Poison Qi flowed, pulsating through Liuxiang’s pathways as he channeled it onto his needles. Mists that left trails of green and purple billowed from his sleeves, spreading through the forest.

“Top left. Three,” Zhi Zhu’s high-pitched voice whispered in Liuxiang’s mind. With a sharp turn, he faced the pointed direction, as three needles coated in invisible poison slid between his fingers, before striking out.

Screeches echoed through the forest as Liuxiang’s strikes landed. Leaves rustled with an ominous crackle accompanied by a loud thud. Silence followed a moment later, as the creature met a quick death to his poison.

Liuxiang stepped towards the monkeys, noticing two corpses lying on the ground, with sharp needles piercing their backs. A quick glance showed no signs of the treasure on any of them.

“There! The last one is escaping,” Zhi Zhu clicked, her Qi guiding Liuxiang in the indicated direction.

Quickly grabbing his needles from the corpse of the two monkeys, he rushed forward with a burst of wind. Trees rushed past, as he dodged through the forest growth, trying to maintain his footing. Extending his Qi outwards, Liuxiang channeled it towards his pouch. The rustle of parchment came from within as a talisman flew out and appeared in between his fingers. With a touch of Qi, the characters on the parchment lit up before a gust of wind covered Liuxiang as she shot forward faster than ever.

“There’s something else there. It’s a- what is she doing here?”

Liuxiang frowned, unsure of what Zhi Zhu meant. He prodded the spider yet she refused to elaborate.

“Just see for yourself.”

A moment later, a pulse of purple lightning quickly revealed who the unexpected guest had been.

Rushing faster, Liuxiang closed his eyes as he approached his target. Channeling his Poison Qi into his eyes, he reached out with his other senses. His vision glazed over, Qi shimmering in his eyes as beacons of life lit up inworld colored purely by life energy. With a flick of his wrist, he shot his needles forward, and they pierced the monkey’s arms and spine, paralyzing it.

“Liuxiang is getting better. Zhi Zhu looks forward to what Liuxiang will achieve upon the next shedding.”

Letting out a breath, Liuxiang closed his eyes for a moment, the Poison Qi fading before he opened them again. He was not used to the technique. His family’s arts, the eyes of Shie saw the world in a completely different way, an alien sight that his mind struggled to comprehend. To them, the world was either life or death, with many of the spirits in the clan born with this sight from birth.

It was a technique developed by the clan to enhance their medicine and poisons, and better see the life meridians of the person being treated, yet often enough the very same eyes were used to find the source of a person’s life and cut it short. A usage Liuxiang hated, yet could not deny the effectiveness of.

Running up to the two tailed large spirit monkey, Liuxiang glanced to the side, watching the little lightning rat holding onto the spirit herb treasure he’d been seeking.

“Here to steal are you?” Zhi Zhu asked with a click, though the light tone of it told Liuxiang she meant little from her words.

“Labby does not steal! She was merely helping!”

“Hmph, that pathetic dragon art is called helping? Zhi Zhu is surprised that the thunderbird even taught you that.”

“S-Squeak… It is not pathetic!!” Labby shouted back, thumping her legs on the ground as her tail swished around behind her.

“We’re still in the tournament, let us focus,” Liuxiang interrupted the two spirits, before turning towards Labby. “What brings you here La Bi? Where’s Senior?”

“He sent Labby! He’s asking Liuxiang to come to him, to team up!” Labby replied, squeaking as she looked up at him.

“Not a thought without merit,” Zhi Zhu replied out loud, before sending another message to Liuxiang in private. “What does Liuxiang intend to do? Do you plan to let him win?”

Liuxiang hummed for a second, before shaking his head. “This one is grateful to Lu Jie. The existence of another world, and his past. Sharing that has ties our fates of karma together. Yet despite that, this one has no intentions of losing. After all, Lu Jie merely needs to win against the twins, and not the tournaments itself.”

Liuxiang sensed an affirmation from Zhi Zhu at his words. The matter settled he turned to face the rat spirit. “I’d be willing.”

Labby squeaked in reply, running towards him and handing the spirit herb she’d grabbed in her mouth.

“Squeak! Labby will guide you. This way!” Labby shouted, running off through the tall grass with a crackle of lightning.

With a slight smile on his face, as he safely stored his sixth treasure, Liuxiang followed behind.

***

In my excitement, I’d decided to set up a trap, but the difficult part was going to be getting the three of the cultivators to chase me in there. For good measure, I’d planted three drugnades in my trap, but I really needed to be conservative with these. I’d packed a bunch of exploding pills but the metal container filled with drugnades were far fewer in supply, and I couldn’t go around spending them willy nilly.

