The selected youngsters jogged behind the carriage. Anger and embarrassment were the only things presently shared.
Zhen Xinyue and Jun Din walked beside the vehicle, pulled by 2 ostrich-like beasts. The latter throwing some sharp gazes, at the girl, inside from time to time. Not only had she taken his mood, but also his carriage place.
He was not the only one looking at Luo Si though. Elder Hu, sitting opposite to her had an attentive gaze, while his subject of sight recovered visibly. "Interesting. Your talent is not bad. You even made a contract with one of the Aristocrats. With a high price I see." He added the last sentence after finding the mark on her hand. 'But why can't I perceive her?'
Luo Si had already sensed the Elders secretive intrusion. Throwing an apple at him was enough to satisfy him as she revealed parts of her meridian system up to the 20th acupoint. The hidden qijing-mai left aside.
"Just some fortunes encounter." She replied.
The ice vein was kept hidden though or else she could not imagine what would happen.
Sects, even though they attended worldly matters and were mostly indifferent towards the village's internal fights. Luo Si did not take a chance of putting her trust into unknown hands, which meant no one but her own.
Animals did not dare come closer, sensing the super realm inside the vehicle. It did not change the fact that the followers silently bleated. Especially the players as all three were only of the martial learner stage.
"Why is this game so painfully real? Is there no fast travel, like in other video games?"
Jun Din became more impatient by the minute, seeing no opportunity for revenge. Even after hours passed.
His prays where answered, however, when a giant wall, similar to Luo Si's safety-hole, came into sight.
"We will have to climb that to reach our destination." The Elder said.
"Hey, you!" Jun Din yelled at his frustrater. He did not even bother to inquire about her name. "Since you are so good at running away, how about a race?"
"Jun Din don't make a fuss." Hu Qing wanted to finish, but a hand was stretch out in front of him.
"Young one, your competitiveness is commendable and your suspicion is reasonable. But why should I unnecessarily justify myself?" Luo Si asked back with an eye brow raised.
"Young one? Hmph. Do you take me for a donkey? Even though you look older than me, I have been told that you lowlifes were just born half a month ago." Jun Din smirked; he just needed her attention. "Of course, a race is not a race without a price for the winner."
He pulled out a silver black stripped stick from underneath his top. "We will be climbing the wall. And the first one to stand on top of it. If you win, I will give you this stick, granting you a two in one incense stick of time in the '3rd Morning Ray's' book pagoda."
"And this one's loss shall be repaid in mimicking the fly, I presume?" She completed his offer.
"Hah, I only wanted you to bow down to me, but those are your words, no going back." He laughed.
"Jun Din!" Hu Qing was a bit enraged by his apprentice's manner. What had she done to provoke him this much?
"Alright, I agree. But I demand this Elders judgement. As you said: The first to stand on top, of the of the wall, is the winner." Luo Si requested, looking at the old man.
She was very keen on the reward. While the small town's library could be accessed with money easily, it was not so simple with the one in the sect. Usually people would take months to pay a visit. However, now someone offered her a free meal. How could she say no to that?
Sigh* Elder Hu could only reluctantly agree.
Both participants readied themselves at the wall.
"Hah, you are such an idiot, coming this far only to return in agony." Jun Din mocked.
"Is that stick up your ass, or why are you bitching around? If so, this one will not accept it." Luo Si monotonously retaliated.
Hearing this the other shut his mouth, not able to think of a clever counter.
Start! Hu Qing gave the signal and the senior discipline Jumped up 20 meters on the wall and pushed himself off 10 meters higher but away from the wall.
The new branch sect disciplines screamed up, seeing their senior brother jump away. "Heavens, that's 30 meters in two jumps. He will break his everything if he falls down."
The expected didn't happen thou, as Din Jun used the upwards wind to 'surf' back to the wall. And the onlookers heaved a relieving sigh. The only one that was cool from the beginning was Zhen Xinyue. "Brother Din has learned the wind surfing technique. Combined with his low wind vein, he could be said to be one of the best at climbing the wall. That girl is finished." He explained while shifting his look onto Luo Si.
The girl had no change of face, seeing her competitor running of. 'I always though it's 'Ladies first.' Maybe he really put it up his bum. Using the current and his vein to climb up. Really flamboyant. But I can do better.'
She pointed her finger at the wall. Before even reaching it, a thin line of ice had formed.
"It looks like Jun Din has made some progress in the second soul stage. Sigh, there goes a genius. Hmm?" Hu Qing lamented, but was confused by Lou Si's action. She did not look like someone who had given up.
"Hai… Little monkey, let this one open your eyes!" Luo Si jumped up as well, drawing an ice-line in front of her. Before losing half of her speed, she brushed the tip of her shoes on the wall, sliding up without any hint of going slower, but faster. The ice line crumbled away as fast as it was drawn and stepped on.
"Unbelievable. She probably uses the up-drafting wind to hold herself on the wall and use a sliding technique to glide up. But there is something else, or else she would not be this fast." Hu Qing was astonished and so were the others, seeing Luo Si catching up to first place. His perception could not keep up with her casting as they had sprinted of ahead and outside his field of perception and the fast process of her ice line.
"She must be cheating. How can somebody defy gravity like that? John Cage blurted out and the twins noddingly agreed.
What nobody knew though, was that Luo Si was doing much more then they perceived. In order to get faster, not only did she bend closer to the wall, technically she was not even touching the wall, neither with skin nor cloths, as she had also formed two spikes on the front of her shoes. Additionally, she let qi explode under her feet to accelerate even more.
"Bahaha, only a third more and she is done for. Let's see how tiny she has become." Jun Din was already celebrating himself. When he turned around though, a levitating looking person tipping a line formed by ice passed him.
"Is that all you've got?" Was the only thing he heard.
He was shocked and nearly lost his focus. "Impossible. How can a girl be better than me? I'm the best. I am the one to win." Completely enraged, he used all his strength a 6th stage martial fighter could muster to catch up to his competitor.
200 meters… 100 meters…
The end of the wall was coming closer. The audience on the ground, besides Hu Qing, could not distinguish between the two shadows, racing to the top. Nearly bursting from tension as to who would win.
50 meters… 20 meters… It had become a head-on-head duel, but at the last 10 meters, Din Jun brushed past the ascending girl and edge, screaming from his lungs. "Hah, SUCK IT BI***; SUCK MY D***! I'M THE WINNER! I'm the best and you are the worst."
While Jun Din celebrated himself, Hong Luo Si grabbed onto the edge as soon as possible and twisted herself standing on the lifted plain. She had a smile on her face as she listened to Jun Din's self-victory parade as he landed.
"The higher they climb, the harder they fall." She said as Jun Din run up to her and nearly spit in her face. "Do you see now who is the best between the two of us. Now pick up your things and go in your cage, where you belong."
Luo Si was only smiling at him, tilting her head slightly as she whipped the saliva of her face. "I would rather listen to what the judge has to say."
"Ha-ha." The other snorted. "You surely are blind, I clearly won."
"I might be blind, but you are definitely deaf." She calmly said.