Shadow burst forth like a cannonball and struck the invisible thread of Sword Qi, causing yet another massive explosion that tore open the surrounding walls as though there were hundreds of drills digging out holes from within.
I saw Xi Zhao figure emerge from the nothing and catapult down like a falling star, dragging back for nearly fifty yards before stopping. His entire body was a mess, not an inch of it without a gash, but he barely even wavered before standing back up, wounds on his body visibly closing.
While I was paying attention to him, Han Yimu and Xing Feng attacked in a strange concert, with both using spears--one from the front and one from the back. I knew for a fact that Xing Feng's attack was actually more dangerous, but that was because I knew them--the man didn't. As such, he completely ignored Xing Feng and threw a small punch at Han Yimu. It was more than enough to basically toss him across the hall and embed him into a wall.
At the same time, however, Xing Feng's attack actually penetrated the Qi barrier and tore through flesh, though stopped only a few inches in. A surprised expression flashed across the man's face as he grasped the spear, but before he could use it to toss Feng'er, the weapon switched shapes and became a sword that slid out and down before the boy curved it, slicing open a gash on a man's thigh while at the same time blurring back into a shadow, crossing some forty feet of distance instantaneously.
... wow.
If I inherited their strengths as they are now, just how strong would I get? Ah, forget it. I shouldn't corrupt my mind by entertaining the idea of me ever using it again. They're more than enough. Though, even with that... all they managed to inflict were some surface-level wounds. If they had nothing else left in the mag, they'll probably fail.
The battle resumed as-was--the kids attacked quite relentlessly, not stopping even for a second to catch their breath. I'm fairly certain this was their greatest strength as far as combat went--at least so long as they were near me. They had a near inexhaustible supply of Qi, and the only way they could be broken was either by a hit so massive they instantly died, or they were mentally purged of stamina since the Surging Spirit Art made it so they would inevitably recover from most of the battle-borne wounds.
At a five minute mark or so of the fight, a frown creased my face; the man... remained on the defensive. Though he regularly tossed the kids back and hurt them to the point everyone had gotten at least one wound that would have killed an average person back on Earth even with medical intervention, he never stepped forward to 'finish' the job.
At first I thought it was merely that he was toying with them, but it looked more like he simply... couldn't move. Or, at least, there was a reason he had to stay where he was--the vine.
... duh.
If I told Long Tao that it took me nearly this long to figure it out, would he laugh? Or just say the casual 'Of course', supplemented by that patented smirk of his?
"Looks like we've underestimated the Sage quite a bit," Long Tao said as though timing it perfectly to undermine my own thoughts.
"... how so?" I asked.
"He's dedicated about eighty percent of himself to fueling the vine. The corruption rate had skyrocketed since the battle started. At this pace, he'll need another five minutes or so finish the job. However, since he's had to hurry, the quality of the work has... plummeted."
"..." this is him at twenty percent? I glared at Long Tao silently for a moment, wondering whether he had some deep suicidal tendencies that he'd let slip on occasion when he'd drag us to these death-infested scenarios that we had no right to be a part of.
"Do you reckon he's an Emperor?" Lao Shun asked; even he, by now, had gotten accustomed to asking questions of Long Tao that, realistically, a sixteen-year-old boy should not know. Especially not one from these here parts.
"No," Long Tao said with a rather dismissive snort. "People here really do think that Emperors are just any marginally stronger cultivators, huh?" that was the end of it, and though both I and Lao Shun (at least from the look on his face) wanted to probe further, we didn't.
I was still not quite certain on what the 'Emperor' meant, really; I understand that they are top-of-the-shelf cultivators, but from the knowledge of actual realms, they, too, are 'just' in the Imperial Realm. But not everyone who was at that realm was an Emperor or an Empress.
Ah, whatever. Not like it matters. Not yet, anyway.
"Shouldn't we interfere?" Lao Shun suggested. "If he corrupts the array--"
"--he won't."
"But you just said--"
"--that was supposing we never came."
"... you followed the teachings of one of your grandaunts?" I asked, looking at him as he glanced back and smirked.
"Big brother, actually," oh, he's got a big brother now. How great. "While you and that thing Dao made were playing out the comedy routine, I remembered something my big brother mentioned about arrays and formations. About how even the most intricate ones have a singular point of failure. Every system, even ones woven by Dao, is flawed; though we yearn for perfection, it cannot exist. Achieving it means overcoming Dao, and as Dao is pinnacle of everything..."
"..."
"Just as the formation itself has a point of failure--well, probably hundreds of them, to be honest--so does the corruption itself. Him dedicating eighty percent of himself to it leaves just enough room for the kids to have some fun, no?"
There are occasions I forget that this kid-looking thing next to me is terrifying. Probably more so than most everyone we've met so far in this world. His ability to prepare a stage like this... well, if I wasn't annoyed that he almost never included me in any of it, I'd be in awe.
Like Lao Shun over there whose jaw was making out with the floor. Our eyes met and I had to scream at him with my glare not to ask any questions, and he just barely swallowed them down.
"... that Yimu kid," Lao Shun changed the topic, for both our sakes, I think. "He's quite talented. There's a good chance he'll surpass the others in less than a year."
"He's quite talented," I nodded. He'd just executed an almost flawless string of attacks, and got his left arm blown to bits in the process, which only procured more blood for him to funnel into the spear, finally managing to actually land a strike that tore open the man's flesh however slightly. He got so happy over it that he didn't see the slice of the sword aiming for his chest, forcing Wan Lan to jump over and take the hit for him. "You'd think he was twelve, though."
"The Sage has finally started going for their lives," Lao Shun said, frowning. "What's changed?"
"Can't you see his shape?" Long Tao looked at him as though he were a moron. "Or have your eyes gotten bad from all the pill popping you do while testing?"
"... right," Lao Shun's eyebrows violently twitched as he snarled back. "Maybe we should go back to silently watching. I liked that."
Though it all seemed to be going well... there was still the question of what happens after. It's guaranteed that the kids can't actually kill him--he'd never allow it. So, what happens once he realizes that Long Tao did something to screw with his plans? When he figures out that he can't corrupt the array? Won't he just go ballistic on our asses, but now using all percentage of himself? Or maybe will he be a bit too exhausted?
... or did Long Tao set down yet another trap? I wouldn't put it past him. If there's anyone who knows how to over-plan for shit like this, it's the guy that's been hunted down by dozens of Emperors and eluded them for however-many years.
There is one point of concern aside from all that, though--Light.
She didn't really do anything yet. Just stood there and watched. I'm not worried for her so much as I'm worried she'll do something beyond insane that even I won't be able to rationalize anymore.
Eh. Maybe she's just taking her midday nap or something.
... yeah. Must be that.