>>5942943

One is the richly dark pink pill, the strength of the mountain bending rose drug, each of which is about the size of a small tangerine and easily fits into your hand. Dark green swirls through it, and while you roll the drug in your palm, you cannot even see a single finger print pressed into the surface of the pill, which is a shortcut for strength training exercises and arduous physical cultivation . Another is the red clay hued pellet, that is called the bone mending bamboo pellet, and which has a feel and aroma close to sun bleached bone that even has Monu excited, as it can regrow limbs if taken immediately after they've been lost or severed.

The only problem with both of them, is that they're expensive! Enough to reduce a poorer sect to wearing threads and eating millet instead of rice for a couple of years! Buying those two with just the funds of your sect, would take big chunk out of its treasury and your personal funds! However, you are nothing if not prudent, and foresaw that the thousand lotus hall would overprice their medicines, and brought goods to trade in place of valuable spirit stones. These healers have the prestige and reputation to be allowed to ask for any price, since the rest of Chuan has got it into their piggish heads that their pills are worth any price, which, yes they make good medicines but they don't make the best medicines by a longshot. But, these two and one other are worthwhile enough to catch your eye and useful enough that you need to own at least a couple of them.

The third you're just willing to pay for, purely out of scholarly interest, and that is the Steelbark hide drug, since while its effect is useful and interesting enough to stoke your curiosity, the reason it does make you curious is the real reason you want it. That it can turn skin to bark, reminds you a lot of the odd, blood sucking tree or red eyed Jiangshi transformation you were able to perform beneath the blood moons glow. And maybe, just maybe, taking apart and analyzing the drug will provide a clear path how to replicate that technique or at least the groundwork and foundational techniques to build towards it, without having to spend as much Qi and stamina as is necessary to bend the moon itself to your will and make it bleed.

"I see some of our finest drugs have caught you by your tail and turned your feline curiosity into true interest" The elder of the two woman elders of the hall, who you have learned recently is the reprehensible and brainless hag Yang Yingtai, who thought it was a good idea to use the mangled corpses of Qi Qi and Sun Cuifen to serve as a warning, unaware that even if she only did it for a day, doing that sort of thing is a good and fast way to turn a merely vengeful spirit into a proper and violent Hungry ghost.
Cont

>>5942944

You frown, as you mother presses herself between you and the too familiar elder, her crow's feet framed eyes twinkling still as the younger and more beautiful woman rudely pushes her away with her chest, something that could cause an incident anywhere, but she and the other elders are far too focused on the spirit stones you're rolling between your fingers and the pills you're thumbing with your other hand to care about how rude your mother is being. Or anything else really. You glance up, looking past your mother and the idiot old hag, seeing Fang Ru, who is desperate to be your friend and ally in heresy even though you can't stand him, whispering covertly into the ears of one of his elders whose eyes light up with outrage and disbelief, before he, a little louder, whispers something else and cows him.

Turning away, you see Lian Tianhua fretting with her hair, the flowers rooted in it half wilted as she watches worriedly, not knowing when the expect you to set your plan into motion and stake your claim for Luli.

"Yes they have, Spring master" You state as cordially as you can to a moron who basically went around prodding a ghost in the bottom with a heated iron, flicking up the steelhide bark drug in your hand into the air, making her and her fellow elders gasp and wince, before you use your cat like reflexes to catch it in the middle of its downward arc "I'll be bartering for some of it"

That makes Fang Ru forget what he was supposed to be doing, and that you'd given him a generous gift of plants and seeds that only grow in hell or amongst the stars, as the old dog rushes forward with more energy than he has shown since you've met him, eyes agleam with greed and triumph

"The harmonious five elements spring water!" He declares almost vicious in his celebration, spit flying from his mouth as he trusts out a hand "Finally, it shall be within our grasps"

"We have been endeavoring to work out a trade deal with old Su to have privileged access to his miraculous spring" The younger of the two female elders says quietly, rubbing the ear Fang Ru just shouted right next to, not knowing that you own said spring's child, Heh-Heh "It will improve our gardens' already peerless quality by several magnitudes, won't it, Spring master?"

"That it will, the matriarch was right to call you a friend of our hall" Yang Yingtai chuckles, as Tianhua herself blushes and glances away "That alone is worth a full supply of any of the priceless medicines we've offered you today, and we know you aren't bluffing"

"She did drop a pot of the priceless water in front of us" the youngest of the men amongst the elders adds, giving a thumbs up "And we can expect that you will not be trading such a commodity for the steel bark hide drug, which means"
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>>5942945

"Either the Strength of the mountain bending rose or the bone mending bamboo pellets" Tianhua correctly and astutely guesses, entering the conversation now as Monu glares down Yang Yingtai, like she expects her to recognize her or something. Does she have a history with her? Yang Yingtai does look old enough to have known your mother before her fall from grace.

"Both of them actually" You bluntly reply, nodding to your mother, who uncorks your dimensional gourd, that she had been holding onto for you, and retrieves a wax sealed jar "and before you argue that all the spring water I give will only pay for one drug or the other, you misers, let me tell you, I've brought something just as useful and wonderful as that water. Mother, if you'd please open up the jar of honey"

"Ugh!" The younger woman cries out, covering her nose, while Yingtai and Tianhua just wrinkle theirs. Some of the other elders look sick as the potent and condensed scent of fresh blood spills out of the jar

"Honey that reeks of blood?" Fang Ru sneers, eyes practically on fire with fascination as Yingtai frowns and narrows her eyes. They lock gazes, and sparks fly between them as Tianhua flicks open a fan and uses it to cleanse and freshen up the air around herself, clearly unused to the sickly sweet and almost mouth water aroma of divine blood honey

"What is this, Lady Huanliuxue?" She asks sharply, probably not rudely or out of disgust, but because she is struggling to breath beneath the wave of honey sweetness tinged with iron

"A gift from her younger sisters, the only other two princesses of beast in the world" Monu smugly answers, as you smirk a little smug yourself

"I call it divine blood honey, its what you get when you mix Qi rich blood with Honey made by a magical beast, it is very useful and is the base ingredient for most of the medicines and drugs I feed to my disciples" You answer, braggingly only a little bit "I figured flower children like yourselves would appreciate it more than others. It is a treasure for alchemsists and healers of all kinds"

"Why does it reek like that!" The younger woman wails, pinching her nose as the men closer to her age than not turn pale or green in the face while the silent battle between Ru and Yingtai comes to an end, and the Autumn master kneels down to jab a finger into the ruddy gold honey and swirls it around

"Fool! You dare!" Monu snaps, grabbing his arm "Your dirty hand might soil the whole batch! Witless fool"

"Blood QI" he says quietly, not able to hide his glee behind a pretend mask of dread

"Blood Qi?" Several voices gasp at once, sounding terrified

"Isn't dangerous or scary if it is unpolluted and pure. I went to the extra effort of clarifying and cleansing the blood and its spiritual energy" You scoff, rolling your eyes "But even so, that is a pointless process. The blood Qi in divine blood honey, even dirtied, is still perfectly safe to consume"
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>>5942946

"You use blood Qi in your cultivation, you cultivate..." Fang Ru giddily surmises, before he is shut up by a harsh glare from Tianhua and Yingtai

"She doesn't like you pestering her about her methods, autumn master" Tianhua scolds

"And it is much more complicated and refined than you imagine, wannabee heretic" Monu snickers "My Huan discovered something no one else has in all the history of cultivation! You should be at her feet, bowing and praying, Heh-Heh-heh"

"So that is where she got that laugh of hers" Someone, you don't know who, mutters, before wisely shutting their mouth before you can figure out who it was.

"We will need to discuss how much of each drug would be suitable to give in exchange for these two...treasures" Yingtai explains, forcing a smile to her face as the stirred honey bubbles ominously "Clearly they are both as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, but we, as a whole, must find their true value and anaylze the properties of both the water and the strange honey"

A twitch tugs on your smile as you have a very, very mischievous and whimsical though, and can't help but to grin just thinking about how funny it'd be to tell them you're going to be taking their prized student along with the drugs you've bought. Oh its just too amusing the resist. Tianhua, as if sensing the mischief you plan, looks your way and vainly shakes her head. Fang Ru is too occupied sucking the honey stuck to his finger, to the disgust of everyone in the room to notice and try to stop you.

Monu. Monu just pats you on the back and nods approvingly

"Oh, and I'll be taking Lian Luli as well!" You shout boisterously, voice booming loud enough to reverberate through this part of the tree carved hall and out into the rest of the sect, making it impossible that the elders couldn't hear you or claim to have suddenly been struck death when probably all of the rest of the thousand lotus hall sect heard you

"You...You dare!?" Yang Yingtai bellows, before immediately making herself look small, as you cocky smile chills and grows as frigid as the grave, turning to a small, disdainful and threatening glower, and Monu snaps her venomous glare her way as well, nearly crushing her to the ground with your combined Mother + Daughter pressure. The elders Fang Ru talked to, glance his way for direction. He simply nods, while the ones he hadn't been able to speak to bluster and nearly choke on their tongues. Lian Tianhua choose the perfect time to back your claim.

"I discussed it with her privately, and have decided this is the best for Luli" She declares confidently and utterly unafraid, standing at your side even as Yingtai gnashes her teeth and glares daggers her way "Huanliuxue has great renown as a teacher and isn't afraid to be experimental in her lessons. This is clear from how far her own disciples have risen in so short a time, I..I"

Cont

>>5942947

the elders who aren't with the program and who haven't been strong armed by Fang Ru to siding with you glare at their supposed leader hatefully, pique and outrages all but rising from their back as dark smoke as they gnash their teeth, but don't dare to say anything while you're standing their, arms crossed and looking as imposing and imperious as possible

"I have made my decision, and it is finale!" Tianhua shouts, suddenly finding her footing and her spine, her voice unwavering and strong, the living floor and walls around her creaking and warping as she musters the strength to protect her beloved sister "I will hear no opposition, and no complaints! Luli will become Huanliuxue student, and will flourish in the palace of natural laws!"

"So the little girl was hiding fangs behind that delicate and cute smile of hers, My oh my! How courageous, how outstanding" Monu purrs, eyes twinkling as Tianhua, all of a sudden, loses her courage and meekly glances down at her feet

"You...you little' Yingtai spits, eyes watering as they flick between Monu and the now bashful and meek Tianhua "You...weak...naive, manipulated by...you"

is she about to explode? That'd be fun to see, but Fang Ru steps in before the old bitch can start crying or do something stupid again, like slapping Tianhua or worse, your mother.

"Of course. Huanliuxue and I had spoken, and she enlightened me of the numerous benefits of the young mistress learning under her as her student. She is most wise and generous to welcome one of our own into her court as her ward. It will strengthen ties between the Lian family and her own, as well as our two sects" He says loudly, crushing Yingtai's pathetic and childish tantrum as she gawks and the other elders he hadn't spoken to stare at him like he was the beast in the crowd.

"We agree with the autumn master and the matriarch" The second most senior of the elders mutters, eyes closed as the other ones Ru swayed or cowed nod along, which makes the ones not in on the plan quickly bow to their senior and hurry over to bolster him by standing at his back, leaving Yingtai choking and stuttering to stand alone against them, Tianhua, your mother, and yourself.

She looks around, looking utterly betrayed and confused, a scathing, furious look in her eyes as Tianhua waves her fan to hide the fact she is crying, having not expected even a single elder beneath her to actually support her. Instead, she has all but one of their number agreeing to hand over her sister, saving Luli from their ambitions, that they all forsook because they didn't have the spine to go against their senior, even if they were willing to bully their own sect head into submission before Fang Ru spoke up.

But it doesn't hide that she is crying. She's sobbing actually. Overwhelmed that Luli has a chance to live, to survive beyond the short amount of time her bloodline cursed her to have, to outlast her predecessors and truly live, live for herself.
Cont

>>5942950

A pleased and deeply satisfied warm feeling radiates from your heart as the older sister cries tears of joy for the younger, overjoyed herself that she was able to give her a fighting chance to save her own life. You've done something you can be proud of today, a good, noble thing. And just seeing Tianhua weep her gratitude and relief is reward enough.

"And this in no way affects our appraisal of the spring water and divine blood honey" Fang Ru proclaims, so Yingtai can't use that as an excuse to get back at you for robbing them blind just now, or humiliate Tianhua by cheating you all the same

"Thank you, thank you" Tianhua sniffles weakly, legs shaking as she walks past you to follow the elders in their private discussion of how much you overly generous offers are worth in their eyes "I...I can't, I don't know how to thank you, I...I'm sorry, I need to go, I...thank you"

"Cute little blossom, isn't she" Monu snickers, covering her giggling smile with the sleeve of her robe as she glances your way, eyes mirthful and a little too amused "They'll make us wait, I can tell already, those fools are going to be arguing until they lose their voices, and not just because you forced them to hand over their brightest pupil or else lose a lot of face for breaking rank or courtesy, but because all of them are toads lusting after swan's flesh. That was expertly...no, masterfully done, sweet daughter of mine! You had them dancing in the palm of your hand, and even I hadn't noticed! You really do take after your mama, don't you? Laugh and all, Heh-Heh. Like puppets on strings...what utter simpletons, this hall really hasn't changed at all since I've last visited, hmm"

"Thank you, your praise is always the sweetest, dear mother" You cackle, watching Tianhua shuffle after the already arguing elders, while Fang Ru booms with laughter from his gut as Yingtai sulks and weeps. Tianhua throws a last look your way, before vanishing behind the door the other elders hurried behind "But hah, now comes the part I was dreading the most, the waiting... how long do you think they'll be arguing for?"

"Who can say, maybe all day, maybe two days" She snickers, shrugging flippantly as she shakes her head "What matters is we'll get a good deal and a student with a lot of potential, with how magnificently you've maneuvered around them and played them all for fools. What wonderfully swindling, I just can't stop applauding it, Huan~"

You smile, cheeks flushing as your mother continues to heap you with praise. You weren't lying, her praise is always the best to get.
Cont

>>5942951

Double vote

What do you do while you wait

>tell Luli the good news and introduce her to Monu

>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.

>Ask Monu about her past with the thousand Lotus hall.

>Poke around to see what you can find, already bored of waiting (Stealth trial. Auto success)

>Write in

And what do you do after you've been given the drugs you've bought and Luli, Huanliuxue?

>Hurry back to your temple to get her acclimated and comfortable to her new home

>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

>Work out a trade deal with the thousand Lotus hall, calling in a few favors from the other two members of the tomb, mountain and sea alliance.

>Confront Yang Yingtai, since she is clearly not going to forgive you or Tianhua for humiliating her like that, and "impress" it upon her that trying anything will end very, very poorly for her

>write in

>>5942952
>Poke around, bored.
When you let a fat insude, you surrender sovereignty.

>Push Tianhua to say goodbye.
>Confront Yang yingtai, to impress on her the foolishness of vengence.

>>5942963
A cat. A fat cat perhaps but we wre not fat, we are a cat.

>>5942952
>tell Luli the good news and introduce her to Monu
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.

>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister
>Confront Yang Yingtai, since she is clearly not going to forgive you or Tianhua for humiliating her like that, and "impress" it upon her that trying anything will end very, very poorly for her

I also want to do the trade deal idea, but not sure I wanted to add that onto this vote.

>>5942952
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

>>5942952
>tell Luli the good news and introduce her to Monu
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

I don't want the bonds of the sisters to fragment. Seeing such emotion they should say there goodbyes to one another regret is as bad as grudges.

We can hash out and send a trade deal offer later. Offering better deals with the Allience members and monks and alright one for dusk wolves to maintain ties.

We need to make some money makers so suggest we turn that one city with the massive tree into a spiritual garden.

Also can one on the moon and maybe swing one in hell. Those three herb patches should cover the expenses on raising our disciples and sect expansion.

Our two alchemists and mother can experiment with the ingredients and our girl can as well make some new pills. Allowing use to make some spirit stones.

>>5942952
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

>>5942952
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

>>5942952
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.

>Confront Yang Yingtai, since she is clearly not going to forgive you or Tianhua for humiliating her like that, and "impress" it upon her that trying anything will end very, very poorly for her

>>5942952
>Poke around to see what you can find, already bored of waiting (Stealth trial. Auto success)
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

>>5942952
>>tell Luli the good news and introduce her to Monu
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister

>>5942952
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.
>Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister
Mission complete, time to go home after we find out troublemaker

>>5942952
>Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.

>Confront Yang Yingtai, since she is clearly not going to forgive you or Tianhua for humiliating her like that, and "impress" it upon her that trying anything will end very, very poorly for her

Ending the votte and tallying its result now.

Poke around to see what you can find, already bored of waiting:2

tell Luli the good news and introduce her to Monu:3

Wait, where is Xuebai!? What is she up to. Leaving a mischievous fox like her alone is never good. Better find her before she causes trouble.:7
_
Push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and a chance to explain herself to her little sister:9

Confront Yang Yingtai, since she is clearly not going to forgive you or Tianhua for humiliating her like that, and "impress" it upon her that trying anything will end very, very poorly for her:4

So, noticing your prankster of a sister is suspiciously scarce, you'll find her before she can get herself into trouble the way only a trickster fox can

And after being given the supply of cultivation pills/ spirit drugs, and Luli, you'll push Tianhua to say her goodbyes and give her aa chance to explain herself to her little sister

Update will arrive shortly

>>5942965
makes me think of this song https://youtu.be/hU7fSPaunWw

However, even the luxury of her praise isn't enough to be blinding even if you'd like nothing more than to relish and drown yourself in it, since their is a wiggling, maggot like worry gnawing at the back of your mind that ruins the almost intoxicating pleasure that is Monu's true and earnest praise. And that worry is called Xuebai. Namely that while you noticed she wasn't hanging over your mother's back like an extension of her shadow, you had assumed that she had gotten bored and wandered off somewhere nearby or was hiding so as not to cause trouble with your hosts. However, she hasn't appeared to ruin your celebration with sisterly teasing and pestering. This is bad. Where is Xuebai?! What is she up to!? She has to be up to something, causing mischief or even mayhem without any regard for what will result from it.

Leaving a fox as mischievous and cheeky as your elder sister is never good, and will surely result in disaster. While you should probably tell Luli the good news, that she's been saved from the devilish ambitions and careless handling of her truly heartless elders, Xuebai's trickster and easily bored nature makes finding her take precedence, since it is only a matter of time before she causes some manner of trouble. Trouble that will only lead to you getting a headache when you eventually have to deal with and clean up her mess.

"Mother, where is Xuebai?" You ask sharply, still smiling and blushing as the wonderful feeling of being praised leaks and spills out, leaving behind a nasty cold and hollow feeling in its place. Maybe Monu sent her off on an errand or kept a close eye on her.

