Karni Shifted far above the sea as the Sabretooth Dolphin crunched at him. That big one… "Shit." It was a Ten-Thousand-Year-old Soul Beast.
"You forgot to use the grid." The crow ignored his worries and complained.
"Right, of course." Karni felt nervous, but chuckled nonetheless. In a battle, he accidentally returned to his old instincts. It was time to create new ones.
How many of them were there? Karni overlooked the sea and counted. "1, 2, 3, 4… 20? Fuck." He looked up at his teacher and showed him a middle finger—he knew well that his teacher was not going to help him.
Hu Jie couldn't help but laugh. He picked the perfect trial, making great use of Karni's little weakness called kindness. Because these were not only not Evil Soul Beasts, but were 'Good' Soul Beasts, Karni really couldn't afford to kill, or he would not be deserving of the Tang Sect. These were Intense, sure—he looked at the biting, 180-degree biting dolphins—but empathetic to those who showed any kindness.
"If it means anything," Karni told the biggest dolphin, "I am sorry." He made his eyes as googly as he could.
The dolphin jumped at him. Damn it, they didn't bite… well, they did, just not in the right way. Karni Shifted again, this time in accordance with the grid.
These bitches definitely fucking bit. He'd be crunched in half in a jiffy if he couldn't dodge on time.
It didn't help that this was actually his first time using the grid outside of water. The air was much looser than water, and everything was less constrained, harder to shape.
Karni didn't forget his most important weapon in this test. His Sound. Disordered Drumstick Resonance was already unfolding—and thankfully, Karni's understanding of Sound was great enough that he could easily manipulate the Sound to not be deadly. He learned it long ago after Grandma Ying's death.
He spun the drumsticks, building up the Disordered Drumstick Resonance. On the other hand, he kept Relaxing Aura, which had already grown more potent, as a trump card. Assaulting enemies with it was currently more effective than having it in use constantly.
He used the dolphins themselves as bouncing pads for the drumsticks. They didn't quite bounce his drumsticks back the same way the ground did. They were better. The dolphins were perfectly bouncy to build up his power.
Three of the dolphins quickly fell as Karni jumped around them and Shifted from left to right. Those were the weaker ones. Hundred Year ones. The rest were all Thousand Year Soul Beasts.
Karni really did have mixed feelings as he bent his body to the side naturally and hit another dolphin. He had to remind himself that he was the one who insulted them first, lest he accidentally go into kill mode—that would simplify things. They really were ugly—and he had to watch out to not say it out loud, lest he wanted more of their wrath.
At the 18th hit, the melody changed, and Karni took that as go mode. He Shifted in between a group of clustered up Sabretooth Dolphins. He sent his Drumstick toward a dolphin with the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separation technique aimed at the perfect angle. It bounced off of one dolphin into the next one, then from that one to the third one and back to the first one. A perfect circle which took into account the dolphins movement. In quick succession it bounced off of each one three times, and Karni pulled the Drumstick back at the 27th hit.
The Sabretooth Dolphin leader who Karni offended took to defending her brethren after seeing that. Karni just disposed of three of theirs with ease. The leader was smart, it knew when it encountered a dangerous opponent.
Yet Karni used the 27th hit perfectly to align the change of Sound with attacking the leader.
The leader wailed at the sudden confusion and dunked underwater. Karni smiled. That affected it already? Good.
Yet 3 seconds later he saw a golden dolphin jumping at him from below. He Shifted, while the real dolphin leader jumped up from below the next second. It growled in anger at missing Karni again.
It was here that Karni realised that the Sabretooth Dolphin leader knew some sneaky tactics. But Karni's dodge was also a set up for the next attack.
Karni jumped into another cluster of dolphins. Five of them. He threw the drumstick into the group, at a different angle this time, and for good reason.
The drumstick bounced between them like a ping-pong ball and knocked unconscious the first three instantly. Karni Shifted, with which he also adapted the trajectory of the drumstick, as the two drumsticks attracted each other. It bounced between the last two Sabretooth Dolphins twice. 34 hits now.
He Shifted over to the last, biggest group. Twelve Sabretooth Dolphins remained here, and Karni had to focus. He sent the Drumstick into one of them and knocked it out, but the drumstick bounced back toward him.