I crouched in the bushes once more, watching the cultivators grow more and more frustrated. The three of them were starting to discuss moving to some other area to hunt for other treasures while they left one of their paper bird talismans to keep watch. Which would’ve been perfect for me, if the paper birds hadn’t been so annoying. I tried to decide how to lure them into my trap. After thinking for a while over the thought, I just decided to do a tactic I’d used a fair while ago.

I let go of my Qi, standing up from the bushes with a rustle. Looking at the three cultivators I let go of the suppression on my Qi, revealing it in full force. Channeling a thin strand of Gu to my hand, I let it mix with the flames of Qi I ignited above my palms. Sending another pulse of Qi I quickly disintegrated one exploding pill, letting its fire essence swirl around me as the thin strand of Gu provided an edge to my presence.

“Enough,” I proclaimed, my voice booming out loud as flames blazed all around me in an inferno. “I had not wanted to harm fellow disciples, especially ones younger than me, yet you three seem to leave me no choice,” I said, as I channeled Qi to my eyes, projecting my presence outwards.

I almost buckled for a moment when one of the disciples tried to push back on me with his sword aura, but my Qi held and I dodged that bullet. I needed to thank Yan Yun for her Qi increasing cultivation technique.

Watching the three disciples look at one another in confusion, I realized that there was little chance of them leaving peacefully. Quickly shifting gears, I changed my plans and decided to do my best young master impression.

“You dare not listen to this Senior? What is to come will purely be your fault. Hand me one treasure from the three of you each or face my wrath!” I shouted, trying not to cringe as I let the fire essence from another exploding pill envelop me in a burning inferno that had just a touch of purple at its edges, giving off a menacing aura.

I tried to keep myself from sweating from all the fire around me, as my annoyance began to grow. Just decided already goddamnit!

“Senior should agree, this is a tournament, and not one of the martial path but one that tests intellect. And I believe the three of us can take you on,” the wind boy said, a dust cloud swirling around him as he flared his Qi.

“Dishonorable. To fight when there’s three of you and merely one of me? Tch, to think our sect’s discipline had fallen this low,” I clicked my tongue, trying to suppress a cough as I thought about the trap I’d set up for them.

The three boys looked at me, their expressions set in frowns, yet their eyes resolute. I was wondering if I should mutter the first law under my breath to get a rumble out of the heavens. I decided not to get myself in a position where I’d have to explain any of that. Just when I was about to throw some exploding pills at them the guy with the sword pointed his blade at me.

“Aren’t you… Lu Jie? The boy who’d refused to give up despite failing to reach the 3rd realm?” the boy with the sword looked at me and said. “I remember you, we used to spar when you still had the shame to show your face for sparring.”

I turned to look at the boy, the flames around my body flickering out. Who the fuck?

A faded memory returned to my mind, of some boy that I might’ve sparred with, yet I couldn’t put any face to the memory. Another one of my half-faded and imperfect memories it seemed. Turning to face the disciple, and with the most straight fact that I could gather, I replied.

“Nope.”

I saw a brief moment of confusion cover their faces and took my chance. Fire burst around my hands as I threw three exploding pills in front of me, igniting them into whirlwinds of flame that splashed outwards. Not giving the three any time to react, I turned around and charged wind step, dashing off as fast as I could.

“Get him!” the shout came, accompanied by bursts of wind. I saw a talisman fly at me, and I turned around. I punched my fist outwards, thrusting my Qi out in the same motion as a burst of flame extended from my wrist, hitting the talisman and causing it to explode.

Exploding talisman, damn, those were cool. I needed to learn how to make some after the hunt.

A premonition tugged at the edge of my senses making me duck. A wave of Qi passed over my head, as I heard the crashing of tree branches and leaves sound out from in front of me. Dark strands of something covered my eyes and I grabbed them, looking down to see a large chunk of my hair having cut through.

I turned back around, to see the boy standing in a stance, his Qi flaring outwards widely as he opened his mouth letting out steam. What the fuck is wrong with these kids man, they’re shooting sword beams at me now.

My heart began to race as I ranked the sword boy one rank up in threat level. Turning around, I threw a couple more drugnades but the three disciples were closing in on me, using wilder and wilder techniques.

I jumped up, grabbing a branch from one of the trees as I set my feet on its branch. Bolstering my lower half with Qi, I kicked, shooting outward. I heard the tree I’d shot off from crash to the ground from the knockback of my kick, right as a whirlwind shot off from one of the disciples, barely missing me.

Grabbing onto another branch that almost cracked and made me fall, I slowed my falling momentum for a bit, kicking off the trunk as I transitioned into a run. I extended my senses outwards, feeling the wind using disciple and the sword guy behind me. Wait, where was the talisman one?