"No idea" She answers blithely with a careless shrug, still grinning herself "Worried she's up to mischief? Causing problems? Why? Isn't it funny when cultivators with hearts like white lotus suffer and have their pride stolen"

"Mother!" You snap, growling and gritting your teeth as you slap your forehead in disbelief "You encouraged her didn't you"

"Maybe" She snickers with devilish, or more aptly, fox like grin, eyes narrowed to almost match the shape and look of Xuebai's own "Everyone here was so high strung and looked down their noses at us"

"They were practically fanning you and lighting your pipe" You growl, having no patience for your mother at the moment, since this harmless prank could escalate into a problem YOU would have to be bothered to deal with "You're just looking for excuses"

"Tch" She clicks her tongue, rolling her eyes "That may be so, but there's no reason to be upset. The dogs of the orthodox can always use a little humbling"

"I'm going to find her and stop her before she can get into trouble" You grumble, annoyed, not able to disagree with her since that is usually the case "Hopefully she hasn't gotten up to any extreme mischief yet or started a rampage"
Cont

>>5943997
"Heh-Heh, have fun, its always nice to see sisters getting along" Monu snickers as you storm out of the hall, leaving her to deal with the elders while you track down your sister.

Finding her isn't difficult, she is still a ghost after all and you are deeply aligned and connected to the ghostly energy and essence that she is made out of. And her unique, ghostly presence is familiar enough that you can pinpoint her even with two other ghosts of fairly potent power wandering about, still reeling from their death and post mortem humiliation. She's in one of the upper parts of the tree, probably where the more favored and higher ranked disciples of the temple live and sleep. And since she is your mother's daughter, there is really only one thing she could be getting up to up there.

Which means you have to hurry. She's probably possessed someone, judging from the faintness and hazy feel of her ghostly aura and how wispy her cold breath is. And if she's doing what you think you're doing, you really need to pick up the pace and rush to her to put a stop to it quickly, before it can expand and explode into a scandal and a real pain in your side. Thankfully, you caught onto her before she could get to far, and find her just when she started flirting with the face of some unfortunate woman who caught her eye and her envy, who'd cornered a fat bellied man who has a face that makes you think he'd be very happy if he met Feiqing and saw his face.

Grinding and gnashing your teeth, you decide the best way to scold her is to exorcise her forcefully from her chosen vessel, tearing her from her flesh "robe" and slapping her the only way a ghost can be slapped. And while you haven't been trained or had any interest in learning how to be an exorcist, Ping is one and you poked and prodded that cursed arm of his enough and watched him battle with ghosts close enough to know enough to drag your sister out of her would be victim. So, since you have no ink and can't remember the mantra's ping chants, but can remember some spells that can draw a ghost from a vessel its trapped in that could be adjusted and have a few words and lines swapped out to make it work with possessions...

You stomp up behind her, pull your arm back, before remembering that she is in the body of a frail, delicate jade beauty, adjust your strength output, and pop a few veins to write the spell across your palms and fingers before, with much more restrain than you intended to use, slap her on her across her cheeks. And you still send the beauty she possessed rocketing across the hall and slamming shoulder first into a wall, hard enough to dent the living wood.
Cont

>>5943999

The ugly fatty blinks, staring at you and wondering why a beauty of an even higher quality just interrupted his surprise admirer, but you put to rest any delusional fantasies he might have of why you just loosened a few of his oddly sweet senior's teeth with a ice cold glare that could send even the mad Xiongji running. Tubby quickly turns heel and runs while the unconscious jade beauty slumps to the ground with a hand print bruised into her otherwise flawless face and blood trickling out of her nose.

What he couldn't see, or notice since he couldn't tear his eyes away from her nearly completely exposed cleavage, was that she had a faint blue and white fox ears and a few tails sprouting out of her aura, hidden by her cultivation. Xuebai, who you are now holding onto by the scruff, is laughing loudly, not caring at all that you just struck her and ruined her fun.

"Oh that was hilarious! Did you see the look on his face when you glared at him! I don't think he's going to stop running until he's bean sprout thin! Ohoho, that was too rich, too funny!" She howls and yips excitedly, her ghostly form a reduced and cute version of her usual ethereal, and somewhat monstrous form, making her look like an ordinary if ghostly snow fox "What's with that harsh look, Huan~? You're never so stern, or so serious. Are you upset with me? I wasn't going to go too far, I promise, I was just going to drop this haughty bitch into an awkward situation, like a confession or a date with that ugly fatty. What scary eyes, Hoho, you really are frightening me, little sister. Don't be so stuffy, it'll crick your tail, you know"

"Xuebai" you snap sternly, holding her up as she continues to giggle "We want to be friends with these daoists, a positive relationship with this school will only bring benefits to our palace. Even if you weren't planning on making her go all the way with that pig, which, for one, would be disgusting and two, be truly fucked up, any troubles that could be traced back or blame that shifted to us, is something I'd like to avoid! I just got these idiots to accept that we aren't demon, could you please not immediately turn around and start acting devilishly and messing with them, in what, a fit of pique because she was pretty?"

Xuebai pouts, and puts on the exact expression your mother uses when she wants to make someone feel guilty for being angry with her for good reason, just on a fox's face

"No, she was swaggering around, her head held so high, bragging she was a greater beauty than our mom, or you. I couldn't stand by and listen to the bitch wag her tongue, especially when she telling such bold faced lies. It pissed me off! I was just gonna drag her reputation through the mud, nothing more" She says, mimicking the rarely heard scolding tone Monu might use if she was upset with you, which is an incident so unlikely that the five wise immortal sages would sooner admit the wrong doings before something so ridiculous could occur.
Cont

>>5944000

And while her reasons for doing what she did make it harder for you to be upset with her, the fact remains she was still making trouble for you.

"See, you can't be mad with me, you're struggling to keep making that frightening expression! She was talking so much nonsense and insulting you, she deserved worse than giving a pig faced fatty a kiss on the lips, right?" Xuebai cackles as you try to prove her wrong by screwing your face, but quickly realize that you'll just prove her right if you put so much effort into looking mad at her, so you just scowl and hiss at her

"I'll figure out how to punish you for being a pain in my ass later, elder sister" You snarl, as you glance at the bitch who deserved being slapped a little harder than you did and sigh. The scarlet healing armor will fix that bruise and stop her nose bleed, and hopefully she'll remember Xuebai's intrusion as nothing more than a bad dream. Letting go of your annoying sister, you quickly cast the healing protection spell over her, just for a few seconds to fix up the damage you caused and keep her internal energy balanced after Xuebai jostled it around by shoving herself and her ghostly yin qi into her unprepared body.

"Guessing we're leaving soon, if you went out of the way to collect me?" She asks casually as she strides down the hall, her ethereal form growing into a shape that more closely resembles a Demonic Beast as you fold your arms and try not to pout while scowling at her

"Once they hand over the goods and I collect my new student, you really chose the worst time to be a nuisance, you know that, Xuebai" You answer angrily as she snickers

"Well lets make sure our dear mother isn't being a menace herself" She yips, bounding away and forcing you to lift up your legs and jog to keep from losing her, which you just know she'll use to cause more mischief just to trouble you to amuse herself. How annoying.

Fortunately, your mother behaved while you were gone, and while she's making the lovestruck elders blush and wave bashfully her way when they think you and their peers aren't looking, she hasn't made any problems or scandals in the few minutes you left her alone.

"We have determined" Fang Ru begins, wringing his hands before Lian Tianhua, whose early outburst seem to have embolden steps forward

"We have decided the fair market value of the unique resources you've come to trade us" She says, sounding as confident and in control as she was when you first met her, eyes sharp by not unkind "And how many of the spirit medicines you wish to exchange them for they are worth. And considering the aid you've lent our temple, and the generous offer to rear the heir of my family, that is a greater amount than others would've been given if they brought the same prizes to barter"
Cont

>>5944001

"And that has nothing to do with them all drooling over our mother" Xuebai whispers into your ear while Monu smiles pleasantly and you try to keep the scowl reserved for your irritating older sister off of your face.

"On behalf of the head of the palace of natural laws, my daughter, I thank you for your generosity, elders of the esteemed thousand lotus hall" Monu coos, voice as sweet as a ripe peach and as soft and enticing as silk "Our time here, though it was short, has been most pleasant and I know I personally hope our relationship will only deepen further from this day"

You've acquired 12 bone mending Bamboo pellets, 3 doses of Strength of the mountain bending rose drug and 4+1 Steelbark hide drugs!

The medicines are brought out in embrodied bags and offered to you by kneeling core disciples, a ceremony that is overseen by a scowling Yang Yingtai and beaming Lian Tianhua. And while Luli is the heir apparent and little sister of the current sect head, she is still a fresh disciple and new student of the sect, so despite what you and Tianhua think, her transfer to the palace of natural laws is done without pomp or ceremony. Which has to be a compromise the elders demanded to be made, so they wouldn't suffer the disgrace of giving up their treasured and expendable tool publicly.

She is told the good news by another disciple and told to gather her things and hand over the property of the sect she was given when she joined, her uniform, tokens of ownership and manuals she was studying, with one exception. A few of her former martial brothers and sisters notice when she walks out of the main hall, dressed in the clothes of a young noble girl rather than a daoist cultivator, but they don't approach her to ask her what has happened or interrupt their work to see why she's packed like she's going on a long journey.

Luli looks conflicted, as you watch her with Tianhua and Monu from a distance, since you were told you can't "collect" her in view of the sect grounds, another demand of the bitter elders. Couldn't Fang Ru tell them what he exchanged for Luli? That'd make them less annoying to deal with, at least for awhile.

Tianhua is frowning, looking like she's about to burst into tears, watching her sister drag her a chest of her things across their temple's ground, towards the sect gate. The younger Lian has a determined though teary look on her face as she struggles to pull her belongings out of the only home she's known.

A twist and wrench in your chest tells you what you need to do.

"Go talk to her" You say softly, smacking Tianhua on the back of her head, though not hard "You both need to say your goodbyes, and bonds between sisters are hard to mend once they break. And some regrets are worse than poison"

"She's right, she'll think you've abandoned her and tossed her aside if you don't say anything to her and just watch from the shadows" Monu adds with a delicate frown.
Cont

>>5944003

Tianhua doesn't need any more encouragement and practically flies from the shadow aclove. And while you don't hear what is said between the sisters, you can see that Luli hits her a few times with her small fists and they embrace for a long while, tears glittering in the midday sun as they hug and hold each other, neither wanting to let go.

And when they part, Luli has much more cheer and vigor in her step.

"I told her everything" is all Tianhua will say when you pester her to explain "And, its not like she's gone for good, I can still drop by and visit whenever it is appropriate, but I...you were both right, she was a hair away from hating me with all her heart. Damn Jingyu, and damn myself for letting those scheming elders nearly get away with using her like they used my mother"

"Do you want me to kill them?" Monu asks and it takes Tianhua a few moments of laughter to realize she wasn't joking. And that makes things awkward, so you leave before it can get worse, with Tianhua promising to visit her sister soon and asking you to write and send her updates on her progress and day to day life.

"This is the grand elder of the palace of natural laws, and my adoptive mother" You explain, introducing a spent and exhausted Luli to Monu who greets her with a motherly smile and pinch to her cheeks "And though you can't see her, my elder sister is hanging around you"

"That is why you're shivering, even though you're dressed like you're to be presented the imperial court" Monu giggles, which makes Luli shiver more, wandering where the ghost she can't see is, which just encourages Xuebai to try messing with her. You stop her from bullying the girl with a sharp tug on one of her ear

"Greetings elder, I hope we'll get along, as well as a student and teacher can!" Luli stiltedly shouts, trying her best to act as she is expected to and with proper manners, even while afraid

"I'm certain we will, Huanliuxue has told me of your...creativity and inventiveness as a cultivator" Monu says sweetly "You'll meet your new martial family when we arrive at our underground retreat, some of its deeper, wetter tunnels should be perfect for growing mushrooms"

Luli smiles, blinking amazement out of her eyes of her straying from the "righteous" path to be met with approval.

"What...the thing I did was impressive enough that you told her about?" She asks you quietly as you lead her out of the territory of the thousand lotus hall.

"It was impressive enough to impress me" You answer kindly, bowing down to be at level with her as you walk along beside her, still in human form "And Monu is a witch through and through, so knowing you have an interest with mushrooms creates a bit of common ground between the two of you see? Now she's sure to become fond of you, as a disciple"
Cont

>>5944004

That makes Luli very happy and proud, and the little girl remains in high spirits even when the four of you travel through dusk and well into the night. And she also adapts quickly to your natural form so she isn't frightened or afraid of you at all when you're in it

What do you do while you travel back to your temple with Luli, Huanliuxue?

>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

>Talk up and praise your other disciples and tell her enough about them so she knows what to expect and how to make friends with some of them

>Make her train hard until you reach your temple, to prepare her for what lies ahead

>Just get her back quickly by having Monu carry her as you fly back home

>Write in

>>5944005
>>Make her train hard until you reach your temple, to prepare her for what lies ahead
accumulate teaching points for when we cultivate.

>>5944005
>Talk up and praise your other disciples and tell her enough about them so she knows what to expect and how to make friends with some of them
Our disciples deserve bragging about.

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

We must learn where she at to begin her training properly, bet she knows ery little cause the elders wanted her to transform into tree

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are
It's not enough to work her hard-- we have to see where she's currently at, so we can tailor our lessons to her effectively. Once we brush up her foundations, *then* we can start training and teaching her properly.

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

>>5944005
>Gauge
>Train

Foundational behaviors need to be assessed so we know how to proceed

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are.

Gotta see what her base is and figure out the training program. We could use some five elemental water as a foundation for her cultivation chambers. As for nutrients that's a hard think honestly the most potent resource rich nutrients as everything will be purified probably best her qi alignment or what will empower it. Put in a good formation and it'll skyrocket her cultivation. I'd have a theory that we could turn the five elemental water into blood five elemental water and super charge it. That stuff would be crazy life energy.

>>5944146
Thinking further ant sis ant daughters will be really good for her cultivation chambers able to change the moisture of the chamber on the fly giving constant ideal conditions to the chamber.

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are
Cultivating this one is going to be different from the others. One because she doens't know how to fight and the other, we're on a time limit and need to do this efficiently. Meaning our usual ahnds off lackadaisical approach isn't going to pass muster.
>>5944154
I'd also suggest getting advice from JiongJiong, whatever Luli's current mojo is is based on plant life (and fungi) and who knows flowers and foliage better than a Bee?

>>5944160
I was thinking that as well she's a bit removed from as bees don't deal with mushrooms but it'll be a helpful insight. I'll need to reread the cultivation technique to think of some tweaks to better tailor it to what we find out or her base.

>>5944160
As far as I understood, Luli isn't actually on a time limit until she achieves Golden Core Formation. It's that stage she has to speedrun. I think preparing some cultivation aids beforehand would be prudent.

>>5944234
Correct.

Once she ascends to GC, we need to be ON IT and fast. That means ascending ourselves prior.

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are
Also on the topic of going beyond Golden Core, I'm curious how Grandfather is going to tackle Nascent Soul. From what I understand, that stage is when the soul is capable of separating from the body and surviving, a feat we've performed as early as Qi Condensation. Most likely there's a specific point I'm missing, but better to ask now.

>>5944270
Well I think the key difference here is Huan becomes a ghost to survive, whereas nascent souls do not need a body to be alive. A bit of a key difference.

>>5944005
>>Make her train hard until you reach your temple, to prepare her for what lies ahead

>>5944234
>>5944235
Okay reading back the ansestor said they used blood as nutrients. Since we can just create blood from water.
We basically create that unlimited in scale.

With that said, we COULD use a drop of gods blood filtered though mushrooms to pureify it's essence to push her past golden core.

Basically we should have the resources to easily make her golden core. And what we need to focus on are her insights into the dao to enable her to basically breakthrough all golden core levels as soon as she is about to hit it by repressing her cultivation base.

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are
It's hard to teach someone seriously when we don't know *precisely* what they can do. Time to change that.

>>5944005
>Make her train hard until you reach your temple, to prepare her for what lies ahead

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

I wonder if this ends with Luli becoming Monu's "granddaughter"

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

>>5944005
>Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are

>>5944604
Short of having Xuebai marry a bush I don't see that happening.

>>5945172
>marry a bush
If Huan went full MURICA in space we probably could have introduced Xuebai to George.

Ending and tallying the vote now.

Make her train hard until you reach your temple, to prepare her for what lies ahead:4

Talk up and praise your other disciples and tell her enough about them so she knows what to expect and how to make friends with some of them:1

Gauge how far along her cultivation is and what foundational skills she has and what bad habits she's been taught, and what her natural talents are:12

So you'll measure Luli's cultivation/ progress and what basic skills and bad habits she's been taught and what her natural talents are as you travel back to the Palace of natural laws

Update will arrive shortly

And while her young, tiny body and her low level of cultivation means you'll have to take the slow way of traveling back to your temple, which her numerous nap and rest breaks makes all the slower, the longer trip does give you time to properly get a measure of her abilities and gauge her cultivation, capabilities, skill levels and innate talents. All of which are things you need to know to properly start to train her and raise her into a proper daoist and cultivator rather than a willing sacrifice and another rung on the storied and tragic history of the Thousand Lotus Hall. Monu is of course happy to help in this effort of seeing where exactly Lian Luli stands and how much farther she needs to progress through the initial stages of her cultivation.

Luli is obedient and even thrilled to be studied and scrutinized in such a a manner, babbling on about the "mysterious" and "forbidden" methods you'll use to judge just how far along her cultivation she is, no doubt having been pulled aside by Fang Ru or her older sister and warned or "warned" about the ways of the heretical. The pouting face she makes, when she realizes the first test to measure her ability is just practicing and performing her breathing exercises, is so adorable it could almost be considered a crime in of itself.

And you immediately recognize that the breathing methods you teach and the one you adapted and personalized for your own use from what your mother taught you, are vastly different from how Luli has been taught to absorb, circulate and purify qi within her meridians. While the way you breathe is similar to how ghosts exhale and bones breath in, the method Luli has been taught to practice and make use of, is meant to mimic the flow of wind through the leaves and branches of the tree. And she starts her breathing to expel the muddy qi inside of her, once a breezes blows over the tree she has sat herself down at the trunk of, and then, listening to the sound of the dancing leaves and the movement of the forest, she paces it and adopts its rhythm. It is a highly specialized breathing method, designed to draw as much spiritual energy from surrounding plants as is possible, but as a downside, only drawing a meager amount from other sources. It is the breathing of a strong and solely wood aligned law, and it also is one that is meant to be steady and paced, mind numbingly slow and cautious. Like most of the cultivation techniques practiced by the orthodoxy.