Karni caught it… with the other drumstick, directly putting them together, reforming the Bo Staff. The 36th melody played inside the staff, and Karni Shifted at the very centre of the group.
It was no use to continue building up the stacks. The power increase would not do much for him and he had yet to comprehend the Disordered Drumstick Resonance to the 45th hit.
So, he spun the Staff. With the power of 36 hits, he executed Resonant Spiral Force. It pulled the group of 11 inside, and Karni stopped for the split second in mid-air, a force opposite to the gravity holding him up. Droplets of water from the sea floated into the air, until Karni forced the staff the other way, releasing everything outward.
The eleven dolphins were thrown and pushed into the water with force so great, some of them were knocked out. It was a shockwave which made waves four meters big. And a giant momentary inverted dome at the top of the water.
Then Karni did the one thing none of the dolphins would expect: he Shifted underwater—into their territory.
There it was: the grid, far clearer than the one outside. Cubes of 50cm height, width and depth. In the last month, he made them twice as small as at the start, allowing for better accuracy. The only unfortunate thing? Hop and him gave up on figuring out why he could not sense Space; they instead practiced on how to move Sound with greater efficiency.
He carved out a shape of three cubes, fitting him inside, and Shifted. He joined three different cubes and used them as an outline, a shape, in which he could fit. Even connected it sideways in times, forming semi triangles instead—one of the benefits of using Sound, easier to do than with Space. Hop apparently needed a long time to connect them diagonally through Space.
One by one, the dolphins were knocked out. None of them saw him coming from below. Why would a human attack them from below?
That was, until the leader of the group, the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Sabretooth Dolphin, noticed.
Karni had no choice but to Shift away, leaving three dolphins, which included the leader, standing. Now the group stayed together. The leader stayed with them.
Karni decided to stay in the ocean, but for an entirely different reason now. He waited. He baited. Come. Come to me.
The group charged together… and Karni just put out his hand, while the Sound thumped and travelled amplified through the water, like the Sound of his heartbeat. No. It was his heartbeat. Karni transmitted it for the three remaining dolphins to hear.
His blood boiled; Karni focused the Sound through it to instigate it further. His Blood essence had greatly increased in these days, and it was also best used as this kind of a surprise.
Just before the dolphins reached him, Karni turned it up a notch, using all of his body to channel the unique powers of his Bloodline, the Relaxing Aura, all into the water.
The three dolphins stopped abruptly on their own, shocked, confused. Just as the leader was about to reawaken its senses, Karni tapped its head softly with a panda paw, bloodline and Sound mixed through it. The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Sabretooth Dolphin was knocked out and the other two followed suit.
Karni's fur, yes, his fur, his Fluffy Bamboo Panda came out on its own. It was why he used the paw at the end instead of the Bo Staff. He swam out and breathed. He felt refreshed. And his body felt… his Martial Soul felt… excited. Powerful. Flowing with the very surroundings.
He opened his eyes, and noticed his fur swimming even outside of water, flowing freely through the air, not just standing as normal fur. But more than that, the fur on his head—his hair—made a stark contrast between a deep black and an almost glowing white. The fur was like a crown of black and white fire, yet not imposing, no it looked noble, welcoming, regal. Accepting of all its subjects.
Hu Jie grabbed Karni and looked him over; Karni's fur was still flowing freely. "The Royal Panda… By gods, those legends were real?"
"Royal Panda?" Karni wondered, looking at himself, feeling refreshed, though he was quickly losing consciousness.
But before he did, he heard Hu Jie say to him in amazement. "Karni, your blood has the Royalty of all Pandas running through it."
… … …
Karni woke up exhausted yet reinvigorated. That fight really did test him, and he had to use everything he'd found out during the last month and a half: the grid, his bloodline and the water as a catalyst for both the Sound and the Bloodline. He had to figure out the weak ones from the strong ones instantly, and use the right tactics to defeat them one by one. Every move was calculated, every move of power, the timing of the ability, had to be perfect.
The dolphins appeared almost helpless in front of him, but that was because of how much he strained himself. A single mistake, a single chomp at him, and his limbs would have been gone. Even the hundred year ones would have likely been able to bite off his limbs. His defence was not high enough, despite his many years at training the body.
However, he felt a rising confidence in his body now. After this evolution. He already felt stronger.
