>>5294578

this contemptible ghost has already tossed you threw the air and drawn your blood, and while he is rambling about how abhorrent and evil you are as a "Demonic beast" who "Dared" to offend the heavens by seeking and cultivating Qi in the pursuit of longevity and power, you are suppressing the urge to leap upon him and rake what flesh he has left with your claws before crushing his neck between your fangs.

But, that would be rushing in without any kind of a plan. This deluded spirit may be a fool, but it is the most dangerous opponent Baoli-Wuyawang has thus far brought to the Arena.

You need to center and calm yourself, and fight cleverly. You're a once in several generations prodigy after all, and a genius when it comes to...well most things, but particularly cultivation and improvising techniques!

In your mind's eye, you test your approach, running through a handful of ways to kick this bastard's ethereal ass, and find one that is is likely to achieve that goal but also as flashy and stylish as it is effective.

The first part of the plan, begins with you taking in a deep breath, and filling the whole of the sunken ring with the miasmic energy of grudges, to weaken and slow the Mad blizzard ghost. And then, to close the distance before the cold freezes even the burning blood you've covered yourself, in, you quickly activate and deactivate your specter lightness skill [幽灵-轻工, Yōulíng-Qīnggōng], performing the Phantom Cat Step [幽灵猫步, Yōulíngmāobù], to suddenly blink forward beneath its defenses and past its guard and hopefully avoid the deadly cold it has surrounded itself or the dangerous spells it hit you with during the beginning of this bout.

Then, when it panics and tries to distant itself from you or unleash a flurry of blows or rapid fire spells, you'll be able to see if your new idea actually works.

Roll 1d100. DC 54. Best out of three

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>5294579

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>5294579

Rolled 12 (1d100)

time to crit fail
>>5294579

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>5294579

>>5294594
Success. 20 over DC.

Update will arrive shortly

>>5294594
>>5294598
>>5294631
>>5294634
Looks like we are starting this thread well

All it takes is a moment hesitation. A reaction to slowing reaction, to an unseen weight pulling down on the limbs, a rigidity of muscles and weakness of limb. You could've used blood Qi to render the frozen spirit comatose with energy sapping sorrow and apathy or break its mind further with a rage so deep it drowns out the screams of its conscious mind. You could've embodied the universal hatred of Xiongji, and using the grudge clouds and blood Qi, breathed scarlet flames on this irritating specter. But, that would reveal to the audience more of your techniques, which you would very much prefer to keep hidden lest they spread the secrets of your law to the living. Surprise and confusion are after your most deadly weapons, and you certainly don't trust demons not to reveal your tricks if you show even a fraction of them to them. Besides, where's the fun in going all out? Cackling as you watch the ghost flounder and stare at its arms, losing its composure for just a moment as it tries to understand why its strength and stamina have chosen now of all times to fail and flee from it.

And that single second of confusion, is enough for you to close the gap. Blinking forward, the brief bafflement of your opponent turns to naked panic, as to their eyes you go from across the arena to right in front of them, flickering and disappearing like a flame in a wind, blinking and vanishing like a shadow in the corner of the eye. Your witch like laughter and fang filled grin certainly have an effect on the ice covered ghost, as it reels back, reflexively covering its face as its jaw drops in raw shock. Having used the perceived altered flow of time, and your natural agility to sprint through the icy winds that surround it and the ribbons of Qi and daggers of ice it had began to whip around itself, the ghost has no defenses against your approach.

Forcing it to act recklessly just to fend off your tearing claws and crushing fangs. A natural reaction of prey. The instinct men would prefer remained buried in their hearts. Desperation and terror lashing out. Exactly as you planned.

A cornered animal is dangerous, and can even gravely wound its would be hunter. A cultivator backed against the wall, is much more deadly than any cornered mouse or rat. But, they'll react exactly the same. Blindly biting and clawing in an attempt to push back their impending death so they can run away.

This instinctual response, will only last a few moments until the dead cultivator can recompose and calm himself, and realize he has stepped directly atop your paw. But that's all the time you need.

Scythe like claws of ice burst from the remains of his hands, and with a feral roar, the ghost flies towards you, a great wave of snow rising beneath it as his primal self choose to fight rather than fly. Spires of ice burst from the ground, proceeded by glowing spell diagrams and sorcerous formations in the sand. But, you keep a level head and serene mind.

Cont

>>5294678

Breathing out, you enter a partial state of meditation, a trance like dying, and force yourself up onto your hind legs as you lift your paws. Balancing carefully, you count the fractions of seconds until the howling wind and the ghost it carries comes close enough for you to parry its blows.

Then, right before its claws can reach out and pull through your fur and drag across your skin, you stretch your ears and move your whiskers, and create two protection spells on the end of your claws.

Combining your soft, ethereal martial arts with the supreme offensive defense of the Dying grudge shield!(垂死怨怼㕹,Chuísǐyuànduìfá), you begin to bat away and smack your paws into every strike and Qi blast the bellowing spirit throws at you in its blind desperation. Each claw that grazes the black smoking edges of the plate side barriers covering your powers, every chunk of ice that slams into them, every push and thrust of his wrists, elbows and knees, every form of attack within his reckless assault is caught by the screens as black as a winter's night. And the Yin energy and resentment within your shield begins to multiply all the damage you have blocked, even as the reduced barriers begin to crack and flake and nearly break apart.

But, your opponent is perceptive enough or at least has enough of a fighter's instinct to sense the danger approaching him, as his fear and anger begins to subside. His assault was so rapid, that neither of the Dying Grudge shields had yet been able to actually reflect all of the attacks you absorbed with them. And he can sense it, you now he can, he's trying to move away, self preservation winning out over "Righteous" Fury. Of course, running now won't help him. He only knows he's in danger, that you're about to attack.

He doesn't know how you are. He's left himself open, and as a soft style, your feline martial arts is specialized for taking advantage of such mistakes. Flowing like smoke, like the final breath before dying, you lunch forward as he tries to disengage with a leap back, throwing up a cloud of ice needles that your cloak of boiling blood easily melts through. He puts up his own barrier, a bright blue shield of light bent like a turtle's shell and made up of round plates. And that is another, deadly mistake.

He thinks you'll charge him, and unleashing the force he senses gathering at the end of your paws directly. But that is far too brutish of an approach.

No, instead, you blink to his side, and lift yourself up atop your hind legs once more, and hold your paws and the dying grudge shields levitating just above them to either side of him. Moving swiftly enough so you position them opposite of one another, the moment they release all of the damage they had stored inside of themselves.
Cont

>>5294679

All it takes is a single cycle of absorbing, storing and strengthening the combined power of the ghost's rabid assault to completely shatter both of the barrier spells and too create a small explosion of Raw Yin Energy. The crowd roars in approval, as a cloud of shaved ice and black smoke obscures your vision.

Standing in a crater, you twist your body completely around as a disembodied hand shoots from the gloom and nearly clips your unnotched ear! Catching yourself, you elegantly land on the edge of the crater you've made and grimace as you see what's left of the ghost, now that the ice holding him together has been blown into powder snow.

The stubborn fool is still clinging to "Life", even though he's in pieces, held together by strips of flesh and veins. His ragged meat twitches and spasms as he gnashes his teeth and snarls, struggling to control his now separated limbs. He has enough resolve to still be a danger, as both of his ice clawed hands are flying and shooting past you, like territorial birds or living arrows. But that's just a distraction, he's trying to buy himself time to piece his mangled form back together.

By controlling his butchered body with thin strings of Qi, icicles woven into threads. The black glow of water Qi surrounds you.

What do you do now, Huanliuxue?

>Dodge his flying claws and tear his head off with your jaws (Agility trial. DC 60)

>Bury Ghost Empress Melody's ethereal strings into his limbs and fight to control them, so you can kill him with his own hands (Magic Trial. DC 80)

>"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Embody Xiongji's grudge and burn him away with an ignited cloud of blood soaked grudges (Magic trial DC 55)

>Remain calm, and deflect his claws and spears of ice and destroy them with Destruction infused claw swipes, leaving him utterly defenseless (Martial Trial DC 62)

>Write in

>>5294681
>Remain calm, and deflect his claws and spears of ice and destroy them with Destruction infused claw swipes, leaving him utterly defenseless (Martial Trial DC 62)
2 extra in the DC couldn't possibly screw us over, right?

>>5294681
>Dodge or parry his attacks, and with Yin aspected claws, disrupt his threads.

