Path of the Ascendant

After finishing the engraving manual and receiving a lesson from Great Light, she intended to return home and have a long-awaited rest. Contrary to that expectation, however, the moment she ducked into an alleyway outside the Deadly Martial Colosseum and changed into her typical clothing, keeping the cloth bandage on her left arm to hide the burns, she nearly ran into someone familiar.

“You!” the woman from the library called out, suddenly rushing at her.

“Eh? What did I do?” Yi Wei said, raising her fists in preparation for the fight.

Her question stopped the woman in her tracks, and her face reddened in embarrassment, “Sorry, what I meant was, hi! You’re the woman from the library, right?”

‘That’s what I call you, but I can see how she came up with the same name for me,’ she thought, lowering her hands, “I have been in the library before, and I even helped someone with the Still Water Body, though I did not get their name. Was that you?”

“Yes! I’m Yi Yaling, daughter of Yi Fenhong. And you?”

“Yi Wei, child of two servants. You wouldn’t know of them.”

“O-oh,” Yi Yaling’s excitement was dulled slightly, but she recovered quickly, “Your understanding of techniques was outstanding, and I learned a lot! I’m feeling that my cultivation might actually advance soon. Why don’t you reveal your talent to the family?”

“Why? Yi Yaling, have you never heard of the concept of jealousy?” Yi Wei asked, staring into the woman’s eyes, ‘I don’t know why the array was placed beneath my home, nor will I reveal that to her, but if she doesn’t get it, I can always bring up another’s unfortunate tale…’

“What do you mean?”

The look in her eyes proved that she was truly innocent, and ignorant.

“Tell me, have you heard of Yi Dongfang? No? He was a child of servants, like me, and he was quite smart. He cultivated quickly, and succeeded in locating and restoring an ancient technique that surpassed the very best the Yi elders could practise. He then did what you suggested I do and brought it to the family leaders,” her expression soured despite the time that had passed since then.

“Really? I’ve not heard of him…”

“That last action is the exact reason why. Had I not spoken with him a short while before he did this, I wouldn’t have heard of him either. Let me tell you what happened,” she said, dragging Yi Yaling into the same alleyway to lower the number of ears that could hear them, “He discovered a legendary skill, but also offended a child of the Yi family’s leadership. When he brought it to the family, the child let his parents know, so they took it for themselves and erased him and his parents from history. Tell me, have your heard of the Broken Sky Brand?”

“That… isn’t it practised by the patriarch?”

“Indeed. And who supposedly brought it to him?”

Yi Yaling frowned, “I think it was the daughter of an elder, Yi… Yi Juan. I have spoken with her before, and I think she mentioned something about it, but-”

“But there were few details?”

“… Yes.”

“Just in case you’re thinking that this might be a one-off situation-”

“No,” she shook her head, “The people at the top tend to have quite a lot of pride. If your advice didn’t help me as much as it did, I probably wouldn’t have been too happy about your attitude either. Ehm… sorry. I should have remembered that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t go around telling everyone how clever I am, or else I will defeat you before I’m killed,” Yi Wei joked, but with such a serious expression that Yi Yaling struggled to understand whether she was actually kidding.

“R-right, I won’t do that… But, can I get some more advice from you in the future?”

“I highly doubt I’m the best person for this, but I suppose that if you catch me in the library again, I won’t object.”

“Alright!”

“Now, can I go? It’s quite late, and I want to sleep,” she pointed to the sky.

The moon was rising from the horizon, and stars shone from beyond a dark cloud that covered most of the sky. On the main streets, there were candles, lanterns and the rare torch that lit them up just enough for the populace to navigate them.

Yi Yaling raised her head and stood there for quite some time before she stirred, “Oh. Daddy- I mean, my dad is likely wondering where I am, so I have to get going too.”

“You know, I wouldn’t have said anything even if you didn’t correct yourself.”

“S-shut up.”

She escaped as quickly as she could, rushing out of the alleyway at record speed.