He heard a knock. Hu Jie entered after Karni welcomed him in. "Come with me. Let's get you something to eat."
The two went toward Tang Wulin's dorm, Karni already knew the way perfectly by now. Yet before they even got close, Hu Jie asked something. "Did you know your Bloodline is the Royal Panda Bloodline? Well, your Martial Soul, I mean."
Karni shook his head. "I thought it was a mutated Martial Soul." He called out the Martial Soul. "Particularly because I haven't found any Panda Soul Beast which had a constant Bamboo in its mouth."
Hu Jie stopped and looked at him—at that bamboo. "Huh… That is not a characteristic of the Royal Panda."
"So it's still a mutation?" Karni asked.
"No. It shouldn't be. You have literally all characteristics of the Royal Panda. The flowing fur and the fiery crown are the biggest indicators."
"So I guess I don't have a Fluffy Bamboo Panda anymore, but a Royal Bamboo Panda." Karni made a cheeky smile.
Hu Jie sighed on the other hand. "Karni… The Royal Panda Soul Beasts are somewhat legends, you cannot just have a variation of such powerful Martial Soul… something's up with that Bamboo of yours. It's somehow external."
"What are the legends about my Martial Soul?" Karni felt curious. He always just assumed he got these Martial Souls because he was reincarnated, but it made less sense for the Panda if it was a real being once. The Bo Staff he could easily understand—it had some connection to the Great Flow he saw when he first came here. That Martial Soul was likely the direct consequence of his reincarnation… then what of the Panda? Where did it come from?
"The Royal Pandas," Hu Jie continued walking, "and yes, multiple of them, existed in long, long past. The sources we have tell us they are older than the legends of the two dragons. There were many of them, each with their own little kingdom. We only know this because of other ancient Soul Beasts. They made order in the Soul Beast world before any order existed. We don't know much of their abilities, that Relaxing Aura of yours, as you call it, however, aligns perfectly with what the legends say, and of their fall."
Karni felt confused, but subconsciously activated his Relaxing Aura as he heard that. The first thing he noticed was the increase of its intensity. The flow of his fur even slowed down, as if it itself was sending the Aura in its surroundings.
Karni sensed his teacher using Soul Power, a decent amount of it.
Hu Jie looked at him. "Impressive. If I don't use my Soul Power, my Spiritual Power actually gets affected to the point you're exhausting quite a bit of it. In an hour, you'd actually be able to reduce it by 10 percent. If I fought your Aura that is. If I went along with it nothing would truly happen, except for me being basically unable to attack you as I would feel sympathetic toward you."
"If my ability is already this powerful now… how exactly did the Royal Pandas go extinct?"
"Due to the very nature connected to that ability. They were enormously kind. Never even fought anyone. They would befriend everyone, get a group together, hence forming little kingdoms. But as the Royal Pandas thrived, various powerful clans of Soul Beasts rose in their wake, individuals which could resist their Aura, beings that were ambitious. The Royal Pandas simply didn't fight back. Or at least, that is my guess, now that I know your ability. Beforehand we only knew the story and of their kindness as well as refusal to fight back." Hu Jie sighed. "Thank you, Karni. You just gave the Tang Sect scholars a lot to think about."
Karni nodded, and Hu Jie continued. "Ironically, if the Pandas had left nature to its chaotic state, they would've easily survived to this day, due to that ability. Creatures just wouldn't attack them, as there would be no reason to."
"But that went against their nature. They brought people together. The regal presence was also a part of them." Karni jumped in. "I can sort of relate, in that way. It is genuinely hard for me to hate people. Yet I at least am capable of it. I also make conscious decisions about the connections I make. They didn't. They befriended everyone. There is also a part of me that wants to… well control everything, even if it's just from the shadows." Gods knew that that last part was what got him here in the first place.
"But I am not controlled by these feelings." Karni thought out loud. The Royal Pandas, at least based on Hu Jie's accounts, were completely controlled by those aspects.
"Probably because you are a Twin Martial Soul Master, and a Human, first and foremost…. Ironically," Hu Jie was thoughtful. "They had—or have—a counterpart called Chaos Panda. That one we are far more familiar with."
"How come?"
"That's a classified Tang Sect secret." Hu Jie smiled.
"There's a living member?" Karni's eyes widened. There would be no other reason why it would be classified otherwise.