Literally declare him

>>5294681
>Bury Ghost Empress Melody's ethereal strings into his limbs and fight to control them, so you can kill him with his own hands (Magic Trial. DC 80)

>>5294681
>Bury Ghost Empress Melody's ethereal strings into his limbs and fight to control them, so you can kill him with his own hands (Magic Trial. DC 80)

>>5294681
>Remain calm, and deflect his claws and spears of ice and destroy them with Destruction infused claw swipes, leaving him utterly defenseless (Martial Trial DC 62)

>>5294681
>Remain calm, and deflect his claws and spears of ice and destroy them with Destruction infused claw swipes, leaving him utterly defenseless (Martial Trial DC 62)

>>5294681
>Bury Ghost Empress Melody's ethereal strings into his limbs and fight to control them, so you can kill him with his own hands (Magic Trial. DC 80)
It's cool

>>5294681
>Bury Ghost Empress Melody's ethereal strings into his limbs and fight to control them, so you can kill him with his own hands (Magic Trial. DC 80)

>>5294681
>Remain calm, and deflect his claws and spears of ice and destroy them with Destruction infused claw swipes, leaving him utterly defenseless (Martial Trial DC 62)

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Ending the vote now. Tallying the result.

Remain calm, and deflect his claws and spears of ice and destroy them with Destruction infused claw swipes, leaving him utterly defenseless:4

Dodge or parry his attacks, and with Yin aspected claws, disrupt his threads.: 1

Bury Ghost Empress Melody's ethereal strings into his limbs and fight to control them, so you can kill him with his own hands : 4

There's a tie. I'll break it.

1= Remain calm
2= Use ghost empress melody

>>5296519
So you will play a jaunty, merry tune with ghost empress Melody, to send ethereal strings into the floating limbs of the Ice ghost, and attempt to wrestle control over them so you can use them against their owner.

Update will arrive shortly

Now, the smart thing to do here, would be to simply destroy his severed and flying limbs as well as the spears of spiraling ice that have began to thrust through the air around his clawed hands and feet. Deflecting them as they shoot towards you and breaking them apart as they carry on past you. That'd be the cautious and safe option, methodically breaking his weapons so he is rendered defenseless and helpless before your claws. However, your pride has been wounded, this ghost called you a demon and before that countered your spells with an idle ease while tormented by the memories of death and pain of his butchered body. Though you had surprised your indignant rage at being tossed through the air and stabbed by dozens of slivers of ice like you were a robe in need of stitch, you could not push it away and bury it completely. Your sense of dignity demands recompense after being so insulted. And your high pedigree, that lurks in the same blood boiling on your back, also demands its honor to be upheld and the foe who trod upon your pride as both prodigy and heir to the throne of the primordial legacy of wild and bestial royalty to be thoroughly crushed and humilated.

Through the rejuvenating powers of blood Qi, you can heal any troublesome wounds your receive while flashily trounching and dispatching this gnat who dared to sully not only your reputation but your exquisite coat of fur as well. Being tossed around like a discarded doll is a grave humiliation, especially since it was not only witnessed by the adoring crowd but also your own student! A teacher has to impress and look cool to their disciples! Its only natural! And this piece of shit made you look like an idiot novice who blundered directly into a trap so easily seen, even the blind could see it.

So, you ignore your senses of reason, logic and caution and instead obey the urging of your pride and cruelty.

Activating your specter lightness skill, you tug on the Qi in the air between you and Ghost Empress Melody (鬼皇后旋律, Guǐhuánghòuxuánlǜ), this alone requires a great deal of effort and spiritual energy, considering you left the enchanted instrument in the care of Qiang while you were fighting.

However, the enchanted instrument is loyal and as if it to was enraged by the indignity your suffered, or perhaps excited by the prospect of once more being wielded in battle, the enchanted Guqin flies through the air with a swiftness only matched by falling lightning, becoming a red streak as it descends to you and comes to rest in the air a step away from you. The streaks of black and white pearl gleam in the unnatural light cast by the fires of hell that light the arena and the tower above it, almost seeming to move like the billowing clouds and mists they resemble. And the tarnished, silver strings and the eerie crimson glow they radiate with, shine brighter than ever before.

The soothing aroma of grave soil washes over you, as you unsheathe your claws and begin to play

>>5296542

First, you strike a sudden, violent cord that ends as soon as you start playing it, creating a rotating sphere of cutting wind to create a zone of protection around yourself from all angles. And then, having interrupted your ghostly enemy's ferocious assault, you begin to play a happy working tune with Ghost Empress Melody. Ethereal copies of its strings rise and writhe like skeletal hands reaching out of their graves. Running your claws down the length of the strings and allowing them to vibrate freely the ethereal strings hone in on the flying limbs of the frigid phantom, plucking the strings rapidly, they strike and bury themselves into the frozen flesh of the levitating gore.

Now, comes the difficult part, wresting control over these deadly limbs before the ethereal strings snap. You play feverishly, summon a swarm of more phantom strings to try and reinforce those already hooked into the hands, feet and miscellaneous chunks of meat the ghost has been trying to bludgeon you with.

Roll 1d100. DC 80. Best out of three

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>5296543

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>5296543

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>5296543
Fucking ice ghosts. Making us look goofy.

>>5296615
8 under DC. Close Failure, writing now

The arena grounds becomes a light show, strings of Qi filling the air like the threads of a spider webs. You devout all of your energy and being to playing Ghost Empress Melody, pouring your spiritual energy into its strings while expending your physical and internal energy just to match the pace set by your opponent. The music becomes chaotic, like a drunkards song, rambling and drawn out, with more care for the tempo of the music than the pieces actually sound. It is a song of battle, but not of war or an honorable duel between two masters of martial arts and swordsmanship. It is a dirty bare knuckled brawl in the mud of a pigsty, the air filled with potent wine vapors and jeering rather than calming incense smoke and solemn shows of approval. At first, the puppeteering strings of ghost empress melody work wonderful, but that is only because this ability of your treasured instrument caught the ice ghost by surprise.

But, he is a proper cultivator, more of a warrior than a Daoist sage, yet the equal of any monk in wisdom. Even though he's half mad from being cut to pieces and slaughtered like swine. Oh he panics are first, as his claws formed of ice twitch and are forced back towards his floating head and still chest, but you can see in his narrowed eyes the cunning and serenity that he had trained and hammered into himself through decades of careful training, harsh trials and patient improvement. Unlike every other victim who has fallen to Ghost Empress Melody's controlling melody, he instantly realizes the weakness inherent to the fourth of its magical abilities. The weakness you had attempted to hide beneath overwhelming him with hundreds of puppeting strings of music and Qi. That they are weak and have difficulty taking control of a body that can still resist. He allows himself to be cut along the cheek, and feels the taste of his own frozen claws along the edge of his shoulder. You had aimed for his eyes and unbeating heart, and missed. Because he had concocted a counter. The struggle begins. His limbs fly upwards, higher and higher as he locks your gaze.

It is not a battle of will or skill, but swiftness and Qi Control. Even though he was killed, he is clearly skilled in controlling spiritual energy, and has improved his spiritual sense even in death. He moves the pieces of him you blasted away from the whole with as much ease as a follower of the sword path would maneuver their enchanted sword through the air. The look in his eyes, is not mocking, but challenging. This clash of reactions forces you to play more and more energetically, turning the once simple tune into a complex song that would give imperial musicians pause if they read its written score. It is exhaustive, not just mentally but physically. Even with your training, the rhythm and pace required to match the Ghosts own control is draining, and fatigue begins to set in.
Cont

>>5296671

But, it isn't exhaustion or the other rigors of playing music as quickly as you're forced to that prove to be your downfall.

No

The ghost of the cultivator waits, wasting its own energy in the struggle over controlling its own limbs without breaking the strings until you become so engrossed and focused on playing your Guqin and trying to keep one step ahead of him in trying to win total control over his body parts, that you leave yourself open.

A puppet made of Ice charge forward from the snow covering the ring, rising up as the deadly winds carve calligraphy upon its surface that you instantly recognize. For you've drawn them before

It's a sealing spell. Similar to the ones you used to imprison the hungry ghosts of the court you usurped that were too loyal or stubborn to defect from the forgotten king's service to your own. But its purpose is different. It isn't meant to trap souls in a vessel, this seal is of the sort that can seal the mystical abilities of magical treasures and artifacts, and even prevent spells from being cast properly.

Oh.

OH!

He isn't trying to hurt you, he's trying to neutralize the weapon you brought into the fight! Trying to render Ghost Empress Melody temporarily useless for anything but playing mundane music! The ethereal strings snap, and the Ghost takes back full control over his body.

He's backed you into a troublesome position. Either you give up the advantage your magical Instrument brings, or you leave yourself open to a new barrage of falling icicles and slicing claws.

Clever. And infuriating! So much so it makes the blood you've soaked yourself in boil even more fiercely!

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Allow Ghost Empress Melody to be sealed, and dodge his attacks, waiting for another opening to strike (Agility trial. DC 56)

>Endure the attack, destroying the ice puppet and unleashing a rain of slicing and chopping wind with Ghost empress melody (Fortitude trial. DC 70)

>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)

>Sigh, and walk your soul out of your body, taking Ghost Empress Melody away from the touch of his Spell Sealing Servant, and using it to control your own body from a distance (Magic Trial. DC 75)

>Write in

>>5296672
>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)

>>5296672
>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)

>>5296672
>Bludgeon him

>>5296672
>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)

>>5296672
>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)
Oh yeah? Outsmart THIS you frozen bastard!