Yi Wei left a part of her story unsaid, however. When Yi Dongfang got the idea to speak to the heads of the family, it was primarily at her own naïve, foolish insistence. Back then, she had the same thoughts as Yi Yaling, as her dreams were all about breaking out of her lowly position as the family servant and reaching some greater place within the hierarchy.

When that young lad then failed to return, and all of his achievements were stolen Yi Juan, she felt her world view shatter. That was why she served Yi Zehao without any complaint – life, even under someone else’s foot, was better than death to her, especially when she had no chance of altering it.

Thankfully, she now had a dozen means to change things, and had learnt from those events. Finding out that she was also being targeted at the same time by others reinforced these lessons.

 

The next week of her life was a lot less exciting. Unlike before, when her every other night would be plagued with strange dreams and nightmares, this day was surprisingly calm.

This continued into the morning after, when she awoke with a strangely clear mind. It felt as if she had previously existed within a thick, impenetrable fog that filled her mind and body constantly. Now, however, the fog had cleared, and the reality it obscured was finally revealed.

‘Huh. I… I vastly underestimated both myself and the array. The latter had a far greater effect than expected,’ Yi Wei thought, rubbing her forehead – the change from yesterday to today was, to her, as clear as the difference between being blind and having perfect vision, ‘Meanwhile, I… I really have been a little too hasty. Regardless of how fast I can read, and how powerful my planar energy is, I shouldn’t have rushed to swallow up as many techniques as I could, even if I was in risk of being killed the very next day. A single well-understood, perfected technique will always win over a hundred random skills thrown into a pot and boiled together until they merged into a single mass of uncertainty.

‘What I need the most right now is to refine what I already have, and get a few more lessons from each of my teachers. Finding someone knowledgeable in pill refining would also be helpful, though I have the same opinion regarding the five cultivation arts as I do regarding cultivation itself.’

With this in mind, Yi Wei spent the week going over what she had already learned, running into Yi Yaling in the process a few more times.

Each time, she taught her something basic to get her to go away.

By the seventh day, she was forced to return to the Deadly Martial Colosseum to comply with her contract, where Great Dark and Great Light were waiting for her inside of a small hut at the back of the Deadly Martial Colosseum’s compound.

As soon as she entered, she felt the aura of an identical Illusory World Array. After a week of recovering from the effects of the hidden arrays, her general sensitivity to energy had increased, and she could sense the energy of two fifth-realm experts within.

In comparison to before, when she was only able to sense Great Light’s planar energy when his hand was right next to her, this was a substantial improvement.

She entered the hut calmly and allowed herself to be swallowed up by the array. When the darkness around her retreated, Yi Wei saw a similar scene to the one in the pagoda. A low table stood in the middle of the void, an empty pillow lay on one side and two on the other, both of which were occupied by the twins.

“Have you been sitting there long?” she asked, having repaired her outfit over the week. She had also browsed through a few simple techniques on changing one’s voice and was now using one that didn’t require her to cultivate it for the primary effect. The overall effects were obviously far worse than if she had used a more advanced skill, but that prevented her from clogging up any of her meridians with flawed techniques and ensured that she wouldn’t be forced to make decisions that she would later regret.

Her stance and atmosphere were different from the last time they met, and Great Dark clearly noticed this, “Da Gang, you appear to have overcome some mental barriers over the last week.”

“I suppose you could say that,” Yi Wei replied vaguely, quickly switching topics, “Lately, I have been improving my foundations, and have improved my cultivation in a number of my techniques. I assume I’m going to be entering the arena soon?”

“That is correct,” Great Light answered, “In fact, you showed up at the perfect time, since the next exhibition match was scheduled just thirty minutes from now. That gives me enough time to beat yo- I mean, to spar with you to give you some pointers.”

‘Can you be any more obvious?’ both Yi Wei and Great Dark thought, sighing simultaneously.

“Once again, there is no need for that, Great Light. Instead, please explain the format of the match.”

“Hmph, fine. You will fight someone at the lower third of the Planar Pool realm. It is not a battle to the death, but only until one side surrenders. The goal is mostly to display your abilities, and to provide some visual spectacle for the crowd. As such, you will be paid fifty silver coins. If you ever engage in a battle to the death, you will earn four gold coins, and any casual sparring match will grant you between ten silver coins and one gold coin, depending on the realm of your opponent. In addition, manuals for the first realm can be selected for free for every five gold coins you earn, and manuals for the second realm can be selected after earning fifty gold coins.”

