Chapter 19: Timeskip 2 // Sparring
Zed wasn't the only one who improved over the past two years.
With her master's strict and direct guidance, Lan'er's prowess kept growing by leaps and bounds.
Lan'er still hasn't unlocked her Qi yet. This was because one would need a Nascent Soul Master, the realm above Core Formation Realm, to unlock a mortal's potential.
This is the reason why most mortals remain mortals, and loose cultivators aren't able to establish their sect because most of them were only in the Qi Foundation realm.
One needed to at least be at Nascent Soul Realm to make their sect.
This is why cases like Xia Meixiang are extremely rare. Being able to unlock and use Qi from a very young age meant that she had a head start among her peers on the path of cultivation.
But the main icing here was that she unlocked it by herself. One can only imagine the amount of talent she had. It was no wonder that she was personally sought out by an Elder from the Cleansing Jade Sect.
Going back to Lan'er, even though she hadn't unlocked her qi, this didn't matter since her capability with the sword was enough to make her enemies dread difficulty.
Xia Meixiang herself suffered under Lan'er's sword.
This was because Lan'er kept diligently training and enduring the practices her Master taught her. No matter how hard or painful it was, she faced it head-on.
Now, she didn't need the Bloodseeker to fight against a person like that man they fought in the basement.
She could contend well against Qi Foundation experts and even win some of their fights.
Xia Meixiang didn't hesitate to help Lan'er improve since the two were close enough for Xia Meixiang to consider Lan'er as her junior sister, which is similar to Shi Jingfei.
So Xia Meixiang provided Body Tempering and Qi Foundation experts for Lan'er to spar with and accumulate battle experience.
Xia Meixiang also did this for herself as Lan'er would provide tips and explanations on what she could improve whenever she lost to Lan'er.
Losing it to someone younger didn't demoralize her. She would often find herself training harder while admiring that there was someone out there who was as talented as she is.
Lastly, Shi Jingfei also improved as she received guidance from Lan'er and Xia Meixiang.
Although she was a little bit lacking in talent, her hard work and earnest effort is allowing her to reach the soles of Lan'er and Xia Meixiang.
Originally, Shi Jingfei was known for being talented, much more than her brother, who was the heir to the Shi Clan.
However, compared to Lan'er and Xia Meixiang, two geniuses of their paths, Shi Jinfei was short in talent.
Still, though, this never stopped her from chasing after them as she continued to use them as her goal of improving herself.
As a result, she had grown stronger and stronger, so much that she had completely outshined the younger generation, becoming similar to Xia Meixiang as a talented prodigy.
Similar to Zed, she also had the spear as her main weapon, so the two of them would always end up sparring with each other most of the time.
Although Zed was mediocre in spear arts, he was able to keep winning due to his rich experience in battle as well as his opportunistic traits.
Fighting with Zed was like fighting against a bush where a snake was lying in the wake, waiting for the perfect time to strike and kill the prey.
Zed also had a passive fighting style as he would often dodge or deflect attacks he received. What sets him apart from the rest of the mediocre talents in the world is his rich imagination and masterful execution of creating the opportunity himself.
All his moves are planned for a purpose, and that's why he could sometimes win against geniuses like Xia Meixiang and Lan'er.
Keep in mind that all their sparring contained no use of Qi or Mana. It was a sparring of martial arts and weapon proficiency.
-
In the middle courtyard, Zed and Lan'er stood against each other as both raised their weapons. Zed was using a sparring iron spear where the blades were unsharpened, and Lan'er wielded a dull one-bladed sword that was shorter than her master's Bloodseeker.
This sword had a matching resemblance to the katanas that Zed knew. It was customized to fit her current body.
The two siblings prepared themselves in a stance.
Lan'er looked at her brother before saying, "Please."
Zed nodded in understanding.
Today their fight will be a swordsman against a battlemage.
Just as Lan'er was thinking this, Zed suddenly raised his hand and a large ball of fire instantly covered Lan'er's vision. Her eyes widened in surprise before squinting and preparing to counterattack.
Her arm muscles flexed to the point where the veins were visible.
"Haa!" She shouted as she swung her sword and it cleaved through the middle of the large fireball.
She felt the heat brush upon her skin as the fireball passed by her. Immediately, her eyes glinted when she saw a spear's head nearing her face.
Clang!
She was already prepared for it and deflected it. However, the force was too heavy, so she shifted her head to the side to narrowly dodge the spear.
Zed shifted his spear in the direction that Lan'er dodged, intending to cut her neck. Lan'er immediately crouched before lunging at her brother's defenseless body.
She grinned, 'This is it!'
Just as the point of her blade was about to reach her brother, his body turned perfectly timed as to when her attack passed through him.
"!!"
The sole of Zed's spear hit Lan'er on her abdomen and swung her upwards.
"Gah!"
Lan'er immediately retreated even though she had her breath knocked out of her. The moment she did so, another large fireball appeared in front of her.
She made a grim smile before standing in a stance.
[Empress's Conquest: 4th technique]
Her right arm flexed and soon made a series of swings at inhumane speed.
Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!
She was able to destroy and cut through the fireball. However, behind that fireball was the second fireball.
Lan'er gritted her teeth and continued to swing.
Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!
Lan'er knew that a third fireball would appear behind the second one, so after destroying the second fireball, she took the chance to regain her footing and dodge to the side.
What she didn't expect, however, was that the third fireball was smaller but faster in speed. She wasn't prepared as the third fireball was already in front of her.