>>5296672
>Endure the attack, destroying the ice puppet and unleashing a rain of slicing and chopping wind with Ghost empress melody (Fortitude trial. DC 70)

>>5296672
>Allow Ghost Empress Melody to be sealed, and dodge his attacks, waiting for another opening to strike (Agility trial. DC 56)
Puppet 2: puppet harder

>>5296672
>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)

>>5296672
>Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT (Martial Trial. DC 60)

Ending the vote, tallying the result. Meant to call it sooner.

Locking away its mystical powers may render your Guqin worthless as a magical weapon, but it is still hefty enough to be used as a club! BREAK HIS SKULL WITH IT:7

Endure the attack, destroying the ice puppet and unleashing a rain of slicing and chopping wind with Ghost empress melody: 1

Allow Ghost Empress Melody to be sealed, and dodge his attacks, waiting for another opening to strike: 1

So you will just use Ghost Empress Melody as a bludgeon after its magical powers are sealed, and try to use it to break the Ice wraith's skull open

Update will arrive shortly

However, that rage that boils your blood brings a strange clarity to your mind, that provides you with a most brutish insight that'll allow you to take third option and escape the corner your opponent has backed you into. Guqins are rather hefty instruments, those sized for demonic cats especially so. Usually play over the knees or on a table, due to their length and size. Most would never think of lifting one up like a club, let alone wielding one like one to hold it like a bludgeon. But you've broken bones and jaws with Ghost Empress Melody before, even used it to block blades. It may be a magic instrument, but it is a battle artifact first and foremost. Monu made sure of that. The enchanted, blood and gravesoil soaked wood its made of is as tough as steel and even without its magical properties, you can still swing it through the air by pulling its strings with your claws. Clumsily sure, but when you're hitting something over the head with a large piece of wood, grace and elegance don't really play a factor in how much it hurts when it smacks against their skull.

So, you let the sealing puppet made of snow and ice reach out and pat Ghost Empress Melody, causing all of its strings and cutting winds to dissipate and vanish like a ghost in the morning fog, or the last breath of life from a corpse. You do not even flinch as the towering pile of snow throws its hands up above you and begins to fall forward, trying to crush you beneath its girth. Because, while the butchered daoist may have covered it in sealing charms and spells, none of them do anything to a living creature. Sure, if they were higher quality, prepared on a more valuable material than snow, than maybe if he spent years writing and preparing them they could hold a weakling and trap them in a vase, like those beads you found in your dimensional gourd could.

But as troublesome an opponent he is, and as skilled and talented as he was, this ghost certainly is no master. At least, not one whose learned the more dangerous and refined forms of sealing. And he couldn't be a master of any kind or level, since he couldn't imagine that you, the great Huanliuxue wouldn't be intimidated by a stomping mound of snow OR THAT YOU'VE BECOME VERY ADEPT AT BREAKING SERVANT PUPPETS!

With a swing of your paws, you drag Ghost Empress Melody's side into the head of the snow puppet. And turn it into a cloud of white powder, "Killing" it by completely destroying the unstable core of water Qi powering it and erasing the mystical diagram giving it light.

Then, pulling Ghost Empress Melody under you by its strings, you leap into the air, floating first before kicking off the ground to give yourself enough of a push to rise up high enough to reach the severed head of the dead daoist, and do so fast enough so he can't fly out of your reach before you hammer his flying head back to the hard ground and slam down atop it AND BREAK IT!

Roll 1d100. DC 60. Best out of three

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>5299510
EASY

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>5299510
Bonk

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5299510

>>5299526
Nice

>>5299555
Success. 10 over DC precisely.

Update will arrive shortly

Of course, this stubborn thorn in your side is far to annoying to just act his station and respectfully allow you to end his life. Really he should be honored you're going to kill him, and grateful he was called out to fight you to begin with. You almost feel disapointed that you're only fighting his ghost, and not battling against him at his peak of life and ability. The pain of his cruel death has clearly addled him. Which is why you can't help but admire how composed he has become and rational he is fighting! Most hungry ghosts are barely able to speak, especially when they're "young", some even go completely feral and most begin to forget their lives even if they hadn't met a violent or unhappy enough end or were simply evil hearted enough to become a true Hungry ghosts. This cultivator clearly died in a way more terrible than even the most macabre mind could imagine, and yet he's still sane and cognizant enough to shrewdly concoct and carry out well thought out and cunning plans of attack! Its incredible! Well beyond the imagination of those minds like your own, but you don't count since your Path and Cultivation revolves around death and frightful grudges held by "terrifying" ghosts.

A title your opponent could actually lay claim to, unlike most of the members of your court, besides the most twisted and monsterous natured amongst and Xiongji. Since he is makes you work for every step towards victory you take! If he had accompanied the five would be assassins, you might not have escaped that ambush unscathed. He's a tactician whose actually had experience in the field, with a sword in his hand and blood upon his face. It is such a shame you were the one to kill him, that you didn't get to fight him when he was alive and fully put together in both mind and body. Despite your anger and humilation, you find that you're having fun just fighting a shadow of him. How exciting dangerous would he have been to fight when he was whole and unhampered by the grotesques of his death and lunacy born from the enmity he even now holds for his killer.

You smile, but he doesn't as he tries and keeps you back, by throwing his ice clawed hands and a hail of stabbing spears formed from the glacial winds surrounding his cut apart form in a desperate defense, trying to cow you into relenting or going on the defensive yourself. It doesn't work, of course! The humiliated rage and predatory glee you feel has made the blood you've soaked into your fur boil so intensely that all of deathly cold and razor sharp spears of ice that he throws down at you melt and become as harmless as spring rain!

And indeed, the water surrounding you only serves to hasten the bludgeoning he will soon recieve. Because when one uses Lightness skill they can not only run across water but jump off of it!
Cont

>>5299643

Your Specter lightness skill does the same, but your partially insubstantial body can not float atop water and drift through the air, but it can also allow you to stand atop droplets of rain as if they were solid ground. Something the standard lightness Skill couldn't possibly achieve. While others would sink if they stopped running, you'd remain steady as if the water beneath your paws was as dense as stone.

So, a path of rain has been made, leading you directly to your target. and with the area of altered time created by the Yōulíng-Qīnggōng, your natural feline speed combined with the Blood Torrent Rush (衁急流奔,Huāngjíliúbēn) pushing your body's already towering limits even further beyond, you reach the dead man before he can bring his floating hands in front of himself in a last ditch effort to guard against the blow he knows is coming.

A blow that is made all the more mighty by the sheer amount of speed you picked up and maintained in your flight towards him, and your jumping between the water droplets that showered around you.

He winces the moment before you bring the weight of your Guqin down atop his brow. His forehead splits, as a loud, popping crack echoes around you as you make yourself fully material and fall down as you swing your instrument against his head.

Like a falling star, you and the ice wraith's head slam into the ground, your full weight pressing against it and smashing it between Ghost Empress Melody's unyielding wood, and the marble flooring beneath the sand of the arena.

It might not have been flashy, elegant or seemly for a lady of your standing. But it was as effective as it was brutish, cause the ghost's head is staring at you from two places, for it has been split cleanly in two.

A groan escapes its lips, and as grudge miasma flows from it and rises into the air to darken and coalesce.

"Cursing me even as you die? I can admire such potent resentment" You sneer, as the ghost blinks and snarls, snapping its jaws as it begins to return to the great wheel of reincarnation

Your instincts warn you, and you leap back, narrowly avoid a gust of wind so cold it could even freeze your boiling blood.

"Not...dead...yet" The two halves of his head snarl in unison "I'll...get you...Jingyu"

Wait, that name sounds familiar... have you heard it somewhere before? Well, despite that last outburst, there's really no way for this spirit to defend himself anymore. Having his brains spilled out has made it so he can barely control his severed limbs, let alone attack with anything approaching finesse or deftness. The freezing winds are an issue, but his essence is flickering like a candle in a storm and it'll soon be snuffed out as his stay in hell comes to an end.

cont

>>5299644

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Brave the cold and try to get an answer from the head about this Jingyu, You're sure you've heard that name before... (Fortitude trial. DC 70)

>Just focus all of your energy on keeping your protective layer of blood boiling, and wait until his soul passes on. No need to take any risks just to satiate your curiosity. Rest before your next fight, to speak with Qiang and Yujijiao's ghost.

>Smugly leave the arena, assured of your victory. Why should you bother to see this ghosts last moment. Watch Qiang fight her last real opponent, and then fight your

>This simply won't do! This was your fourth fight, and four is death! This is too anticlimatic! Use ghost empress melody to empower your opponent, so you can continue this fight until you're satisfied! (martial trial. DC 65)

>Write in

>>5299646
>Brave the cold

Can we get a lowered DC by pointing out a logical train of thought?
Because I cant remember exactly where we heard it but this guy is obviously from Monu's sect, so we have the rough area of where we should focus our memory.
Then narrow down any rumours we have heard about troubles in the area or relating to the cultivator.
And finally we can SEE what his spirit looks like, ie how his body looked after he died, so we can further refine our recollection by assessing what manner of damage had to be inflicted and how ti make him this way.