‘Even with the silver coins I earned from Luo Xiuying’s store, I am nowhere near a gold coin. To purchase any first realm techniques on my own, I would need at least fifty gold coins, so the deal offered here is quite impressive. The old me made quite the smart decision,’ she thought, having decided that her past actions were shrouded in so much mist and fog that they were essentially made by a different person than her current self.

“What happens when I win? Do I get an additional reward?”

“Not in this instance. In the future, regular fights will net you 25% of the bids against you, and fights to the death will give you 50%.”

“Are you encouraging me to try and get myself killed by challenging more and more powerful enemies in order to maximise the bets against me?”

“It would be preferable if you simply fought at your skill level instead, earning fame and attracting large crowds to your matches. While we are still teaching you, I’d prefer it if you didn’t die to anyone other than me.”

“I would prefer not to die at all, but I see your point.”

 

“Daddy, won’t you speak to me about Yi Dongfang?”

“I told you, I don’t know that name. Instead, sit still and pay attention to this fight. It should be between someone at the peak of Energy Condensation and another at the lower third of Planar Pool, so it ought to be beneficial to your cultivation,” Yi Fenhong said, taking a seat within a VIP chamber above the arena, “I am not sure how, but I have been told that the lower realm opponent actually has a chance of victory.”

“Really? I don’t know of anyone who can do that.”

“I’ve not heard of such a thing either, so let’s watch and see,” he encouraged, glad to have moved on from the previous topic. Although he did not show it, his back was covered in sweat.

They did not have to wait long. In a few minutes, the arena’s seats were half-full of various spectators between the first and third realms, who were all displaying various degrees of interest. Some had been to combat arenas many times before, and had grown used to most spectacle within, while others had entered such a location for the first time in their lives.

After a brief wait, the doors were shut, the protective arrays were activated, and an announcer came up to the middle of the stage, dressed in thin silk that covered little of her body. Those who were not already watching the stage turned back quickly, both men and women alike.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming here today. After last week’s recruitment, we have found an excellent warrior, but first, let me introduce his opponent… He is well known as the Eternal Cold of the second realm, invincible in the same third! Jiang Sheng!” the woman declared, directing attention to the left side of the arena.

From the darkness, a cold mist poured out. Slowly, a figure, dressed all in white and blue, emerged onto the stage, his face partially obscured by a mask made from icy crystal.

“Do you see his mask?” Yi Fenhong asked his daughter, waiting for her to nod before continuing, “It is made from a rare material, yin condensed stone, that is invaluable to any blacksmith in the realm of two or three stars.”

“This Jiang Sheng sure is rich,” Yi Yaling pouted, glancing to her father, “Daddy, can you buy me five of those?”

Thankfully, they were in an isolated room, and were thus unheard by most of the audience. Otherwise, they would have been at risk of being beaten up by angry cultivators of all stages and realms.

“His opponent will be a man proficient in palm techniques, and one who had obtained an inheritance of a shadow of the Deadly Martial Colosseum. Please welcome Da Gang to the stage!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she retreated from the stage with great haste. Being a cultivator that was only at the first stage of Energy Condensation, she knew that if those selected through the Pagoda of Trials fought with all of their might, she could easily be slaughtered by a stray attack from one of the two. Even if she retained her life by some miraculous means, it would still cause a significant disfiguring injury that would instantly remove her from employment, as the only reason she was able to work here was due to her good looks and voice.

Da Gang’s entrance was less impressive than his opponent’s, as he simply strolled onto the stage. He was covered from head to toe in a black robe, with a nondescript mask covering his face. From the lack of any aura around him, even the few common mortals in the audience were able to understand that he was in the Energy Condensation realm.

They stepped into the middle of the arena, bowing to one another.

On some occasions, the two sides would say a few brief words to one another, but the Eternal Cold was famous for his silence. By the looks of it, Da Gang was also a man of few words.