At the very least, she managed to position her blade in front of her so that the fireball would hit her sword first before her body.
Just as she was preparing to be launched away by the fireball, it dispersed and she felt a wave of heat pass through her. She ended up sitting on her butt because of the inertia brought on by the fireball.
Lan'er sighed before accepting her defeat.
"...How much was brother holding back?" She asked as Zed walked towards her.
"80%," Zed answered, and stretched out his hand.
Lan'er made a grim smile and took his hand. "As expected...."
Tang Xiurong who was watching the entire battle, couldn't help but want to comfort her disciple. Although Lan'er was indeed strong to the point where she could fight with Qi Foundation experts, it still wasn't enough compared to her Brother's supreme martial arts.
Tang Xiurong wanted to tell her that she set the goal too high, but for Lan'er, her brother was her role model. She wants to be as good as him and even surpass him so that she can protect him instead of the other way around.
Zed could see that she was depressed, but what could he do? She was the one who asked for it.
Zed pinched her cheeks. "Don't be so down, little Lan'er. It would take a very long time before you can beat your brother. In the meantime, just keep improving yourself."
He then caressed her face and looked into her eyes.
Lan'er looked back and saw her reflection in Zed's gentle and caring gaze.
"After all, if Lan'er defeats me then that would mean I'm weaker than Lan'er and if that's the case, how will I protect someone stronger than me?"
Lan'er smiled as she closed her eyes and focused on her brother's hand. She put her hand on top of his while feeling the warm feeling she felt from his palm. The warmth soothed her depressed heart and soon, she felt herself being happy again as she thought, 'Ahh... I love brother...'
She faintly nodded. "Mhmmm... Understood."
"Good." Zed smiled.
The siblings remained like that for some time before separating.
While wiping their sweat off, Lan'er decided to ask her brother. "If brother were to use his full strength then how long would I last?"
"Hmmm..." Zed thought for a second before answering, "I don't know. After all, I could also do this..."
Saying so, he pointed his finger at his spear, and it floated in mid-air. He then controlled it to make it zoom across the courtyard.
Zoom! Zoom!
A buzzing sound could be heard as the spear flew and cut through the wind at great speed. After showing how fast he could move it, he then motioned it to copy the spear techniques that he knew how to make.
Lan'er's eyes were glistening in awe while her Master's mouth was agape.
'That's an ability exclusive to Nascent Soul Masters! How can he move it like that when he doesn't even have the slightest Qi?!'
Tang Xiurong took a deep breath and calmed herself. 'Never mind, never mind. Remember how unusual this child is. Instead of thinking what he can do, I'm better off thinking about what he cannot do.'
'Still though... I really want to know what supreme martial arts that is, even the name will do.' She silently thought while remembering a conversation from the past.
-Flashback-
The moon was shining brightly as Lan'er repeatedly swung her sword into the courtyard. Tang Xiurong was watching her disciple continue training despite her exhausted body.
Today was the first day she challenged her brother's full force and suffered an overwhelming defeat. However, it's not because she got cocky and thought she was strong enough.
It was because she wanted to see how high the mountain she needed to climb to reach her brother, and now that she had seen the foot of the mountain, she was determined to climb it. Which resulted in her current state.
She was extremely motivated to the point that she was still swinging her sword past midnight.
Remembering how fast her disciple lost earlier, Tang Xiurong spoke to her disciple. "Disciple, If your brother's martial arts is so strong, why don't you ask him to teach it to you."
Lan'er stopped swinging her sword while taking in large sets of breaths. After resting for a second, she looked at her Master and shook her head.
"Although I'm sure my brother will teach it to me, I do not want it because he has his path and I have mine." She said.
"Even though you could become as powerful as him?"
Lan'er nodded and smiled. "I want to become powerful but with my strength and effort. If I received my brother's help again then... It's impossible to become someone strong and protect him."
Tang Xiurong remained quiet while Lan'er continued, "I have Master who will guide me to Immortal Realm. If I chose brother's martial arts now then wouldn't be an insult to Master who took me in as her disciple?"
"I see..." Tang Xiurong smiled as well. "You are the correct disciple and because of your decision, I promise you this. I will make you powerful enough to reach your brother.
But as for beating and surpassing him, that depends on your efforts!"
"Yes, Master!"
"Now a thousand more swings before we retire for the night." Tang Xiurong ordered.
Brimming with motivation, Lan'er resumed swinging her sword.
Tang Xiurong smiled in satisfaction.
-End Flashback-
Seeing her excitedly ask Zed questions, Tang Xiurong smiled while inwardly praising Zed for being able to properly comfort his sister.
'But I guess that's because he is the one who raised her...'
Tang Xiurong lived with the siblings for the past two years and she understood full well how much they cared for each other. Especially when she heard Lan'er speak about how they used to live.
'Traveling for hundreds of kilometers every day? Raised in the wilderness for years and everything she knows was taught by her brother?' Tang Xiurong wouldn't have believed her stories if she didn't see the living proof which is Zed and Lan'er's current state.
The biggest evidence was the scars on Zed's body. They were the scars of a hunter who fought dozens of beasts that were larger and stronger than him.
While Tang Xiurong was left to her own thoughts, Zed and Lan'er entered the house and took a bath together.
It is normal for them to take a bath together and have been doing that since Lan'er gained awareness. Seeing as Lan'er was approaching the age where she should become more self-aware, Zed thought that they should start taking baths separately.
But when he suggested that to Lan'er, the latter threw a tantrum and cried. She said that she would rather stink than bathe alone.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary