NOVEL FROG Chapter 48: Progress
Transmigrated back into the body of her child self, can the mighty Celestial Bing Meilu survive in a Xianxia world all the while staving off the advances of arrogant young masters and wannabe protagonists alike?
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 48: Progress
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Deep darkness engulfed the Drake. It could not see or hear anything. Chilly ice enclosed it, binding it tightly. The Drake growled and twisted to no avail.
A cold tingling filled the back of its spine. Then the Pain began, and soon, there was only the Pain. It encompassed its whole perception, in a sense it was like its whole world. The Drake vainly screamed at the Pain. For a long moment, it stewed useless in agony.
Soon, he learned to push back on the Pain. Yet every bit of progress he made, only caused it to redouble, to assault him with greater fervour. Like roots digging through the essence of his being, he felt like he was coming apart.
In the Pain came clarity. Jiang Hu could feel every aspect of himself torn to shreds. Feebly he pushed back on it, and yet each time he made progress, the Pain would increase. It was like it was toying with him.
Death was inevitable.
A horrible sense of doom filled him, like a knife digging into his throat. Every moment he fought with everything, only for the Pain to dig deeper into him. He could feel his very soul crying out in fear.
He felt, on the edge of his mind, energy. Weakly, he reached out to his cultivation base. Fiery Qi assaulted the Pain. For an instant, there was relief.
The Pain exploded again, countless times worse. What he had felt before was child's play. His mind bled and tore as he fought with everything he had. It was useless.
The Pain forced its way deeper. He was going to die.
All of a sudden... The Pain left.
For a long time, fog clouded him. He felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. He was conscious- but it was like he was trapped in amber and darkness, cut off from the outside world. The Pain had been like the brightest star in the sky, and even with it gone he was rendered blind to the myriad lesser lights.
Jiang Hu floated in the darkness. It felt like a long time had passed. Slowly, he felt a chill on his skin. He blinked, opening his eyes. The sight of the Ashen Mountains greeted him.
"I-I'm alive?" he gasped. "Hahahah! I'm alive!"
He felt the ice around him melt, and he collapsed bonelessly to the ground. He tried to move, flopping numbly like a fish. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care. All he could think about was his own survival.
'I'm alive? I'm alive! I'm fucking alive!'
"Ahahhha! I'm alive!" Jiang Hu roared, voice filled with deep happiness.
He looked down at his own hands, smiling in wonder. Gingerly he stood, a broad grin covering his face. He felt as if he had suddenly been granted life from certain death, like he had been spared a horrible fate. Every breath he took was indescribably joyful.
"Jiang Hu, you've awakened." he could hear Bing Meilu speaking from behind him.
The man had no idea what was going on. He was too busy enjoying life to try and remember.
"Yes! I have, and isn't it a wonderful world to wake up within? The Ash-wyverns are hunting, lava is bubbling up from that volcano and the bloodthirsty roars of Drakes fill the air!"
"I'm sure," she said.
Jiang Hu stretched his sore muscles, looking around. Finally returned to the world, he recall what had happened. He could remember losing control and attacking Mu Gong. Now, he could still feel the fierce, hungry draconic instincts bubbling within but... they no longer felt threatening. He could easily clamp down on them and remain in control. They were nothing compared to fighting the Pain.
'Pipe down, the master is in the house!' he thought, smirking
"You've broken through to Foundation Establishment, boss?" he asked, sensing the dense aura of ice-cold Qi around her.
She had handily beaten him while only in Qi Condensation. Now they were in the same Realm, he couldn't imagine how much stronger than him she might be.
He turned to face her. As he met the girl's frosty eyes, he suddenly felt an indescribable fear and terror fill him. His heart began to beat, his blood began to pump. The hairs on the back of his head rose.
It was like every instinct in his body was screaming at him to run in fear, like he was staring at the face of a hungry tiger, only he had stopped being afraid of tigers a long time ago. His very soul was in danger, something more precious than anything else.
'I'm... afraid?'
Jiang Hu rarely felt fear. Though, for some reason, he felt as if no emotion could overwhelm his will. He noted the fear but chose to not act on it.
"The fear will pass," Bing Meilu waved her hand. "Your soul will eventually become used to my presence."