While it isn't wrong, or incorrect in anyway besides being too slow to progress for your tastes and somewhat strained and stilted, and you can see that it will impart a strong connection with wood and especially Qi rich plants, you believe it can be improved by simply removing the hesitation that's been drilled into her head. She only takes a few sips of spiritual energy before stopping, even when you don't tell her to
Cont

>>5945942

And worse, she gets antsy and worried when you tell her to continue to cultivating. Much like Ping was terrified that he'd explode if he practiced cultivating without being taught how to. The weakness of her current method of cultivation is that it relies on outside forces to set the pace of her breathing and the flow of her meridians to to begin, something that stalls her quickly and makes her improvements barely abled to be measured. You hope this is because she's been taught the beginner form of this breathing, but with the elders she was raised under, you can't be certain. Actually wait. Didn't they send her with the manual for her inherited law? You'll have to read through it once you've gotten her breathing steadier and deeper. They probably thought it'd be useless to you since you do not possess the Tian bloodline, but you'll show them, Heh-heh.

"You won't die or cough up blood if you take in more Qi than your meridians can handle, it isn't like these trees have enough spiritual essence to overwhelm even your groggy meridians anyway" You explain with a somewhat amused smirk, as Luli blushes, no doubt feeling foolish for having ever been afraid of that "Try taking in deeper breaths, imagining yourself to be...hm, say a hole in the bottom of a well, drawing the water poured in or a stone through which the winds must pass before they rustle the leaves over your head. Be more dominant and stop being so unsure of yourself, breath in until your lungs feel like they're on fire, and then breath out slooooowly. Instead of lapping up dew drops, take a handful of rain water and GULP it down"

"I...I think I understand what you're trying to tell me, Master!" She shouts back, cheeks still rushed pink as her spring green hair lifts up as as lurches forward, bowing her head before readopting her meditative position, a variation of the common Lotus position. Which you adjust the faults of by grabbing and gently reorienting her arms and hands

"Focus three fingers below and two fingers behind your navel, on your lower Dantian" You explain "Or if that doesn't work, try your lungs as they expand or deflate"

She gasps and nearly breaks her concentration yelling "Master, I can feel!"

But she notices both your and Monu's stern glares and bows her head to focus on refining and mastering her control of her newly adjusted breathing exercise. And while you wait for her to lose her focus natural and get bored or overwhelmed by the rush of Qi into her meridians, you and Monu look over the cultivation manual her old sect sent with her. And besides learning that the breathing method is intended to be that meandering and winding, and that at higher levels the practitioner is meant to connect themselves with the "Heart of the forest" by spiritually rooting themselves into its "Paths of spiritual energy", which neither you, Monu or Xuebai knows what that is supposed to mean.
Cont

>>5945944

Your guess, which considering your towering intellect is probably right, is that this means creating or drawing on the natural flow of Qi through a well established forest, expelling Qi to more easily draw in the Qi of the natural world and the "heart of the forest" is where the spiritual energy gathers to thickest in that flow.

But you also find out the name of Luli's inherited cultivation technique, The Verdant Spring Mysticism (Cuìlǜchūntiānshénmì zhǔyì, 翠绿春天神秘主义), and reading a bit further, recognize the similarities to the debased carmine mysticism and thus your own perfected form of it. Which makes sense, since the founder of her clan and prior sect was once a member of the Peerless Sanguine Jade Shrine Sect who refuse the fall and defile themselves to become the first Low Carmine Mystics to haunt the world and instead opposed the monstrous and demonic path his fellows all descended down. And this also shows you exactly how to make her cultivation go smoothly while being as quick as rushing rapids.

"Luli" You say, lifting a paw as Monu holds the Manual up for you to read "Cut a line in the bark of the tree and press your fingers against it, then resume your breathing"

Luli blinks, frowning as she is taken out of her meditation, but diligently obeys you odd command, and after a sad look and some hesitation, cuts a line into the green growth of the bark and presses her finger tips against it.

Her green hair actually sparks with spiritual energy the moment she restarts her meditation, connected to the "lifeblood" of the tree. Smirking, you lay your head back down on your paws while Monu ruffles you fur between your ears, amazed once again by your brilliance while Xuebai floats around and over Luli's head, monitoring her closely with orders to knock her out if anything goes wrong or an unforeseen disaster occurs between her bloodline and breathing exercises.

You don't need to spar with her or find her a partner to practice with to know Luli has absolutely no combat experience or even an idea of how to defend herself, with the few spells she's been taught being useless in a fight since all the magic and sorcery she knows is to cleanse wounds, purify mundane toxin and encourage or command the growth of plants. The last category being the spells she adjusted to create her little, kinda creepy kinda cute mushroom minions, who the latest generation of are dancing around her as she demonstrates the extent of her magic to you. Which include absolutely no offense spells and only a basic protection spell that she obviously hasn't strengthened through training. So you make a mental note to figure out what kind of style and martial arts would be best for her to practice and give her the work of figuring out how to defend herself over the next few days.
Cont

>>5945945

Days that you spend weeding and pruning away the various bad habits she's been taught, starting with her habit of stopping cultivating the moment she feels "energized" and to continue past the hurdle of refilling her meridians with fresh, lively Qi. The second is her numerous bad habits she has as an alchemist, which you aren't certain she has because she's a little kid or because her old teachers misinformed her or didn't know their mouths from their assholes. She has a natural talent for alchemy, especially medicine, which could be easily turned a particular skill as a poisoner, but she treats it more like a hobby than anything else and can't immediately list of what herbs can be mixed, in what order, measures and extraction to cure any ailment, or cause them

So you do something a little mean, and apply a weaker form of the maddening salve you used often at the start of your own journey as a cultivator onto her arm, and tell her to cure it with her own medicine, while she scratches madly at her red flushed arm, eyes watering. She figures it out within two days, using her mushroom minions, which you've noticed "root" themselves to her while she is practicing her breathing, to gather to ingredients for the cure, which you also didn't tell her about and you're certain she didn't know of.

And besides being a genius alchemist and very adept at handling her mushrooms, you also learn she has a wonderful singing voice. She hasn't progressed far into her cultivation, and what skills she has been taught she has refined to a nearly acceptable level, but she is still clearly a novice. A novice with potential. A lot of potential if she's groomed and taught correctly. The only area she's lacking is self defense and martial, she has the basics of alchemy and healing mastered and the spells she does know, she can cast quickly and knows how to store them inside talismans and with your help, she's improved her Qi absorption and breathing to the point she's fully awakened her spiritual senses since you've taken her under her wing, and figured out all on her own how to use her mushroom pets as a sort of "Filter" for bad Qi, which lets her reuse a portion of Qi that she would otherwise have to expel from her meridians when she cultivates.
Cont

>>5945946

Lian Luli's cultivation level, law and focuses have been revealed. She is presently at Qi Condensation stage rank 4 (after some tutoring from Huanliuxue), is practicing the Verdant Spring mysticism law (Wood aligned, Alchemy: Medicine, Spells: Healing and plant control, Spirit Herb Gardening/ Hybridization.), and (Focuses: Alchemy, Mushrooms?) She is currently incapable of fighting practicing no martial arts, and knows no offensive spells. She possess the Verdant Spring Mark Bloodline, granting her Pure Spring Spirit Roots (High tier wood aligned roots) and access to the ancestral techniques of Verdant spring mysticism and innate understanding/ comprehension of all plants (Mundane or Spiritual) + a Plantlike physique (Unawakened)
_
Encounter!
"Fame Seeking Devil"

"Everything is so much clearer now! I can hear bird song over the mountains! I feel like I could walk for four days straight without taking a break for snacks!" Luli cheers happily, skipping along as you stride proudly through the sunlight and shadows drappling from the tree tops, Monu at your side and Xuebai plodding along, snapping at your tail just to annoy you

"You probably could, but you haven't worked your body at all, so if you did, you'd be laid out in bed feeling miserable for at least a week after" You chuckle, amused by your spirited new disciples antics as she skips ahead, as free as a bird released from its cage, followed by a small army of legged mushrooms that struggle to keep up with her as she burns off some of her youthful energy, truly carefree now that she's finished with her morning chores and exercises

"We have a stamina drug that could probably make her march for half a season, if we feed it to her when she in this high of spirits, Heh-Heh" Monu jokes, eyes squinted as she watches the little girl prance around the two of you "Though we should start her on her physical training, while they may be cute, I don't think her little underlings would be much help in a fight or even defending herself. If her sister is any indication, Little Luli will blossom into quite the beauty when she's older and"

"Do not talk about something so gloomy when I am in such a good mood, mother" You interrupt, knowing if she finishes her thought you'll be furious for the rest of the day just imagining Luli being approached by lechers or other sorts cruel hearted men "And I was already planning on teaching her how to hold her own in a fight"

"You'll teach me how to fight?!" Luli exclaims cheerfully, that being the only part of your more adult discussion with your mother that she heard or understood "I'm not certain if I have the heart for it, but I'll try my best to learn how to hold a sword, if that is what you'll teach, you are my master after all"
Cont

>>5945948

"Still getting used to the change?" You ask, pausing in the middle of the road as the morning chill grows mysteriously colder and all grows still. The atmosphere gradually turning to the familiar sensation of standing in hell itself

"I never imagined any of this, that my elders were just using me and Tianhua, that they didn't care for me, that I'd be whisked away, that Tianhua could still cry like a baby" She says, nervously tugging on an emerald lock of hair as Monu picks up on the change in the air, that your whiskers and more ghostly senses alerted you to much quicker. Xuebai has also noticed the odd shift in temperature and weight, and flies into the scythe that had been forged from her beast core, while Luli unaware of the danger, continues to list off every recent surprise she is still coming to terms with.

"Monu" You say softly

"Protection spell, hold the brat back?" She questions as if that needs to be said. Luli blinks, glancing around dumbly, completely unable to feel the presence that has emerged from seemingly nowhere

"What's going on?" She squeaks, frightened more by the sudden shift in both you and your mother's demeanor than anything else

"You'll see, just get behind the grand elder and keep your head down" You coo sweetly as you step forward, as Monu grabs her by the collar of her robes and lifts her into the air with one hand, while the other, still holding her pipe, flashes through hand signs to create her form of the basic protection spell, erecting a barrier of ice that rises up like a wall and spans the entirety of the road. Mist rises from her barrier, Luli yells out in confusion and the hellish pressure increases ten fold the moment you take a single step forward.

"Wuyashashou! (Crow Killer, 乌鸦杀手), I have come to take your head!" Bellows out from the gloom as the shadows deepen and black smoke spills out from the undergrowth as a towering, musclebound figure steps forward, hefting a massive hammer hewn from stone and fused with horned skeletons. His head is that of a bull, with blazing red eyes and crimson horns, his fur pale white like sun bleached bones, though his skin is tanned and covered in scars. He stops, leaving the space of four steps between you and him, as he sets down his hammer and crosses his arms, drool and froth lining his mouth, spilling over his fangs as he glances down at you

"Guessing you're jealous of that title?" You sneer, idly licking the back of your paw "You have to be if you came all this way just to pick a fight you'll lose"
Cont

>>5945950

"Baoli-Wuyawang (暴力-乌鸦王, Violent Crow King) was an upstart, but his name has become legend because of a weaker weakling besting him in combat, and a mortal at that! A little kitten whose proven herself to be of noble heart and righteous mind! It shames all us demons! And enrages me! I'd have been content devouring his reincarnation, but every street corner whispers about you!" The bull head snorts and bellows, shaking their head "You, who has done more good than bad, comes and goes as she pleases, you, who despite being unloved by the heaven reflects good upon the world, are popular amongst demons! Oh she follows her own laws, only obeys the rules of nature. Caused a fuss in the heavens! Bah! It makes me sick to my stomach!"

"That is a hilariously stupid reason to hold a grudge against someone, especially the adorable me" You laugh, shaking your head "That can't be the only reason you've come here to stand in my way and be a pest. Just because I happen to do more good than bad, isn't enough of a reason. And I know grudges, it is jealously that brough you here, like I guessed, isn't it"

"Killing you will bring me great fame" The idiot admits "And quiet the praises given to the undeserving stray, who spurns her proper path"

"I'm not a demon, dog fucker!" You snap angrily "I choose my own path, so what if its what others would call righteous, the only rules I follow are my own! I march to my own drumbeat, if you have a problem with that, then I guess today is the day I'll start being called Gongniushashou! (公牛杀手, Bull killer), since you're stupid enough to pick a fight with me when a kid is around! I'll tear you to shreds, Bull-head!"

"Call me Shítoudàchuí (Stone Maul, 石头大槌), and I'm not so much a brute I'd squash an infant like her" he snorts, hefting up his namesake hammer as you jaw drops as the stupidity of his name and how proudly he says it stuns you, about as much as being hit across the head by that big hammer of his would "Though, her descent would make her a valuable prize"

"Ah, so you do have a death wish, Shitty" You coldly spit his way, eyes aglow with malice "You aren't touching a hair on her head, insect, worm! I'll gut you and leave you to bleed out beneath the sun, like a slaughtered pig!"

"Now that's more like it!" He laughs, bowing his head, kicking up dirt as he starts to charge. You flick your tail dismissively and lift up your chin.
Cont

>>5945952

How do you meet his charge, Huanliuxue?

>Dyeing your claws in astral Qi, and tearing the space between the two of you, and then using your feline martial arts to slam him head first into Monu's ice wall (Timing/ Martial Trial. DC 120)

>Leap over it, and set up the Cat's court: Phantom Cat waltz around him to prepare for your counter attack (Agility trial. DC 80)

>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)

>Activate the "True" Specter lightness skill: Broken clock, turn human, stick out your leg, and trip him (Magic trial. DC 100/ 150 (First, for slowed time, Second, for stopped)

>write in

>>5945953
>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)

Always Be Buffing.

>>5945953
>Breathe our grudges.

Buff buff buff

>>5945953
>Dyeing your claws in astral Qi, and tearing the space between the two of you, and then using your feline martial arts to slam him head first into Monu's ice wall (Timing/ Martial Trial. DC 120)
>Gonna beat you until I fix your brain damage!

>>5945953
>>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)
Debuffs/buffs are a good start to any fight, and showing off our martial arts to Luli is a nice side bonus. She is gonna get a nice impromptu lesson in "why learning self defence is important", reason 1 being so you don't get killed by a random demon who wants your head in his living room.

I'm very curious about what is going on in hell, I'd like to go down there again at some point, catch up on the gossip. See if Yi Zhu managed to get himself killed yet. Going down there always results in some excellent hijinks.

>>5946007
I'm actually a bit hesitant to delve too deep into hell, we've been skimming for the most part but there has to be some really big and scary fuckers down there who might take exception to our escapades (king Yama?).

>>5945953
>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)
Not that bullman here has a very strong grudge against us but if we add how he threatened Luli then we've got a pretty good grudge of our own to settle.

>>5945953
>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)
>>5946061
I'm picturing King Yama asking Huan if she ever once considered the consequence of her actions in light of all the suffering that already exists in the world and I have to say I'd be nervous about the thread's response.

>>5945953
>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)

>>5946272
>I'm picturing King Yama asking Huan if she ever once considered the consequence of her actions in light of all the suffering that already exists in the world
>"Do you have any idea how much suffering you have caused in your hubris, young beast?"
>"A whole hell of a lot less than I'm gonna. And even less still than the good that'll come of it."
I can see it clearly.

>>5946061
>I'm actually a bit hesitant to delve too deep into hell
Going deep definitely seems like it could backfire, but going to hell has always gotten us some very nice loot so I imagine so long as we stick to the shallows and don't kick the hornet's nest we should be fine. Training first and getting some new golden core level techniques would be a good idea.
As far as scary fuckers are concerned I'm sure there are demons out there who loves to eat children who we will eventually piss off due to getting their favourite snacks off the shelves. That could be... interesting.
>>5946061
>>5946272
>King Yama
My knowledge of Chinese mythology is lacking, is there any reason in particular King Yama would have to be angry with us at this junction? I don't feel like we have done all that much that would piss off someone that high in the food chain yet.

>>5946386
>>5946272
From my limited understanding of the character he's the lawful side of hell and the nominal ruler so I imagine he may take exception to Huan border hopping so casually especially in her mortal body.
But I won't put him at odds with us yet even if he sends enforcers to catch us and bring before court I think he could be reasoned with if we plead our cause (unless we resist arrest or piss him off) and maybe we will get some side missions like slaying wayward escaped devils insread of a thousand years imprisonment.

>>5945953
>Breathe out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)
Should finding Baoli’s reincarnation be on our long list of things to do? I remember his mom and widow coming to the surface while we achieved human form so a rematch might be in the future. But now we gotta show off in from of our cute pupil.
>>5946272
Despite our crossing over the realms of the living and dead multiple times, the amount of good deeds we’ve performed should have him lenient of our more questionable acts.

>>5946412
I just figured he might on the Gods' side

>>5945953
>Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star! (Martial Trial. DC 135)

>>5946007
>>5946061
We need to investigate hell regardless with their taking of corpses. Its on the agenda alongside dealing with the ghost king and fulfilling our promise with the ling subsect.

>>5946412
>>5946422
I don't see him being on the side of the gods (they are diametrically opposed, foes), but that doesn't mean he's on our side either. Its entirely possible he dislikes them and if he is lawful he can still be lawful evil which would have him at odds with us. Either way we should be careful entering hell, its aspects are not as straight forward and easy to understand as the mortal realm and can be as dangerous as the stars beyond the heavens if not more so.

>>5945953
>Leap over it, and set up the Cat's court: Phantom Cat waltz around him to prepare for your counter attack (Agility trial. DC 80)

>>5946007
>Going to hell

Alright by me, but we'll take the scenic route this time, though the secret library and the ghost King's court. Tear down everything and build a nice broad highway to hell, heh.

Ending the vote now, tallying its result.

Breath out a cloud of grudges to weaken/ slow him and strengthen yourself, and counter his charge with cat catches star!:8

Dyeing your claws in astral Qi, and tearing the space between the two of you, and then using your feline martial arts to slam him head first into Monu's ice wall:1
-Gonna beat you until I fix your brain damage!:1

Leap over it, and set up the Cat's court: Phantom Cat waltz around him to prepare for your counter attack:1

Landslide victory for breathing out some grudges to (de)buff and countering the bull headed demon's charge with cat catches star

Update will arrive shortly

Sure stone maul is tall as far as demons of his breed grow, and bull headed devils do tend to be on the larger and beefier side of devilkind, but just because he is a towering wall of muscle and malice doesn't mean he is at all a threat to you. He has bowed his head and is charging recklessly ahead, hammer held like a bar in front of him, unable to see anything with his eyes turned towards the ground and the clouds of dust and dirt clouds his wild and most importantly blind sprint is kicking up all around him. Even your sharp eyes can barely see him through all the debris his charge is throwing into the air, and picking even his bulky and muscular frame from the dust of tossed soil and powdered stone strains them terribly. But you don't need to see him to beat his ass and teach him a lesson for daring to cross your path and threaten you AND a little girl who has nothing to do with the idiotic grudge he holds against you.

