beddedO

Chapter 127 - Echoes (III)

"How'd you do that?!" there it was, the question that had no answer.

Well, it had an answer, just not a good one.

The young woman's eyes shone like stars as she crouched down to meet Light's, though the latter just ignored her and continued hiding behind me. Other kids tensed up and shuffled forward and, yes, when I say forward, I mean in front of me. Xi Zhao took my front, Dai Xiu my left, they somehow convinced Wan Lan to take my right, and Long Tao...

Well, he was barely ...

Chapter 126 - Echoes (II)

"Pfft," somebody snorted almost as soon as I stopped talking.

I glanced over and saw a young, inconspicuous-looking woman shift her head sideways, though the jumping shoulders still betrayed her. A quick overview of their robes revealed, luckily, that they didn't all belong to the same power--rather, there were precisely four present, split evenly with two each.

The man who spoke up, naturally, was one of those who wore the same robes as the dead body. Other six (besides the one h...

Chapter 125 - Echoes (I)

The forest is rather beautiful, I must say.

But also rather daunting.

Without Wan Lan to guide us, I was beyond certain I'd have gotten us lost. Whenever she pointed out a 'landmark', it'd just make me go '...huh? Really?' because, to me, it just looked like another damn tree--as thousands upon thousands of them.

The white-brownish bark, the long, thin branches webbing out rather violently into thick and tall canopy, with an occasional round and red fruit that I wouldn't bit...

Chapter 124 - Choices in Life (VI)

I haven't gone hiking much back on Earth, and never into the actual wilderness. It was usually well-trodden hike trails with clear signs of human touch. One thing above all, however, that stood out to me was how... loud the forest would get at night. There's always some howling and hollering and hooting, whether it's cicadas, tree frogs, owls, bats, or even occasional wolf or two.

It gets scarily loud, honestly, which was why I braced myself for the f...

Chapter 123 - Choices in Life (V)

I found myself... drifting. Kind of half-asleep and half-lucid state.

I know I've passed out, and that I'm lying somewhere in the forest, possibly snoring, and yet, I can't pull myself away from... well, this. I'm back home, pressed against the soft, cushioned sofa that has my ass print embedded so deep it may as well be one of its features

Then, right over in the left corner was a snake plant that Yas bought for me on our third anniversary because she knew that ...

Chapter 122 - Choices in Life (IV)

Duan Luoyang stepped out of the void rather gracefully and invisibly, his sharp, azure-blue eyes immediately focusing on ashes and dust where there used to be trees.

He'd felt it, just so briefly, a *ringing of Dao*--when something of its make is awoken into the world. It passed as quickly as it appeared, and it took him entire day to even locate *where* it happened, but he finally found it--just outside some small, nameless town in the middle of nothing-matters-nowhere.

Th...

Chapter 121 - Choices in Life (III)

Long Tao stared at the happily snoring face of his Master.

Every time he exhaled, the mustache would flutter like leaves in the wind, making for a rather comic appearance. Furthermore, it seemed he was dreaming, as his eyelids kept twitching and he'd occasionally groan while swatting away something with his hand.

It had all transpired rather quickly, even for him.

Just as he was about to go in and save the two of them and run away as far as possible, he saw his Master clutch...

Chapter 120 - Choices in Life (II)

It is rather difficult to describe the sensation of feeling my hands catch fire. They weren't literally ablaze, no, as the man's attack never reached quite that far, but my brain, blinded by the decades of living in a non-magic world, was certain that they were burning.

As soon as I pulled the Tortoise Mirror out, a particularly bright sheen of light exploded from its cracked surface. It contorted outward like a slime or a membrane, fanning out to cover the entire area around m...

Chapter 119 - Choices in Life (I)

So, thirteen or so men (and one woman) had encircled the exit of the tunnel. Their backs were facing a forest of trees, behind us was a slight hillside that then fell back down into a town wall, and we... well, we were screwed.

Kids emerged at some point despite my trying to keep them down, and the expressions were... well, telling.

Let's start with the newcomer, Wan Lan--she appeared horrified, mortified, and absolutely certain we were doomed.

Long Tao? Well, he appeared th...

Chapter 118 - Silence (III)

The remaining day passed by rather quickly and uneventfully.

The town calmed down for the most part and the rumors returned to being largely about the two fallen sects and the rising number of smaller ones trying to take over the suddenly empty seat of the region's sovereign.

Neither Wan Lan nor Madame Lu showed up at all throughout the day, and the kids didn't linger out for long either as I told them to come back early. There weren't any 'preparations' we had to do, not really; ...