"I'm sorry- What happened? How did I come back from that state, and why do I feel this fear?"
"Your will was overwhelmed by the draconic instinct you've been cultivating within yourself. I took the opportunity to temper your will through controlled damage to your soul," she explained, as if what she was saying was normal, and not batshit insane.
Jiang Hu blinked in confusion.
'Temper my will through my soul? Who the fuck would think of that? The soul is the most fragile part of one's existence?! No one touches it!'
He shook his head. He had long since learned to not question Bing Meilu's choices or tactics. In his opinion, there was no way even a Grand Elder of the Moon Crying Swan Palace could create a monster like her. Perhaps she was actually from a far more mysterious background.
'Either way, my wagon is hitched to her, whoever she really is.'
"I want to test out my new strength," Bing Meilu said slowly. "Go grab Xi Fu and the outer circle members."
The tall man nodded. He walked over to his tent, where lay a large red-golden sabre. He had ripped it from the eye of the Third Realm Drake and killed it using it, but he honestly had no clue how to use it. Clearly, it was a powerful treasure someone had lost in the drake's eyes, probably killed by the beast.
"Xi Fu! Boss wants you!" Jiang Hu shouted. "All you outer circle boys as well, get your asses over here!"
Even though it had been weeks, not being the leader of the Crimson Dragon Faction was still somewhat surreal. Either way, he was still the one with the highest cultivation and most respect, so he could get away with acting like a leader. Though privately, he felt like it wouldn't be long until he was surpassed.
"Are you sane now?" Xi Fu walked over, leaning on his spear.
"If I wasn't, would you still be alive?"
"Well, yeah. I could totally kick your ass," Xi Fu shrugged. "The only issue is not killing you."
"You're a million years too early for that, manslut!"
"Why am I the manslut? It's not like you laid off the booze and women either! The only difference is I actually seduced those women but you had to rely on your spirit stones because the heavens saw fit to give you a face as ugly as your personality," Xi Fu smirked.
"Bah, just barely in Foundation Establishment and already forgetting to treat his elders with respect. Junior, do you dare?"
Both the men broke out into laughter, falling into a comfortable silence as the outer circle faction members arrived. Mu Gong gave Jiang Hu a wary look.
"Sorry about that, brother Gong" Jiang Hu bowed his head in apology "I lost control of my cultivation and almost killed you."
"Oh, what's a little injury between brothers?" Mu Gong shook his head. "Given how close we are, I think we can let small matters like this slide. Still."
He could tell Mu Gong was just being respectful.
"No, no, I, Jiang Hu, know how to take care of my brothers and pay my debts," the man smirked. "How about a trip to Seven Pleasures Brothel when we get back to the sect? I'll buy out their whole staff for you to enjoy for a week."
Mu Gong seemed to stifle a laugh, and Jiang Hu paused in confusion. He could see Xi Fu and the others looking behind him with strange expressions. Jiang Hu spun around to find an unimpressed-looking Bing Meilu.
"Men..." she shook her head in disdain. "I suppose I've been giving you lot too much free time if you feel so at ease casually wasting days in brothels. I think a new, more vigorous training schedule needs to be devised."
Every one of the BMFS members glared at Jiang Hu, promising revenge, especially Xi Fu.
"Jiang Hu, come at me first," she declared, hands folded behind her back.
The other faction members retreated to a safe distance. Jiang Hu readied his red-gold sabre. His legs erupted with draconic strength and he exploded towards the still girl, slashing his blade.
Her hand smashed forward, blooming with white-blue light. Jiang Hu felt an incredible force smash into him, sending him backwards. Compared to the force of the Third Realm Drake, it was weaker, but he could tell she had been barely trying.
"The Rose-Gold Brightsaber isn't just a heavy stick for you to whack with," the girl spoke up. "As a magical treasure, its strongest ability is its combination of Fire and Metal Qi. Essentially, the hotter it becomes, the sharper it cuts."
"You know the name of this weapon?" Jiang Hu asked.
"Let's just say I've had a lot of experience fighting someone with it," she said, with the tone people used when they knew something you didn't.
