Book 2: Chapter 36: New Jobs |
Yin Hu and the group stared at the remaining bones of the First Calamity that had remained after Da Ruis had finished. Fully cannibalizing all the Qi, flesh, and anything else the old spirit could use for the establishment of the perfect and very first Sparring Instance to ever be brought forth. It was unlikely anyone else had done the same thing. Felt like a waste of resources in the long run, but he couldn’t care less.
The girls came first, especially after the subject of the wastefulness had to serve punishment for attempted kidnapping.
Better than dead at least, right.
He smiled, not staring at the bone remains that looked remarkably nothing like the tentacled monstrosity that was the First Calamity, as he remembered the details.
Scaling difficulty.
Various environments that were natural and urban.
Different types of monsters.
And then the cherry on top, both human figures, monsters, and creatures of various Qi’s, fighting styles, abilities, advantages and even disadvantages.
Quite literally the perfect sparring simulator he could have taken part in creating. Mostly using the incredibly vast amount of experience and memory of both Da Ruis and Rong to fuel exactly what he wanted. Even various Demonic Cultivators and Righteous Cultivators they had fought in the distant past that had been the most difficult fights they had ever encountered.
Two versions supposedly.
Wonder why Da Ruis was so adamant about that.
“Da Ruis,” Yin Hu said as he turned toward the now stable ghostly figure. “You never did explain why you fought so hard to put two rather than just one fight against the First Calamity. Wouldn’t it just be a repetitive battle that costs unnecessary energy to have built?”
The old man scoffed. “Of course not! The denizens of this world were lucky it had arrived the way it did.”
“What?” Rong perked up, only to get smacked in the face with a bouncy ball.
He and Shui had been playing with the six small, serpentine dragons she had found. Passing a ball between them in an intense game of four verses four with Rong and Shui the opposing captains. Even limits on Qi and power, rules and regulations to the game, and a scoring system had been developed by the two of them. That was how bored they were after a certain amount of time.
Yin Hu didn’t mind considering that seemed like a better way to train their real life Qi usages compared to just doing more katas.
“Hmph,” the old man sneered. “I’ve followed that Adminst– err… I mean, I’ve followed that tentacled entity for nearly ten thousand years as it searched for a way to activate the necessary… procedures to fall upon this world and feast at its core. All to heal its grievous wounds and grow in power did it lay siege upon this world. Injured. Weakoned. None of you have had the fortune and glory to see its full power in action. None of you would have survived had you the misfortune of seeing it.”
Shui celebrated another point scored as Rong’s team of two dragons, three on the girls side to even the odds, lowered their heads in shame and dejection.
“A-After all of that… it had been wounded already? By what? What could hurt something that powerful…” Rong’s eyes slowly drifted toward Yin Hu as realization of something or another dawned on him. “Oh… I see. Yeah. That makes sense actually.”
“You may not know this, but their are far more powerful creatures out there. Amongst the most dangerous and terrifying are specific bloodlines and races. Foxkin, dragonkind, phoenixes, golden crows, and more. Entire clans and sects that dominate massive stretches beyond your wildest imaginations…”
Yin Hu zoned him out as he looked back toward the bones.
Looks like a whale? Elephant? Wonder how archaeologists figure all of this out just from the tip of a toe?
“We are wasting time,” Yin Hu said as he turned around and began to make his way out of the crater. “Let’s get back to camp and then leave this place. We’ve been here long enough now that I’m getting sick of it.”
They began their trek back toward where they had come from originally. Though the entire area had changed with how much they affected the world around them. Gone was the suffocating Void Qi within the crater, even if it lasted outside of the vicinity of the cleaned up First Calamity. Gone was the old ghost trying to find someone to spring his trap on and forcefully inherit a random kid.
It was a good feeling to know that at the end of the day, his little group had made the world slightly better.
Everyone climbed over the sharp, jutting rocks. It was harder than going down them for sure. In the distance they saw Zhong Da’s camp still there with the large figure of the large warg in what seemed like the same exact spot they had left him, watching them form the distance.
Seeing them still there and waiting for their return gave their entire group much needed motivation to hurry it up.
The girls, and even Rong, had gotten unnecessarily comfortable sitting around in that area. They had a plan and a destination they needed to reach, but more importantly, they had a future goal to strive for. One day, maybe not any time soon, they would make their way back toward the Hu Clan’s original land and reclaim it as their rightful inheritance.
Well… rightful inheritance for the girls at least.
Yin Hu had not forgotten his dreams. Not even after everything he had experienced, if anything it only bolstered it.
Would Shui and Jun have been kidnapped if he had an army marching alongside them with a dozen elders stronger than Cai Xuefang leading the way?
No. No they wouldn’t have. No one would dare bother my girls.
Then there was the matter of finding him a fucking wife. He was sick of the lonely life. He was a man for God’s sake with manly desires.
Where the hell were the Jade beauties? In a world filled with them, he had lucked out into the only un-inhabited lands he could have found. There were deserts with more women than he had the misfortune of meeting so far. Either they tried to kill him or weren’t Jade beauties at all and would likely die while he hadn’t aged slightly. Yin Hu wasn’t a fool. There were requirements he needed to guard himself from a never ending cycle of grief.
Beautiful, an accomplished cultivator, wise, smart, even more beautiful, a good mentor for the girls, and…
He smiled already imagining everything he would be able to do–
“We welcome, Senior Yin Hu!”
Yin Hu almost startled. In the brief moment he had been daydreaming they had already crossed the entire chasm and made it back to the camp.
Before him bowed Zhong Da, his wife, and even the battle scarred Warg.
None of them dared to look up at him as he stared at their bowing forms. A tremble running through them all.
Must be a reaction from the system ripping the girls out of the Inheritance Instance.
This was a certain level of respect he didn’t need from them. Yin Hu didn’t need bootlickers. The way Zhong Da and his wife had treated him previously had been perfect. Respectful, quick to do what they were told, and went a step beyond by committing to due diligence and treating him like an honored senior. Not whatever this was.
He didn’t need people kissing the ground he walked on.
Most importantly, he needed Zhong Da to have gotten over his fake injuries and spar with Jun and Shui with intent to do harm. Him pulling punches back would not help them prepare properly, if anything it would be detrimental to their development. Yin Hu didn’t need to be questioning whether he would actually commit to what he was told to do. This deferential thing complicated everything.
Fuck… I need to be careful with using the system. What if my entire clan ends up like him?
A shiver ran down his spine–
Wait a minute! I don’t need him to spar with Jun anymore! Guess its new friend caring duty for him and his wife.