Chapter 117 - Silence (II)

The atmosphere was... well, it was freakin' awkward.

It made sense, though, if you think about it. While Madame Lu may see Light as some herald and such, to Wan Lan she's just some random 6-year-old girl that she's suddenly being told to follow and effectively obey for no apparent reason.

And Light? Well, though her countenance occasionally does mellow out, she's still pretty much apathetic to everything. It's a bit depressing to see, actually, a young g...

Chapter 116 - Silence (I)

For the first time in a few days, I sat drinking my beal in quiet calm. Every previous time was addled with a level of anxiety toward learning something new or discovering a potential guide. However, all of that has been resolved--so now, all I had to do was... nothing.

In two days, we'd leave this damned place and head over to... yet another damned place.

Haah.

I find it rather odd that we're not heading in the opposite direction of where everyone who colluded to d...

Chapter 115 - Spiritwood Grove (XIII)

The old woman's expression was rather comedic--eyes widened, lips opened into a circle, jaw hanging, the usual. Light, on the other hand, remained expressionless, taking a sip of water--same as me.

"... you're lying." she eventually said.

"Light."

The young girl extended her hand, palm-side-up, and conjured a weathering ball of energy. It was as though there were hundreds of tendrils of shadows coalescing into an orb, writhing and dancing, but all under her control.

I'...

Chapter 114 - Spiritwood Grove (XII)

Rumors abound as soon as the gash in the sky closed up, and I learned within seconds who the likely 'culprit' behind it is: the town's chief, titular Raging Bull.

Huh.

I guess I finally reached the stage where people are referred to by their nicknames that they've earned through blood, sweat, and tears over their names. Sounds kinda fun. I wonder what my nickname will be?

The Godly Sword?

Divine Teacher?

Heavenly Badass?

... okay, maybe I should let others ...

Chapter 113 - Spiritwood Grove (XI)

"Hm," I mulled over the assortment of things the kids have picked up in the past six days.

There were mostly colored textiles--silk, wool, linen, some cotton, and something that looked and felt like sateen. As for why I know what sateen looked and felt like? Ask Ashley, my third girlfriend. We lived together for six months to save on rent, and she was freakin' obsessed with it. You ever tried doing it on top of sateen sheets?

Don't.

Just don't.

Anyway...

Chapter 112 - Spiritwood Grove (X)

Long night fell, the shadows curving as though light phased thorough a membrane on its way down.

Long Tao recognized it as it was one of the 'features' that a lot of low-level large-scale formations couldn't hide. Bending the Laws of Dao was already difficult, and trying to do so without being seen... well, it was nigh impossible.

None of the mechanisms of the city's array worked on him--he simply took the darkness of the night as the means to meander about. He'd mostly listen for...

Chapter 111 - Spiritwood Grove (IX)

How do you recruit a former Demonic Cultivator that holds half the town 'hostage'?

Slowly, I imagine.

It's not like I can just walk up to her and go 'Hey, wanna join the Crusade of Monsters? Here, meet a Reincarnator!'

We hadn't even seen her since the day she escorted us. A different girl delivered us breakfast every morning, and I'd check them all with my Creator's Eyes--but all of them were just ordinary mortals with nothing unique or quirky about them.

Besides, she...

Chapter 110 - Spiritwood Grove (VIII)

You know, it only dawned on me when I found myself adrift the masses, crowding the seeming central square of the town, that this was my first time being alone. Like, alone alone. At every other point, it felt, there was at least somebody nearby, or somebody to talk to if I wanted to force them, but now... I'm alone.

I mean, the kids are like three minutes away, but still. It's a new feeling, that's for sure. One that I'm not entirely comfortable with.

I know it a...

Chapter 109 - Spiritwood Grove (VII)

I already missed just having a certainty of a house on a peak where nobody asked me for any money to stay there, to be honest. But what was I to do? Reject her? No. We needed a place, even if for just a few days.

"Do you take Spirit Stones for payment?" I asked.

"Ho ho, of course. Madame Lu takes all forms of currency. How long do you plan on staying?"

"... we'll book it for two weeks, to start with." we'll probably be long gone before then, but may as well overpay to be lef...

Chapter 108 - Spiritwood Grove (VI)

We didn't change our direction even after getting the news of the Spiritwood Grove; rather than aimlessly heading northeast, where the region's largest forest was located, we continued north and came to the town of our destination within a day and a half.

