"Honestly, though," Lan Bei Er was saying when I accompanied her back to our room later that day. "Even if sect leader Jin Shan Dian didn't apologize, sect leader would have allowed me to heal Jin Lei anyway. It's a healer's duty to save lives, after all, regardless of the situation. I'm just relieved that sect leader Jin didn't call our bluff."
She giggled.
"Jin Lei's injuries weren't life threatening in the first place. Both sect leader and I knew that. He was bleeding a lot, yeah, but we know you wouldn't have dealt him any lethal wounds."
"Yeah, well, this is a tournament, not the battlefield," I replied with a shrug. I might be a villain, but even I knew there was a time and place for everything. Robbers only threatened people at gunpoint when robbing a bank, otherwise they would behave normally at other points of their lives. How do I put it, let's say one of the players in a soccer team was a robber. That didn't mean he was going to threaten the opposing team at gunpoint to force a victory for his team. Criminals and villains didn't behave evil every second, every hour and everyday. They were normal people who lived routine lives too. Committing heinous crimes during a major incident didn't mean that such criminal behavior was inherent in every single thing they did. A man who murdered his colleague over a disagreement might just walk into a café and drink coffee just like any regular customer without showing any sign of psychosis (assuming he hadn't been arrested yet). He wasn't going to simply murder the other customers or waitress serving him coffee just because he was a murderer. He was a murderer because of that one killing he did, but that didn't mean his every action, routine and behavior would be inherently murderous.
Like I said, nothing is so black and white. Seriously, cultivation story authors had to learn this about people and stop creating one-dimensional characters. They needed to understand how real people behave, and not just reduce them into flat caricatures whose sole purpose in the story was to provoke the protagonist, so as to justify the protagonist killing them. I get that it was easier to kill off a character who was the vilest, most evil bastard ever, who only thought about murdering, robbing and raping others, and readers wouldn't feel bad about reading the deaths of such one-dimensional antagonists, as well as get to indulge in this edgy power fantasy of being able to take the lives of others so easily. But seriously, they should grow up. Stories shouldn't just be about escapism – they should also aim to educate.
"Hello? Husband? Hello? Earth to husband! You're drifting off again!"
"Oh, sorry." I scratched my head sheepishly. "I just got angry thinking of how…awful certain authors write."
"What authors?"
"Never mind." I took a deep breath and stretched myself. "Well, I had best get ready for the final match tomorrow. I have no idea how I'm going to win."
"Don't worry," Lan Bei Er assured me with a confident smile. "Just do your best. Whatever the result, I'll be proud of you. You have already surpassed everybody's expectations."
"I got this far without relying on cheats," I said with a chuckle. Again, too many cultivation stories relied on cheats and shortcuts. For once, could a protagonist get ahead on work hard? As I said, stories should aim to educate and cultivate good values. I wanted to promote hard work and diligence – that was all I needed, not stupid cheats or fortuitous encounters. Perhaps in another story, I would be running into a secret dragon veins right under the Azure Water Sect and tap into an infinite amount of qi that I could then use against Bai Ning Shuang.
Unfortunately, I wasn't Ye Chen, and this wasn't Banished Disciple's Counterattack. I would have to make do with what I had. Thankfully, I had receved the iron ghost shield from He Shan Jie. Ghost Fang – the name made me want to use the shield for offense rather than defense.
Why not both?
My mind already coming up with several strategies for the next day, I couldn't help but rub my hands in anticipation.
The next day, I waited at the arena. Yeah, yeah…if this was a cultivation story, the protagonist would swagger in late, making everyone wait for him or some bullshit like that. I swear to the heavens, I didn't understand what the point of that was. The authors making their protagonists out to be some arrogant VIPs who had the right to come late or as and when as they pleased because they were strong? Seriously, such behavior was cringe, not commendable.
Bai Ning Shuang didn't take too long to arrive too, I didn't have to wait too long. the spectators came in force, eager to see the result of the intersect tournament final.
"You had better win!" Chi Yan yelled at me from the stands. "Take revenge for me!"
I raised a hand to acknowledge him, but didn't offer any guarantees. There were no guarantees in life except death and taxes.
Pushing my glasses up, I studied my opponent. As usual, Bai Ning Shuang was indifferent. She didn't even put me in her eyes, off in her little world and almost impatiently waiting to get this done and over with.
It was as if she was taking it for granted that she had already won.
I sighed. When I said there were no guarantees in life, it was also applicable to her. She shouldn't be thinking that she was guaranteed an easy victory just because I was her opponent. Apparently she still regarded me as trash no matter what I did. Typical cultivation story antagonist mentality. They loved burying their heads in sand and denying facts. Whatever truth they couldn't accept, they automatically labeled it as fake news.
The referee turned from me to her, and then he stepped back and swung his hand down. And so the match began.
Unlike almost everybody else who had fought against Bai Ning Shuang in the final, I didn't rush forward to attack. On the other hand, Bai Ning Shuang did the same thing she always did. She took out her zither. This time, she brought out a new one – a more powerful model, apparently. Was it a spare? Or did she receive a new, upgraded one after her old zither got smashed by Chi Yan yesterday? I didn't know, and I didn't care.
She had her zither, and I had my ghost iron shield.
The moment the musical notes floated out and assaulted me – the usual soul technique that she always opened with – I drew Ghost Fang from my spatial ring. I was pleased to see that the ghost iron shield worked. The music didn't affect me at all, and if looked carefully, I could actually see the musical notes bouncing off its ominously glowing surface.
Excellent. Now it was my turn to counterattack. Even though Ghost Fang was a shield, it wasn't without…uh, fangs of its own.