Breathing in deeply and sharply, the stench of the demon rushing towards you sticks to the inside of your mouth and throat and fills your lungs. You wash the filthy taste of mud and sweat away with the burning bitterness of a thousand grudges, ranging from petty and weak to the strong and enduring, the black miasma of resentment stinging on your tongue and burning its way out of your throat as you make it even harder for either of you to see the other as you press yourself low to the ground, submersing yourself in and bathing in the clouds of crackling enmity spilling out from your belly. The bull devil snorts, confused and blinded as the cloud of grudge energy washes over him as he witlessly dives headlong inside of it, no doubt feeling the weight of resentment pressing down on his back and sapping the strength from his bulging muscles as the same pool of grudges invigorates every inch of your body and empowers you, the feeling of scalding spite saturating every strand and fiber of muscle within your glorious body.

Yowling with rage, breathing out more grudges, you throw yourself into the black mist, grudge energy sparking and arcing along your back, bursting into black, lightless stars and tongues of blackened smoke as you counter charge the fame seeking devil. And using your whiskers to sense exactly where he is beneath the grudges you spat out and the dust devils he kicked up with his hooves, you prepare to unleash Cat catches star (猫捕获星, Māobǔhuòxīng) directly against his jaw.

Turning on your specter lightness skill, unsheathing your claws and electrifying them through channeling metal Qi directly into the center of your paw, you channeled raw blood Qi down your back to perform Moonlight Ascent (月华上升, Yuèhuáshàngshēng) as you crouched even lower to the ground and readied to phantom cat step and strike the dung eating demon in the face with Stone Shattering Horn (石震裂犄角, Shízhènlièjījiǎo) as you rocket upwards. Each step one part of the lethal Cat catches star technique
Cont

>>5946658
Roll 2d100. best out of five. DC 135

Rolled 10, 6 = 16 (2d100)

>>5946659

Rolled 28, 12 = 40 (2d100)

>>5946659
Yah

>>5946660
Bad luck that.

>>5946659

Rolled 83, 19 = 102 (2d100)

>>5946659
These are some awful rolls... Im gonna roll terrible now too aren't I?

Rolled 64, 69 = 133 (2d100)

>>5946659
Hope to hit

Rolled 10, 97 = 107 (2d100)

>>5946658
Come on Huan

Least it's only a failure of 2

>>5946673
>2 away from DC
man... that's painful

>>5946673
Oof so close. Failure. Update will arrive shortly

>>5946681
Was a tough roll to hit but it shouldn't hurt too bad. Though next time let's not try to match a bull in a contest of strength. Would've been better to use the grudges as a smoke screen and press the bulls head into the ground.

>>5946686
If anything, this will go to show Luli exactly how important knowing how to defend yourself is. You can be randomly jumped at any moment by someone, and even if you're strong they could still be a danger and hurt you. Learning from failure is the surest sign of an astute mind. Even if it isn't your own failure!

But the moment you shoot up from the ground you realize something is wrong, the air isn't moving right and your fighting instincts are screaming that something is wrong. You immediately redirect your Qi, drawing back energy that was about to be sent out and expended to perform one part or another of cat catches star to return it to the reserves of your cultivation base, a redirection and recycling of Qi that would be impossible for anyone who wasn't a natural born genius of Qi control and a prodigy cultivator to accomplish at all, let alone within the brief fraction of a second that is nestled between when your instincts send first send out an alarm from the ends of your whiskers to the tip of your tail to you being struck bodily by a mass of stone and demon bones. There was a single misstep in your plan, a single, easily avoidable mistake. You overestimated how stupid and careless your opponent was. He must've seen or heard about your fights in hell, to be able to recognize the illusion of slowed time and pick it out from the slowing and weakening effect of being doused in virulent grudge energy.

He took a step back as you leaped into the air to bring your lightning wreathed claw to the underside of his chin, and using the momentum of his charge, dragging his heels, transferred all of the energy of his dash into his arms and then the hammer as he twisted his whole body around and put every ounce of his weight into his swing. However, unfortunately for him, your survival and fighting instincts worked together to warn you of the impending danger, and by reabsorbing and altering the flow of your Qi, you didn't waste as much as you would have otherwise, and the early warning allowed you just enough time to relax your body and untense and loosen up before being struck dead center by a mass of stone and petrified corpses. It is still going to hurt, you can feel it in the roots of your teeth and the roots of your fur, but its going to be a lot less painful and debilitating than it would've been if you hadn't noticed that he'd stopped his charged to focus all of his strength and speed into one spinning slam of his stone maul.

There is a crack, the world flares white, and the wind whistles around you as you're struck hard on the side and are sent flying through the air, tumbling head over tail as your lightened, partially ethereal body soars through the air. Branches break against your back and head and slow your flight, but more than the pain you're left stunned from being literally sent spinning through the air. There is pain when you breathe in, but you can tell with a quick pulse of Blood Qi through your veins that nothing important has been bruised, broken, cracked or pulped. But the pain in your side is intense enough that you now know what a struck gong feels like. And it isn't pleasant.
Cont

>>5946697

Eyes shooting open, burning with rage, you right yourself in the air and snarl, kicking off the nearest branch as your opponent showboats and gloats, standing in the middle of swirling grudge vapor that had been fanned away from the sheer force of his strike with his hammer still held out in the place he slammed you with it. There are deep grooves in the ground from where he stopped his charge and spun around, and that cocky grin of his is way too annoying. His smug grin and arrogant attitude really pisses you off, and makes your head feel like it is filling with fire and sparks. Just looking at his pompous face enrages you, much more than being hit by a ton or so of stone and old bones!

How do you repay Shitoudachui for smacking your across the forest, Huanliuxue?

>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

>Pounce on him and inject Sinner Bone Centipede Venom directly into him as you bite down as hard as you can (Martial/ Strength Trial. DC 150)

>Hit him with star magic! Harass him with a storm of rainbow stars and cosmic beams! (Magic trial. DC 80)

>Expelling the blood of your internal bleeding, create a doppelganger out of your own blood to charge him head long, while you slip back under the grudges, turn human and use the eye stealing grasp on him (Trickery/ Martial trial. DC 160)

>Write in

>>5946698
>>Hit him with star magic! Harass him with a storm of rainbow stars and cosmic beams! (Magic trial. DC 80)

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

>>5946698
>>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)
You fight a lot, right shithead? Hope you defended yourself properly.

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)
How many people have you tossed through multiple trees just like this? Let's find out.

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

>>5946698
>Weeping scar curse

>>5946698
>Hit him with star magic! Harass him with a storm of rainbow stars and cosmic beams! (Magic trial. DC 80)

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

>>5946698
>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

Ending the vote, tallying the result.

Hit him with star magic! Harass him with a storm of rainbow stars and cosmic beams!:2

If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse:9

So you'll unleash the weeping scar curse on Shitoudachui

Update will arrive shortly

>>5946698
Don't we have a new superfast moving skill?
We could charge something up while he gloats to himself then teleport under him and unleash destruction from his blind side with something like the weeping scar curse, is it activated by touch? I don't remember...

>If he knows the tricks you've used to win your battles down in hell, do something that he doesn't expect, and hit him with the weeping scar curse (Magic trial. DC 120)

But through the pique and fury, you realize his grandstanding and gloating are purposeful. He isn't just doing them because he's gotten overly confident after landing one blow. He realizes that your pride can be a weakness, he's trying to stoke the rage by gouging his fingers into the wounds he's made in your pride, hoping that it will overwhelm and blind you with maddened fury and fight recklessly, without thinking or planning. But while a trick like that might've worked on the crow king, it won't work on the empress of beasts. You're far too clever to fall for such a vulgar trick, and all his showboating will amount to is making his eventual defeat and demise all the more painful once you've gotten your claws on his ragged hide. And that idle thought, reminds you, even as the world spins and you try to keep from wobbling through the air like a drunk, that Shitoudachui is covered is scars. His skin is like worn leather, he's obviously lead a warrior's life or at least never found armor that could keep up with his growth or cared to learn how to dodge. His hide is a pattern of old cuts and mementos from worthy opponents that he's crushed and grinded down into powder with that big stone maul of his. It is a map of every fight he's survived, and every dying curse spat his way as he hefted up his hammer and crushed every contender.

A wicked smile curls on your lips, lifting your whiskers as you fly through the clear cut path through the forest that you'd been sent careening through moments ago. The Weeping Scar Curse (哭泣疤痕魔咒 , Kūqìbāhénmózhòu) is the natural poison for a demon like Shitoudachui, just like it was for Fu. Those who bare the scars and enmity of their fallen foes with pride, fall to their knees when those old wounds are reminded who made them and the hatred that was imparted with each strike.

'Gah, what was that? A poem? That sounded like something those lunatics from the Seven Slaughtering Swords would sing as they swing around their oh so beloved blades' You shudder, shaking your head before morbid poetry can clog up your thoughts, clarity returning as you leap off the snapped trunk of an oak tree, and make a show of charging up an attack to draw Shitoudachui's attention and distract him from your actual plan of attack.

So while a vortex of destructive yin qi and lashing tails of steaming blood whip around you dramatically, your tongue delicately curls to begin chanting the mantra that will rouse his old wounds and bring their spiteful wish to bleed as fresh and new as the day the claws and blades that made them raked across the demon's worthless hide!

roll 2d100. Best of five. DC 120

Rolled 93, 96 = 189 (2d100)

>>5947269
Ok let's try this again.

Rolled 60, 84 = 144 (2d100)

>>5947269
Back to hell with yo-
>>5947272
DAMN

Rolled 15, 57 = 72 (2d100)

>>5947269

>>5947272
Hahahahahahahaha
This guy is about to meet several deeply pissed off ghosts in a moment.

Rolled 28, 58 = 86 (2d100)

>>5947269

>>5947272
It looks like we'll snack on some choice cuts of meat!
How nice of this demon to come pre-filleted

>>5947297
Roll anon, we still need one more.

Rolled 74, 84 = 158 (2d100)

>>5947269

>>5947272
Amazing success! 60 over DC and a hair's breadth away from being 70 over

Update will arrive shortly

And from the first chant to fly from your jaws, the words of the curses of the dead and broken fly and spill from your throat like a cloud of droning flies, speaking themselves as the grudge wraps itself around and takes hold of your vocal cords like the roots of a tree piercing through a grave to absorb the bones buried inside, possessing both your breath and your tongue. The world is drowned out, from Luli's frightened shrieks and shouted cheers to encourage her seemingly gravely wounded master, to Monu's confident cackles showing her conviction and certainty that this is a fight you will as easily as you turning over your paw, to whatever blustering and postering nonsense Shitoudachui yells your way as he faces down your false attack with a cold, murderous gleam in his eyes. Everything is silence by the hatred of scars long healed over. Your voice, low, guttural, growling like the snarling of a bone eating ghoul, mutters beneath the din of the drone of the hateful mantra and the distant noises of a living, colorful world.

Yet for reason, as you speak the weeping scar curse, that colorful world is rendered and reduced to shades of grey, black and white. Eyes darkening, your aura twists as your pour all you enmity and spite into the curse you chant, as it flows across your tongue and a malicious violet light spills out of your contempt filled glare as you take on the look and posture of a true hag, just like your laughing mother. With savage scowl and eyes piercing, you continue the speaking the mantra as the demon bussies himself fending of your feint of tendrils of blood and whips of pure destructive force. And despite the vicious expression on your face, you speak the mantra calmly and without mistake, as if you were reading the epitaph of an ancestor's grave.

The curse crawls out of your lungs, ripping at your throat and tearing its way out of your mouth, curling around your fangs as it throws itself into the world to share its misery. The air is dry and cold, as still as a tomb as the purest essence of a grudge, refined and purified of all emotion besides enmity itself emerges from your parted lips. Embodied in raw malice and distilled spite, the murderous will of old wounds to bleed again rushes to fill every empty space in front of you, saturating and dying the air with their desire to tear open as you spit the curses wailed from dying lips, bark the vexes placed upon their killers as their blood mixed with theirs upon the cold ground. The Fury of broken hammers and shattered armor. The grudges within you join your chant as howl for vengeance and hiss promises of retribution blood and cruel.

Shitoudachui realizes you aren't putting any real effort into your attack as sparks of Violet Qi fly from your tongue as it touches your fangs and rolls across your mouth. He pauses, blood splashing across his face as he narrows his eyes and creases his brow, trying to figure out what you're muttering to yourself.

Cont

>>5947346

It takes him the span of a breath to recognize the profanity and maledictions you're uttering and spitting his way, venomous insults spoken by sore losers, pleas for mercy uttered by the merciless, curses and oaths of vengeance unfulfilled that he knows you couldn't possibly have heard or been told of. He stiffens, a shiver visible across his scarred skin as a bead of sweat pearls upon his bovine brow as his lips part and he stares, terrified as a dawning look of realization washes across his dim eyes replacing the overly self satisfied and haughty look he'd been wearing a second ago. He knows the curse you're unleashing, but is so shocked to hear it so bitterly spoken and potent, that he's frozen where he stands with mortal fear!

He realizes his mistake, picks up his jaw, and fights through his shock, lifting up his stone maul to hurl it at you and try to stop you from drawing on the most powerful grudge in the menagerie of resentment kept inside your belly, but it is far too late for him to stop you from speaking the one word of the Mantra that is truly yours and yours alone.

Focusing on your grudge against the heavens and all the ways they've wronged you and your people, of all the humiliation and hardship you've been forced to drudge and wade through because of their cruel mandates and self serving laws, you roar the word that you wish you can yell in the face of all of those vain and haughty gods, to show them what you think of their rule and ambitions!

"Die!"

You wince as the words rip out of your throat, tasting blood as they reverberate through the air, spoiling it and turning it sour as it shoots towards the bull headed demon. Then vanishes as quickly as it came, like a distant star twinkling before it burns down to nothing.

Shitoudachui bellows, falling to one knee as his body is rent, ripped and torn by invisible claws and unseen blades, bursts and geysers of blood spilling out from deep cuts that expose bone and sever pieces of flesh and chunks of scar tissue as bite marks appear across his arms, shoulders and mid-section as if he is being devoured alive by an invisible pack of devils. Veins bulge and burst, hunks of muscle are pulled and torn as every wound he's taken in his long, demonic life is ripped open as fresh as the day it was made. Scars long faded appear, just to burst and ooze blood as he shrieks, in panic, fear, or pain, you aren't certain which.

His white fur is now as red as yours, and his tanned skin is hidden beneath a thick coating of bubbling, black tinted blood as he huffs and cries in agony, eyes watering as he kneels, hammer still clenched between his trembling hands.

"The...the weeping scar curse, but you are, how could you use such a vicious thing?" He bleats in confusion, as he struggles to stand on even one leg. You throw a disdainful, haughty glare down at him and smirk like a demon.
Cont

>>5947348

"What, did you honestly believe I was so righteous and kind hearted that I'd hold back and only use "Good" and "Soft" spells? I might enjoy helping others when it suits me, but only an idiot would stay their paw and refuse to use a useful technique out of fear they'd sully it" You heckle and mock, leaping down to the ground, tail flicking in irritation "You really are an idiot, aren't you, shitty? You heard I do good and spread more kindness than I do misery in the world, and you just assumed I was the same breed of moron who refuses to use every tool available to them and restricts themselves to only the most guiltless and reputable techniques and weapons? What a dumbass you are! Heh-Heh!


He bows his head, snarling, but is unable to offer an argument against the fact he is as dull-witted as a winter catfish! Instead, he presses down on his hammer, and forces himself to stand, eyes aglow with renewed hatred for you after the verbal whipping you just gave him

"I'm a witch's daughter, you fool! Why wouldn't I keep a few nasty curses up my sleeve, Heh-Heh" You continue to pester and make fun of him as he sways and looks exhausted just standing with so many grievous and crippling wounds and slashes across his massive body. He makes Fu's patchwork of scars look like a handful of scrapes and paper cuts, heh-heh.

"Grand elder, what just happened! They were moving too fast for me to see. One moment Master yelped, and the next the demon looks like he's been torn to ribbons!" Luli shouts from behind the wall of ice while Monu howls with laughter, finding your mockery of Shitoudachui to be hilarious, and Xuebai joins in with yips and squeals of amusement herself.

"Huan just unleashed a particularly nasty curse after fooling that bull head with a series of false attacks, a curse that he was particularly vulnerable to. It is a vile hex that re-opens old scars, and as a demon warrior who spends every day fighting and killing other strong fighters, the curse had much more too work with than it would, say, if she spoke it against a common murderer or thug" Monu explains jubilantly, almost sounding intoxicated from just hearing the demon howl in pain "And as she contains countless fierce grudges inside of her own body, the curse had more than enough fuel to nearly tear that ornery old ox to shreds! It all happened in the span of a few moments, so don't look ashamed that you weren't able to make sense of it"

"Guess we're having beef hot pot for dinner, sis! Keep it up, keep ripping him apart, make him bleed, make him wail, make him cry!" Xuebai cheers you on, sitting on the block of ice in the form of a vaguely human silhouette, which must be what she imagines her human form would look like.

"I'll crush you until there isn't even dust left, mongrel!" Shitoudachui boastfully declares, even though he's struggling to keep from falling over or falling apart from all the deep cuts across his muscular body.
Cont

>>5947349

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Hit him with a volley of vein draining fangs and destructive Yin spheres, as you run and bound around him (Magic trial. DC 90)

>Activate the blood torrent rush, and use the blood red lighting cat step and your claws to cut a few more chunks of meat from him (Martial trial. DC 105)

>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)

>Trick him, use the "true" specter lightness skill, since he'll think it is the original flavor and believe the slowed time is an illusion and be easily caught inside of it (Magic trial. DC 80)

>offer him mercy if he bows down and pleads for his worthless life

>Write in

>>5947351
>Trick him, use the "true" specter lightness skill, since he'll think it is the original flavor and believe the slowed time is an illusion and be easily caught inside of it (Magic trial. DC 80)

>>5947351
>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)
If he chooses to fight, he will die, if he chooses to relent, then he may yet live.
regardless we should let him set us up for a death blow.

>>5947351
>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)
As arrogant as it might be, I want to show off our martial arts to Luli. Would be a good way to emphasize it's importance to her.

I'm impressed by this guy's resilience, I must say.

>>5947351
>>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)
As funny as this sounds, I want to make him smash his own knee or crush his own foot with his hammer.

>>5947351
>Use his own blood as fuel to burn him alive by igniting the yang qi of his spilled blood.