>>5299649
I'll allow it

>>5299651
Sweet, that's my train of through.

The rest of you guys got anything?

>>5299646
>Brave the cold
>write-in
Well I remember Jingyu is Monu's name from before she got badonked by her sect for raising a fluffy kid, since Ping mentioned it briefly when we first met. Monu herself told us this guy (her partner) cursed himself with icification as the prime example of warning us how bad failing a bottleneck can go, it was her very first example and warning two-lessons-in-one thing she likes doing.

So let's ask him what he knows about mum.

>>5299654
>first met
*first debated on orthodoxy.
to be specific.

>>5299651
Am I confusing two similar cultivators? Because if so, whoops.

>>5299654
>>5299651
Nevermind, Ping did mentioned Jingyu, but only in the context of a punished cultivator. Name confusion with Monu's previous name is what got me there since they were mentioned so closely.

>>5299646
>This simply won't do! This was your fourth fight, and four is death! This is too anticlimatic! Use ghost empress melody to empower your opponent, so you can continue this fight until you're satisfied! (martial trial. DC 65)

>>5299646
>Brave the cold
Jingyu's the guy who Xuebai possessed and is going around Frankensteining himself. So this is probably one of the dudes he killed along the way. Though this is all meta knowledge our exemplary cat wouldn't know so Ping's mentions of him is all we can run off of.

>>5299646
>Brave the cold
We should question details. Ask him where Jingyu is, or where he made him like this.
After that, drill him by asking what he knows about the foul Toad Princess/Poison Fairy. If he knows anything truly useful that might also trigger him.

>>5299646
>Brave the cold and try to get an answer from the head about this Jingyu, You're sure you've heard that name before... (Fortitude trial. DC 70)
Fine, I will vote to take one risky action.
But only because of the other anons good questions.

>>5299646
>Brave the cold and try to get an answer from the head about this Jingyu, You're sure you've heard that name before... (Fortitude trial. DC 70)

>>Brave the cold and try to get an answer from the head about this Jingyu, You're sure you've heard that name before... (Fortitude trial. DC 70)

Ending the vote, tallying the result.

Brave the cold and try to get an answer from the head about this Jingyu, You're sure you've heard that name before (DC lowered): 7

This simply won't do! This was your fourth fight, and four is death! This is too anticlimatic! Use ghost empress melody to empower your opponent, so you can continue this fight until you're satisfied!: 1

So You'll brave the cold to ask the ghost a series of questions to try and figure out who this Jingyu Character is...

Update will arrive shortly

Looking through the white and blue veil of vein and bone freezing winds whipping around the defeated ghost's sever head, you feel your curiosity climb higher and higher, easily pushing aside the sensible caution and hesitation you feel for even remaining as close as you currently are from the icy vortex of sudden, cold death. It is in your nature as a cat, to be curious, but normally you wouldn't be so driven to risk your life just to satisfy the instinctual urge to learn and see. However, this curiosity isn't just born of whimsy like most of the sudden drives to investigate something or experiment that suddenly take hold over your heart and mind. This curiosity has a reason beyond "I want to do this". Because you're certain you've heard the name this insane spirit keeps muttering, snarling, spitting and shouting. He's clearly a member of the Winter Blossoming Wisdom Sect. The sect that both Monu and Ping once belonged to. Yes! It was Ping who said the name before! Jingyu! In the cave! During the storm! Just before you learned Lei had been captured by that tribe enslaved by that pig demon that had somehow crawled out of hell into the mortal realms! You had brought up the torture and wrongful punishment your mother had suffered for just trying to raise a child born with a fur and tail, to have her be the heir of her legacy. A brand upon her forehead, a mangling of her dominant hand and the removal of one of her eyes, alongside the crippling of her meridians, spiritual roots and cultivation.

The conversation that, looking back on it, might have been the turning point in your and Ping's relationship. For it was then when you first pulled away the illusion of righteousness, morality and lawfulness from the traditions of the orthodoxy of cultivation and how wrong and unjust their rule has been since its inception.

He mentioned a Jingyu, who shared your mother's punishment. The Winter Blossoming Wisdom Sect does seem to enjoy crippling those who step outside of the stringent lines they draw and the sands and the pointless and foolish laws they uphold over themselves and the wider world.

You step forward, your train of thought and contemplation focused as finely as if you were preparing to pounce on a bird. Frost begins to gather on your fur as you step into the vortex of freezing gales and shrieking, stinging winds.

And, if you remember correctly, the Winter Blossoming Wisdom Sect has lost a number of its members, though they blame the Guardians of the celestial sunlight sect, all of their lost disciples have died on their turf. The same region that was consumed by a magical blizzard called out by a curse, a sorcerous ritual. You had thought it was just a rival toying with them, or a prankster who lost control of their latest trick. But isn't that too much of a coincidence? isn't it odd, that Ping was sent into the storm? That other's were?

Were they looking for something?
Cont

>>5300752


Or someone? That'd explain why they were so desperate, if they were searching for a renegade cultivator, or a heretical traitor. And Jingyu, if he was the one to kill this smug and blind daoist, may be more of a heretic than yourself. From a glance, you can tell several key organs, important to both the physical and spiritual aspects of cultivation, primarily Internal alchemy, have been ripped out from his body, and several muscle groups have been completely stripped away. Those aren't the result of predation. Even if he was eaten by a demonic beast. The wrong organs are missing. You know which parts of the human body are rich in spiritual energy, especially in a cultivator. They've been left behind, entirely untouched.

Chunks of ice begin to freeze on the surface of your bloody coat, as you at last piece together your line of questioning. Hopefully the ghost still has enough of a sense of self to answer you quickly, otherwise you might become a block of red hued ice!

"T..t..tell me! Oh spirit of my fellow daoist, lost disciple of the winter blossoming wisdom sect, wrongfully murdered sage. Hear me and answer me! I command you as the rightful queen of the dead and living!" You bark as you stomp forward "Who is Jingyu? He killed you, right? So"

You shudder, and snap your jaws.

Focus. Focus. Need to Focus. The head heard you, and because of the authorize, commanding tone you used, way you referred to him and the way you asked, it has regained some of its sense and has forgotten you're a "Repugnant affront to the Dao" as he so harshly put it during his long rant against what you were.

"Ah" he gasps "Jingyu...Jingyu! He killed me, he...he"

Dammit, you need to endure a little longer

"Listen to me, fallen friend" You shout "Tell me who Jingyu is! Tell me how he killed you and why he would betray his sect! Tell me, before you return to the wheel of transmigration! So I may carry out justice on your behalf"

Urrrgh, acting like a dog of the heavenly laws makes you feel sick! You'll need to wash yourself after this is done! Gross! Gross!

roll 1d100. DC 44. Best out of three

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>5300754
Rollan.

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>5300754

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>5300754
Slow night today

>>5300792
Great success. 30 over DC. Update will arrive shortly

>>5300804
How many fights do we still have? I know that Qiang's grudge match is going to be her fifth, she fought twice during our talk with the mystic, and went first, so it should be next one, but is crown man going to extend things?

>>5300828
One more. And he wouldn't unless you asked him to

>>5300834
Thanks grandpa

"Jingyu, is a pathetic excuse for a daoist. A sinful monk whose lustful ways lead him not only down the path of damnation but drove him to abandon every virtue and ideal he held as a man, abandoning his humanity to spite those who tried to correct his mistakes and preserve the karma he acquired this life!" The ghost says, its eyes blinking rapidly as a look of true disgust and hatred appears over its features, making it seem more demon like than yourself and even some of the crowd "He was a fool, who should've never been granted the privilege of being allowed to join our most noble and saintly school! He was a wretch, I knew it from the day I first met him, Elder sister. He was weak, he was talentless"

"Oh so he wasn't a rising star gone rogue, betraying the heavens, but a frustrated novice with a sinful heart who abandoned the righteous Dao in pursuit of his misplaced ambitions and boundless greed?" You ask, creeping closer as the wind's begin to warm just enough so you aren't at risk of being struck dead from the sheer coldness of the air they pull around "An all too common tragedy, I'm surprised however, that a talentless whelp could defeat such a"

You shudder and twitch, not from the cold, but rather from forcing yourself to say what you're about to say

" "prodigy" such as yourself, who is so blessed to be so naturally talented while so young" You groan, shivering as your eyes droop "He must've had help or discovered a forbidden technique to be able to kill you and defeat his other victims"

"As I said, wise one, he had discarded his very nature as a human being and became something truly foul and monstrous, a repugnant stain on reality" The ghost calls out as you creep closer, the ice clinging to your protective layer of blood melting down as his soothed state of mind calms the winds enough for you approach even closer to two halves of his head "He was talentless and weak, but he found an abhorrent means of stealing away the potential of others, an art so deeply evil I cannot imagine it was every forbidden, for it must never have been considered before his desperate and vengeful mind imagined it"

"Oh? And what vile form of self refinement does this wretch practice? So I may anticipate and prepare countermeasures against it?" You ask, grinning as you pace around the motionless head "I have seen many foul forms of physical cultivation in my time, so tell me, how is his different"

"He cuts away flesh, plucks out organs, tears out bones. He grafts the bodies of other, worthy cultivators to his body. He's a patchwork abomination, driven only by the pursuit of more wrongfully gained power and misplaced vengeance against those HE betrayed, those who tried to SAVE his soul!" The ghost growls, closing its eyes as you sit in front of it "Just speaking about his misdeeds twists my bowels and burdens my heart! My beloved grandfather hastens his death's approach, so enraged is he by the crimes of the bastard Jingyu!"
Contd

>>5300851

Good. You say nothing, and just blink as you listen to the now furious ghost rant. That is truly a gruesome way to gain power, unseemly, grotesque and not in a beautiful way. Despite yourself, you find yourself agreeing with the fallen ice wraith, as you cannot find a word that better fits such a method besides "Deeply evil". Well, besides disturbing and disgusting.