"The Chaos Pandas, there were far fewer of them, but they were tyrannical. They were known in lore to cause chaos and destruction, but we know why. They had the ability to adapt to any environment as long as they stayed long enough in it. They didn't thrive from beginning, but as they absorbed the energies of their surroundings, they became one with it… and its undisputed ruler, as they had complete control over it."
"That sounds more like having an actual kingdom than the Royal Panda."
Hu Jie laughed. "Indeed, yet their name is what it is for a reason. The chaos happened before that, and rarely would any living creature be willing to stay under it. If anything, the other Soul Beasts tended to kill them off before they had a chance to rise… hence, the chaos. But really, the names also came out of their looks." He pointed at Karni's crown.
"The Chaos Panda," Hu Jie continued. "Have these tattoos instead of the typical colouring. Or at least, they remind us of tattoos; those are also quite chaotic in their designs. Ones have crowns, the others have a chaotic fur design."
"Yet more irony," Hu Jie stopped before their door, giving his last words before lunch to Karni. "They are surprisingly kind, as long as you let them be… and willing to work with you."
Karni looked at him. "Like the Sabretooth Dolphins."
Hu Jie nodded and opened the door. "Like the Sabretooth Dolphins… Mu Ye! We've come to eat, make us something delicious."
The grumble could be heard before Karni truly entered the room. "You fat fuck, you eat the most out of everyone here!"
"I'm not fat," Hu Jie looked offended. "I'm fluffy."
Mu Ye pointed at Karni. "He's fluffy. You're just fat."
Karni sat next to Tang Wulin. "What did your Martial Soul evolve into."
Tang Wulin smiled and pulled out his Bluesilver Grass—looking completely different. Thick, gold, yet more blue than before. And it seemed… proud. "The Bluesilver Emperor." That was all that Tang Wulin said, yet Karni could tell that he was still feeling giddy.
"And yours?" Wulin asked.
Karni pulled out his Panda. "My Bo Staff stayed the same. This one however…" He let Tang Wulin look at his living, flowing fur and the slightly glowing, fire-like crown made of fur.
"We're both royalty." Karni chuckled. "You an emperor, and me a Royal Panda, though since it kept that Bamboo stick, I call it the Royal Bamboo Panda."
Tang Wulin offered to shake hands, and Karni took it, slightly confused. "From one ruler to another, let us now be far more elegant than we were before, as the rulers should be."
Karni made an exaggerated noble gesture, and Tang Wulin returned an equally exaggerated one. Then the food arrived. It was time to dig in and forget the pretence. Royalty? Who were they kidding. They were just Shrek students.
… … …
Karni patted his belly, satisfied… then he realised. He wasn't feeling sleepy… if anything a bit lazy, but that was about it. Wow. This awakening really did help hi-
The cruise ship abruptly stopped. Voices echoed all around them. Powerful, booming voices. "Old Saber, why are you attacking the humans?"
"Why are you attacking the humans, Old Tentacle."
"They killed one of my subordinates. You didn't answer me."
"They insulted my third wife. Called her disgusting."
"Of course they did."
"What was that?"
Old Tentacle bellowed a laugh. "Nothing, nothing. How about you and I team up? Show these humans what it means to assault us Soul Beasts."
Cries of Soul Beasts sounded out, a triumphant, aggressive war cry.
Karni and Tang Wulin looked at each other, then at their teachers, who seemed not to care. Tang Wulin then looked back at Karni. "You insulted a beast? And that's why they're attacking?"
Karni shrugged. "I got surprised. Sabretooth Dolphins, you know?"
Tang Wulin paused, then facepalmed. "I actually understand what you mean."
"We should go." Karni pointed outside, and Tang Wulin came with. Karni let Tang Wulin lead the way. For all intents and purposes, for this trip, Tang Wulin was his Captain.
They came to the rest of the team. They were together with another group from the Star Luo Continent. Karni noticed some bad history between the two groups, but didn't care. Must've happened during the first few days when Karni hung out with the princess. And speaking of the devil, the princess arrived as well.
She looked at him, and Tang Wulin looked at her, then at him. "Karni, keep with the princess."
The princess was about to comment, but Tang Wulin raised his hand, serious.