Above the stage, the announcer made her way to a large gong. She picked up a small hammer, gave the two a little more time to stare at one another in silence, then struck it harshly.

The next second, an illusory glacier condensed in the air and charged into Da Gang, the stone floor of the arena cracking alongside it. This was a simple move for Jiang Sheng, as he lifted a single finger to direct the mass of condensed frost.

His opponent stood still for a brief moment, perhaps admiring or examining the attack. However, as soon as it crossed into his side of the arena, he raised an arm and met the translucent force with a fist. Before the collision, lightning sparked into being around his glove-covered fist and shot out at the middle of the glacial shelf.

The icy surface cracked, then the entire spectral surface broke apart with the thunderclap.

“External force!” someone in the audience yelled out.

 

This was the same Storm Blade Wreathing Yi Wei had obtained from the Thunder Lord, except now she was able to execute a single-use version of it in an instant, and without any of the old cost to herself, meaning that her robes no longer end up being burned every time. Additionally, it was mixed in with some of the planar essence disturbing elements of the Elysian Palm, which turned the lightning golden and made it extremely suitable for attacking complex planar constructs like the Eternal Cold’s glacier.

‘It is also incredibly convenient that I happened to read up on the ability this Jiang Sheng’s Glacial Push is based on, so I know where the weakness of the structure is. That is one issue techniques in the Planar Pool realm struggle with more than Energy Condensation skills, as every planar construct has a weak point that makes it a thousand times easier to destroy.’

Strictly speaking, the cultivator also had at least one major weak point, but this was mitigated by the fact that they were able to protect themselves, whereas the planar constructs of the second realm were limited to moving in simple manners and remaining mostly unchanged from start to finish. Some degree of transformation was possible with sufficient attainment or a technique deliberately made to transform the construct after a while, but the moment a construct left the metre around the cultivator within which they were able to control their energy, it was only going to follow a pre-set route.

With her healed mind, it didn’t take too much effort to calculate the position of the construct’s weakness, and to strike it with the Elysian Storm Burst, which is what she dubbed her modified attack.

As soon as the glacier broke, she activated another instance of Storm Blade Wreathing, channelling it into her meridians to store it for future use. Since it was not actively being utilised, its limited duration was increased all the way to one hour, though the overall power of the technique would drop with every minute of waiting within her.

From behind the cold mist, she saw another large piece of ice being conjured, this time with two fingers, so she ran to the side, executing the other technique obtained from the Seventh of Meng – Storm’s Edge Dash.

Her movement appeared disorganised and confused, her feet dancing back and forth and even to the side, but her speed was undeniable. Despite two individual glaciers soaring at her, she evaded both and returned to her original position in just a few seconds.

“Jiang Sheng, why don’t you get serious? No-one wants to see you holding back,” she said, staring at the vague shape within the cloud of icy mist.

He stared back for a few seconds, a dull blue glow appearing at his eyes. Just when she and the crowd above assumed that he wouldn’t dignify her with a response, he raised an arm and spread out some of his planar energy into the shape of words.

‘Only if you do the same. I prefer melee over ranger combat.’

This greatly shocked the inexperienced members of the audience. To discover that their opponent wasn’t using their full strength in just three attacks… how impressive was that?

Those that were slightly more familiar with the situation knew that things were proceeding as normal. In a fight where one of the opponents has as much experience as the Eternal Cold, it would be strange if he didn’t understand the true depth of his opponent’s might after a few brief exchanges. Yi Wei, disguised as Da Gang, displayed both her offensive and defensive abilities after Jiang Sheng’s few attacks, and he was undoubtedly able to understand how much she was holding back as a result.

Although it was a little more impressive that a complete beginner, someone who looked to be no older than eighteen, was able to understand the same, it wasn’t completely implausible that Da Gang had visited the Deadly Martial Colosseum before and had a chance to witness his opponent’s full abilities during one of his tenser matches.

“Sure. It’s the same for me, anyway,” Yi Wei responded, preparing to use her Storm Blade Wreathing.

Together, they charged into the middle of the arena, one surrounding his form in frost, the other in radiant lightning.