"Please, whoever you are, kindly hunter, save our grandmaster, you shall be greatly rewarded" The ghost sighs "Our higher tier members are busy defending against the uncalled for aggressions of our neighbor clans and nearby peers, they cannot be called upon to exterminate the devil that was Jingyu. Hear my plea, though I cannot see you, tell my sect Xiaosi has given you his recommendation and trust, and they shall lend you any aid you ask on your quest"

'honestly, I might just help Jingyu. You bastards deserve everything that is happening to you now for what you did to my mother" You think, furrowing your brow angrily

"I cannot undertake this quest, if I do not know where this organ thief lurks" You say as kindly as you're able to when speaking to a member of that sect that killed your sister and betrayed Monu "It would be unbecoming if I were to demand assistance when I do not know where the monster I seek makes its lair, where did he kill you? Where did you do battle"

"As far as we know, Jingyu lurks in the primordial forest of the tragic lovers. Surely, one as well traveled and knowledgeable as yourself have heard of it. It is one of the pride of the winter blossoming wisdom sect, and one of our wealthiest properties. A natural garden for spiritual herbs and fruit, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is very dense and rich there" He explain somberly "Which is why it is troublesome that Jingyu remains within it, slaughtering and butchering any creature with even a drop of Qi in their meridians like they were common beasts. Despicable. Surely, that is how he remains alive despite melding his body with dead flesh and lifeless bones. Like a toad, he sits upon his prize, gathering power and biding his time, and there is nothing we can do to stop him. Because"

You're now sitting directly in front of the rambling head, eyes narrowed as you wait for your answer

"He doesn't stay in one place, and has become remarkably adept at hiding from our perceptions, even the sharpest spiritual senses amongst our school cannot find him, and divination shows us nothing" He grumbles "Forgive me, oh selfless maiden as majestic as the stars, But I do not know where he is. But, I Know he is moving nearer to the edge of woods, as if in search of something. I myself was killed on the outskirts. Find what remains of my corpse, and I am sure you'll have proof enough to lead a pursuit for Jingyu"
Cont

>>5300854

"There is no need to apologize, you've already given me a wealth of leads and information more valuable than even jade fallen from the sea of stars" You sneer leaning down to look him in his apparently blind eyes "But, endure a few moments longer, cling to your fading will and memories. I have one final question for you"

"What is it? I'll be happy to answer any questions given to me, by she who shall avenge me and bring that monster to justice?" He says stoically

"Have you ever heard of someone called the Poison Fairy? Or perhaps you have heard stories told about the toad princess?" You ask, barely able to keep the bitterness of you disdain from reaching your voice, poisoning the sweet voice you're speaking with "Have you ever hard the legend of the Serpent whose venom could slay a dragon?"

He closes his eyes and clenches his jaws

"How do you know of our great shame? I know her. I know her well. She is a cautionary tale, to suspect even those closest to you, your dearest friends and most stalwart comrades of impiety and ill virtue, to seek heretics wherever you go, to constantly be on the look out for apostates and traitors" He hisses, trying to shake his split head "Jingyu is proof we have become lax in our guard, but he is far less terrible than the unforgiveable traitor. The Sect head dealt with her and killed her, two or three generations ago. He had been closer to her than words could describe, and she abused his trust, esteem and affection to commit apostasy most foul beneath the elders' noses. She performed a heresy that not even the gods could forgive while indulging herself in all the comforts and wealth of the school. The heartless bitch raised demonic beasts, threatening all of humanity and..."

You crush his head beneath your paws without a thought in your head or moment hesitation. Furious, you turn and leave the smear on the ground, your legs shaking now not from the cold but rather sheer rage the departed ghost's words woke within you.

Qiang passes you by, and knows better than to say anything to you when you're so deeply upset.

Baoli-Wuywang on the other hand...

"Isn't it marvelous how many exotic fighters I've been able to procure and hire? Each one is more exciting than the last, and is able to incite more of reaction from you, breaking that proud and regal façade of yours. It is most amusing, but I can tell, Huanliuxue, you do not find the humor in it" The crow king sneers as the Arena is prepared for Qiang's last real fight and the frozen corpses of the first, second and half of the third row of the audience are broken from the floor and carted away. You try to ignore your hosts prodding and passive aggressive heckling as you undo the adaptations your forced on your body to simply survive that last fight.
Cont

>>5300855

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I thought you'd at appreciate the effort I, your peer in title and station, went to to provide you with interesting and stimulating opponents, it wasn't easy, you know finding them" He continues to ramble on, hands interlocked, one leg kicked over the other as he talks at you "But, I needed to repay you for the entertainment and for the finical advise of betting on you and your adorable little student. You could at least smile, your own bets have made you wealth, and you've been able to crush a pretender to your inheritance, a would be usurper and even a scion of the clan that wronged your family. Why are you looking so glum? What is that has gotten you so upset and gloomy! This is a party, smile, celebrate. You may not be a demon, but surely you can have some fun in hell! There's just one last hurdle, before you receive a prize greater than even the bounty won from betting, so come on, show some courtly refinement and at least act pleased by my hospitality"

What do you say to the crow king as Qiang's fight begins, Huanliuxue?

>"Shut up, I have no patience left for a creature as evil as you"

>Nothing

>"Your affable demeanor won't fool me, crow king. You want to corrupt me and make me a real demonic beast. This is just training for me and Qiang, nothing more"

>"Peer? Equal? Fellow nobility!? Insolent dog! I am the only royalty here or anywhere beneath the heavens! You might think you're strong enough to mock me without consequence, but I am the heir to the primordial wilds and if you don't show me respect I'll make you kneel and kowtow before me, swine!"

>Write

>>5300857
>"Face is part of the rules of men, not of the wild. A wounded cat hides from view, a hurt dog shows it to their packmates, but neither fakes health. As princess of the wilds, I do not recognise wearing a false mask as royal ettiquette, but a predator's cunning."
>"I do enjoy a good fight and challenge, but when fighting these tortured souls, I can only see that both heaven and hell seek only to pluck away and hinder those who would grow strong"
>"I welcome your attempts hospitality however. If you seek to corrupt me, than it's simply because of your nature as a true demon. If you merely want an ally against the heavens or to display your power agaibst a potential rival, it is a sensible plan. But if intent to make a friend out of me? You would need a very different approach"

>>5300857
>Write in.
Focus, and get our temper under control. We feed on powerful grudges-- and what is a grudge, if not anger let fester and grow more potent? Throwing a tantrum because of the words of an insulting young cultivator (who knew nothing of our mother than the lies his superiors told him) is beneath us. Likewise, picking a fight with Baoli Wuyawang does no good right now, and neither does directly antagonizing him any further in his own domain. Many an arrogant young master has been humbled by challenging an opponent whose strengths they didn't understand, and the crow king has had us on the back foot since we arrived. I can only interpret the line
>you've been able to crush a pretender to your inheritance, a would be usurper and even a scion of the clan that wronged your family.
as him having known about Monu, our blood qi, and our collecting other magical beasts from the beginning, and setting up at least a couple of these fights specifically to fuck with us. He's setting a trap; there's no reason we should be stupid enough to take the bait, no matter how righteous our anger. Let this experience harden into a fresh grudge against the truly wicked-- and in the meantime, air a few of our grievances in a composed way, sort of like >>5300886.

>>5300896
I can support taking advantage of the seething to empower us.

>>5300896
+1.

He knows more about us on a personal level than some of our disciples do.

And yea, he's been going in fairly gated circle of
>hey your blood qi is great babe, you'd be better off if you were more demonic tho just sayain babe
Then trying to get us to submit to our own weaknesses in pride and anger by alternating between dredging up the past and things related to us while prying for info on our abilities and relationships. I think he's trying to activate some conditions that edge souls towards becoming more like demons in an attempt to get info on us or just directly obtain our blood qi. Simple espionage for a cultivating cat or moral corruption doesn't seem a deep enough stratagem for someone who's been attempting to play down the effort they've put into trying to divine our inner workings and relationships. It reeks of a spell.