We have the choice cuts of beef, now we grill.

>>5947351
>Stand your ground

>>5947351
>>offer him mercy if he bows down and pleads for his worthless life

>>5947351
>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)

>>5947351
>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)

>>5947443
Supporting

>>5947351
>Trick him, use the "true" specter lightness skill, since he'll think it is the original flavor and believe the slowed time is an illusion and be easily caught inside of it (Magic trial. DC 80)
Teach Lupin that fighting is also a mental game and not just a physical one.

>>5947351
>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)

>>5947375
Think I've been spoiled by Laohue, Jingyu and especially Fu, but I've seen more resilient.

>>5948143
Well we never did try to kill Fu, Laohue specialized on hunting beasts and impenetrable defense.
This guy is clearly more melee dps than anything else so it's understandable that he's more fragile.

>>5947351
>>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)

>>5947351
>Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting (Martial trial. DC 115)

>>5948152
>Well we never did try to kill Fu
We literally ripped his head off. Now, we were 99% sure it wouldn't kill him, but on just about anyone else it would have been very quickly if not immediately fatal.

Ending the vote and tallying the result now.

Trick him, use the "true" specter lightness skill, since he'll think it is the original flavor and believe the slowed time is an illusion and be easily caught inside of it:2

Stand your ground, wait for him to attack and create an opening, using your feline style against his bullish fighting:9

Use his own blood as fuel to burn him alive by igniting the yang qi of his spilled blood.:2

offer him mercy if he bows down and pleads for his worthless life: 1

Landslide victory for standing your ground and letting The bull break his own horns

Update will arrive shortly

That kind of stubbornness is almost impressive, and you might actually respect it a little if he didn't display a quality that is far more admirable in the same moment. An absolute lack of fear for his own death, a complete disregard for his own life, a refusal to sell his pride to continue living. Sure, there's wisdom in knowing when to turn tail, admit defeat and live to fight and enjoy another day and many are too quick in demeaning a health sense of self preservation and survival instinct as cowardice, but facing death defiantely unafraid has a certain romantic charm about it. Though somehow you doubt the other denizens of hell are going to be telling stories and singing songs about Shitoudachui's dying unafraid in his last battle, because they, like you, will be laughing at the bull-headed stupidity that lead to said battle and that made him so proud to not realize when he's been beat. And you will be laughing in the end, since you aren't so arrogant to underestimate a foe whose already landed a blow on you, even when they are floating between life and death and would be better off surrendering and giving up.

Though giving oneself over to the fickle mercies of a cat might be worse than being beaten to death. Not that either compare to the torments he'd face if he showed his face back in the underworld after getting trounced and humiliated by having all his old scars reopened and made new again. Actually, that might explain why he isn't afraid to die here, even at your cruelest, the punishment he'd get for losing to you after being so rude and crass and threatening poor Luli would be much lighter and less severe than what his own people would give for making a fool out of himself and making them ashamed to demons like him.

You frown, pondering this as you stand boldly before him, waiting for him to gather his remaining strength and energy to launch a defiant charge against you. It might seem like you're relaxed and don't think of him as a threat to onlookers, well, just Luli really, but your family should realize you're ready to pounce the moment he gives you an opening to spill out his guts. That is, if the Bull Demon doesn't fall to pieces just from struggling to stay on his feet. You might get luck and only have to watch him die, and not have to exert yourself any further. But, as expected, the bull-headed buffoon is stubborn as the beast he shares a head with and he snorts, he puffs and he rages, bowing his head, his eyes burning vermillion with killing intent as he lets off an ear splitting, earth shaking and tree splitting bellow as he, in the name of pride or to avoid being tortured to death, throws himself at you in an off kilter, rhythmless charge.

He can't even run in a straight line in the state he's in. He looks ready for the butcher's block, and you just so happen to have claws that can slice him up nice and finely.
Cont

>>5948520

Senses heightened and nearly sick with anticipation, you bide your time until he creates and opening for you to rip him to shreds, without risking being smacked by that ugly hammer of his again.

Roll 2d100. Best out of five. DC 115

Rolled 65, 75 = 140 (2d100)

>>5948521

Rolled 11, 22 = 33 (2d100)

>>5948521
Here we go again.

>>5948525
>11,22,33
These numbers, this sequence... what could it mean?

Rolled 33, 29 = 62 (2d100)

>>5948521

Rolled 23, 23 = 46 (2d100)

>>5948521
Slap

>>5948525
Them's some fucky numbers right there bud.

Rolled 37, 50 = 87 (2d100)

>>5948521

>>5948523
Nice success, 20 over DC. Update will arrive shortly

>>5948525
Well that's odd, and even odder that the next roll in line started with a 33
>>5948538
And so is this

>>5948548
The dice are telling us something. Whatever it's saying has been machine translated seventeen times but it's something.

Dragging his stone maul through the ground, he throws up a clod of dirt your way. You weave to the side, ducking to avoid it as it crashes through the forest, creating a cloud of dust, wooden splinters and falling leaves. Then, using and allowing the heft of his just swung hammer to pull himself forward, he twists his blood covered shoulders and twists his whole body around, trying the same move he used to send you flying when you tried and failed to counter his charge, all because of a single misstep on your part. Barring your fangs in a silent snarl, you track his fall through the air and spot a gap between his hammer and his bulk that you can fit your head through. Moving quickly and taking a flying leap, you slip through that safe zone between his body and his hammer before both crash to the ground by using his thigh as a stepping stone to kick off and shoot away from him and behind his back, allowing yourself to float in the air as he strikes the earth and with his spin, drills through the ground. Luli shouts in surprise, but the wall Monu made between them and the battlefield stands firm and unbroken. Xuebai yips excitedly, losing enough composure to turn into a ghost light instead of a vaguely human shaped mist, but you can also hear her groan in disapointment when the dust clears and Shitoudachui is laying on his back, confused to where you have gone until he sees you smug smirk sparking through the clearing smoke and falling debris.

Snarling, his blood glowing with an unnatural red light, he pushes himself up and leaps into the air after you, spinning and rotating the head of his hammer to create a wind twister that is no where near strong enough to pull you in or even hold you in place. Still smiling, you roll to the side as he bows his head and a copy of his head made out of black smoke shoots out from his temple and goes roaring off into the sky, vanishing into the clouds as he, somehow baffled you've dodged him for a second time turns to gawk at you with his mouth gaping like a half wit. But that is not the opening you look for as he turns his back and uses the weight of his body and weapon to fall out of the way, you don't even bother unsheathing your claws as he crashes into a tree that shockingly does not break but instead bends up until the point it has been turned into an arc!

It only snaps like a twig when he bounds of it, breathing out black smoke that wraps around his hammer and animates the skeletons sticking out of it. Deathly Yin Qi. Just being in the area of that magic would be a danger for most cultivators. But you aren't most cultivators, and thrive in the "poison" he's coated his weapon with.

So, entirely unintimidated, you drop down to meet him head on, something he clearly wasn't expecting as he pulls his hammer to the side, and use his already bleeding shoulder as a sort of meaty shield as you set yourself on a collision course with him.
Cont

>>5948570

At the last moment, he swings up, skeletal hands clawing and grabbing at your fur as a wave of the essence of death and the dying surges out over you, and feels like any other wave of Qi that might waft up from the deeper pits of the catacombs. Avoiding the hammer behind the wave, is just as easily done as enduring it. You simply roll backwards and reposition yourself behind his back. His open, completely undefended and unarmored back.

His tanned skin is tougher than some armor, but your claws, with a light coating of destructive yin, slice through it just as easily as cutting through air. He gasps, eyes bulging, as rivulets of blood flood out of his back as the tips of your claws rend through his back and spine. But that isn't enough to cripple him, enraged, senseless with agony, he swings wildly around to try and clip you with the head of his hammer and the skeletons trying to pull themselves free of it. Dipping down, you avoid the wild strike, and drag your claws through the tendons of his ankle, nearly severing his foot from his leg as you drift under him and float up to kick him in the stomach with your back legs. And as strong as you are, and unprepared as he is, that double kick is enough to send him crashing to the earth with enough force to crater the ground.

You don't allow him the dignity to stand back up, creating a Dying Grudge Shield behind yourself and kicking off of it and using its recoil to launch yourself like a comment directly onto his stomach. He spits up blood and black bile, nearly being blasted in half from just that. With glassy eyes, he looks up at you, seemingly realizing only now that you're far stronger than you were when you battled Baoli Wuyawang and Heizhizhu Bāmóushā.

But to his credit as a demon, even doesn't beg to be let go or plead for mercy. He just snarls, gurgling on his own blood and harshly barks "Do your worst, brat"

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.

>Decide to be cruel and let him go, even healing him enough so he can limp back to hell, and face what awaits him there.

>Turn human, heft up his hammer and smash his head to pieces with it, before explaining the difference between a soft and hard style of martial arts, and how this day, Soft won by a landslide!

>Take him prisoner. Someone might have a use for his corpse, like Lei or Feiqing

>Force him to tell Luli what mistakes he made in his fight while you sit on his chest and draw out his execution

>Write in

>>5948573
>>Force him to tell Luli what mistakes he made in his fight while you sit on his chest and draw out his execution
That's right luli, you must understand...
cultivators must be...STRONG!

>>5948573
>Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.
He played a stupid game, and won a stupid prize.
But he seems to be facing the consequences of his actions head on, so giving him a quick death feels like a good parting gesture of respect to give him.
If nothing else, because he helped us give Luli a nice live demonstration.

>>5948573
>>Decide to be cruel and let him go, even healing him enough so he can limp back to hell, and face what awaits him there.

>>5948573
>Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.
Take his body of course, waste not want not.

>>5948573
Write-in
>Before I kill you. I have to question. Someone had to have put it in your head to fight me no doubt gadge my power. And I feel you lack the means to travel by yourself from hell to here.
Tell me, who was your co conspirers and I will give you a few options honorable death, you serve my good friend as a guard(spider friend) for 500 years Or your used as a training dummy for my disciples for 500 years.

I honestly wanna use him as a training dummy once our disciples are up to stuff.

> If answers allow options
> If he doesn't don't slit neck and have hell laugh at him

>>5948573
>Turn human, heft up his hammer and smash his head to pieces with it, before explaining the difference between a soft and hard style of martial arts, and how this day, Soft won by a landslide!

>>5948573
Supporting >>5948720

>>5948573
>Cut his throat
>Keep the corpse for usage later.

>>5948573
>Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.

No matter how good you get, you can still make mistakes.

>>5948573
>Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.
>But take his corpse with us

>>5948573
>Decide to be cruel and let him go, even healing him enough so he can limp back to hell, and face what awaits him there.

>>5948573
>Force him to tell Luli what mistakes he made in his fight while you sit on his chest and draw out his execution

>>5948573
>Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.

Ending the vote and tallying its result now.

Force him to tell Luli what mistakes he made in his fight while you sit on his chest and draw out his execution:2

Just cut his throat, and bitterly admit you shouldn't have been hit to Luli and tell her that overconfidence is an insidious killer.:6

Decide to be cruel and let him go, even healing him enough so he can limp back to hell, and face what awaits him there.:4

Before I kill you. I have to question. Someone had to have put it in your head to fight me no doubt gadge my power. And I feel you lack the means to travel by yourself from hell to here.:2

Turn human, heft up his hammer and smash his head to pieces with it, before explaining the difference between a soft and hard style of martial arts, and how this day, Soft won by a landslide!:1

Collect his corpse: 3

So You'll just cut his throat, and use the one hit you took in the fight as a lesson in the dangers in overconfidence, and since half of the votes to cut his throat include it, you'll collect his corpse as well

Update will arrive shortly

His last breath escapes from his sliced open through as a gurgling hiss, your unaltered claws alone being enough to part his skin and cut cleanly through his artery. It is an elegant cut, the blood that pours out of it coming in steady, burbling streams without spraying or splashing so violently as to be too gruesome for innocent eyes. You sit atop his chest for a few seconds more, observing as the what little life was left in his eyes drains out, leaving them as dull as clay chips as he maintains what dignity he has left and keeps his composure even as he rapidly bleeds out with his killer looking down on him with a look that might be similar to how a cat like you would watch a crippled mouse scrabble and squeal, struggling in its final moments to escape back to its hole.

And the moment the morbid beauty of his passing has...passed, a crushing sense of shame crashes into you like a landslide and turns your pleasant smile into a cringing grimace as you half yowl and half sigh in disappointment in yourself. Which is something you have rarely, if ever, experienced before and it is worse than sickness or having your tail yanked! You shouldn't have been hit even once by this braggard! But confidence made you underestimate just how quick-witted he was, and how honed his battle-instincts were. He probably used foresight, readying your movements prior to spitting out the grudges to calculate exactly what you were going to do. Should've expected that, considering how many scars he wore, clearly a mark of experience if he survived long enough for so many of them to heal enough to completely fade away.

The Ice wall crumbles apart as Monu guides Luli from behind it by her hand. At a glance, you mother can tell the reason for your sour look, but Luli is confused, since has no experience in battle and probably only sees it in the black and white of "winner" and "loser"

"Why does master look so bitter, even though she's won with barely a scratch on her without even having ruffled her fur?" You ask for your newest disciple, taking the words from her mouth speaking the question that is probably burning in her mind, judging from how her confused and kind of judging look turns into wide eyed shock as you turn to her "It is because of that! I was barely scratched! I should not have been hit, I should've flawlessly executed that wretch, butchered him gracefully, but instead, I got hit and the fight lasted longer than it should've"

"But, master, it still only lasted a matter of moments" Luli said, gasping and covering her eyes when she sees the horrific state of Shitoudachui beneath you, still spurting and oozing with blood as his dead empty eyes stare off into the sky "Does it really matter?"

Monu frowns, and Luli immediately realizes her mistake even if she doesn't understand why she is wrong to say that.
Cont

>>5950229

The whole fight did only last a couple of breathes, not even reaching a full minute, but it should've been over in the first clash, instead of lasting for three exchanges and a handful of well placed strikes. You were still swift, striking first to disable, then to kill, but that doesn't change the fact you were sloppy.

"I see you were raised without a sense of pride, child" Monu harshly answers, shaking her head "Cats like my daughter are born proud, and in a fight, that can be dangerous, and after it can be as debilitating as nerve attacking poison"

That poetic explanation just confuses poor Luli even more

"Over confidence is an insidious killer, the demon he mentioned, why he called me crow killer, lost his life to it. This devil shouldn't have landed a single blow upon me, but he did, because I was arrogant. A single wound can change the tides of battle, tch, even the course of history" You answer sharply, eyes dark as you glower at the corpse beneath you "It is a matter of pride, mostly, but even though it is my pride that was wounded the most, I only was hurt because I was certain I was fighting a brute I could end in one blow"

"You'll be amazed how easily wounded a warrior's pride can become, Your master is now swordsmen, but her direct disciple is one, she'll pout and sulk for days if she can't end a fight in a set number of paces and moves, a restriction she puts on herself due to how confident and proud she is of her sword skills" Monu answers much more kindly and gentle than she had before, eyes sweet and loving as she kneels down to Luli as you lap a bit of blood from your claw "And a warrior's pride is dwarfed by a cultivators, combine the two and you get a most crippling sickness of the mind"

"And while my life wasn't threatened, I still made a mistake due to being overconfident, and suffered for it. When you learn how to fight, burn this lesson and the memory of me" You say before stalling on the last bit as your pride as a teacher and proud and noble beast balk at what you're about to say, but you fight through, eyes almost watering as you force out the words "Flying through the forest with a yowl. Remember the fear you felt, and how silly I've must've looked"

"There's no need to force yourself to swallow your pride" Monu consoles sadly, patting you on the back as your face becomes stuck in a grimace

"Fight dirty if you must, use every advantage you have" You continue you through your teeth "And never forget, that what matters in the end is that you survive a fight, not if you won it gracefully or died honorably. Survival is of the fittest, the weak are prey to the strong however..."

You click your tongue and grin, overcoming the internal strife and struggle caused by using your own mistake as a lesson, wounding your pride a little more, with style and grace, and turn to Luli.
Cont

>>5950231


"The strong must also lead, and must also rule. That is the purpose of strength" You impart with a sagely nod, dignified and solemn like a mountain hermit. Luli's innocent eyes sparkle in wonder, overjoyed to be granted such wisdom.

"Hoho, the most important of your natural laws, hm?" Monu cackles, rubbing her chin as Luli is frozen with awe as she absorbs all the wisdom you've spoken, overwhelmed by receiving all of it at once. Xuebai leans over her curiously while Monu helps alleviate the wounding of your pride by loving running her hand through your silken fur. Eventually, Luli is able to grasp what you've told her and comprehend it.

"I..I think this foolish girl understands, being overconfident is dangerous since it can lead you to underestimate an opponent you can otherwise beat handily, like you did with that monster in the cultivation chamber" She says warily, like she's worried she'll answer wrong and be shouted at, which makes her relief and glee at seeing your proud smile all the sweeter

"And that's just in a fight, thinking you're untouchable and lowering your guard when you have too many enemies to count, is also dangerous" You answer happily, with an approving nod, before Monu adds with one finger raised

"Its true. An haughty ruler won't check his drink for poison, but a cunning one will, even if he has nothing to fear" Monu continues as you cackle and sneer

"Know the difference between caution and cowardice" You proudly command, lifting your head up high "And know that those who can't tell them apart will die like this bull-head did. He was certain he was my better, confident that he was stronger, and was proud enough to not beg for his life. While I can respect him for facing the consequences of his action head on, one should always know when its best to lie low or run away!"

Luli has a self assured look as she balls up her fists, and with a fire in her eyes, nods, accepting the wisdom of your ideals and beliefs without hesitation or complaining they don't make sense. Good. You expected as much from how easily she cut ties with her old sect. What she lacks in filial piety, she makes up for it with ambition and drive. And being unusually astute and clever and audacious and brazen! Especially for her age. The girl has one hell of a sturdy backbone and a blazing fire in her belly!

"You're catching on quickly and adapting just as swiftly, I knew you had the right qualities to be my disciple" You praise, which makes her beam with pride, her chest lifting up as she swells with pride "But this lesson won't be worth much until I teach you how to fight"

"Can we start today?" She asks boldly and excitedly. All three members of your family present, yourself included, laugh at this.
Cont

>>5950233

"When we arrive at our temple, for now, help Monu collect the demon's corpse and stuff it into my dimensional gourd" You laugh, flashing a gleaming grin of your own "You'll need to grow accustomed to sights like that fool's mangled remains if you're to be my student, Heh-Heh"

Luli winces, but diligently obeys your command

Corpse of a Bull headed demon aquired

However, while the rest of your trip back to your turf goes smoothly without anymore dipshit demons leaping out from bushes to pick a fight with you, there is a snag in your plans when you arrive at Fu's village.

