"Cheater," Khan Ni couldn't help but laugh at Wu Hai.
"Patting yourselves on the back for balance is nothing, If you're to do contest, at least make it more entertaining." Chiding along, Khan Ni directed the Cheng brothers to build a few walls with a raised center. After about an hour of decent work and some light adjusting, a rather large dueling ring was surrounded by short towers. Each Tower had a clear view of the Ring.
"Feeling accomplished?" Khan Ni asked the Twins. She had helped them make the ring but she was more surprised at how she enjoyed telling them what to do. After some careful thinking she jumped to one of the towers and took a seat.
The Cheng Brothers took a break and went inside to gather drinks. When they returned they saw Khan Ni and Zao Wu Hai battling on the ring. The arena was moving, spinning slowly like a top.
Wu Hai was doing a fantastic job of dodging the attacks from Khan Ni. As a Wood-Elf, she had always been a master of snares and her bow skills were nothing to make short of. If she really wanted to kill him, she might even accomplish it.
Wu Hai wasn't worried about the pain from being hit, his healing speed was just too great. An arrow had passed through his arm a few minutes prior, it healed when he was dodging the next. Leaving a trial of blood in his wake, Wu Hai cast a bolt of lightning from his hands into the floor.
Khan Ni didn't expect that particular move and her knees bent inward as she convulsed on the dueling ring. The Twins were sure that she had seen him use the same move on them earlier.
Agreeing that he wouldn't use his Lightning on the platform again, Wu Hai used his healing ability on Khan Ni, once her nerve endings settled down they began another match.
The Cheng Brothers sat on one of the towers and kicked out their feet to enjoy the show.
"Okay Brother, who will win," Yu asked Mu.
"Easy, Brother Wu can still use the Demon Power," .., "Five Bottles of Ale says Khan Ni gets the upper hand at least twice," .., "but a whole case says she can knock him flat on his ass at least once," .., "Brother takes the easy bets."
"I will not lose to you." ..,
"If Brother Wu cant use his lightning on the stage, he'll figure it out another way," The Cheng brothers couldn't stop going back and forth, they would chide each other and raise the bet. There was not enough drink in the entire cavern for their wagers but they kept raising it for their future interests.
Wu Hai could feel the Demon bloodline within him, it pulsed regularly with unfamiliar sensations. The Demon Bloodline was quite unique in of itself. With a power like Lightning in the demon body's Core, Demons could display the external manifestations of the power, much like Elementals.
He forced more energy into movement techniques and leaping into the air, he dove towards Khan Ni.
Khan Ni tracked his movements with ease. She took the bow and notched another arrow but before she could release, he had already spun in a circle mid-air. He used his tail to slap at Khan Ni. Wu Hai's Demonkin Wings created a large gust of wind as a distraction during the tail whip.
Releasing the arrow would have been late of a response to the tail whip, Khan Ni dropped the bow entirely. She used her nature abilities and snared him afterward for the kick.
Wu Hai channeled his lightning, it filled the wings with static and arcs of electricity. Pressing downward with his hands to the floor, he thrust himself to the ceiling and back down again in a slashing motion with his fingernails. His wings were a part of him, controlling them was not hard, it came almost effortlessly, like lifting ones arm.
Pulling his wings in a circle he closed the space around the pair and tried to land onto her body, encapsulating her into a close combat situation. Rolling to the side, she saw his tail coming straight for her legs. It was unavoidable, she was snagged in a snare of his own.
Unable to break his grasp, Khan Ni planted her loose foot on his backside and pulled. The intent to harm him was clear and since his balance on the line, he released his grasp and she fell to the floor.
Bow in hand once more, Khan Ni notched another arrow as Wu Hai pushed his hand out to grab at the bow handle. The pressure from his grip started crushing her fingers, he threw her to one side and jumped again.
There was a glare in his eyes as if he were in a real battle, his emotions were running wild and Wu Hai was going for the kill.