"This is a dangerous situation. You and Karni know each other's abilities better, I trust, than we would. Karni also isn't too used to working with us, nor in a bigger team. He's used to Siduo, who, I've heard, you know."
The princess nodded and had no further complaints. Though Karni did. "Wulin, during this year, it would be good if we get familiar in terms of teamwork."
Wulin nodded. "But not in this situation."
Karni nodded. "Let's go then."
The Battle Started. Elder Cai went to confront the two great beasts. Definitely Hundred Thousand Year Old Soul Beasts. Karni felt a slight chill. He insulted one of their wives? What an unfortunate loss, those Soul Beasts could be befriended otherwise.
"Give us the humans who assaulted us, and we will leave." The beasts demanded. But would these people really back down so easily? Shrek? And Star Luo? There was a Titled Douluo who came with the princess, though he wasn't as strong as Elder Cai, it seemed.
The Titled Douluos confronted the beasts. Hu Jie and Mu Ye came to the group and looked at the battle, as if entertained.
Wu Zhangkong then arrived and had to stop before Hu Jie and Mu Ye, sensing their auras.
He asked Tang Wulin something, who answered some things back. Karni didn't intrude. Then Wu Zhangkong looked toward the sea and flew toward it. His abilities charged, and in a matter of seconds, instead of a sea, came a field of ice, with the shape of the sea's waves.
He looked to Tang Wulin's group and Karni. "Go! Defend the ship!"
The alarm sounded on the ship as well. "Would please all Soul Masters lend us your aid. The Sea Beasts are attacking!"
Karni jumped down with the princess and activated Vision Bestowal on her.
"Be ready for a lot of teleporting. Also, let's try not to kill the dolphins. They are usually friendly."
The princess nodded and Karni Shifted her and himself. A total of 7 cubes in the grid was used to Shift them. Karni was satisfied as they jumped near the beasts, his Spiritual Power consumption was much better than it once was.
The Sound built up and the two attacked together. Surprisingly, Yun'er added her own Spiritual Abilities and connected them with Karni's. Karni felt like his perception of the space increased exponentially, in such detail… his grid was even easier to imagine. That was the same ability that Huo Yuhao once had!
The future felt almost fixed with this. It was incredible. The Spiritual Analysis of the surroundings was already detailed enough that one could predict things, that combined with genuine future sight? The combo was wondrous.
They felt strong and jumped in a group of twenty whole beasts. Holding them back by themselves. But it didn't take long for the rest of the beasts to notice this. They joined the fray. Forty of them assaulting them now.
They were not struggling, even with that. Their teamwork, despite their inexperience at working together, was absolutely perfect. Their abilities made it so. However, this fluidity brought even more Soul Beasts.
Karni circulated his Bloodline and released it wildly. All the beasts stopped, and Yun'er used this chance to speed through them, incapacitating them with Hell Rush and Hell Blade-Hell Hundred Claws combo. Even the Tang Sect abilities were there.
She had become almost as proficient as Siduo with the Hell Cat Martial Soul. In fact, her movements were even better thanks to her Spiritual Perception. She knew exactly how to manoeuvre between the giant group of Soul Beasts. She was elegance, while Siduo was more of a reckoning.
The problem was that they became a focus point, and Karni couldn't keep his Aura going constantly. He used it occasionally, at opportune moments, to do the most damage. Beasts lay unconscious around him and he breathed. This feeling of release and freedom was great. He had already grown by a whole rank in this short month and a half. He was now rank 47.
Interestingly enough, with this constant practice, even Hope increased her cultivation age by a small amount. She jumped from 2650 to 2700. A 50-year increase. Incredibly small, but it was something, it seemed that energy from the medicine he took so long ago did stay, it was just unable to go anywhere. He made some calculations. If this number could increase throughout his cultivation, he might have a hope of getting Hope to 10k rank when he was a Titled Douluo. But there was still the problem of her species never having a 10k member before…
Karni noticed two flying—a golden and a dark figure—joining in to help. He turned back, Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu were flying into the fray. He looked them in the eye sharing his Vision Bestowal with them, then sending a quick massage of sound, explaining how it works. They hadn't worked together until now.
The two immediately made great use of the ability. What would usually be reckless attacks instead appeared to be calculated. A sword of light and a sword of darkness cut through the beasts like butter, yet whenever the beasts were about to surround them, they backed off at the perfect time.