It seems word has spread of your supreme talent and quality as a teacher, and the wisdom you've shown at the conclave and throughout the rest of your esteemed existence, has lead to...well a large number of applicants of all colors and stripes traveling to Fu's village to seek admittance to the Palace of natural laws. And while not all of them are human, but a majority are. From mundane martial artists, to former members of the Winter Blossoming sect and other cultivation schools, to members of Chuan's "royal" army, since it seems Lord Chuan was so emboldened by meeting you he's declared himself King in the time from when you last saw him. That occultist moves fast! And there's even Buddhists in the crowds clogging up the streets and waterways! And they're debating with suspicious looking people who you think are cultists and apostates of some kind, just from how creepily they dress. And there are beasts and "half" beasts to, some you vaguely recognize from Suiqi and others who've been escorted to your well defined territory by other sects, whose members have stuck around to observe the goings on in the village.

The only reason there is any order is because of Fu and Tiexingege, though Ju is "helping" marching around with her gang of youths and shouting at the more rambunctious travelers when they start fights. Which works since the moment she tells them she is Fu's little daughter, there laughter dies in their throats and they make themselves scarce before he can appear to make them regret even thinking to threaten his little sister.

"Its like something out of myth" Luli breathlessly admires as she looks around at all the magical beasts and peculiar faces walking amongst mortals, she said similar when she saw the "Boundary" that Jionghuagege made and Tiexingege's kids guard made up of towering, ancient trees

"I'm just so amazing legends spring up where ever I step, and I like to walk the streets of this city!" You boast, dressed in the regalia of a wild princess as you flip your hair elegantly, the crowd parting before you even though the streets are packed as densely as a barrel of salted fish!
Cont

>>5950234

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)

>Check to see how your students' "Anti ghost drills" are going, and declare who will join you in taking more of the catacombs as your kingdom.

>Pick out a few of your sect members to send on missions to bolster your sects reputation and wealth, now that you've thought up a few for them to take (leads to another vote)

>Introduce Luli to Ju and Yuyi and her kits, occupying her while you try to figure out what to do with this surge in hopefuls

>Tell Monu to track down her friend the ogress, since not knowing what she is up to, while she is technically still an "Ally" to your sect, is a recipe for disaster

>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)

>write in

>>5950236
>Make her comfy.
>Train Luli to fight.

>Give people finishing in the top 50% a basic exercise to test their aptitude for cultivation, Like Old crow cloak did with a qingong step.

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)
>Introduce Luli to Ju and Yuyi and her kits, occupying her while you try to figure out what to do with this surge in hopefuls
I want to tournament but we got a whole mess in the city rn we gotta sort (which we can sort with a tournament!) but we also wanna cover edge cases.

>>5950236
>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)
What could happen?

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)
>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)

>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)

My only concern is turning down folks purely on the basis they can't fight well when there's plenty of work that doesn't involve much fighting that're also pretty important.

>>5950517
Like gardening. Or knitting perfect scarves. Or weaving starlight. So many things other than kickpunching.

>>5950524
>>5950517
A heretic needs to be bold. If they don't dare even enter the tourny, then they dont deserve to enjoy a heretics life.

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)
>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition
Tournament arc!

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)
>Introduce Luli to Ju and Yuyi and her kits, occupying her while you try to figure out what to do with this surge in hopefuls

>>5950236
>>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)

>>5950236
>>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)
>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trounce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)
While a tournament probably isn't the best way to handle this crowd, it should be good enough. Gives Luli some much needed experience, and hopefully we can spot some people with actual talent to recruit too.

Also, you guys remember how the Crow King could steal memories by eating someone's eye? A technique that I assume we can learn by using his book? Well it occurred to me that we just so happen to have the eye of a certain dead sect head in our possession, who I am sure knew a bunch of dirt on other sects, including the Ling, but also likely had a lot of sect secrets. Maybe some hidden stashes of treasure too.
Not even necessarily saying we should use the eye for that, I'm sure we could use it for a bunch of other stuff, but I do want to spend some time learning Baoli-Wuyawang's techniques when we next get the opportunity.

>>5950607
>Also, you guys remember how the Crow King could steal memories by eating someone's eye? A technique that I assume we can learn by using his book?
Great find, anon! I think we should do that.

>>5950675
I looked into this because I was curious and found this:
>"Simple, we crows listen to the dead. When we swallow their eyes, we see the last things they saw in life.
So... forget what I said, it wouldn't work the way I though it would.
Still useful and we should learn it, but yeah Laohue's eye is not gonna tell us much.

>>5950680
Aw damn
Let's give it to Qiang then

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)

>This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trouce the competition! (Training Trial DC variable. Elite Teacher Bonus applies)
I suggest tournament starts in a month for few months.

>One each for alchemy, martial arts, formations, scholarly, and luck.

You might think that scholarly is odd but we can't have owl boy do all the admin. And luck is... Just as important as talent.

>>5950680
> Eat eye
> That is one fine empress of beasts

>>5950236
>Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else (Can be taken with other options)
>Pick out a few of your sect members to send on missions to bolster your sects reputation and wealth, now that you've thought up a few for them to take (leads to another vote)
Did we ever use that map of Chuan that we got ages ago? If not, it would be useful to divide up some of the interest points

>>5950776
I fall in with this anon's suggestions, they're quite astute.

>>5950776
I am also in support of this if the figure out the surge of hopefuls vote fails

>>5950776
Supporting this as well. I also really like the idea of Huan turning into some flamboyantly crazy game master for the luck games. To separate the chaff from the wheat I suggest we do some Takeshi's castle style obstacle run first and start the proper games later.

Anons, did you think what to do with tbe beasts that fail the tournament? They have no other place to go.

>>5951717
Well now that beasts aren't seen as demons outright they probably have some shot at getting into an orthodox sect, but you're right. I think they'll probably all get accepted as long as they're not outright personality disasters.

>>5951717
All beasts are ours, there is no reason for them to be dismissed.

So take them directly so they dont knock out some of the none beast contestabts.

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Ending and tallying the vote now.

Introduce Luli to the rest of your disciples and make sure she's comfortable in her new home, before doing anything else :10

Introduce Luli to Ju and Yuyi and her kits, occupying her while you try to figure out what to do with this surge in hopefuls:1

This is a perfect chance to teach Luli how to fight! Declare publicly that a tournament will be held to decide who is worthy to join the palace of natural laws in its first recruitment drive, and then personally train Luli to prepare her to trounce the competition!:10
-Give people finishing in the top 50% a basic exercise to test their aptitude for cultivation:1
-One each for alchemy, martial arts, formations, scholarly, and luck.:4

Pick out a few of your sect members to send on missions to bolster your sects reputation and wealth, now that you've thought up a few for them to take:1

So You'll introduce Luli to her new martial brothers and sisters and make sure she's comfortable, before deciding the influx of applicants is perfect for training her how to fight, and will announce the Palace of natural laws first Tournament and recruitment drive, while you personally train Luli to prepare her to crush the competition

And the specifics of the tournament will be decided after you make the announcement

Update will arrive shortly

"Mother, go ahead and gather all of the members of the sect who are present at the temple grounds today, we'll drag Renshu and Ruolan from their workshops later, and introduce Luli to Yujijiao and anyone else away on training or business" You command with utmost dignity and refinement, brushing your hair away as you give your orders to Monu, who was busy enjoying and relishing in the attention the both of you were receiving "And don't make her welcome to opulent, just enough for our new disciple to meet seniors and peers, it has been a long journey for her, and she must be exhausted"

"Oh surely she must be" Monu tittered, covering her mouth as you followed where her eyes glanced and saw Luli buying sweets from one of the local street vendors, who noticed she was trailing behind you like an obedient kitten and was giving her treats practically for free, and somehow she'd managed to find one of those mask styled after your gorgeous feline face with the few moments you'd taken yours eyes off of her

"She will be soon, once the excitement of being in a strange new place passes" You say with a casual shrug, and stride over to the vendor, who immediately starts choking and stumbling over their tongue as they recognize you immediately and are so overwhelmed it takes them a few moments to realize you want some of their candies as well, as you pull Luli to your side protectively "I'll keep watch over her, so you and elder sister go ahead, okay?"

"Don't rot your teeth out" Xuebai snickers as she weaves through the street, chilling the thighs and hands of every unwary passerby she brushes past.

"There's spiritual energy in this candy!" Luli exclaimed excitedly, holding up one of the solid, see through gold balls up to her eye, and you smile and gently take it from her, holding out your hand and find that, indeed, there is a minute amount of Qi within the sweet. Jionghuagege must've been feeling generous, or the candymaker had a tongue and personality as sweet as their confections.

"Divine blood honey" You chirp happily, rolling the sweet in your hand before dropping it back in Luli's own, much to her surprise "Not enough to be of any use for cultivation, but enough to give you more than a sugar rush"

"I heard those old ghosts talking about that" Luli pouts as she pops the sweet in her mouth with a grumpy look "You gave the thousand lotus hall some of it, didn't you master"

"My little sister is the only one in the world who can make it" You snicker as you fish around in the cotton bag filled with the most expensive and luxurious looking sweets the vendor had on hand and grab one at random to suck on. One benefit of having a human form, is its ability to taste sweetness.

And not even a minute since Monu has left, who comes marching down the street, clearing the crowds but Fu and the Geges, in their human form.
Cont

>>5951991
Luli grabs hold of your sleeve, her face paling as she spots the honestly rather striking and intimidating figure of Fu dressed in his full armor minus his skull shaped helmet with a cape made of crow feathers billowing behind him. That his bandages aren't drawn as tight over his mangled face, must only make him look all the more frightening to the little girl.

"Yo, Fu!" You call out, throwing a tangerine sized candy his way, his eyes widening as he drops one axe on reflex and catches it just before it hits his face "Come sit down by me and your newest Shimei, no reason for you to exhaust yourself patroling like a guard dog, no one in Chuan is stupid enough to cause trouble while I'm in town"

"Lady Huanliuxue" He says happily, expression soften as he cracks the hard candy in his fist and then licks the crystals from his fingers, while Tie-Tie glares at him jealously "I didn't know you'd returned from your trip, you took longer than was expected, I assume she is why"


"Two axe fu!" Luli gasps, color returning to her face as she recognizes who is standing before her in scary, black armor as Fu strides over and crouches down on the other side of the bench you've taken as your own

"That is what folks call me, yes" He chuckles, as he rest his axes on their sides, leaning them against his legs as Tiexingege stomps up, only a little taller than Luli herself.

"Green hair" She mutters, as if that is somehow offensive "How weird, who are you? Why'd you pick up this runt, Red Fur"

Your happy eyes narrow into icy slits as Tiexingege puffs out her chest, scowling as her partially metallic hair sparkles in the sun, tied into two neat ponytails, making her look nearly as childish as the two buns Luli's hair is tied into do for the other girl.

"Tie-Tie, don't be a bully" Jionghuagege scolds before you can put the smaller of the two Gege's in a headlock until she apologizes to Luli "Forgive her, she doesn't know any other way to meet people besides this, she's always sizing others up and picking fights"

"I do to!" Tie Tie shouts, stomping her foot as Jionghuagege titters and gracefully sashays to sit on the other side of Luli "Most people aren't worthy of my kindness, unlike you, Red Fur and Two Axes!"

"If you must know, its because little Luli here has great potential, a rare bloodline, and I'm personally fond of her" You snicker, as you pat the stunned girl on top of her head "Luli, these are the Geges, the short, loud one is Tiexingege"

"HEY!"

"and the tall, elegant one is Jionghuagege, I think the two of you will get along, and stop gnashing your teeth, or I won't share any of my candy with you, Tietie" You explain with a spritely smirk, shaking the bag of treats in front of the ant princess teasingly as Fu chuckles at the frustration and conflict in her expression.
Cont

>>5951993

"You smell like spring flowers" Jiong-Jiong cheerfully exclaims, clapping her hands together as she looks down at the dumbstruck Luli, who can't decide if she should keep an eye on Tiexingege or talk with the silver haired old sister who just sat behind her "You must have an affinity with them, like I do, am I right?"

"Y...you are" She says meekly, blushing at being praised as she sucks on the candy in cheek "You also smell very lovely as well, Senior sister"

"She does spend most of her time inside of flowers, which might be more effective than dousing yourself in expensive perfume" Fu says, breaking into the conversation with a loud crunch as he bites down on the largest piece of the candy left after he reduced most of it to a fine, sugary powder "She and The midget are both Magical beasts. She just prefers to spend her time with two legs, is all. She likes people"

"Thank you, Sir Fu" Jiong-Jiong happily replies, giving a delicate, ladylike bow of her head as Tie-Tie seethes "For saving me from having to explain something so difficult on my own"

"Midget? I'll gnaw your legs off scar face!" Tie-Tie shouts, Fu moves like a flash for his axes

"Not. Around. The. Kid!" You shout, barking each word as you catch Tie-Tie with your leg and push Fu's head to the ground "If you have to fight, save it for our temple. It's unbecoming to start brawls in the middle of the street"

"Yesh, Red Fur" Tie-Tie groans, clutching her stomach and looking green around her cheeks, while Fu just grunts and lifts himself off the ground, brushing pieces of stone and dust off his face. After meting out some discipline, no one else causes any trouble, and just like you expected, Jionghuagege quickly becomes fond of Luli, which makes Tiexingege jealous, which isn't helped by Fu's big brother side coming out as he pampers the green haired girl, since Fu just existing has the unfortunate side effect of pissing off Tie-Tie more often than not. Though once she hears that Luli doesn't know how to fight or defend herself, she stops being so prickly and even apologizes for calling her a runt earlier.

Luli has an easy time hiking to the temple, since Tie-Tie called her daughter Three from her guard duty to carry her most of the way there, since she is too proud to be ridden herself. She marches up ahead with Fu, with the excuse they're scouting ahead but its obvious the two of them just want to spar and pick up where they left off before you slammed them both to the ground. Leaving you, Luli and Jionghuagege, who is listening very intently to Luli's story of how she met you, only interrupting when its polite to or when the little girl expects a reaction to something.

Half way to the mountain, you run into a few more of your disciples.

Namely Qiang, Feiqing, Ping, Lei, Huili, Chuandapo and a few nobody outer disciples.
Cont

>>5951995

"Not her daughter" is how Qiang introduces herself, waving her hands as Luli opens her mouth to greet her seniors, still atop the back of giant black iron army ant. Feiqing is wearing one of Lei's masks and a heavy robe, clearly not wanting to spook the newest addition to the palace's membership with his very unfortunate looks.

"Feiqing, primary craftsman and blacksmith of the palace of natural laws" He introduces himself with cupped fist and a bow "Sworn brother to Cursed arm Ping and Silent Lei"

"Ping, exorcist and the one who keeps the ghosts in check when Lady Huanliuxue is not present" Ping introduces himself in much of the same way "Sworn brother to Steel fist Feiqing, Demon Eater Lei, and Qinxin, who is not present"

Lei lifts up his mask and waves, Luli screws her face and looks to you for answers

"His tongue was plucked out, he's a weirdo and a true demonic cultivator" You explain blithely and add "But he's harmless" when Lulil shivers at the last part of his introduction "And Qiang, please, introduce yourself better"

"Quick draw Qiang" She mumbles lazily, head hanging in embarrassment as Siwang struts forward, in his human form and swings up his arm dramatically

"Wusheng Siwang! Fourth Ascended Beast to achieve human form!" He shouts proudly, eyes closed as he presents himself, making Luli giggle as Huili rolls his eyes and Chuandapo yawn "I am most humbled to meet your acquaintance, heiress of the Lian clan! I met your sister, the noble head of your family. Geniality must run in your blood, but I am certain you will flourish and thrive here more than you would have in your previous accommodations, Junior sister"

"And I" one of the disciples you didn't recognize steps forward in an all too familiar swagger, and your eyes open a little more with interest "Am the fifth beast to take on a human form, Yinying, first and most honorable guard of our princess' person"

"Oh~" You purr, eyes gleaming as he throws back his hood and reveals a dusky, youthful and regally long face with sharp yet sad eyes, refined thin cheeks, pointed ears just like you, the geges and Siwang, whom he is taller than, though he is shorter than you and Jionghuagege in human form. His hair is oiled like his coat, and retains its marsh green color molted with lighter creamier green like the spots of a cheetah

"Oh I'm so happy for you, Sir Yinying!" Jionghuagege cheers happily as Luli breathlessly stares at the increasingly flustered Qiang, who like Fu, she must be a fan of her like she was with Fu. You smile smugly Yinying's way. It must've been jealousy that sparked his second awaking, but you won't shame so loyal a servant openly so you don't say anything as you look his way with a smug expression. He turns away, cheeks darkening as you stare amusedly at him.

"Master only raises lion students, I knew I made the right choice in teachers!" Luli exclaims, praising all who are present before Huili decides to introduce himself
Cont

>>5951996

"Ashen Gale, Huili. You must be worthy of wearing our colors if Huan picked you personally, she doesn't take in any stray she comes across" He declares vainly, circling around Huili and Three, who stands her ground defiantly "And what's with the hair? Is that in fashion for humans? Or is that a prerequisite for joining the unofficial fan club for our proud grandmaster?"

He snickers, and Yinying shoots him a smoldering glare but says nothing as Siwang waves a fan and clears the path ahead of fallen branches and leaves.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Senior" Luli huffs, pulling on a strand of her grassy hair as the wolf sneers at Yinying, and Luli herself looks pointedly at Chuandapo, urging her silently that its her turn to introduce herself. And Chuandapo might be sleeping with her eyes open.

"Oh, sorry, I was waiting to see if a fight was going to start" She says lazily "Him and eye will be sixth and seventh, make no mistake. I am Chuandapo, you seem like a good kid, don't burn yourself out taking life too seriously, okaaay?"

"Do not spread your character flaws and awful habits to the youth, Junior Sister Chuandapo!" Siwang shouts, adjusting the glasses you gifted him as a fashion statement "You might have improved as a student, but you are still indolent in your day to day life and free time"

"What's it matter to you?" Chuandapo drawls , lifting up her head "Stress is as bad as poison, you should try to be less uptight sometime, that face of yours is going to get all wrinkly if you only use it to grimace and scowl like that"

"Hah" Siwang huffs, dismissively waiving his fan while Lei mimes a snicker, and Ping pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Lian Luli, we were sent to escort you and the sect head directly to the temple" Feiqing speaks up, glancing to Siwang and Chuandapo, and Huili and Yinying disarmingly "And I for one, am very much happy to meet your acquaintance"

Luli bites her lip, cringing as she resist the urge to ask why he and Lei are wearing masks, looking worriedly at the four of your students who seem ready to start fighting, but you can tell they aren't, they're just getting on each others' nerves. Or you hope that's what they're doing, as you really don't want to give the impression to Luli you make a hobby out of beating your students.

