Karni looked at the waves from below the sea. They looked quite hypnotic from this side.
His head turned to the other side by force. His face was now looking to the left and his body to the right, even slightly further. Wow, look at the waves! They're waves, but on the left! Oh yeah, and his body hurt a bit, not too comfortable. By this point, he didn't really care anymore.
He was forced to lean over. His head reached his feet, then further between his legs. Mm. This pose had actually become comfortable recently.
Then it turned the other way. His back bent around, and his legs over his head. He almost had to clench his teeth as there was slight pain, but it wasn't too bad. He sighed instead. If he were back on Earth, his body would have now have the flexibility of professional gymnasts.
His muscles moved peculiarly as well. He watched Tang Wulin above him, who, like him, seemed content with the situation by now, and just let the waves batter him. His body was likely sturdy as a rock by now, impenetrable. Karni's worked differently. Its very shape adjusted to the flow underneath the water. Small waves could be seen on his muscles as the waves hit him.
This was exactly what Hu Jie wanted: Karni's flexibility and the ability to distribute force freely. It worked similarly to using CCCD on the body, except the body was doing it on its own, owing much to his Bloodline and its recent awakening. If not for this training, the awakened Martial Soul would've needed longer to affect his body in such a way. Pandas were squishy—and now Karni was squishy too.
He was slowly lifted to the very top by Hu Jie, who smiled. The terrifying thing about Hu Jie was that his smiles were not like Mo Qing's. Karni only found this out this past month. He did not know his teacher was so ruthless. His smiles were genuine—he enjoyed seeing Karni grow through suffering.
"Lucky you." Hu Jie made that terrifying smile. "Your training ends here for now, tomorrow we reach Star Luo Continent. Next, you must develop your Martial Soul suitably. We'll find you a perfect Spirit Soul… I already have one in mind."
"Are we going to the Spirit Pagoda immediately then? I'm guessing one of the Tower Attacks has it?" Karni was decently confident in his guess.
Hu Jie looked almost offended. "Fuck no. The Spirit Pagoda can go suck its own smelly ass."
"Okaaaay?" Karni did not expect such a vile reaction from his teacher.
"You must know to never trust Spirit Pagoda. I'm working hard to demean their influence in Star Luo Empire. As a future prospect of our sect, you must also work hard to not let them get too much power. Their Spirit Souls make them extremely likely to cause future trouble."
Karni felt a semblance of hope. If only he could tell his teacher of what was going to happen in a few years. The destruction the Spirit Pagoda was going to cause. The constant voices he'd been hearing while in Shrek…
He shook his head. "Then where are we going?"
"I'll need to get permission from the main sect first. I should get it as it is my request, but it will take a while to get the message across. By the time you're finished with the competition, I should have the answer."
"Actually," Karni scratched the back of his neck. "I was thinking of not joining. Without Siduo, it just doesn't feel right." Over the last two months of constant training, he really wasn't as excited about it anymore as he was at the start.
"Nonsense. You're joining. Why do you think the academy sent you here without her in the first place?"
"How do you know that?"
Hu Jie just gave him a look. "You really think I wouldn't look into it? That Elder Cai was quite chatty once I was nice to her. Once I made fun of my nephew it was easy sailing from there."
Karni chuckled. "Fine, I'll join that competition."
"Good, good. I'm curious to see how you'll do against the Monster Academy." Hu Jie hummed to himself.
… … …
They arrived. A different port than last time. A much bigger city, not some remote town. Of course. Their last trip was somewhat secret, this one was an international meeting.
All ambassadors including the 11 members of Shrek boarded a train to Star Luo City. It always felt weird to Karni when thinking of the name of the city. He preferred to think of it as the Star Luo Capital.
He suddenly noticed the rest of the group, particularly Tang Wulin, tense up on the train. He sat opposite to him, not next to him—that was Gu Yue's seat. "You okay?"
"Let's just say I have bad experience with trains."
"Oh." … "Ohhhhh!" Karni remembered.
Tang Wulin looked at him, almost feeling ashamed. Despite the two not having talked much during the trip, they felt closer. Comrades who went through the same suffering. It was a surprising comfort to know you weren't alone in such situations.
"I mean, what's the worst that can happen? This is an official envo-" Karni paused. "Shit."