The next few moments were a blur for the audience. In just a few brief seconds, they threw punches at one another, blocked them and retaliated. The floor beneath them cracked and crumbled from the force of their combined strikes, and a few weaker members of the audience felt a swath of cold air wrapping around them. After their exchange, they leapt back, with neither looking hurt to any significant degree. Yi Wei’s robes were covered by spots of light snow, while Jiang Sheng’s outfit was lightly charred.

The latter raised his arm again, ‘I was told you prefer the palm. When will you use it?’

“You want to see my favourite attack? Are you sure you want to end this fight so quickly?”

‘… Are you implying you can defeat me?’

Unlike the last time, the shock spread to all the members of the audience. Anyone could figure out that their opponent was holding back, but to claim that a seventh stage Energy Condensation cultivator could defeat a second stage Planar Pool expert… it had to be madness!

Clearly, the Eternal Cold was having the same thoughts, and they angered him. He lowered his stance and executed Glacial Push with his entire arm, summoning over a hundred titanic glaciers that surrounded Yi Wei and pressed down on her with their combined pressure, easily matching the force someone in the fifth stage of the second realm could exude.

‘However, since my head cleared out, I seem to be able to slow my perception of time far more than I could before, even when I channelled planar energy into my head,’ she thought idly, waiting for the cold energy to get close enough to her.

As soon as it was time, she unleashed the full power of the storm and punched up into the air.

The air flooded with storm clouds, and a strange silence filled the arena.

 

‘That… that is the storm from before! It’s even more terrifying!’ Yi Yaling felt her limbs weakening as the lightning gathered, gold and violet wrapping around Da Gang’s body. It looked to be alive, writhing around him like a sea of serpents, all waiting to leap onto their prey and devour them whole. She even felt a clear killing intent coming specifically from them, besieging the glacial planar constructs around them before they even got close.

‘This lightning is the most powerful technique I have ever seen…’

She couldn’t understand it at the time, but something within her dantian shifted, and the water energy began to condense into something new.

 

One moment, Yi Wei was surrounded by a hundred glaciers. The next, an endless explosion of lighting and thunder filled the arena, hiding her and her opponent from sight. It sparked against the walls of a protective array, but it only held on narrowly.

Within the storm, half of her clothes were torn and burned, but the key details remained covered up. Since no-one so far seemed attentive enough to scan her entire form with their spiritual will, she wouldn’t be exposed from something like this.

Jiang Sheng, on the other hand, had seen better days. His body was covered from head to toe in large lacerations that bled a constant stream of cold blood. One of his eyes was shut, and a large cut traced down from his forehead to his lip. The mask on the upper part of his face had broken, and revealed a frozen brow, covered in a thin layer of ice that was miraculously unharmed by Yi Wei’s lightning. The eye that was still unharmed was dull, blue and unblinking.

“That ice doesn’t look to like the result of an unnatural physique… Have you practised a forbidden skill?” Yi Wei spoke calmly.

Forbidden techniques, skills or arts. They are methods for rapidly increasing one’s ability and potential beyond anything intended by the heavens.

Supposedly, their great power originates from the ancient beasts and devils that opposed the Master of Yi City in the ancient days to establish his titular city, although such tales have little credence to them, and no attempt to trace back their power has ever succeeded in finding anything of note.

Regardless of their source, there is also a terrible drawback to every forbidden skill that exists. Almost all of them impose some side effect that relates to their primary effect. If a technique strengthens flame, then the insides of the user’s body will be constantly alight. If it affects one’s voice, it will cause the ears to rot. Some were far less straightforward.

As long as a practitioner of the forbidden art is able to subdue or hide these consequences, they are guaranteed to rise far above their original station. Even if that someone was a prince or a king, a suitable forbidden art could elevate them all the way to the status of district patriarch. However, cases when one began to practise such a technique but then failed to control it are far more common, forcing these people to hide their symptoms and hope that they can cultivate enough strength to accomplish whatever goal they have before the forbidden skill consumes them.