Three leaves on the last leg of the journey, since Tiexingege and Fu need carrying, after their fight ended in a draw. You keep her at your side, while Yinying, who isn't used to wearing armor or walking as men do, insists on taking the front, which means Siwang and Huili also do and they form the wholely unnecessary vanguard on the later half of the trek to your once pristine mountain.
Cont

>>5951997

Luli isn't as affected as her sister was by the ghostly energy radiating from your home, but she does start dragging her feet and looking around fretfully and jumping at every shadow as it comes into view. You realize she's just nervous and scared like kids get when they're brought to a new place and surrounded by unfamiliar faces, even if most of them are kindly and smiling and telling her stories about how they came to join the sect she is now a part of.

But you know how to fix that, while she's scrapping the ground with her heels and trying to look small, nervously glancing around expecting to see a ghost or wild spirit, you hold you hand out to her and smile warmly at her. She grabs onto it tightly, and doesn't let go as you lead her through the hidden entrance and cliffside path to the gate of your temple.

The entrance in the cliffside, with the hallway leading to the spiraling staircase lit by false ghost lights and a few real ones, makes her hold your hand even tighter and press herself as close as she dares to yourside, nearly hiding under your dress, much to the amusement of Huili. Qiang, at that point, grabs her other hand and practically wilts when she is called big sister by the trembling little girl.

But, when she is greeted by bright, warm lantern light and lively music instead of a dour graveyard scene, since Monu decided to throw a party despite you ordering the exact opposite, her demeanor turns around and she relaxes as you introduce her to the sect members who were drafted to help Monu set up the festivities.

The one horned Meiwei Zhurou, whose name makes Luli giggle though you stop her before she can explain why since that truth would crush the proud pig, looks her up and down and all around and declares "She is off fine breeding and proper rearing, as is expected of a scion of the renowned Lian family, a welcome addition to our most elegant of temples, mhh yes"

"There's something wrong in her blood, are you sick, Luli? Ribbit, ribbit" Canlan Yuanquan questions, as Luli scratches her arms along the fading bruises her experiments with growing mushrooms using her own flesh as a seed bed seem to recolor and darken just from being near the tender heart frog. You realize immediately it is the remnants of the spores she used to grow them in her veins reacting to the purifying aura Yuanquan's body emits, which is causing irritation. You have to wonder what having your blood itch feels like, can't be a nice feeling at all.

"No, just tired" Luli says quickly, closing her eyes and focusing to try and resist the purifying aura, and seemingly succeeds since she stops clawing at her arm

"Oh she is just adorable! Like a little spring fairy!" Lanfen exclaims, ruffling Luli's hair and tugging on her ear, turning the little girl bashful as she is dotted on by another of her heros
Cont

>>5951998

"I wish I could see her, all I'm picturing is Fu's little sister but cuter" Hong laughs, and receives a glower from Fu for his off hand remark. Luli looks like she wants to say something to Hong, but holds her tongue and stops herself. She was probably going to ask if she could try to heal his eyes, then became too shy to ask, since she just met him

"We seniors will be happy to help you with any issues you have" Liu says kindly, as he kneels by Luli on the other side than Lanfen

"This junior greatly appreciates the offer for assistance" She says, in a very practiced manner, cupping her hand and bowing deeply

"Just stick with me kid, and no one will dare to mess with ya! You can call me big Sis Houmogui!" Houmogui declares brashly as she hangs from the ceiling while Jiangliehuo sniffs around her and scratches the floor

"Seems weak, seems weak, need to toughen her up!" The river bastard barks, nodding almost sagely as he storms off "Hou, Hou! Come fight me! Want ta fight!"

"No ya idiot! you'll frighten Luli!" Houmougui shouts, making an excuse to not fight with the rowdy otter

"There are delinquents in this school" Luli mutters as she rests against the side of the serenely natured Senlin Zheren

"Houmogui is a good girl, she just likes to act more thuggish. Jiangliehuo is as brutish as you've seen" he says plainly "But you have nothing to fear from the vampire bat or river otter, neither of them would bully the weak...probably"

"Houmougui is mostly hot air" Qinxin states, swirling a cup of wine "And Shimei, this senior also fled his previous sect for failing him. I've...heard the grand elder speak loudly of what abuses you faced. This senior is most apologetic for the hardships you faced"

"Senior is most kind" Luli says, mostly because she's been taught to respond like that, though she has a dark and bitter look on her face as she says it, just from being made to remember what her elders had planned for her future.

"You seem sickly" Baifenchi whispers , fluttering her wings, which Jionghuagege responds to by flapping her own, communicating in someway only insects can understand, and the death obsessed mouth "pouts" "I'm sure it will pass, adversity breeds strength"

You have a good guess what the moth was going to say to Luli

"Oh its like having a little sister!" Mao Yue shouts as she nearly smothers the poor girl in a hug "Hey, Hey, Niu, we should take her down to play with Yuyi's kids! Think she'll sprout cute ears to one day"

"Yue, do not bother the girl with pointless things, she'll be busy training, too busy to play with younger children" Niu says tiredly, already ruddy cheek from drinking wine while Bo laughs and slaps her back, nearly sending her sprawling to the ground from the unexpected contact
Cont

>>5951999

"Oh, its fine! Kids are supposed to be care free, even if most of the one's here are real serious like" He bellows, laughing as Siwang and Yinying argue over something on the other side of the courtyard, near the band of ghosts someone convinced to possess the instruments to provide music to accompany the meal

"I don't know, bright heart and the grand elder were talking about her needing to work hard, something her old sect did to her" Wang Wengcheng mutters "And look at how intelligent her eyes are, she might have a dark history, as her role models, we'll need to help guide her and make sure she isn't overwhelmed by the precedent set by the stars of the sect"

"I think those two are drinking too much, do you have hangover medicine in stock, master?" Luli asks as you look around the festivities and notice one of the students is missing. The proudest of them, Youzaiwang.

"I'll go check" You say, mirthlessly as you rise and sneak out of the party, casting off your finery to turn into your feline form as you seek out the tiger, and find him sulking in one of the gardens atop the mountain, beneath the moonlight.

"Let me guess, you're sulking because Yinying attained his human form before you did?" You ask, as you swagger up to the silver furred tiger, who doesn't lift his head from the ground, just shifts his eyes

"Is it so obvious?" He pouts, rumbling in his chest as you plod up to him and look down at him "I do not like being upstaged, but he is the second housecat to surpass me, even if only momentarily, it has wounded my pride"

"Your pride is no excuse to miss meeting your newest martial sibling with the rest of the sect" You scold as he huffs haughtily and rises

"I would not present myself in such a state" He argues "But I have conquered myself, and have a plan to become the sixth of us beasts to walk as men do, tell me of this new member, while we walk...master"

"Tch, you have some tough competition in Huili and Chuandapo" You chuckle as you walk with the tiger back down into the courtyard of your underground retreat "And she's a human girl, blessed and cursed with a bloodline, she has a timer on her life unless she abandons her cultivation or is unable to reach nascent soul"

"That sounds like she'll have more reason to excel than most" He remarks "Perhaps she will impress me when she grows older, I have little patience for little kids, especially ones born without claws. Human cubs are soft and doughy"

"She'll surprise you, and might even make you more humble than Yinying did" You snicker at the tiger who lifts up his head proudly "She is a bold child, and ambitious"

"Hmm, maybe I'll be more fond of her than I imagined, if you speak so highly of her" He answers, allowing himself to laugh with you, awkwardly, as he is unused to laughing at all "Such high acclaim coming from you master, is as valuable as jade"
Cont

>>5952000

And once Youzaiwang had a chance to talk with Luli, it turns out her is fonder of her than most humans, being most impressed by how easily she changed masters and abandoned her old sect for the better choice of teacher and environment. In fact, Luli might be the disciple that Youzaiwang likes the most, once he sees just how determined and audacious she can be. Or maybe because she is just as ambitious as he is.

In fact the two of them talk well into the night, and Youzaiwang even offers to help her to her quarters when her eyes start to flutter and get heavy. You've never seen the Proud "King" act so nicely, its a little unsettling. Though as the welcome party starts to quiet and end, you have an idea as you look out from the top of your mountain, with Yinying and Siwang acting as your "guards" as the two of them debate and a familiar weasel's voice cries out in pain from deep, deep below your temple, bringing a cruel smile to your lips

You can just make out the lights of Fu's village, which is shining much more brightly this night, due to all those who traveled their in the hope to catch your attention.

Throwing one knee over the other, leaning against the jug of miraculous spring water you brought here to clear the wine fumes from your head, you throw out your arms, dressed in one of your underworld dresses and declare

"Lets throw a tournament!"

Siwang and Yinying both stop their arguing and stare at you

"Eh?" they both gasp as you hop to your feet, cross your arms and stride towards the lights, grinning manically

"lets throw a tournament" You repeat with a nod as both of them exchange glances, mouths agape with shock "and have a recruitment drive with the victors, that's a good trial by fire to teach Luli how to fight"

"There is a lot of planning for even a small tournament" Siwang begins before Yinying snorts

"Are your questioning our lady?" He darkly questions before Siwang claps his hands loudly, since he can't snap his beak like he usually does

"I am not, master is wise, master is of sagely mind and towering intellect. but for a proper tournament, preparations are required" Siwang explains rapidly as if you will change your wind "Brackets must be established, conditions set, the contests must be decided as are the requisites for application. There are rogue cultivators, common martial artists, and normal people wishing to enter our immortal abode, you cannot simply have them all compete in one section, they need to be separated out, there must different sets for fairness. Separate ladders for them all to climb, without the weak being stomped down by those who are already strong"

"Do you think her so ignorant. Huanliuxue must have all this planned out already. Of course it wouldn't be a free for all brawl" Yinying shouts, offended on your behalf, though that does sound amusing
Cont

>>5952002

"I'll make the declaration tomorrow. Those who will put their names in the ring and register, will take time to train and prepare themselves for the tournament" You declare, shouting your will as you lift up your chin imperiously "I wasn't going to start it tomorrow, the moment the sun rises. Besides, I need to time to train Luli, so she can crush the competition, Heh-Heh. We'll work out the finer details after I started her training and got all the other challengers excited and pumped up, Heh-Heh"

"as you wish" Yinying states, pounding his fist into his open palm

"Why do I feel like this poor owl will be the one to whom all of the boring, tiresome paper work is hoisted upon" Siwang wails mournfully, while you work out a training plan for Luli to start the moment she rises from her bed in the morning.

Roll 2d100. Best out of Five

Rolled 75, 52 = 127 (2d100)

>>5952004
This will be our finest training, BEHOLD the mighty DOUBLE HUNDO

Rolled 7, 12 = 19 (2d100)

>>5952004

Rolled 83, 5 = 88 (2d100)

>>5952004
The BEST training we can give!

>>5952058
Well, at least that roll won't affect our training

>>5952004

Rolled 18, 26 = 44 (2d100)

>>5952088

A double hundo it may not have been, but I am starting to feel very thankful for it nonetheless kek

Rolled 25, 5 = 30 (2d100)

>>5952004
If she loses, we can use this being her first time fighting I guess

>>5952039
Amazing success. Update will arrive shortly

You sit atop the tallest of the split peaks of your mountain, meditating and waiting for the sun to rise and Luli to wake up, enjoying the cool morning air and the quiet and the dark. All of which gradually gives way to its opposite, the coolness slowly being replaced with resplendent warmth, the quiet with birdsong and chirping insects and the dark with sunlight. Far below you can see the workers of your sect heading to the fields, their songs carrying up into the skies and to your ears as you rise up and stretch out. Deciding it'd be best to train Luli to fight like a human, since she can't just pop claws out of her hands or grow fangs, you change your form, take a quick dip in a nearby pond that's almost as cold as the air within the catacombs and dress in one of the spare robes you keep in your dimensional gourd. And wait. and wait, but it still takes some time for Luli to wake up and be brought to you, so you fit in some Guqin practice and play ghost empress melody, training with the magical tool and seeing what happens when you use Moon Collapse as a pick to strum it or strike cords on it. The results are exciting as they are devastating on your surroundings, but with a few experimental songs, the explosions of sound clear a flat ground that'll be perfect for training Luli in.

The first day of her training, she arrives, being carried by Fu by the back of her robe's collar like a napping kitten, a robe she wears loosely and messily, having been to tired to dress herself properly, with her green hair looking like over grown grass, so messy the straw hued parts of it are entirely hidden by the mass of green locks and curls. Fu sets her down and then cups his fist and walks to the edge of the flat plane of dirt, leaning against a tree and either standing on guard, waiting around to observe Luli's initial clumsy stance and form, or to take a nap as Luli sits down, head bobbing up and down as she fights to stay awake. You wait for her to wake up completely, for awhile, before growing impatient and waking her up with a loud, shrieking cord of ghost empress melody.

"Yie!" She yips, almost crying out as loud as your magic instrument, hopping to her feet and looking around wildly "Master! Where am I? Why is it so hard to breathe"

"We're at the highest peak of the mountain above thetemple" you say sweetly, prancing over to her, Hanging ghost empress melody from your hand by hooking a nail between its strings "And you're struggling to breathe because the air is thinner up here, but the Qi is denser and purer, perfect conditions to toughen up your body, increase your stamina and improve your cultivation, all at the same time"

Luli's stares at you pitiably, blinking slowly as she huffs and puffs, her face drooping into a despairing look as Fu chuckles.
Cont

>>5952161

"You should count yourself lucky, the first time I trained with her, she used me as a training dummy to practice her spells on" He says amused, keeping a close eye on Luli as she staggers and wobbles, either from tiredness or the altitude "Your body will adjust in time, but the strain is part of the process, is that right, Lady Huanliuxue"

You snap your fingers and gesture towards your first disciple "Precisely! You speak what I think, Fu!" You declare proudly as you toss Ghost Empress Melody into the air and leaving it levitating above the clearing you made with it as you stride up to Luli, who looks amazed at how easily you and Fu are moving around in air so thin.

"If its too much, we can start you off with basic strength training and stamina building exercises" You say as a look of dread flashes across Luli's face "Separate the physical refinement part of your training from the martial arts lessons"

"No, No I can...I can find a way to endure!" Luli shouts, voice shrill and defiant as she pats her sides searching for a medicine pouch or something, and grimaces when she can't find whatever she's looking for "To, to over come this"

"Your breathing to fast, you're going to faint if you don't calm down" You gently tease, stepping around behind her to catch her if she does. She closes her eyes and practices her breathing exercises while standing, remembering her lessons and the way you taught her to change her way of breathing, pacing it and slowing it down, drawing in more oxygen with each breath instead of sucking in nearly worthless air in big gulps like a fish tossed onto the shore. She blinks and looks amazed as she stares down at her hands and gradually stops wobbling around like a reed in the wind.

"Impressive" Fu praises with a subtle nod "You learned how to tolerate thin air, breathing exercises are useful for things besides gathering and absorbing Qi"

"That feels so much better" She sighs, slouching forward as you smile and give her a reward in the form of a soft pat on her head, which she doesn't even try to bat away, her hair and eyes looking a more vibrant and healthy shade of green as you step around her again and plop down in front of her, holding yourself up on the palms of your hands as you lean back and playfully kick your legs

"Master, what are you doing?" She questions while Fu, who has long since grown accustomed to your whimsical nature, stands stoic and grim

"Take a fighting stance" You state, flipping around and laying on your belly, holding your head in your hands as you rock it back and forth. Luli frowns and looks to Fu beseechingly. Fu just turns away. Slowly, nervously, Luli spreads her legs apart and lifts up her hands in trembling fists.

"Awful" You cackle as you flip back onto your feet, and flick her head just enough to bother her "But that's to be expected, and the stance you took reveals a lot about your instincts, see"

You grab her arms, which she kept close to her chest
Cont

>>5952162

"You held your arms nearly flat against your torso, expecting to be hit you raised your guard. The position of your legs isn't stable, and your center of mass is high" You explain as you grab her arms, push one of her legs with a foot, and press her back and nearly topple her over with just a brush of your hand, demonstrating all three in one smooth sequence of motions "This is the stance of someone who doesn't want to, or is afraid to fight, who'd rather run away. Someone who has no experience blooding their knuckles and has no idea what to do with themselves in a fight"

Luli pouts, brow furrowed, cheeks flushing red, eyes focused on the ground

"Try throwing a punch" You order, tapping a finger on the tip of your nose "At me, aim right here"

She clenches a fist, steps forward, putting all her weight and might behind the punch. You just lean and allow her soft hand to brush against your cheek harmlessly and catch her as she leans to far and falls.

"To slow, you hesitated, you didn't want to hit me and thought to much about it" You explain bluntly "Try again, harder, faster"

She clenches her teeth and swings her arm around, using it to strike instead of her fist.

You grab her by the wrist and spin her around you, leaving her dazed, blinking in confusion as to what happened

"Good, you realized your first approach wasn't working, tried something new, used a stronger bone" You snicker, ruffling her hair as she frowns, brow creasing in frustration

"What is this supposed to teach me master? I already know I can't...don't know how to fight, yet" She says angrily, more at herself than you treating her like a plaything "What purpose does is there is showing me that I know nothing"

"Exactly that. That you know nothing, that you're a clean slate as far as technique and style goes, absolutely no martial ability. Just instinct, reflex and gut feeling, nothing else. And that is perfect! No bad habits! No worthless teachings to unlearn!" You shout excitedly, grinning ear to ear "The best case scenario! Like a blank scroll with nothing written on it, waiting to be dabbed and dotted with Ink"

She bows

"Forgive this ignorant girl for not having eyes to see your wisdom, Master" She says weakly, clearly expecting to be reprimanded, but you just keep smiling

"Don't put yourself down, even orthodox masters struggle to grasp my methodology" You boast, ruffling her hair some more, since it has a really nice texture and is really fun "Though, if you felt ashamed for not understanding it, unfortunately you're going to suffer much more embarrassment. Since the initial stage of your martial path and training up your body, is figuring out exactly what sort of fighting style fits you instinctively. Your body will adapt to your exercises, so unlike an older pupil, you can grow into pretty much any martial art without issue but, well, for best results, the one you pick you have to stick with as a foundation"
Cont

>>5952163

"Like growing a fruit to fit a container, directing the growth of branches by nipping buds, and shaping a tree over the years" She says, understanding immediately what you're trying to explain to her. What a fantastic student she is!