"Karni?" The rest of his companions looked at him. Karni looked at Tang Wulin. "Remember that thing I once told you about with Siduo?"
"Yes… No way." Tang Wulin looked at him in shock. "Here as well?"
Karni nodded. "I don't remember the exact timing but… should I tell this? Honestly, there aren't really any casualties. This place is well protected. I only know there is going to be a fight, and really, I am pretty sure we win overwhelmingly. You'll even get nice hammers." Karni made a cheeky smile.
Tang Wulin settled back. "Forget it then, I do not want to put you in a situation you would have to be questioned in." He turned to the rest of the team who looked confused. "No one speaks of this conversation. Just enjoy the ride."
Karni was genuinely surprised that every single one of them decided to ignore it after Wulin ordered them to. Huh. "But we might as well prepare anyway. Make it more efficient." Karni shined a bright smile. "I should introduce my abilities to everyone."
… … …
The train derailed and the group jumped out. "Ready?" Karni shouted.
"Do it." Wulin nodded. "Everyone, follow my lead."
Karni Shifted the whole group. In the grid, he Shifted a giant 3m by 3m cube. Or a 6 by 6 by 6 cubes of 50cm cubes joined together. It took a good chunk of his Spiritual Soul Power. Twenty percent for the one Shift.
As they were out, Gu Yue helped. She teleported each of them to the agreed upon locations. They did make a plan. A spearhead formation with Tang Wulin, Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu at the forefront. Karni was the front most control centre, Gu Yue was the middle control centre and Xu Xiaoyan was at the back. Ye Xinglan and Xie Xie took the wings of the formation, and Xu Lizhi stayed between Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue for protection.
A hostile mecha army was waiting outside of the train. Many of the powerhouses from their side also showed up after a few seconds.
Tang Wulin pointed forward, golden scales shining. "We charge!"
Karni Shifted the group again. For the final time now, as it would cost too much to Shift everyone again. Another 20 percent of Spiritual Power was lost. He was at 60 percent left now. Any more and he would have to be careful about his usage of Spiritual Power.
They appeared in the middle of a small Mecha Battalion. It was the perfect surprise attack. Tang Wulin immediately squished a Mecha with his bare claws. Karni stayed in the forefront for now, offering direct support.
Everyone had his Vision Bestowal, and it could be felt. Their teamwork was already good, but now they moved as one, despite not looking like it. The only person Karni semi missed was the princess. She was at the forefront of the train, with the rest of the Star Luo people. She was unable to convince them to join the Shrek group. Karni could've greatly benefitted from her Spiritual abilities right now. He still marvelled at the effects they brought forth last time.
His eye sharpened as he noticed Xu Lizhi almost being targeted. He Shifted him closer to Gu Yue who was already attacking that very mecha. His Purple Demon Eyes were being active with his Golden Insight, this was putting forth his best.
He noticed another one attempt to grab Yuanen Yehui's Giant Titan Ape form. He Shifted her above the mecha, into the air, and she immediately switched to her Fallen Angel Martial Soul. She thought up that tactic as soon as Karni explained his abilities.
Xu Xiaoyan was glancing at him, and he nodded. He Shifted her closer to a mecha, but with it came his drumstick, filled with an incredibly high frequency to shatter the mecha's glass. It was a Purple Mecha.
The glass wobbled for two seconds, then broke into pieces, and that's when Xu Xiaoyan implemented her Absolute Control of her Star element on the pilot.
Karni hadn't just strengthened his body. His Spiritual Power and Soul Power went through a great change these last few months. His Soul Power felt like it had a special quality to it now, a different kind to before. It also rose by another rank. He was Rank 47.
But he was more excited about his Spiritual Power. He was at a bottleneck. His next breakthrough would mean the Spirit Abyss Realm!
He glanced around… for now, they were safe… wait, two more pilots were coming into their little group. He caught Wulin's eye and both of them nodded. He Shifted Wulin and himself toward the two mechas. They weren't purple like the others they just fought. No, these two were Black.
One of them grabbed two hammers, another a giant sword. Karni and Wulin's eyes shone together. "Karni, are those my hammers?"
"Should be. Lemme take the other one though."
"Have at it." Tang Wulin charged with a Dragon's Roar.
Karni had a much simpler solution. He raised his hands at the mecha, giving up. The mecha, who just before saw him controlling the whole battlefield, hesitated. This was a teenager at the end of the day.