>>5300857
>write-in
It wouldn't really be subtle, but hey, he's not actually being subtle.
We can respond to his prickling by asking him what the true nature of demon hospitality is, and thank him for hosting us before he can answer. He should be smart enough to get it.

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>>5300886
>>5300896
>>5301081

Just wanted to say, I really like these write ins. They're clever and well written. Anyways, vote is still on going. Just felt the need to say how much I enjoyed your write ins when I woke up.

Hope to see some more. Write ins are always fun.

>>5300886
+1
I really enjoy the comment about face

No update today. Slipped while walking up some stairs with loose carpeting, and I'm in too much pain to write rn. Nothing serious thankfully.

>>5301390
Thanks, QM. I only really learned of the quest in the thread's 4th iteration, but I've had a lot of fun with our weirdly moral murder-cat. This is the first real quest I've played, and you've done a great job keeping it going this long; thanks for all the work you've put in so far.
>>5301081
Yeah, it could be be a spell of some kind. If I had to hazard a guess, it's definitely on-brand for our host's idea of a 'grand prize' to be getting forcibly turned into a demon, or trying to steal/corrupt our pure blood qi.
>>5302886
Holy shit, dude. I'm sorry to hear that. Hoping you feel better soon.

>>5302886
Ah shit my dude, I hope you get better.
>>5302956
Or our next "hurdle" being fighting him.

>>5302886
Jeesus. Carpeted stairs? Truly inauspicious.
Also don't underestimate hidden injuries. If the pain becomes semi-chronic then it's somethin serious.

>>5300896
+1

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Ending the vote now.

"Face is part of the rules of men...": 4

Focus, and get our temper under control.:4

asking him what the true nature of demon hospitality is, and thank him for hosting us before he can answer: 1

So I'm counting this >>5301081 and the votes for it (except for >>5301081, as it supplied its own reply) to be in support of >>5300886 as well due to this part "in the meantime, air a few of our grievances in a composed way, sort of like >>5300886." and because it is a vote for an action, focusing and getting your temper under control and turning it into a new grudge against the wicked.

Figured I should explain my reasoning, for counting the votes as I did.

So You'll focus and regain control over your temper/ anger and cage it so it may ferment into a true, and potent grudge against the truly wicked

Before airing your grievances with all the composure and calm of a untroubled grave.

Update will arrive shortly


>>5303077
>>5302956
>>5302968
Thanks for your concern. But I'm fine, bruised and aching but fine.

And yeah, hardwood stairs with carpet barely attached to it. Hurt like hell falling down it. Really, I'm lucky the glass I was carrying didn't shatter, and that I avoided landing on the fork and knife to. Wouldn't have walked away as easily if it did.

>>5303641
That sounds like a close one, thankfully everything ended relativaly well.

Big update incoming

Like a break in a storm, your stewing rage and building fury relent and wane. Lessons and warning tales spoken by your mother and common since fill your mind like the quite stillness following the retreat of the heaven's wrath manifest in sleets of rain, rolling thunder and falling lightning and shrieking winds.

'No' You think, harshly scolding yourself for nearly losing composure or control of your emotions 'this is beneath me. I am the warden and holder of enmity and spite, to allow anger to reign over my mind is as shameful as throwing a tantrum in front of my students and underlings. Like a princess whining in front of the court of her father. It is beneath me. So far beneath me, the distance is similar to that separating heaven and earth, it is shameful"

Arrogance is death. One must know the difference between wild arrogance and well placed pride. Monu has told you of the long history of shameful defeats and humiliating deaths dealt out to arrogant young masters who forgot their place and mistakenly believed themselves untouchable, and were then humbled by opponents they believed to be trash or vermin beneath their heels. You had seen the result of such an overblown ego, and what end it lead its host who believed themselves peerless beneath all nine heavens. A stain upon the floor and a fresh coat of paint on the walls of the nameless inn where he had picked a fight with an opponent humbly hiding away his true power and threat.

Baoli-Wuyawang, is stronger than you. It does not hurt your pride to admit this obvious fact. You do not know exactly how great the difference between you and the Crow King is, but you know it is there. It would do you no good to antagonize him, as much as you sorely wanted, and to pick a fight with your host would be courting death. Even if he did not rule for his strength alone, fear of his name and wrath had earned him a loyal murder of demons who would all to readily rush to his defense to avoid the assuredly deadly punishment of disloyalty.

Even his wife, otherwise fierce and haughty, mewled and cowered like a kitten when her husband did so little as raise his voice and narrow his eyes. Baoli-Wuyawang was dangerous, and unpredictable. A true demon in both heart and character. And the fact he knew so much about you and the life you had lead, on a level deeper than even some of your disciples did, made you all the more wary.

As a beast, you knew well a trap when one was set before you. Being angry would only play into whatever scheme he had for you, until you were dancing in his palm. He knew about your mother, He knew of your ownership of pure blood Qi, he Knew you were gathering other Magical beasts as your students. While these could be explained as him having interrogated those left dead in your path, it was all too unlikely for him to capture and wring answers out of every soul you had wronged. And even more unlikely for their stories of you to lead him to the conclusions he has found.
Cont

>>5303734

And his choice of opponents were too suspicious to be mere happenstance. He was trying to irritate you, to push you to lash out in anger or fear by putting you against enemies he somehow knew were someway connected to your ambitions and fears. Except the bone centipede, but that might've been just to torment his wife by killing her childhood pet or showing one last disrespect to his predecessor, who he ate.

Whatever means the crow king was using, which you were certain went beyond mere spying or guess work, he was clearly trying to make you submit to your own pride or righteous anger and indignation. All the while trying to gather as much information as he could about your abilities, relationships, beliefs and goals. You knew there was a trap, but was it sorcerous in nature? You'd need to study demonic magic when you returned to the realm of the living. But for now

You would take a deep breath, fill your lungs with fresh air and allow your mind to clear, cleansing it of the lingering anger and bottling it up deeper within yourself. As you breath out, you push it all together, pressing and shape it as you would a medicinal pill, refining it as you reflect on what exactly you hate about your host and his kind, the disgust and fury you have felt for their wicked, unnatural ways. And so, the mote of anger you have kept, begins to form into a new grudge. Potent and fierce, this resentment was directed towards the truly wicked. Those who the fools who named themselves true daoists would believe to be your allies. The evil you found at your back, as you stood against the injustices and hubris of the heavens who thought they were above the natural order of things.

And, as you carefully pruned, shaped and empowered this newly born grudge, you turned to Baoli-Wuyawang, facing his gleefully sadistic grin, and feathered face as his illusion of humanity began to slip as his own emotions rouse and rouse. He was expecting you to shame yourself with anger, to give him reason to strike you, to spit in the face of his so called hospitality and laugh at the poisoned niceties he drowned you with.

Instead, you met his smile with a cool sense of calm and dignity.

"Face is part of the rules of men, not of the wilds" You said well manneredly, like a scholar explaining to a king why he could not pluck the stars from the heavens to set as jewels in his crown. You turned away as the Crow King's smile faded, usurped by confusion

" A wounded cat hides from view, a hurt dog shows it to their packmates, but neither fakes health" You continue, sharply and proudly as you watch Qiang step into the ring, still wearing her boar shaped masked to smother her warm breath
"As princess of the wilds, I do not recognize wearing a false mask as royal etiquette, but a predator's cunning."
Cont

>>5303737

"Are you truly a predator, when you lie with prey and take them as your students?" He asks just as sharply, swirling a goblet of steaming blood around as his wife winced and gnawed at her claws. His Mother in law watched silently, wearing a smile like she was watching two children arguing who would play the hero and who would play the demon king

You ignore him. Which will wound him greater than any words you could shout at him. Qiang's opponent enters, you jaw clenches, as you see that in place of a hungry ghost or lost soul captured and chained, is a great, dragon scaled brute of a demon with an axe in each of its four hands.

Qiang takes a step back, expression hidden by her mask, but wariness clear in her movement. Your heart pounds

"I do enjoy a good fight and challenge, but when fighting these tortured souls" You say soberly, frowning as You could hear the Crow King seethe as he drew his black claws over the arms of his throne, peeling away wood and metal alike "I can only see that both heaven and hell seek only to pluck away and hinder those who would grow strong"

"Oh, so that is the benevolence of beasts? The virtue of the wild? I am pleased to hear you do in fact appreciate the quality of fighters I've set against you, perhaps you have some aristocratic bearing and noble refinement, to be able to compliment the slightest showing of my hospitality. As alien as your world view is! Still, I wonder, if in your feline eyes the weak are prey to the strong"

You allow yourself to smirk. He still doesn't understand your philosophy in the slightest. Or, at least, pretends not to. The fight is underway. The Four armed brute causes the tower to shake every time one of his four axes meets the ground, cutting deeply into it as Qiang narrowly avoids bisection as the scaled monster becomes a whirlwind of violent motion and roars. You remain composed, as you breathlessly watch Qiang sidestep and duck beneath the stone hewing strikes of her monstrous opponent. The cheers of the crowd are deafening.