An explosion to my right threw me off my center, as I was launched at a tree. Before I could gather myself, I saw a white talisman shoot right towards me. In a panic I opened my mouth and filled it with Qi, igniting it into a fire breath. The flames spread outwards exploding the talisman, right in front of my face.

My fire quickly died out, as I doubled over coughing, having inhaled too much smoke. I felt my shoulder ache from the fall I’d taken, as I rolled to the side, pulling myself to my feet as I continued to run. I think I finally understood what my drugnades must feel like to the people I threw them at. It wasn’t a nice feeling.

Running ahead, I glanced at the trap I’d set up, and sensed Twilight hiding nearby. Rushing faster as I pulsed my Qi, I dashed towards the bushes, rushing through them. The moment I’d pulsed my Qi to set off the grenades, I felt a powerful wave of Qi behind me. Whipping backwards, I saw the arc of the sword Qi heading straight towards me. Somehow, even in that fraction of second, I knew I was too late to stop the Qi.

Something shifted. I pulsed Qi to my right and Gu to my left hand. Two balls of energy formed, one white and one black on each hand of my palm as I brought them together.

A cone of pure white energy blasted outwards from my hand, heading straight in front of me. I felt my fingers burn with fire, as I was blasted backward. Not waiting a moment, I channeled my Qi into the trap, exploding it.

The second set of explosions shook the ground, launching dirt high up in the air as a tremor shook the ground beneath me. Fire licked the area, lashing outwards in all sorts of directions as dark burst grass floated in the area mixed in with the dirt, covering the place in a smell of burnt plants.

I panted, lying on the ground as Twilight rushed to my side.

“Chii!!” she exclaimed, jumping on me to check if I was injured and I smiled, grabbing her and hiding her in my clothes. For a brief second, I glanced at my hand. I hadn’t been the one to move the Gu… it had been Lu Jie. For a brief second, it had felt as if we had been the same person.

My musings didn’t last, as I heard a roar of anger lash outwards with a wave of Qi. I had sensed two presences vanished, yet one still remained standing.

I stood around waiting as the dust cloud settled and I saw the disciple with the sword, bleeding from nicks and scars, with his clothes burnt and a dark bruise on his left hand that looked like the area had been burned with something extremely hot.

I felt the searing pain on my fingers, as I glanced downwards to notice a similar sight. I could definitely feel the pain.

“Cheap… Truly, the Lu Jie I knew. How did you grow… so much? That kind of strength… even your own body cannot handle it. Just how?” the boy coughed, limping forward as he stabbed his sword into the ground. A burning gaze looked up at me, meeting my eye as if searching for something.

It wasn’t me that he was searching for.

“You don’t remember me, do you? No matter. You merely took care of those two before I was forced to,” the boy replied, stumbling back as he pulled his sword out of the ground. His feet moved to the side to kick aside the herbs the other two had been carrying that’d gotten left behind.

“Had you merely been hiding your true strength all along?” the boy asked me.

I stared at him silently. As if I had anything like true strength to hide. Aside from the entire drugnade business, I suppose. And the fact that Gu was lethal if used, though it’d get me marked as a demon and killed. And the gu-nuke. And my other cultivation of Heaven and Earth. Alright, fine, I had some true strength to hide by this point.

“It doesn’t matter. Fight me Lu Jie. Show me if you’ve truly grown so much.”

I stared at the boy and his burning eyes. I doubted I could run up there and grab the spirit herbs then quickly run back without being caught. And I’d already lost a lot of my drugnades in this ambush.

Sighing, I grabbed Twilight, bringing her out.

“Watch from a distance, okay?” I murmured, as Twilight let out an uncertain ‘ChIi~’ before nodding.

I turned towards the boy, as he lifted his sword and assumed a stance. I took a breath, taking the stance I knew from Lu Jie, one that I had no understanding of.

Fine, Lu Jie, fine. If I have to live in your body, then I suppose I must deal with the consequences as well.

Turning up I glanced at the boy, feeling my heart thundering in nervousness. I was not good at the whole fighting thing, a big reason why I even went to the effort of making so many drugnades.

Yet, for some reason, I could not keep a grin away from my face.

Here I was in the middle of cultivators, standing on my own two feet, and able to fight back. The whispers of Lu Jie’s emotions stirred in my chest, the agony of years, the despair, and now, at last, the rewards of our effort. These weren't my emotions, yet I lived through them all the same.

“This one’s for you Lu Jie,” I said out loud, as my Qi flared.

Sword Qi flashed, as the disciple shot toward me with inhuman speed and the fight began in earnest.