Karni immediately Shifted. Where? Karni smiled and breathed in the metallic air. "Doesn't feel as good as mine, but it will do." He looked up front, the pilot outside the cockpit—and Karni was in his place, piloting the mecha.
This Shift had to be done the old fashion way. He had to smoothly fall into the cockpit to automatically equip controls. He bonked the former pilot outside on the head with the width of the sword then held it firmly.
This Sword was a Greatsword. Just like the one he liked. Except it was of a much higher quality.
He glanced to the side. Tang Wulin was already holding the two gigantic hammers, though the monster did not use a mecha. Both of them just found a match made in heaven for them.
Tang Wulin wielded the hammers with his body, and Karni charged with the Greatsword inside the mecha—he was not strong enough to wield that giant sword with his body. Not yet.
He went into his stance—which he had yet to name, as it wasn't refined yet—and slashed. Damn did it feel good to hold a Greatsword again.
He parried a Purple mecha with ease… Correction. That Greatsword just slashed through the weapon with ease. Karni had to consciously stop himself from admiring that. He attacked again and split the enemy mecha in half.
He really did hit gold! He intercepted another mecha. This one he did parry. The quality of the opponent's weapon was better than the previous one's. Karni felt a spike of satisfaction hit his brain with the cling of the two weapons. It was like a switch in his brain just went on. He executed the smoothest mecha manoeuvre he'd done so far, perfectly balancing from one end of the mecha to the other, lowering almost to the floor, then bring the weapon back up and himself with it as an attack. One manoeuvre slashed through another enemy mecha.
Yet another mecha that was about to attack him stopped, then ran away. Karni felt confused, but the opponents felt more so! The mechas were not supposed to move in such a way! Karni bent the mecha the same way he bent his body now. And most mechas moved based on the body, of course the mechas didn't move that way usually!
Three mechas came. Three together had the courage to challenge him. Karni jumped, supported by that Greatsword pierced into the ground. The mechas hit the Greatsword instead of Karni's mecha. His mecha lost balance, but losing balance was not a disadvantage to Karni. He executed a mecha version of the Drunken Ghost Dance, this time with even better fluidity than before, and slashed wide. He sliced two mechas, one fully in half, and the other only partially, cutting off an arm instead.
The remaining two attacked, one without an arm. Karni manoeuvred to their side, but they followed. They were ready for him, watched each other's backs. Karni breathed in—for the first time in a while, he sensed that itch for battle—he wanted to win.
Karni's mecha started leaning—falling—slowly. The two mechas watched cautiously.
Just as Karni was about to hit the ground, the legs moved in almost impossible ways. With constant use of his Shift, Karni had rarely used his Drunken Ghost Dance to its peak in recent times. It felt cathartic to use it again in such a manner.
The mechas had trouble reacting. Karni slashed at their legs, cutting off one of the legs of the undamaged mecha. Then he spun, rising, cutting the second mecha in half immediately. They had no time to react.
Karni felt pride and pleasure. He'd been underutilising his Drunken Ghost Dance. He needed to combine it with his Shift in the future. Hu Jie was right, he should join that competition; sharpen his skills, combine them; use it to break through that Spiritual Bottleneck, combine the Resonance techniques.
Karni slashed toward the one-legged mecha… but his mecha stopped. Karni felt his cockpit falling. He quickly Shifted out, while the one-legged mecha hopped and finished off the black mecha.
Karni looked back, feeling slightly sad. He twisted the joints too much. He should keep that in mind when he designed his own mecha at the Black level. His Purple Mecha back home would also fall to this—sooner even.
He looked at that pitch black sword. It had no inscriptions on it. It was just an incredibly sharp, giant piece of metal making the Greatsword. High quality metal that. It should be Spirit Refined.
He Shifted it above the mecha in secret, while he stood on the ground, bringing attention to himself, staring the opponent in the cockpit. It did not notice the giant sword falling on top of it.
It pierced through its back, destroying half the mecha.
Karni shattered the cockpit with a Drumstick and finally knocked out the pilot.
He looked around, eager to steal another mecha and use that Greatsword again… but the battle… it was over already?
He noticed a giant battalion with a Divine Mecha flying above them, then another, much bigger army then he first remembered, fleeing. He sensed the amount of energy in the air. Did he just miss a great danger? Was he enjoying the battle this much?