‘What’s scarier is that my planar energy and the mysterious characters have the exact same effect as an incredibly powerful forbidden skill, without any clear repercussions. In fact, every new thing I discover about it seems to make me all the more powerful…’ she considered, sending a stream of energy to heal her burnt limbs, ‘If this had been a forbidden skill, it could have only come from the Master of Yi City himself…’

She was unable to identify the source of her own ability, but the frost on Jiang Sheng’s face, in addition to his strange level of power, was clearly a direct result of a forbidden art.

“What’s it to you? Are you not a practitioner like me?”

The Eternal Cold’s voice was deep and gravely, like the sound of someone rummaging through jagged stones and chipping away at stones with their fists. Moreover, it was clearly unnatural, which explained why he didn’t reveal his voice previously.

No matter how unaware of things one was, they would quickly catch on when something was so clearly off about another person!

“Why would you assume that? Is it the lightning? That’s just the inheritance of the Thunder Lord,” Yi Wei replied, lifting the lower part of her mask, “Look at me! Which part looks like a practitioner of forbidden skills?”

“My ability allows me to sense the yin qi of others. You have far too much of it to be any regular man unfortunate enough to be born with a Yin Physique,” Jiang Sheng stated, a bright smile appearing on his otherwise frozen face, “Thus, you must have found a yin-type forbidden skill, and practised it against the wishes of your family, much like I did. I’m not wrong, am I?”

As the storm was beginning to thin, Yi Wei smiled and removed her mask completely, whilst raising her empty hand, “I’m sorry, Jiang Sheng. I don’t have any such technique. I… am just a woman.”

A bolt of lightning formed at her fingertip, mixing in with her purple energy, all before the man before her could react. When he did respond, his eyes widened as much as they could, and he raised a finger at her, desperately trying to get some words out of his mouth.

Before even a single one was voiced, the bolt of electricity struck his injured body, and he collapsed.

 

When the lightning storm cleared, it revealed an unexpected scene. Da Gang stood still and upright. The cloth on his arms, legs, and even near his stomach was torn and burnt, revealing an unexpectedly thin frame accented by a notable quantity of muscle. His mask was still in place, though it was not unscathed. However, it was hard to tell what he typically looked like, as every exposed spot was covered in a burn of some kind.

To the surprise of the audience members who saw him first, his opponent, the Eternal Cold, Jiang Sheng, fared far worse. He lay on the ground, unmoving.

The frost that accumulated on his face did not go unnoticed, either.

“Eh… Da Gang is victorious, ladies and gentlemen!” the announcer eventually concluded, arousing a brief round of applause.

A group of Deadly Martial Colosseum servants rushed out onto the arena, examining the wounds of both combatants, before making an announcement, “Jiang Sheng has been using a forbidden skill! He is disqualified from the Colosseum!”

They dragged him away and gave Da Gang a healing pill to assist with his injuries. The latter turned on the spot, slowly and clearly with great effort, and began to leave, when a pulse of energy burst from the private viewing rooms at the top of the spectator stands.

 

‘A breakthrough? Someone broke through as a result of this?’ Yi Wei questioned, using most of her effort to keep her eyes open.

The lightning storm she generated this time was an even stronger combination of Elysian Palm and Storm Blade Wreathing than before, and thus it was a little more costly in term of planar energy usage. In combination with the various attacks she used prior and after it, her dantian was completely empty, with only the structure of her stage remaining.

Due to that, she was unable to process the medicinal pill that was passed to her, and really couldn’t spare the strength to investigate the person that had the breakthrough. Besides, it wasn’t any of her business.

As soon as she exited the arena, she found herself within the dark void of an illusory world.

“You’ve improved, and caught someone who practises a forbidden skill,” Great Dark said slowly, “Well done-”

“I’m sorry, but I need to lie down and rest. Could we do this later?”

“Indeed. We shall wait for you tomorrow, then, Da Gang.”

The illusion freed her, so she got her bearings and struggled home, into the comfort of the uncomfortable bed.

At some point between entering the shack and dropping into bed, she found that she had removed her disguise and tossed it away into an inconspicuous place, and even managed to dress herself in her regular clothes.

‘Now, all I need is a little bit of rest…’