They backed off toward Karni and nodded at him. They were surprised to find tens of Soul Beasts lying unconscious around him, his Bo Staff booming with Sound. An aura of relaxation around him.
While this line was holding, the Titled Douluos were not doing so well.
… … …
"We should join." Hu Jie sighed. They didn't want to reveal themselves, but these two Great Beasts were basically royalty of the Soul Beast world. Not to mention Sea Beasts being much harder to fight in their territory.
Mu Ye sighed as well. "Fine."
The two exploded into the air. Mu Ye faced the Octopus and Hu Jie faced the dolphin who looked more like an especially cursed whale. It looked like it had both too much and too little to eat the past few days.
"Who are you?" The dolphin asked.
"If it makes you feel better," Hu Jie was solemn. "The person who insulted your wife is genuinely sorry. He was put under pressure by me."
The dolphin snorted. "Phah, as if I care, convince my wife, and then I'll go back."
Hu Jie sighed. "Fine." His body enlarged; his Battle Armour released. Four-word. The energy exuded was menacing. He looked at his disciple, who looked up at him.
The Sabretooth Dolphin Great Beast attacked, and Hu Jie just stood there. His Armour took the blow, along with his body. Both bent, the armour along with the round body. It looked unnatural, like a cushion being hit. Hu Jie stood, then tensed, pushing the attack back into the dolphin's face with full force.
He was unscathed.
… … …
Karni looked up in absolute amazement. That was it. He knew where he would take his Royal Bamboo Panda in the future. Full body defence. Had Hu Jie planned this from the beginning? Karni could tell his own body would be suitable for those abilities.
The fights in the sky didn't last long. Anything that the dolphin threw at Hu Jie, Hu Jie just returned. At the end, Hu Jie attacked with his… butt. And the dolphin was forced to surrender to the butt. That was something Karni was not sure he wanted to imitate.
Mu Ye on the other hand showcased the power of his mecha and the traditional strength of the Body Sect. Overbearing power, dominating over all.
The rest of the beasts fled as their rulers fell. Karni returned to the ship and noticed Wulin, who returned before him, being questioned by Elder Cai. Mu Ye was with him, as well as Hu Jie.
Mu Ye shook off Elder Cai. "Is it your business to mind about my business?"
Elder Cai huffed, while Hu Jie looked on with apology but did not say anything. It was clear he was on Mu Ye's side. Elder Cai decided to exit the situation. She could sense these two were stronger than her.
Karni joined the little group there. Mu Ye noticed Karni approaching. "Onto the second stage of the training."
"Second stage?" Karni and Wulin asked at the same time.
They were wooshed away and Karni watched as Wulin was thrown into the water, tied to the cruise ship, being battered by water. Training. Right. More like torture.
"Don't worry, you won't have to do that." Hu Jie came next to Karni. He smiled and showed him a little device, the shape of a human, one which would perfectly fit for him to step into it.
"How long is this going to last?"
"Until the end of the trip."
Karni gulped and Hu Jie frowned. "You should be thankful. I personally made this device to suit your training. Step in."
Karni did as told with a bit of fear. As soon as he was in, he was locked in place by belts. He couldn't move.
"Now then." Hu Jie grabbed the device. With Karni in it, it looked like a giant metal armour. He tied it to the boat with a metal chain.
"No, no, no, no." Karni started saying from inside of the device. He just saw an honest smile from Hu Jie.
"Don't worry, it will serve you well. It'll just be a tad painful." He threw Karni over the cruise ship and into the water.
Except, unlike Tang Wulin who was being battered on the surface, Karni sunk and had the propellers of the ship blowing into him underwater. Okay, this wasn't that bad-
The device started moving—bending itself and Karni inside with it.
Soon Karni screamed. Thankfully, the device had an oxygen tank for him. He was bent 180 degrees, his legs and head almost touching. Then he slowly stopped screaming as the device repositioned. With the water constantly flowing into his body, it was like an uncomfortable massage.
Then the device moved again. The upper body moved to the right, and the lower to the left. It started fine, into painful, into extreme, twisted pain. Karni screamed again. He lost control over his own voice.
The screams would have been heard far and wide across the cruise ship, if not for the fact Karni was forcefully put underwater.
Karni cursed. This was torture. This was worse than Wulin's training! It had to be worse!