"HAHAHAHA ! I quite like the way you bleed boy !" Qiang yelled before going after Jian to unleash a final strike. Zhao Shu came at the last moment to kick her away, however she blocked the kick with a hand while spinning her halberd with the other.
"And another one !" She yelled while going in for Jian's other arm. Zhao Shu just wasn't fast enough to actually stop that slash, and Jian curled up on the ground while screaming at the top of his lungs.
Uma watched in growing horror as the once sweet little boy she knew, was now trashing around in a puddle of his own blood, having lost both arms.
"You....You are quite sadistic aren't you ?!" Hircen exclaimed as he appeared behind Qiang. He grabbed one of her legs and started to spin her whole body in the air, while she tried to reach him with her weapon.
However with his strengh she was spinning around too quickly to even control her halberd. She ended up losing her grip on it, the halberd flying around before stabbing a Zhao Warrior.
"Lady Qianq !" The warriors screamed as the fierce woman was finally put into a difficult situation. It would've been enough to put a smile on Zhao Shu's face, if not for the fact that Jian had lost two limbs and the even more depressing event that followed.
One of the Zhao Warriors actually the halberd back at Qiang, before Daiyu or Uma could even attempt to grab it. Hircen tried to stop Qiang from getting it back, unfortunately he just wasn't fast enough and she jumped on top of him, before jumping from his head and getting her weapon back.
She landed on the ground and lifted her head in time to see Zhao Shu's palm a milimeter away from her face. Even with her reflexes and speed this was just impossible to dodge, and she ended up taking the hit with all the strengh that had been put into it. Saying it was a devastating blow would be an understatement, as she flew away and crashed on the stairs that lead to the now completely destroyed palace of the capital.
Zhao Shu looked behind him and sighed as he looked at Jian who had passed out due to the pain. Jian was able to take in a lot of pain, but getting both arms sliced off was a little bit too much.
" Damnit. We have nothing to heal this type of injuries. Medicines that can regrow limbs are way too freaking rare." Hircen complained while looking at Jian in pity.
" The sect might have such medicines.....But they would never just give it away, especially for someone like Jian. He is a promising disciple, but not THAT promising."
They had no time to really think about this issue, since the rest of the Zhao Warriors were still fighting against Uma and Daiyu, and while the former wasn't exactly weak...She also didn't possess that much stamina, at least compared to a Zhao Warrior.
"HIRCEN ! ZHAO BRAT !" Daiyu yelled at the two as she overpowered a warrior and cleaved him in half.
"Yeah yeah, we're here !"
"....Zhao Brat ? Is that supposed to be me ?" Zhao Shu asked as he pointed a finger at his face. Hircen merely shook his head before joining the fight.
Instead of joining, Zhao Shu looked in the distance at the stairs where he had sent Qiang. Surprisingly she was still there, seemingly knocked off. That was until her body moved in a strange way, as if she was a puppet controlled by strings. Her movements were just inhumane, as she stood up and fixed her jaw that had been broken by the previous palm strike.
"She just won't die....Like always."Zhao Shu said as he grit his teeth once again. His whole body now coated in the orange Qi, he was ready to give it all he had and end her with a last attack.
Meanwhile with Jian, the boy was starting to come back to the real world as the unholy being called out to him.
'WAKE UP BRAT ! I'M NOT LETTING YOU LOSE THIS FIGHT ! I DON'T IF THE GAP BETWEEN YOU TWO IS IMMENSE ! YOU'RE GOING TO WIN THIS !' Mara screamed in Jian's mind.
The boy woke up, startled by the voice of the unholy being. He looked around and realized the fight was still going on, however Qiang was nowhere to be seen. Zhao Shu was the only one who noticed he had woken up and was already running towards him.
' Unholy Being is that you ?' Jian asked, completely calm for some reasons. He didn't know how it was possible, but he couldn't feel the pain anymore. He couldn't feel his body actually, he couldn't even feel that he was sitting on the hard paved ground.
' First, my name is Mara. I wasn't supposed to say it, but to hell with this. I wanted to block everything other than that strange system thingy, so that you could progress as you were intended to, but I realized now that this can't work. You are encountering people that are just way too strong for you. The Asura, Zhigang and now this woman. This just can't end well. I've seen way too many younglings having lost themselves in their own ego due to the amazing powers they possessed..And I don't want this to happen to you, or else we will both die way too quickly. As such this will be very simple...This power that you awakened to fight Uma, I'll let you access it and all that comes with it, however you will promise me to actually use that strange form only when you truly need it.....Failure to respect this promise will result in me blocking your powers again and doing the bare minimum to keep you alive while looking for a new host...Did I make myself clear ?' Mara said.
By that time Zhao Shu had already arrived and was shaking Jian to get him to snap off of his little world, however Jian was just shocked by what Mara revealed to him.
'What do you even mean ?! This power and all that comes with it...What do you mean ?!'
' Jian you are an orphan, and even a less than average orphan with how little talent you have. However you have the mind to bear a certain power, and that's why it was given to you. The meteor gave you this system thing, however I was inside of you before that, and this secret power was there ever since your birth. You weren't born with it though, someone put it in you as soon as you were born. It's dangerous, nearly impossible to truly control and could result in you just slaughtering everyone you love like a mindless beast, but I'll be there to help. I know a things or two about rampaging monsters, since I was one before. You'll shoot through at least a realm after you unlock the rest of your powers, so you'll have to come up with an explanation for it. Anyway, I have to warn you first...I'll be unlocking the power and healing you at the same time, to gain time so to speak....Both proccess hurt like hell and if they are done at the same time....'
' I-I can handle this ! I have no other choices anyway.' Jian thought while Zhao Shu snapped his head to his right and looked in shock at something in the distance. He quickly rushed away, while Jian was still talking to Mara.
'Alright, before this starts I want to tell you something...I know you have questions, about me, about the system, and now you even have questions about that secret power inside of you. Now that I will actually be invested in your growth, I guess I'll have to tell you who I am exactly and why I entered your body. You'll get those answers as soon as things calm down a bit, for It'll take a long time for me to explain everything clearly. The answers to the other questions...Well I guess we will be searching those together, since I am quite curious about all this myself. And yet even now that I am about to do something I should never do...I have something I need to be sure of....Are you ready to never have anyone to truly support you through all of this ? Because you'll need to keep silent about all of this and never reveal it to anyone else, and I am not exactly going to become your friend of something like that.' Mara asked, a hint of anxiousness in his voice.
This was truly something that he promised himself to never do, for Jian could very well grow lazy due to his powers and drive both himself and Mara to an early grave. However he just had to. Not because he feared for Jian's life, as no one should be able to truly kill Jian with a being such as Mara inside of him. No, he had to because he was a god, a warrior of legend, a monster feared by millions if not billions....And Jian had become his new face so to speak. He won't let him grow like someone of such little talent should.
He knew that as soon as this traumatic event was over, Jian would grow insanely powerful due to the system, as this whole experience would've taught him just how important it was to grow stronger, and Mara would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't happy at the thought.
No one would even see it coming. Jian would keep that newly unlocked power to himself, and then he would grow even stronger after this experience.
Truly, just this thought was enough to bring an insanely bright smile to his face. Playtime was over, now it was time for a trauma that would trigger the sensed that Jian had lost after living peacefully for a few years.
The instinct of the orphan would go back to what it once was. Peaceful growth was never an option.
And so despair would sign the true beginning of Jian's adventures.
"If I have to walk this path all alone, then so be it....I mean, did I ever have anyone close enough at my side ?" Jian chuckled as Mara explained how they would proceed.
'Well I think you may as well steal that woman's halberd after that, because you're going to lose the only weapon you have. So....It's simple, get someone to stab your heart with the Red Sky Sword.' Mara said in the calmest voice over.
'WHAT ?! No no no no...This is such a powerful weapon ! I can't just waste it like that !'
'Your arms, or this sword. It's as simple as that. This weapon is the only thing you have or can get currently that is filled to the brim with what some might call Unholy Qi, or Corruption Qi. I brought you to life before by using something called Death's Breath, which is a technique that replicate the breath of death itself through any form of Evil-aligned energy. However bringing someone back to life isn't the same as healing them. Since I am inside of your body, your soul wouldn't leave your body after you die, and as such I can bring you back easily through this method. Healing is much more difficult, as you are alive right now, and a single mistake could have you poisoned by my corrupted energy. The sword possess that same energy, but not enough to actually poison you. Whereas my entire being is filled with this energy, to such an extent I literally cannot even use an amount of this energy low enough not to kill you.'
'So basically you can't heal me directly, because you are still too strong for me to handle, and you would literally kill me no matter how little the amount of Qi you pour in my body is ?' Jian thought as he deadpanned.
'This sounded much better in my head, but yes, this is basically the problem...Once again, grow stronger brat. You literally have all the reasons to. I know you wanted to take it easy, even if you wouldn't admit it. You disliked the stressful life of a slave, and wanted to grow stronger at your own pace, but those monsters you keep meeting have set the pace...Now enter the dance, or die.'
Jian smiled as he heard those words, for they were quite close to what his dear friend Chimi once said to him. It was quite crazy, but Mara did seem a lot like her...Except he wasn't nearly as scary as she was.
".....UMA !!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, startling the woman who had already been running towards him. With the help of Hircen, Daiyu and her were able to kill the remaining warriors, and Qiang was now the only one left. She was too busy fighting off Hircen and Zhao Shu and Daiyu at the moment, so the fake servant woman decided to go see how Jian was going.
He seemed strangely calm and almost peaceful....So much so it was actually creepy. He had lost his two arms and was smiling at her, so he had either gone crazy, or was getting ready to die.
His next words did nothing to calm her, if anything it made her panic even more.
" Uma....Stab me in the heart."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds as Uma wondered if she heard wrong, however Jian actually picked his Red Sky Sword with his mouth and Uma clearly got the message.
"J-Jian....I know losing two arms is bad, but there exists ways to cure you....I will find a way ! I think I owe you that much...." She said, looking at him with such sadness, it made him feel a bit warm.
She wasn't that bad after all.
"Trust me with this. This blade isn't normal at all, and that's why this indra family or whatever, want it. I can't exactly explain how it works, but by plunging it into my heart, the blade will fuse with me and heal me completely, instead of killing me." Jian said, knowing fully well just how shitty that sounded.
"...I heard about weapons that can heal, like the Iron Fists of the Black Turtle, but this is my first time hearing about a weapon that can heal this way....This would indeed explain why it's so sought after. A weapon that can heal such injuries and perfectly at that.....But Jian...If it fuses with you, it will cease to exist...What about the Indra family ?" Uma asked, worry lacing her every words.
' This Indra Family sounds quite dangerous...Be it Zhao Shu, Hircen or Uma, they all seem terrified of this family....And this family is actually after the sword. Mara ?' Jian thought. It was weird for him to call the Unholy Being by his name, but it also felt good...Like they got closer, if only a bit.
' Something to worry about later....It has been months since you first used this sword out in the open. Even if the ones who saw it only had suspiscions, the Indra family would've heard about it. And I'm sure they did hear about it already. It mustn't be that high a priority to them if you're still alive, so you can worry about it later. For now get stabbed already !'
"No problem at all...Don't think, just stab me, Uma." Jian said, smiling at Uma like he did all those years ago. This was perhaps the most innocent smile he had produced ever since he joined the sect. He was truly happy in this moment. He had been beaten, but he would rise up ! He would get revenge and win this fight ! And finally, he would step up his game and grow stronger each day, reaching new heights !
"Guhh...."
Blood started to paint the ground red as the blade pierced Jian's heart. His eyes lost all their colour in an instant and his face became still.
"Jian ?....JIAN ?!" Uma yelled, getting worried for him. She thought the process would be instantaneous, so she was horrified when he just seem to die right in front of her. Fortunately he soon regained his colour and opened his mouth, however what came out of it didn't reassure her even one bit. In fact what came out should've been able to scare everyone that still lived in the capital, and even Qiang was quite disturbed when she heard it.
A blood curling scream that reached the heavens. A cry for help so powerful even the gods must've heard it.
For a second, Jian's world was filled with nothing but pain....Pain and intense despair.