The Cheng Brothers dove in to stop him. Standing in front Zao Wu Hai in demon form was already hard for Khan Ni. Her hand was crushed and Wu Hai had blood lust in his eyes.
Knowing something was amiss, the Twins had barged into the duel, stopping it altogether.
The brief interruption was all that was needed, Wu Hai took another glance at his opponent and reeled back a bit, he saw the looks of worry in the Brothers' eyes. Silently pushing his healing powers to an elevated level, he directed the energy to fix Khan Ni's hand.
"Sorry for that, this body has it's own way of doing things. I'll go re-roll my when we return. Lets all go back and and rest." Wu Hai was sorry, he had nearly lost himself in the battle. He could have killed Khan Ni and she was really starting to warm up to the group.
They settled in for the evening meal, the cave was nice and cool, without a fire going the temperature had dropped a little but it was free from wind. The Suns were setting and they had a lot of food for the coming weeks.
Relaxing and reflecting on the battles, they all understood that this was just the beginning.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Rolling for a new body was simple, as long as Wu Hai fit inside the transformation room. Tossing them quickly, the Dice landed on 'Earth, Soul, Wave, Human, Large'
Having no clothes for the size, he borrowed a set from the Cheng Brothers, his appearance was awkward and the clothes were disgusting. Wu Hai still had his youthful appearance but he was a few inches taller than the Cheng Brothers. When cultivating, he resembled a large Buddha, firm and carved from Jade. Having calmed himself down as best he could, Wu Hai spent some time reflecting on the battles they had just fought.
"I must not remain in the Demon Form for extended periods, its attitude was infectious." Wu Hai was sure that there would be more trials of his mind in the future. He was fine with his re-roll, he was Human, although he had spent the last few weeks as an Elemental and then as a Demonkin, he enjoyed having wings on his back, it was a freedom that couldn't easily be replaced.
Crossing swords as a human was much harder for him.
A few hours later and they were battling again. Being pummeled by two Qilinkin was not much fun, it took a lot of energy just to avoid their combined attacks. He could never take on just one of them, they worked as a team and fighting more than one opponent was bound to be better experience than fighting only one.
Wu Hai kept raising walls as fast as he could to block the incoming attacks, he only had Earth element to work with, his Earth Wave was intense when a push spell was applied. Ripples of different materials made varying obstacles for the Twins to avoid or go around.
Throwing his palm out at one of the constructed walls, it sailed through the entrance to the transformation room toward Mu, Yu sprayed it with water and soon it turned to mud. The Mud was easy enough to get out of but Yu was encapsulated in it. He spun around and flung it across the room, scattering it from his body, the mud was sent flying like a bunch of loose projectiles throughout the vicinity.
The mud debris masked his other attack, the Twins were playing hardball.
Wu Hai tried out his version of a trap, he wanted to distract the Twins severely. His spiritual sense formed two giant hands that restrained Yu's arms and legs out in the shape of an X.
Mu threw out a punch of Earth as well and collapsed one of the mud hands that had his brother pinned.
"Brother Wu, that was new. Mu. Lets try this thing when we hunt, if we can't capture them with earth wall, lets make mud hands." Yu was very happy about the new idea, they were thrilled at their new lives and abilities.
Khan Ni could see their confidence and was worried they would make mistakes.
As Qilinkin they would have incredibly long lifespans. Asking someone to give that up would be hard.
Wu Hai did not have intentions to take it from them away, the Twins seemed very happy with themselves. He spaced out, his mind was racing and flashes of images passed through his head.
Unconscious, Zao Wu Hai was in a heightened mental state. He could feel a change taking fold in his heart. He was never settled on his form and never cared but the feeling was intensifying.
Throwing the dice just made things more interesting, Wu Hai's mind still raced and it occurred to him, 'If I stayed in another body for a longer period than my original form, would I, could I still be considered human?'