"I welcome your attempts hospitality however" You answer cooly, tail flicking as Qiang's mask is cut in two and falls from her face. Her robes have been cut, warm living blood seeps from the deep cut on her shoulder. She has been hit. The aroma of her living flesh rises into the air, like the scent of a wounded animal, the raw meat of wounded kill. Baoli-Wuyawang grins. Qiang stumbles, but catches herself with a defiant stomp. You can see her eyes now, and see that they are free of fear or panic. A familiar coldness fills them, as sharp as the edge of her sword. She adjusts her girp, and holds it with both her hands as her red hair flows freely.
Cont

>>5303742

"Hmm. Fu could swing harder than that. If it was my older brother holding that axe" Qiang boasts emotionlessly as she swings her injured arm and rolls its shoulder "I would've lost the arm. For all your bluster and size, you're quite the weakling aren't you? You don't play with your food in a fight, especially not when it can bite back"

Blood flies from her hand as she flicks it, and charges forward.

"If you seek to corrupt me, than it's simply because of your nature as a true demon" You tell Baoli-Wuyawang simply, turning his attention back to you, as he looks amused by your lack of concern for your disciple. But why would you worry for Qiang? She's already won. You can see her path to victory clearly now. The blood she flicked, was aimed for the scaled demon's blazing eyes. She distracted it by insulting it, rousing its ire and rage so it wouldn't notice what she was actually trying to accomplish

"True nature" The crow King echoes, his eyes opening with realization as he taps a claw on his chin, drool flowing from his mouth as his features become more and more animalistic and avian.

You flash a viciously triumphant grin as Qiang catches an axe blow on the edge of her blade, sparks flying as the massive weapon glided down the length of her sword, until she deflected it at the end of its head, throwing its massive weight of her head with an expertly timed parry. Another axe flew, and another, both swinging to catch her like a pincer. She stepped back, and held up her sword, catching them by the notch the first strike had made in it. Her legs vanish into the sand, as her larger and more powerful opponent throws all of his weight and might to try and break her guard and throw her off her feet or otherwise snap them like twigs.

The blood she had thrown moments before hit his eye then. The moment of shock is all it took for the assassin to find her opening.

"If you merely want an ally against the heavens or to display your power agaibst a potential rival, it is a sensible plan" You boredly droll on as Qiang purposefully snaps her sword in two, slipping past the axes as they swing past one another as their wielder stumbles and reflexively reaches to clear his eyes with one of his upper two hands. She steps atop his knee, and launches herself upwards, broken blade held at her side, eyes fiercely flashing with a predator's focus.

The Crow Queen gasps, and covers her mouth, eyes flaring with delight and pleasure as she watches your student leap towards the throat of her husbands champion. Drool flows past her dainty, pale hands as the King rises from his thrown in disbelief. A cackle escapes your throat, as your victorious grin becomes a very Monu-like Sneer.

The towering demon stumbles back, having grasped for Qiang the moment she kicked off his leg.
Cont

>>5303743
But he's too slow, and his massively clawed hand can only paw at the empty air she left behind, as Qiang buries her blade past its guard and up to her wrist in his unscaled throat and wraps her legs around it to keep from being pulled off it. Like a tick.

You can see clearly now, how many times she had been cut by the brute's axes, and how deeply she had been. This fight was more of a challenge to her, than the crow demon was.

Baoli-Wuyawang's jaw drops, and he nearly collapses into his thrown. You half expect him to be coughing blood as you finish speaking your grievances to him.

"But if intent to make a friend out of me? You would need a very different approach" You state calmly and affably as he glances to you, eyes briefly oozing with contempt before his fake kindliness returns in full force

"You've raised an Impressive student, a most impressive student" He mutters, expertly hiding the ruefulness of the statement behind sweet words and false joy so sweet it feels as though it will rot your teeth "Humans can rarely support such ferocity without their heart turning into that of a demon. No surprise, considering her prior employment. But I must admit, I underestimated little Qiang. Gravely underestimated her. I though her victory against my fellow Crow Demon was a fluke, now I see how wrong I was. No fear of death...no surprise, considering who taught her"

The scaled behemoth finally gives up trying to pry Qiang from his throat, and collapses backwards, a great pool of blood surrounding him as he continued to weakly claw at your disciple, still locked firmly to his neck and now truly bathed in his blood as she twists her broken sword around and finally rips it free.

The audience is silent. How will they react? They'd have to be nose blind to not smell the life in her blood, to not feel the warmth radiating from her wounds.

"A human girl was able to cut down two demons, with such ease!?"
"Hah! The Happy bloodshed could even raise a human to be demon! Incredible"
"I knew there was a reason the Princess of the graves took her own as her disciple! That is a rare breed of woman"
"Never knew meat could fight back so fiercely, well fought, girly"
"It takes courage for a young lady to walk so freely in a den of devils!"
"I think I'm in love! For a fierce spirit to fight with such skill, is one thing. but for a living woman to do the same?"
"She'd make a perfect bride for my son! If only he had half of her savagery!"
"Humans haven't been so fun since the reign of the Supreme Devil Mind herself!"
"Huanliuxue is truly bold, to parade a living human in front of us! Truly bold indeed! But her confidence is not without merit! She killed two demons I'd be afraid to fight myself! Like they were grubs!"

You and Baoli-Wuyawang sit in awkward silence as his wife squirms and pants in grisly delight at seeing the brutal end of another demon. You exchange glance with the crow king
Cont

>>5303747

"I will be entirely honest, against my nature as a demon. I was not expecting the crowd to react in such an...accepting manner" He says nearly bashfully

"Neither did I, with how many humans were being served as meat for your guests" You say so quietly as to nearly whisper "I suppose, then, I should ready myself for my last fight. Since it doesn't seem that my disciple will need my protection from ravenous devils"

"Yes...yes" Baoli-Wuyawang said idly, blinking rapidly as he tried to recover from the shock of demons applauding a living woman, instead of trying to eat her "I suppose we should get ready for our bout"

"Yes I" You say, pausing mid sentence with your mouth slightly open as you whip your head to face Baoli-Wuyawang, who is now stuffing his mouthful of eyeballs and cheek meat, seemingly to distract himself from the friendly welcome Qiang was receiving from his guests

"Wait, our bout?" You asks bluntly, a chill running down your spine as you grinded your teeth together "We should get ready. Baoli-Wuyawang, were you planning on fighting me? Was that your scheme? To toy with me throughout this entire sham of a tournament, testing what kinds of techniques me and my disciple possess, measuring the height of our skill and ability while dredging up opponents that somehow relate to me, my past and my grand ambitions, just to take the place as my hurdle before I could claim my true prize?"


There is a long, telling silence. Broken only by the old crow woman laughing uproariously, soon joined by her daughter, who takes her once chance to mock her husband as he slouches in his chair and pinches his brow in indignation

"Forgive me for spoiling the surprise" he hissed as his mother in law slapped his back

"Oh don't be so dour! It's a youthful mistake made in excitement! At least it wasn't made in the bedroom, my son" She cackles "Oh, you were so proud of the plan to! Its such a shame, you went to such lengths to ensure it would go smoothly, you even had another fighter prepared in case she asked to fight her last two at once, when she was first getting annoyed, didn't you"

The crow king says nothing, stewing in his shame.

"He did! He did! He was going to fly down and give a speech if she demanded it" His wife howls, before he stands up, and causes both the harpies to go deathly silent and retreat from him, shielding themselves with their feathered arms and squawking in terror

"So, shall we begin?" He asked calmly, glancing down at you with his arms crossed
Cont

>>5303749

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Admit that, despite your disgust of his manner and personality, you would've been impressed by his entrance had he pulled it off. And you respect his cunning, even if you don't respect him

>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!

>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"

>The key to winning against a stronger opponent, is to strike first and strike hard! Use the Red Death Scythe and strike him while his guard is down! (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 75)

>Bravely run away! You're not foolhardy enough to fight HIM!

>Write in

>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!

>>5303754
>Allow me to help you down
>The key to winning is striking first. Use Red Death Scythe and barrel him down into the stadium. DC 75

Lets enter in style. With an explosion and one of us falling into the sand.

>>5303754
>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"

the sass train has no brakes>>5303754

Wait, given Baoli's and the crowd's comments does everyone here think she's our daughter? Again??

>>5303754
>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"
>write-in "I had half a mind to think you were attempting a seduction spell."

Sass first. The way to beat a demon like him is by upsetting them first. Because if the DC is 75 for a surprise attack...

>>5303754
>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!
>"Let us dance Crow King. Perhaps this is how we will truly learn eachother worldview"
I can't believe I actually called it
>>5302968

>>5303754
>>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!
>>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"

What are the odds he's actually a switch and a lady talking down to him gets his rocks off? It'd be kinda weird to fight a bird with a boner. This whole time he just wanted to fight someone who had the guts to actually stand up to him and wasn't just a jackass with more ego than talent. Poor crow. He's still an ass, though.

