”

Fang Lowered his head in shame.

“To lose against a Junior because you underestimated him is still fine, but making up stories he is an immortal, to cover your mistakes is dishonorable.”

“But Senior!” Mei protested. I remembered her. “We didn’t-”

“Enough! I’ll deal with this my own way.” Amar shouted and turned back to me. “You! Hand over the stuff you stole and give me a good reason why I shouldn’t kill you for trespassing! If it’s good enough, I might just let you go.”

I looked at him as if looking at a dumbass. [You are kidding, right?]

“Does it look like it?” He growled.

I frowned. I didn’t like his tone.

This guy felt way more dangerous than Shao Lin, and we didn’t even begin to fight. He even looked much older, so he had to be really strong just by that factor alone. If we fought, I wasn’t sure I could beat him. Not easily at least.

He felt like a warrior that probably honed his fighting style for his entire life, meanwhile, I mostly went through life by improvising. Well, unless things took a turn for the better, I would have to improvise again. What a fucking mess.

Thinking for a bit, I realized words would change nothing. They were seven against one, with half of them holding a grudge against me. Might as well stand my ground like a man. [I stole nothing.] I stated, tucking the storage pouches deeper into my clothes. [I beat them in fair combat, and as spoils of war, their stuff now belongs to me.]

“So you are saying it’s yours now?” Amar frowned. “Just because you beat them?”

[Precisely.]

“Ah, well, okay… I guess that makes sense.” Amar shrugged. “Then you won't mind if I beat you black and blue and take your stuff, right?”

That… was not what I meant, though I couldn’t argue with that logic. Before I had time to even say anything, Amar already lurched forward with a sword in hand and stabbed towards me.

He was fast, but was he faster than Shao Lin who focused on speed? No, he was slightly slower.

I reacted quickly enough and struck the ground with my foot, jumping just out of his reach. I grinned as his momentum failed to carry him all the way, and my body was just out of his reach too.

Releasing a field of Chaos around me and pushing it to the limit, I made sure he couldn’t use external magic. Or, to be fair, it just hindered him since he was of a higher Realm. But that was good enough for me. Every split second mattered.

The time was already slowed down as my perception was completely focused on the fight. That’s why I noticed him slowly smile as well. I didn’t like it.

His outstretched hand holding his sword moved slightly, aiming for my heart. Then his palm opened, and he released his sword. A light-blue longsword without a crossguard.

Before I could even blink, the blade already pierced through my chest, and came out on the other side.

My eyes opened wide as magic ravaged my body from the inside, destroying my organs. I felt nothing in my perception. No magic force, no Telekinesis, nothing. His sword just moved. One instant it was in his hand, the other it already flew through me with the power of a supersonic cannonball.

I stumbled back as he recalled his sword and it flew back into his hand. A tough fight was ahead of me.

“Yes! Let’s go! Senior Amar is the best!” I heard Chunk Ke cheer in the background. Another man I didn’t recognize also praised this Amar to high heaven.

Meanwhile, the man just smirked and licked the blood off his sword.

“Hmm, spicy.”

Wait, what? I stood rooted in place, my eyes wide.