Dropping to a half-crouch, I brought my shield to bear, facing its surface toward Bai Ning Shuang. If she was amused or curious about the red eyes and ghostly grin sketch across the front of my shield, she didn't display it at all. Instead, she continued to play her new zither, her fingers stroking the strings at a swift pace.
More of the soul music bombarded me, only to dissipate harmlessly against Ghost Fang. I grinned, absorbing the soul attacks for now, and then made use of the devoured qi to lauch a counter of my own.
Black qi swirled around the mouth of Ghost Fang, a vortex of dark energies that formed a rapidly spinning sphere. Before anyone knew what was happening, I launched the Shadow Ball at my opponent. It streaked through the air like a black comet, smashing the musical notes aside and crashing against Bai Ning Shuang's location.
For the first time in our match, her eyes widened and she swung her zither up to catch the Shadow Ball. The ghosty type attack was super effective against her soul type instrument and reduced it to splinters and severed strings.
Bai Ning Shuang's eyes flared, probably from irritation at losing a second expensive zither in just as many days.
I wasn't done yet, though. A second Shadow Ball hurtled toward Bai Ning Shuang's position, forcing her to dive to the side. The remains of her zither disintegrated further, consumed by the shadowy sphere that moved almost as if it had a life of its own.
Bouncing off the ground, Bai Ning Shuang drew her sword and closed in on me. Swinging the pristine white blade, she unleashed white tongues of spiritual energy that devastated the ground. I blocked them with Ghost Fang for now, then kicked off the floor to meet her in the middle of the arena. Sparks flew as her white sword clashed against my purple shield, and even though she brought all of her strength to bear, she was unable to shove me back.
"What are you, the Shield Hero now?" she demanded, annoyed.
"Yeah, and I'll be rising," I replied, using shield bash to knock her back. Bai Ning Shuang ducked the next blow and countered with a riposte that I parried effortlessly.
Damn, but the shield was a lot more unwieldy than a sword. I wasn't able to use it well, my movements being clumsy. Part of it was because I wasn't used to a shield, having maybe two days of practice with it at best. Another was because I wasn't comfortable fighting up close with the enemy.
Bai Ning Shuang spun about and knocked the shield off my hands with a kick. Before I could fumble and retrieve it, she thrust her sword at my face, forcing me back. I had to use Shadow Steps to withdraw to safety.
With her zither gone and the soul-type music no longer being played, I didn't really need the shield. Nonetheless, I picked up Ghost Fang and placed it back in my spatial pouch before withdrawing to the shadows. Bai Ning Shuang's ranged strike scoured the area where my Ghost Fang had been before I picked it up, an attempt to catch me off guard that failed because I was too fast for her.
Retreating to a safe distance, I then drew my katana. Bai Ning Shuang had anticipated the place where I would emerge from, her keen sense detecting the flow of my qi as I moved from shadow to shadow, and she was already lunging for that area. That was why I had instinctively drawn my sword – because I intuitively knew I had best be ready to parry an attack from my opponent.
A loud clang resounded across the stage and I was sent stumbling. Bai Ning Shuang continued to attack, delivering a barrage of thrusts, ripostes, slashes and swings. I blocked, deflected and parried every single one of them, but that was all I could do against her relentless onslaught. I was only able to defend, never able to launch an offensive of my own, unable to be on the front foot. Instead, Bai Ning Shuang dictated the pace, her strokes growing more ferocious and swifter with every passing second.
She really was a once in a millennium prodigy or whatever they called her. Then again, I wasn't exactly the best in swordsmanship. At best, I was considered competent, so I couldn't possibly compare with people who had talent in the sword.
I wasn't some Mary Sue protagonist who had countless legendary swords and could already go around defeating fully grown adults when I was like four years old while receiving a legendary sword every year during my birthday. Fortunately, I wasn't that sort of cultivation story protagonist, otherwise I might end up being infected by his stupidity and go around provoking people for no reason, and then get chased by countless sects and clans seeking revenge. Oh, and arrogantly refuse to join a sect or follow an adult just so my "sister" could get kidnapped, abducted, assaulted and used as a hostage once every five chapters (or maybe that was just the manhua adaptation, dunno about the original novel). Like, seriously, you would think he would learn his lesson by the third time, but then she got hurt by others for the fourth time…and I wanted to hurl my computer out of the window. The fucking protagonist just never learned. Did his sister exist solely for him to rescue every time she got kidnapped or something? Jesus Christ. It was getting ridiculously repetitive.
"Ugh!"
Whoops, my concentration was drifting. Bai Ning Shuang's sword grazed my cheek, leaving a trickle of blood across my face. Maybe that was why I could never become a stop swordsman. I had trouble focusing.
Deflecting her next strike, I staggered backward, but Bai Ning Shuang pressed on, thinking she had the advantage. Taking advantage of her recklessness, I feigned an opening and lured her to attack my right, only to parry it and rammed a knee into her midriff. She grunted, managing to catch my knee with her free hand before it connected, but I snapped my foot upward and kicked her back.
Cursing, Bai Ning Shuang skidded several paces backward. She then lowered her sword and stroked her fingers across the white blade.
"Ascend, Spirit Embodiment!"
In a flash, her sword transformed into an elegant and beautiful treasure sword, glittering white like snow and displaying meticulous craftsmanship. White qi swirled around the glowing white blade, its potency sending chills down my spine.
Despite the oppressive sensation, I couldn't help but smile.
"Finally using Man and Sword as One, huh?"
Bai Ning Shuang's reply was to thrust her sword forward, her strike accompanied by a brilliant flash of soul-type qi.