Well, no reason to dwell on it anymore.
He put the Greatsword into his Spatial Ring and tried to find Hu Jie… who was nowhere to be found. He chose to return to his companions, where Tang Wulin was just asking if he could keep the mecha… "I have the same question!" He ran over. That was a lot of money!
… … …
Karni sat by the window, absorbed in his thoughts. He'd really felt the satisfaction of using the Greatsword today. But just using the Greatsword didn't really feel enough.
No, what if he could combine it? Combine it with his Martial Soul? Imagine Shifting a whole damn mecha? He did it a few times in his spars with Siduo, but it used far too much Soul Power and Spiritual Power. Interestingly, the mecha affected the Soul Power more than the Spiritual Power.
The mass and power affected mostly Soul Power, while the size usually affected the Spiritual power. What if he could somehow… connect that Greatsword and the mecha through the Martial Soul, using the mecha's power supply?
Then what of his Panda? Should he connect it with the Greatsword as well once he had some abilities on it?
His dreams ran wild. His Martial Souls themselves wouldn't really be able to both be outside freely. Not without training. And he could only really start training once he had Soul Rings. That was something that might be best left to time instead of comforting himself through a mediator tool. Skill was better than artificial amplification.
Then his mind immediately opposed his rationale. "But what if I could fuse the two inside the Greatsword."
His companions looked at him confused. "Ah, did I say that out loud? Don't mind me."
The group arrived in the Star Luo Capital, and as soon as Karni finished packing, he ran outside. He happened to bump into Yun'er. She looked at him. "Ah, I was just looking for you."
"Me?" Karni had to stop his excitement.
"Yeah. Are you joining the competition?"
Karni nodded, but he was running in place. Clearly eager to go.
"What are you so impatient for?"
"I want to sell the mecha I destroyed to Tang Sect and use its funds to start new research. I just had an idea for a weapon."
"Weapon? You use weapons?"
"Not most of the time, but-"
"Oh, the Greatsword you used?" Yun'er guessed, snapping her fingers. She watched him in that battle, as well as his companions. They were efficient and skilled, every single one of them.
Karni nodded.
Yun'er looked unimpressed. "In our Empire we usually admire the strength of an individual. Make sure you don't rely on the weapon."
Karni nodded again. "Of course. It's supposed to complement my powers."
She gave him a thumbs up. "I'm looking forward to facing against it then."
Karni stopped skipping in place. "That one's gonna be hard."
Yun'er raised her eyebrows.
"I doubt I'll finish it in time."
For a second there, Karni noticed a face of a spoiled princess before Yun'er supressed that part. So she still had a few urges to hammer out, huh.
"I'll tell you what. As long as I finish a somewhat stable prototype and we're lucky enough to not face each other too soon? I'll use it."
The somewhat unspoiled princess breathed, and at the very least felt contained. "Well, what are you waiting for then? Get to work! I'll be looking forward to that match!" She waved him goodbye with a cheerful smile.
Karni forgot to say goodbye to his companions. He was just eager to get started on a new project.
… … …
Karni just finished selling the mecha to the Tang Sect. It didn't give him as much credits as he hoped, but it was still a decent amount. He checked his balance and felt a slight shock. He had 50.000 thousand contribution points. A goddamn fortune. He just sold that mecha for 7000! Those AR Glasses have spread wide during the last year apparently.
He wasn't wrong. The AR Glasses just now truly reached the other two continents, hence the increase of contribution points during his travels.
He looked through the shop for some blueprints. His research into prosthetics, AR Glasses and Human Augmentation would help immensely, but it wasn't enough.
He bought three blueprints: Martial Soul-Weapon Fusion, Soul Ring-Weapon Fusion and Martial Soul to Martial Soul Fusion through a Medium Prototype Blueprint.
The first two were variations of each other. Karni would have to see which one he preferred and base his own designs on. The last one had a long name. Only prototypes tended to have such long names. It was the only thing he could find. There weren't many people who had twin Martial Souls, and even then, he was taking a gamble that he might've misunderstood what it meant. It could've been fusion between two people's Martial Souls.
Either way, he got what he wanted. He rented a private room and decided to be productive on this first day. He had to. As soon as he tried to relax, his mind wondered to Siduo, now so far away.
He read the blueprints and started taking notes. This project would take him some time.