"It's time!" the twins reminded me once again.
I hesitated in front of a dozen books spread out. At the tenth level of concentration, I have exactly one hundred units of Qi. Enough for just one technique, but which one? Combat? Defensive? Not even funny. A practitioner of the next sphere can easily destroy my defense, and my attack might not even scratch him—after all, with the rise in cultivation rank, physical characteristics also continue to grow, and brother Ho is unique in this respect. No, my only chance to win is the black fire obtained from burning impurities and the element of surprise. I've already destroyed a higher-rank technique with it once. Elder Mo can attest to that, and he's at the core stage, by the way. But last time I could barely control it, which means I need to somehow get closer to the opponent. It's decided!
I grabbed the technique with the proud name "Dance of Embers". According to the description, it's not just a dash in one direction, like another movement technique I found, but a full-fledged acceleration, albeit not too strong.
[Dance of Embers]
[Rank: mortal]
[Learning cost: 100 Qi]
As soon as I agreed with the pop-up table, my body twisted in pain. All the Qi literally poured out of me at once, settling into the book, and then flashed brightly, turning the paper to ash. At the same time, a tiny channel of energy remained between me and the book, through which information rushed into my head at a frantic speed. And yes, I wouldn't have figured out such a method of using Qi for a long time by myself. It's not a treatise with a technique, but a riddle.
"What are you doing?!" Sho yelled at me.
"It wasn't necessary to burn the book to check if your technique works. There are much more civilized ways."
They didn't understand? Or are they just pretending? After all, from the outside, it really looked like I just splashed out Qi and burned the book. It's not clear. In any case, I won't repeat this in front of witnesses anymore. If I survive, of course. And apparently, my chances have just grown a little bit again.
We left the library accompanied by the angry gaze of the young caretaker. It seems access to the pagoda is now closed for me. Not that I needed anything else there, but it's a shame. And a small source is still better than none at all.
The palace had changed a lot during my absence. Crowds of people were walking everywhere, many laughing and smiling. Some practitioners created living figures of dragons and tigers in the sky, but they were all overshadowed by a huge and majestic phoenix. Well, yes. I'm actually in the Phoenix sect now.
"Cakes, moon cakes! Just one spirit stone!" some vendor was shouting. My stomach reminded me of itself with a rumble. Well, yes, I haven't eaten for a couple of days. Qi, of course, can completely replace food, but the level of cultivation for that should be higher than mine.
"Buy me some cakes," I threw out.
"We need to go..."
"Buy them. I'll eat on the way."
The twins didn't argue, but simply approached the vendor and tossed him a glowing stone filled with spiritual power. Is this a spirit stone? It just dawned on me that I'm seeing the local currency for the first time.
"Your cake," he handed me a glazed round piece of dough. On one side was an image of the moon. Honestly, I hoped he would take at least a couple, but I didn't refuse. The cake tasted strange, and inside instead of filling was a chicken yolk. A strange thing, of course.
"And the Moon Festival, what is it in honor of anyway?" I asked after finishing. And again a prolonged pause. Well, yes, I don't know elementary things, have you forgotten?
"In honor of the moon," Cho looked at me as if I were an idiot.
"It's a family holiday, celebrated in honor of the reunion of the Moon goddess and her son. On this day, all relatives usually gather together," Sho decided to clarify the situation.
I almost laughed at the irony. Well, yes, today indeed all the relatives will gather together to watch the vile Kai being killed. Indeed, family idyll.
When we approached the place of the fight, I couldn't believe my eyes. Because I was to fight in a huge stadium! Although decorated with exquisite Asian flavor, but a huge round arena, to which crowds of my well-wishers flocked... Well, apparently, this form is so obvious that it was invented in at least two worlds.
Bypassing the main entrance, we approached a barely noticeable door. A plump man, who had just stepped on the path of cultivation, was waiting for us near it.
"Why so long?" he grimaced as soon as he saw us. "This trash still needs to learn words!"
"Words?" I chuckled, feeling anger rising.
"Of course, you dumb head! First, you must apologize to all the servants and disciples of the sect, then kneel and beg for forgiveness from the elders, and then surrender to the mercy of the winner!" stated this... Okay.
"You won't stop me if I try to kill him now, will you?" I looked at my pair of escorts.
"That would be undesirable. He's an excellent host."
"Then okay," I nodded and activated the technique.
It felt as if my body was suddenly thrust into a bonfire. Every cell was burning, and the drops of Qi accumulated during the walk were rapidly flowing away. My body was covered with a network of orange cracks, and most importantly, the world seemed to slow down several times.
In a fraction of a second, I was near the fat man and punched him in the face with all my might. He had just begun to turn his head, and he was already flying towards the wall. A flash of pain and the second of super-speed ended. The fat man was lying on the ground and cursing me with all known swear words. The twins, however, looked at me... Disappointedly?
"You learned the technique and decided to burn it?" Cho raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps the honorable Kai decided that burning books of learned techniques is a tradition? Maybe princess Lin set him a bad example," Sho nodded.
"Be that as it may, this is where we say goodbye. Su Tai will guide you further," he nodded at the staggering fat man.
"Lead on," I approached him. He stared at me with a hateful look but didn't dare to object.
Under the arena stretched a whole network of corridors. Without a guide, I could really get lost, and considering that we didn't meet anyone along the way... He led me to a small room, the exit from which was blocked by a massive iron door.
"When the door opens, you must go out and bow to the opponent, the elders, and the spectators. In that exact order. It would be desirable for you to say a word..." I summoned the song of flame for a second and fire enveloped my fist. "But that's not necessary! Wait!"
He started backing away until he was in the corridor. A gesture with his hand and now we're separated by a thick iron grate. Apparently, so I don't escape.
"Bastard Kai, I'll spit on your remains!" he declared and laughing, walked away.
And he's also supposed to be a righteous Taoist. What about those stories about following the path of Heaven, true Tao, virtues, and asceticism? Something I haven't noticed among the practitioners any righteous personalities at all. I wonder if it's only in the Phoenix sect like this?
To not waste time, I once again launched the pure flame technique. Spiritual power reached out to me, filling the dried-up reserves. Last time I spent three days to accumulate a hundred units of Qi. Now I'll need just a bit—just enough to get close enough to Ho. The Song of Pure Flame allowed me not only to raise the level of cultivation but also to some extent control the fire. Not fireballs and arrows, but I can quite direct a stream of flame at the opponent.