"Exactly. So for the first week or so of your training, we'll test your body's physical limits, destroy your mental limits and see where your instincts will lead you" You explain, nodding as you hop back from her and throw out your arms "So give everything you have and throw it at me"

It doesn't take long for her to completely exhaust and tire herself out from throwing punches, haymakers and swinging her arms up and down in a vain attempt to hit you as you hold her at bay with a hand atop her scalp. But it does give you a good idea of what sort of instincts she was born with and just how limited her physical capabilities are, and what bad behaviors will need to be immediately pruned before they become habit and stunt her martial prowess. But before you can do that, she needs to refine and strengthen her body.

So, even though it'll cause you emotional turmoil and pain, you'll give her more chores than she'd be given and hard labor at least for a little girl just to make her gain strength and stamina quickly, since currently her pools of both are nonexistent and she has as many muscles as a pampered princess. So she'll exercise during the day and train with you in the afternoon, allowing her muscles time to recover and grow and her body to rest, while still having time for her to improve her other vital skills. Smiling, you nod to Fu. He picks Luli up as she weakly tries to squirm away

"Are we finished already, we barely did anything?" She complains as you stand, hands behind your back, smiling "I can still train! I'm not so weak! Please, give me a chance! I'll train from sunrise to sunset"

While that is a romantic ideal, her body is still mostly mortal and she'll do more damage working herself to the bone than not.

Luli improves slightly each day of training, but due to her diligence and drive, she progress much quicker than any other girl her age would, pushing her body to its limits and not complaining about any of the work or training you give her. And quickly it becomes apparent just how malleable she is, at this stage of her life, and how quickly she can learn when she's pressed. Sure, having an incredible and elite teacher like yourself is one reason, but she is devoting herself to her training to a degree that puts to shame some of her seniors! Who are your own students. And that is because of what you saw in her when she declared she'd be your student. Determination. Which in a listless world, is a treasure more valuable than any other.

And like her trick with turning mushrooms into living puppets by feeding them her life energy and Qi showed, she is also creative and shockingly inventive when it comes to problem solving and dealing with obstacles in her way.
Cont

>>5952164

When she's too weak to lift a sword, she redirects the internal energy in harms to give her muscles a temporary boost. When she's out of energy, she uses the trick you taught her to improve her Qi absorption rate and replaces it by drawing on the life of the plants she touches. You still stop her from overdoing it and over exerting herself, and begin making her walk as far as she can up the mountains to train as far as she can climb, but every day she learns and improves at a rapid pace, both because you're the one teaching her and she has an insane amount of resolve to learn and better herself. She really is an amazing kid!

She even extends the training sessions by healing herself with the few spells she knows and pills she's made in her free time, though you don't allow her to practice with you as long as she'd like, since doing that will eventually put more strain on her body than she can bear safely or recover from.

But now she's strong enough to beat up boys a few years her elder, and when you sneak Ju out of the city to be her sparring partner, they fight almost on equal ground despite Luli being younger and shorter than Fu's little sister. And her delicate, doll like limbs are quickly growing taught and sturdy with new muscle, as her cotton soft hands toughen up and gain more than a few bruises since she puts herself through a rigorous hand strengthening exercise and since she knows how to heal and mend wounds, she doesn't stop if she breaks a finger or two and instead only pauses long enough to set the bone and start it healing.

Luli might be a bit crazy, but genius and madness are hard to distinguish at times. And it takes no time at all for you to feel safe letting Luli walk around Fu's city by herself. You even test this by having Renshu pretend to kidnap her, which is also how you introduce her to him and Ruolan, since they've arrived to officially become cultivators not long after you started putting up posters and signs advertising the tournament and its rewards.

And that is when you learn, Luli has a stronger kick than her punch, despite most of her training thus far being centered around getting better at throwing punches. And you learn that Carmine mystics are still weak to getting a little girl's foot slammed directly between their testicle with enough force to break a wooden board. Ruolan thinks its funny, you think its funny, Renshu certainly does not find it so amusing.

Though once he's stopped squirming on the ground, both of your carmine descendants grow attached to Luli, since all three of them share a strong and common interest in alchemy. Though as you look at them chatter, you can't help but wonder if Tianhua will recognize her little sister with how much she's changed, appearance wise, in so short a time. All the time spent training and working beneath the sun has given her a bit of a tan and a few freckles, though she is still an adorable little fairy, just one who looks a little sunbaked now
Cont

>>5952165

Lian Luli excels and quickly adapts to the training regimen and can be taught to fight in any style you know, or be trained to fight in one created specially for her! +20 to your next training/ cultivation roll. Total bonus +551

triple vote!

Now that Luli is stronger and knows the basics of how to fight, what do you focus her training on

>Ferocity

>Speed

>Stealth

>Endurance

>Grace

>A different core focus (Write in)


And what style do you teach her

>Teaching her your ghostly feline martial arts. She is your student, so its only fitting

>Teaching her a mundane martial art, to serve as a foundation she can adapt and personalize

>Use her talent with alchemy, raising and using mushrooms and Monu and your own knowledge of poisons to turn her into a poisoner!

>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind

>She can fight, and she's strong for her age and build now. But her instinct is still to keep danger at an arm's length, so get her a spear and whip to train with

>Something else to serve as the foundation of her fighting style (Write in! Creativity encourage )

And before you start preparing for the tournament, what will it be like, Huanliuxue?

>Just a martial arts tournament, separated into brackets by age, skill and cultivation level.

>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!

>A tournament where the goal is to impress you by any means necessary, Heh-heh.

>Call in Master Su, Master Xia to help you and Monu plan it, and also to make it a tournament funded by the whole alliance, giving up some control and personal oversight to make it less expensive and more...traditional, bleh

>Write in

Like a clay ox entering the sea, I shall now collapse into my bed and pass out

Also to be transparent, the roll you got was enough to get Luli a budding martial talent, and give you a chance to decide exactly what shape that takes

>>5952167
>Stealth
She wants to avoid danger, and its gonna fit in with my next suggestion.

>A leg based evasion art, modeled after Jiong Jiong's bees, buzzing and moving around quickly and evasively. The "stinger" of this style is poison focus, spreading "pollen" spores from her sweeping movements and dodging acts so that the field she moves in becomes inherently hostile to the foe. Powerful kicks also apply.

>Multi layered torney

>>5952167
Aww yiss, a physical cultivator disciple
>Grace
>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind
>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!

>>5952167
>Grace
>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind
>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!

We are growing a tree girl so she doesn't die in bark and break the bloodline flaw

>>5952167
>>5952172 +1

>>5952167
>Endurance
her healing and manpulation of energy means she is excellent at outlasting her opponenets. She is tough on herself as well as her enemies with undoubtable resolve.
Obviously she has grace, but it is without doubt that she is able to grow so rapidly due to her ability to endure.
>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind

>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!


>>5952200
I agree, which is why like a tree, she must endure the path her predecessors could not.

>>5952226
Yes but I counter with "Tree Ninja"

>>5952167
>Speed
Since her focus in combat later on will likely be spells and/or alchemy, speed will serve her better than anything else, as it allows her to create room for herself and run away if things turn bad. Besides, a speed focus is a genuine tactic when fighting, so it's not like she will be unable to hold her own.
Though I will say I'm not sure what grace is supposed to be exactly. Dodging?
>Use her talent with alchemy, raising and using mushrooms and Monu and your own knowledge of poisons to turn her into a poisoner!
Combos well with speed, and is just an all around good idea for someone less inclined to focus on melee, which she likely will not.
>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!
Not focus on *just* fighting is a good idea. We've shown that we can shore up our disciples weaknesses if we need to anyway. And a luck bracket sounds very funny.
The idea of some random nobody getting into our sect by pure luck, then fight tooth and nail to stay in and somehow miraculously managing to despite having no talent sounds like peak comic relief material.

>>5952172
+1 for both. A fighting style that has her mimicking trees just feels like it's sending her down the path those Orthodox fools were guidng her.

>>5952167
Write-in
>Flow
Was doing a write-in and I thought this fit.

Style
>Write-in
>There are various trees in the world some produce poison to kill a man, some shoot seeds at explosive force, whip that break the sound barrier, and endure the strongest of nature's blows. A single tree can even be an entire forest and the various branches act as shields.
>Be malleable learn to deflect attacks, be swift to land explosive attacks and counter-attacks with your legs, sense the world around you, poison those that dare cross you.
>I call this art Ten Poisons Explosive Ward Art.(Or name pending)(Could upgrade I think to hundred poisons or thousand poisons)

>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!
>Forging as well (Forgot)

>>5952167
>Grace

>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind

>A tournament where the goal is to impress you by any means necessary, Heh-heh.

>>5952353
Supporting. Also for the tournament please start it off with a Takeshi's castle style wipeout.

>>5952167
>Speed
>A leg based evasion art, modeled after Jiong Jiong's bees, buzzing and moving around quickly and evasively. The "stinger" of this style is poison focus, spreading "pollen" spores from her sweeping movements and dodging acts so that the field she moves in becomes inherently hostile to the foe. Powerful kicks also apply.
>Multi layered tournament (plus forging because Feiqing could use some buds)
Rapid fire poisoning, maybe have TieTie teach her about being a commander so she can better lead her shrooms

>>5952167
>A leg based evasion art, modeled after Jiong Jiong's bees, buzzing and moving around quickly and evasively. The "stinger" of this style is poison focus, spreading "pollen" spores from her sweeping movements and dodging acts so that the field she moves in becomes inherently hostile to the foe. Powerful kicks also apply.
I like this write in

>Endurance
But I'd prefer a focus on Endurance. She's a healer, an alchemist, and a minionmancer, let her outlast opponents as she steadily stacks the battlefield in her favor

>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!

>>5952167
>Grace
>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind using whips as branches.
A rooted but soft style using whips with poisoned tips (whomping willow?)

>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres, one for martial arts, one for magic, one for alchemy, one for formations, one for scholars, one for luck, and one free for all battle royal!
The multilayered tournament is ok
>>5952410
Fuck Yeah!


>>5952439
Dunno about the pollen, we just had a big fight with a physical demon and he dispersed the cloud of grudges (which is half ethereal mist?) with a swing of his hammer, I feel that things like that are more a collateral damage hazard when a high level cultivator can just wave their hands to create a gale powerful enough to clear out the air around them, to say nothing of others like Siwang with a wind focused dao.

>>5952167
>>5952353
Support

Messier vote than usual, so I'll go for the counting to take the load off Grandfather.
>Votes:14
35xg89KY
eAkjiDx1
nLx6h/i5
zWsVin8
XEVF6oEo
4fYukb0P
RDbGrfcO
uA+C+Q+t
Sf44WPnp
b0Qr9Wjo
SYDyGXap
zxsqyjkF
MybZQhsK
h+rNlpue
>Speed:2
4fYukb0P
SYDyGXap
>Stealth:3
35xg89KY
zWsVin8l
RDbGrfcO
>Grace:4
eAkjiDx1
nLx6h/i5
Sf44WPnp
MybZQhsK
>Endurance:2
XEVF6oEo
zxsqyjkF
>Flow:3
uA+C+Q+t
b0Qr9Wjo
h+rNlpue
>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind:5
eAkjiDx1
nLx6h/i5
XEVF6oEo
Sf44WPnp
MybZQhsK
>Use her talent with alchemy, raising and using mushrooms and Monu and your own knowledge of poisons to turn her into a poisoner!:1
4fYukb0P
>Jiong-Jiong inspired kicks style:5
35xg89KY
zWsVin8l
RDbGrfcO
SYDyGXap
zxsqyjkF
>Ten Poisons Explosive Ward Art (BTW very Wuxia-core name):3
uA+C+Q+t
b0Qr9Wjo
h+rNlpue
>A tournament where the goal is to impress you by any means necessary, Heh-heh.:1
Sf44WPnp
>A multi layered tournament with different trials and spheres:13
35xg89KY
eAkjiDx1
nLx6h/i5
zWsVin8l
XEVF6oEo
4fYukb0P
RDbGrfcO
uA+C+Q+t
b0Qr9Wjo
SYDyGXap
zxsqyjkF
MybZQhsK
h+rNlpue
>>Add forging to the tourney:4
uA+C+Q+t
b0Qr9Wjo
SYDyGXap
h+rNlpue

Landslide for Multi-layered tournament, Grace training for Luli won by a hair, and there's a tie between teaching her to imitate the trees versus stinging like a bee.

>>5952812
There is no issue with creating a wide AOE that is wind effected. sure it's a type issue but it also is intended to make the surrounding area hostile if The point is AOE denial then moving that AOE around is an annoyance more than anything, and still gonna work fine against those who are on the same level, and mega effective vs the inferior level

>>5952167
I suppose I will change part of my vote, for the sake of tiebreaking.
>>5952237
>Grace
>She is naturally attuned to nature and trees, so create a martial arts styled after the movement of trees in the wind

>>5953753
Gah, why the trees martial art?

>>5953891
Most of all, I want to foster Luli's creativity and thus, get her to develop her own style. Ideally I would have like to vote for mundane martial arts but I correctly assumed that this would get no votes, so I with that and my own second option out the window, "tree based martial art" is vague enough that she could expand on it and alter it at will, so it will do the trick.
The write in is too specific for my tastes, not to mention that Luli already has a tree/plant theme going on and personally feel that it is too early to add on even more. Again, I want to let her figure it out on her own.
Most importantly though, I just think it sounds cooler.

>>5953920
Counterpoint, I have won every single fight with a tree I have ever fought. 7 and 0 baby.

>>5953926
I don't know man, the last tree I punched broke my hand, I never fucker with one again.
Maybe your tree was just a bitch?

>>5953926
>>5953927
Trees are pussy shit, except for bamboo and willows, they hit back.

Following this logic, we should in fact bade our style on nettles and poison ivy, those fuckers never get defeated against my punches.

File: 1650600343690.png (29 KB, 567x567)

29 KB PNG

Ending the vote now

>>5953750
Junior is one of the treasures of the sect, tallying in this old man's stead while he performs closed door meditations!

Very close vote, very grateful you took on the austere duty of gathering them all. There were a lot of clever write ins, might use them for something in the future, especially that ten poisons explosive ward art, cause the name is cool

And with this switch. >>5953753


You'll focus Luli's martial training on graceful and refined movements, and create a martial art styled after the movements of trees in the wind

And will start preparing for a multi layered tournament.

Update will arrive shortly

>>5953937
Star thistles are my botanical nemesis, but I know their weakness

Its goats

A herd of a goats.

>>5954346
>A herd of a goats.
>"Ultimate Technique: BA-A-A'D BILLY!"

The air begins to warm and rains recede as spring gives way to summer, an unusually hot summer as if the season itself was making up for the bitter cold and endless nights ushered in by the Winter Blossoming Sects enchanted blizzard. And as spring fades away and heat begins its oppressive reign, you pay close attention to Luli's progress as a cultivator and fighter. She's still young, only just a child, but every training session and practice spar you have her perform, she shows signs of having an actual aptitude for martial arts. One that was hidden and unnoticed due to how she'd been raised, like a delicate foreign flower that would wilt if it was ever placed beneath the sun or watered too lightly. Of course, even if her old teachers had noticed she was hardier than they imagined her to be, being taught how to be a healer and medicine maker won't even give a chance for fighting skills to bud let alone blossom and flourish to be admired by all. And if there was a dissenting elder in the thousand lotus hall, who traded his pill furnace for a sword and spear, they'd have had to convince the over protective Tianhua to allow Luli into the practice yard to begin with to have even a chance to stumble upon this hidden talent of hers.

Which beneath your watchful eye and attentive care and sagely guidance, has been awakened and manifested, just as the somewhat harsh training you put her through has refined and strengthened her body and nurtured her already resilient spirit.

Diligent and obedient, Luli doesn't question the reason for the training you give her or the odd practices you ask her perform, as you decide to start to focus her training now that she has the basics down and a sturdy foundation to fall back on if any of her fancier techniques or moves fail.

You reflect, as the summer sun beats down on your bare chest as you lounge atop a steaming rock, sunbathing while you wait for Luli to accomplish an "Impossible" task of running beneath the spray of a waterfall without a single drop touching her sunburnt skin, on why exactly you instructed her to do that.

Lian Luli, though young, has been taught her manners and proper etiquette, being raised in a established and noble clan of cultivators. And this tutoring and lessons to act ladylike, have hammered into her muscles a certain refinement and aristocratic quality to her movements. It is an innate, natural grace that can be easily re-worked to improve her fighting ability.

So, you've changed her lessons to foster and bolster those elegant movements and incorporate them fully into her unformed fighting style. Which is why you're having her try to dodge and weave through the spray of a water fall, and why you have her walk with expensive porcelain plates stacked on her head, or tie thin strands of silk to her and tell her to move across without disturbing them and why you plan to move onto spiderwebs once she manages to accomplish it.
Cont

>>5954374

And also why you've tasked Zhurou with teaching her further courtesy and more archaic kinds of etiquette. And to provide insight on how he uses his prancing, pompous stride in battle as a way to dodge attacks he knows he can't take head on.

All of it is to make her naturally move with the upmost grace, whether she's walking down the street or in the middle of a fight. Nothing is more impressive to a crowd and more crushing to an opponent than seeing someone glide past their attacks like they were avoiding garbage on the road. But you do not try and make her match your ethereal, feline movements, even though you are the very image of grace yourself. Yes, she is being taught how to be unearthly graceful and to use that same simple elegance in fights to avoid and redirect attacks, but you are not teaching her the grace of the death, but instead the grace of dancing trees.

She moves at once like the wind through their branches and their branches in the wind, almost dancing as you drill her again and again, barking at her to start her sequence of practiced movements over from the beginning over the slightest misstep or flaw in her flow. Something which you know greatly annoys the little girl, but she doesn't balk or complain, at least not to your face. She simply obeys and begins again

as she is doing now, as she managed to get nearly halfway across the pool the waterfall pours into without getting sprayed by it. And when she fails, she drops into the water, her lightness skill breaking as you lurch up and snap your fingers

"Again!" You shout, as her head lifts up from the water, her green hair hanging like water weeds around her ears as she pouts, face red from being beneath the blazing sun all day. And to think she didn't know how to swim before you began this training! Now she's taken to it like...well a fish to water, Heh-Heh. Maybe Chuandapo or Huili have been giving her lessons?

She sits down on a smaller rock by the shore, legs crossed and hands on her knees as she waits for the sun to dry while she meditates on the subtle, mostly unseen movements of trees in the wind, as she has been doing since you told her she must learn to adopt those same fine movements into the fighting style you're developing for and with her. Smiling, your roll onto your stomach, the rock beneath sizzling as sweat drips down onto it as you watch her. She doesn't sit still, she moves as the breeze brushes against her, in sync with the forest around her. And so do her mushroom servants, who form a circle around her, extending mycelium that digs into her skin and the forest floor, improving the flow of spiritual energy and extracting minerals and vitamins to help her recover from all the time she's spent broiling in the hot summer air.
Cont