Jiang Hu took her advice. Fiery draconic qi flared from his hand, pouring into the sabre. It seemed to become a greedy vacuum, eagerly absorbing every drop of flame he could provide. A brilliant golden light erupted from the blade as it grew hotter, pulsing with an aura of metal Qi.
"Steel Slash Slays Serpent!" Jiang Hu exploded forward, unleashing his sabre art.
Liquid metal rushed from Bing Meilu's sleeve, a huge spear forming. She thrust forward with incredible speed towards his stomach. Jiang Hu dodged to the side barely, his own attack slashing out uselessly into the air. He barely ducked another thrust, before slicing at her.
Their weapons met for a moment. His eyes widened as he saw the light from his Brightsaber dull. Each time they clashed, his blade grew colder and slower.
'She's using her icy Qi to cool and dull my sabre!'
Jiang Hu's draconic power rumbled, he opened his mouth and a gout of fire exploded forward, firing towards Bing Meilu.
She shot into the air, carried by a chilly wind. Staring down at him imperiously, she clasped her arms behind her back. Hundreds of icy spears formed in the air behind her, pointed at Jiang Hu. His fighting instincts told him that this wasn't an attack he could survive.
"I've reached my limit," he called out.
The icy spears dissolved into light, and Bing Meilu floated down.
"How did I do?" he asked.
"Not as disgustingly poor as when we first fought," she sighed. "But I'd hoped I could get you to an acceptable level by the time we returned to the sect. As is, your foundation is still far too weak to be able to easily kill the average third realm Cultivator."
'Kill the average third realm cultivator?' Jiang Hu felt Bing Meilu's standards were completely insane. It had taken the whole faction and liberal use of expensive healing items to kill a single injured early Core Formation Drake. Did she really expect him to be able to do it on his own?
"The Redscale Drake's Metamorphosis is a decent cultivation technique, leagues beyond the trash most low-level cultivators get their hands on. Not to mention the Rose-Gold Brightsaber is an impeccable third-tier magical treasure for the Bird Talon Continent, and you're even practising a strong sabre art, the Dragon Slaughtering Saber Arts of Xianwu in The Steel. It's completely possible for you to reach an acceptable level if I drill you hard enough."
"First of all, you still fight like you're in Qi Condensation. You should be making far more use of your advantages. Flight, complex magical arts and intricate Qi-based attacks. All of that becomes possible in the Second Realm. Secondly, you fight like a human. You are building the physical body of a Drake. Rely more on your bestial power. I want to see biting, clawing and wild attacks. You haven't internalized the offensive aspects of your body cultivation. Lastly, practice more with the Brightsaber. It still hasn't accepted you as its master, but once you know how to properly draw out its advantages, you'll become much stronger."
Next, she called over a nervous-looking Xi Fu.
"If this attack doesn't impress me, I won't let you see any girls for a year."
Bing Meilu had finally figured out how to motivate the lazy spearman. A hesitant expression appeared on his face.
"Alright."
He lifted his spear, drawing it back. Invisible Spear-Intent coiled around the weapon. It began to glow bright and his entire cultivation base flooded into it. A tyrannical aura erupted from him as a serious expression covered his face. This was the will of Heaven-Defying.
Weeks of steady practice had increased his control over his Spear-Intent dramatically. He could actually force it to flow relatively straight, at least for a short bit. So long as he didn't improve it any further, he would be able to keep it controlled. But that was now the exact opposite of what he wanted. He closed his eyes, imagining the Drake he had fought, and the tyrannical aura of domination it released. His own Heaven-Defying Will erupted. Nothing would block his spear!
"Lawbreaker!" he leapt forward, thrusting.
This was the attack with the most complete comprehension, one designed to rip away the law-empowered dragon scales. He wasn't sure of what it would do to a human, but he did not want to really find out.
"Heaven-Earth Inverting Palm!"
Xi Fu screamed as he felt his Spear Intent suddenly disappear like someone had ripped it out of his control. He blinked in shock, looking up at Bing Meilu, who had a terrifying smile on her normally blank face.
"Wonderful," she purred, eyes boring into him like a drill. "Did you figure this move out on your own?"
"Uh, Boss, I did?"
Xi Fu shivered at the look Bing Meilu gave him. He suddenly felt like he had made some sort of mistake.