I'd expected a relatively smaller, perhaps two-three thousand strong town, but it turned out to be closer to an actual city than that. It had tall walls, at least ten feet at the lowest point, a rather long line of people going in and ...

Chapter 107 - Spiritwood Grove (V)

The bandit's story was... well, lengthy would be one word to use. In part because there truly was a lot that happened, but also in part beca

The bandit's story was... well, lengthy would be one word to use. In part because there truly was a lot that happened, but also in part because the dude loved the sound of his voice just a tad bit too much. Or it could be that he was desperately trying to delay his death for as long as possible.

Probably the latter.

An...

Chapter 106 - Spiritwood Grove (IV)

Ever since Long Tao's not-so-subtle 'foreshadowing', as it were, I've grown a bit... paranoid. I jumped at every shadow--not that there were

Ever since Long Tao's not-so-subtle 'foreshadowing', as it were, I've grown a bit... paranoid. I jumped at every shadow--not that there were many of them as we wandered the grassy fields under the burning scorch of the evening sun--and jostled at every sound, always expecting for something to go wrong.

And, as it oft happens in life, just as ...

Chapter 105 - Spiritwood Grove (III)

We actually stayed in the shade of the tree for three days total while Long Tao, essentially, beat the basics into them. I had to admit...

We actually stayed in the shade of the tree for three days total while Long Tao, essentially, beat the basics into them.

I had to admit... he was kind of right. Not in the 'yes, let's beat kids until they act the way we want them to', but in that they did get much better. Even I could see it. There were fewer useless movements...

Chapter 104 - Spiritwood Grove (II)

Looking at my Creation Points, I've got 360. No scope! Ugh. I'm still limited to just 100 points per art, which means that the limit is incr

Looking at my Creation Points, I've got 360. No scope!

Ugh.

I'm still limited to just 100 points per art, which means that the limit is increased only when I achieve a major breakthrough rather than just a minor one. It's... kind of hard, honestly, to figure out a clever way to make something useful within 100 points when I've made arts...

Chapter 103 - Spiritwood Grove (I)

To catch you up really quickly, the appearances they chose to take up on are rather... well, I don't want to say predictable, but they're pr

To catch you up really quickly, the appearances they chose to take up on are rather... well, I don't want to say predictable, but they're predictable.

Dai Xiu elected to remove the baby fat she had in her face, somehow elongate herself two inches, 'smush' her rounded eyes into a slanted variant, dye her brown hair fully black, and gi...

Chapter 102 - When the Heavens Weep (VII)

We ran until my lungs were numb and my legs felt chained by weights. The sloped, rugged terrain of the mountain slowly shifted to the fores

We ran until my lungs were numb and my legs felt chained by weights.

The sloped, rugged terrain of the mountain slowly shifted to the forested one, and it became even harder as I had to avoid stumbling and falling down against the endless jutting roots of the trees.

There were cuts and scrapes galore within just a few minutes of running ...

Chapter 101 - When the Heavens Weep (VI)

Hua appeared within the deep underground, enduring the sonorous songs of death coming from far above as he sped through the tunnel. He had

Hua appeared within the deep underground, enduring the sonorous songs of death coming from far above as he sped through the tunnel.

He had limited time--just a minute left, at most, and he couldn't waste even a second of it.

It took him less than a few seconds to arrive in a wide and round chamber, at whose center he sensed an awakening h...

Chapter 100 - When the Heavens Weep (V)

His soul was shaking, he realized. Under the weight of something ethereal, something that could not be grasped, he found himself small. An a

His soul was shaking, he realized.

Under the weight of something ethereal, something that could not be grasped, he found himself small. An ant staring up at the peak of the mountain that he will never climb, forever condemned to stay at the bottom.

Yet, amidst the curling flow of fear, there was... anger.

This.

He w...

Chapter 99 - When the Heavens Weep (IV)

The tunnel I found myself in was rather long, dark, and cold. No, not cold. Not it. It rather seems that... I am cold. You know that tinglin

The tunnel I found myself in was rather long, dark, and cold.

No, not cold. Not it. It rather seems that... I am cold. You know that tingling sensation that starts in your fingertips, and that dread that coalesces in your stomach as you feet for some ungodly reason go cold, no matter how hard you rub them together? And the e...

A quick explanation

Hello everyone! Sorry for a late (and only) chapter.

Power went out in the middle of writing/editing and corrupted the 99th (and it's like just past midnight here for me) chapter.

Rather than quickly writing something very garbled, I decided to just publish the ready one and make up for the missing ones tomorrow.

Hope you understand :(

Cheers :)