>>5303754
>Admit that, despite your disgust of his manner and personality, you would've been impressed by his entrance had he pulled it off. And you respect his cunning, even if you don't respect him

>>5303754
>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!
>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"

>>5303754
>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"
>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!
"Could this whole tournament just be a way for him to see our techniques so he can have an advantage when he fights us himself?"
"Nah, too simple. Its gotta be something else"
Imagine my dumb ass when this update dropped. I was near certain it would be Ling Meng or something.
Kinda wanted the status to show up. Would have been one hell of a finale

>>5303754
>>Admit that, despite your disgust of his manner and personality, you would've been impressed by his entrance had he pulled it off. And you respect his cunning, even if you don't respect him

We should use Qi Powers of Mass Destruction (Blood Rain, Chaos Mist) so that the arena is filled with grudges for our cultivation. Maybe it even nudges Baoli-Wuyawang into fighting in an overly aggressive (and thereby predictable) way.

Therefore, we should insist on letting Qiang take her prices and be brought home before the fight starts. She is already injured and we dont want to threaten her with our techniques. Also, we have to ensure that we get a reasonable price if we kill Baoli-Wuyawang. He cannot hand it out while being stuck in the next phase of the Great Wheel: rebirth (if that is even possible for him)!

What are the cultivation materials we have on us, which we can consume before the fight? Do they have reasonable durations? Do we have the pearl created by our last usage of Blood Rain, Chaos Mist with us?

>>5303754
>Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!
>"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king"

>>5304152
This sounds like a reasonable precaution. Get the one person we care about out, so we can go to town with the big guns like blood rain.

Ending the vote, tallying the result.

Laugh, and explain you were worried he had prepared a spell to subvert your mind and corrupt you. Knowing you have to fight him is a real relief...wait! You have to fight him!:6

The key to winning against a stronger opponent, is to strike first and strike hard! Use the Red Death Scythe and strike him while his guard is down!: 1
-Allow me to help you down:1

"That was surprisingly adorable, crow king":6
-"I had half a mind to think you were attempting a seduction spell.":1

"Let us dance Crow King. Perhaps this is how we will truly learn eachother worldview": 1

Admit that, despite your disgust of his manner and personality, you would've been impressed by his entrance had he pulled it off. And you respect his cunning, even if you don't respect him: 2

insist on letting Qiang take her prices and be brought home before the fight starts: 2

So You'll tell the Crow King That was surprisingly adorable, crow king" while laughing, and before explaining you were worried he had something more nefarious planned before realizing you have to fight him!

Update will arrive shortly

>>5304152
You do have the blood rain, chaos mist pearl. You do not however, have on you some of the other treasures/ weapons/ materials

Like the block of star Jade,, The ghost taming seal, fly whisk, for example. Most of the body part treasures are still at the sect grounds. IE the phoenix feathers, flood dragon scale...etc. You also have three types of spirit fruits (Metal, water, earth aligned), Huanliuxue also tends to carry a supply of poisons and medicines on her at all times, as well as unrefined spirit herbs and grasses *a number of which have yet to be identified* (including specifically, besides her standard affair and divine blood honey pills, 2 miraculous healing pills, 1 blood cleansing drug, and 2 fire body stabilizers), the spirit stones are left behind, but I do imagine Huanliuxue would keep the Crown of trapped sands and caged winds, and the Amber and pearl prayer beads (Nine in total, which, if you recall can each seal and hold within themselves one creature, living or dead)

You cannot resist the temptation to be sassy and tease the Crow King, even though your survival instincts are screaming at you not to upset him any more than his family already has, and thus risk drawing his ire before your properly prepared and settled in the ring, ready to fight him. Besides, how often is one able to mock and make fun of a ruler of hell? Underworld nobility! Devilish royalty! Its just too tempting to pass up, even if it is courting death, the rarity of this opportunity and timing of its arrival are just too perfect to let slip by you! Time to pay back Baoli-Wuyawang for making jest of you and Qiang, and for toying and playing with you like you were some kind of doll! Let the Crow King's shame burn his wings and bleach his feathers! Let him know what it is like to be humiliated and made light of!

"That was surprisingly adorable, Crow King" You coo, struggling not to laugh indecently and uproariously as you see the Crow King's pale face begin to first flush pink, before turning a shade of red almost as deep and admirable as your own luxurious, blood dyed coat of fur. His eyes narrow, and become entirely crow like as your composure breaks and you laugh as only a cat or a witch could, cackling and spitting as your entire body quakes and spasms because of the force of laughter. Which soon becomes a laughing fit, that makes you feel feverish around your face, and ache in your chest and throat as you collapse on your chair, eyes tightly shut and mouth agape as your continuously assault by more and more guffaws and howls of laughter. You try to regain self control and end you laughter by smacking a paw on the ground. Slowly, ponderously slowly, as slow as a corpse grows hair and nails, your mad cackling begins to quiet and abate.

There are tears in your eyes, and a burning sensation all over you as you glance up at the obviously furious crow king, who has somehow kept himself composed and maintained an illusionary calm, even as his mother in law joins you in heckling him with your laughter, while his wife tries to make herself small, going so far as too turn herself into a crow to try and avoid his attention as crashing, breath stealing and nerve shattering waves of killing intent roll off of your host. Who doesn't seem to find the humor in how cute he acted after accidentally exposing his grand scheme to you, off handedly. As if he were discussing the health of the flowers in his garden, or the day's weather.

"I suppose my manner this evening has made me deserve such mockery, after all, it is most improper to toy with one's own guests. Especially those welcomed into one's house with every honor and privilege that can be afforded" he sighed, as he suppressed his murderous rage

"Oh, I wasn't laughing at you. At least not entirely. I just find the whole situation hilarious, my good host, honorable king of crow demons" You giggle as you hide your mouth behind a paw
Cont

>>5305119

"I know it appears to all the world I am laughing at you, oh noble and rightful ruler of Corvids, illustrious master of this awe inspiring tower" You say, much more measuredly and collectedly, though your still quiver with the tail end of your now strongly repressed laughter "But truly, I am laughing more at myself and my own foolishness! You blundered, that is true, but that is not what has amused me to such an extent I made myself so ill with laughter I feared my lungs would pop and burst! See, I was laughing at myself"

"Pardon?" He asks, completely taken aback, perhaps wondering if you're telling the truth or making the boldest excuse ever spoken in the depths of hell

"Yes! I was laughing at myself! For what is more amusing than realizing one's own trepidation and vigilance was wholly unnecessary!" You say merrily as you hop off the cushioned chair you had been lounging in "I was terribly worried you had a scheme in place I could no comprehend! Perhaps some spell prepared to subvert my mind, corrupt me into the demon I am oft called! I was honestly terrified, oh Cunning feathered master, that you had met held tightly in your hand since the moment I walked into your manor. That I only have to fight you, is huge relief! My shoulders rise as the weight of my fear and misplaced paranoia is lifted like..."

You pause, mouth frozen open as you realize

"Oh I still have to fight you!" You say, somehow still sounding as Cheerful as Feiqing was when he was offered numerous wives from the barbaric tribes of the primordial wilderness

"A fight I am very much going to enjoy, surely, bloodying you will bring me more pleasure than bedding my wife while still covered in her fool of a father's blood, his meat and flesh still clinging beneath my talons" Baoli_Wuyawang "And then, Win or Lose, I think I'll behead the old crone who laughed with you, for even if you were laughing at yourself, she wasn't. Oh, retribution is sweeter than even the flesh of an innocent child"

You feel your expression shift suddenly from happy and gleeful to furious and murderous

"Oh that's gotten you mad, I expected it would. Don't worry, I don't have a taste for children. Virgins, yes, but not children. Too little meat for how many bones they have" He sneers, stabbing a talon at you "And do not fear, your student shall not be harmed by my hands or any who serve me, you will be, but we're about to have a friendly match, aren't we?"

His smile is more disturbing that it has ever been, fury and kindness so closely mingled they have become one singular madness

"Come on, lets get started! I've been waiting to test my claws against yours since Yi Zhu first spoke of your prowess, and the odd abilities" He says, walking to the edge of his family's personal box, wings emerging from his back "I'll allow you to prepare however you see fit, do not keep my waiting for long. Just waiting to kill the old bat here is really trying my patience, Happy to Bleed, I mean to Shed blood"

>>5305121

And with that, he steps off and descends into the arena

"Damn, seems I pushed him too far! Girly! Kill him so I don't die" The old crow demon cackles "Though, dying would be a worthy price to pay to see just how red his face had gotten"

"Hmm, the specter of death is comforting when its shadow falls over my own" You sneer boastfully "I don't even know your name, old bat, but I've become found of your audacity"

"Thank you" The old crow woman says, bowing her head "It takes some back bone to be able admit when you're outmatched, and so blithely!"

What do you do before the fight, Huanliuxue?

>Take as many spirit medicines as your body can endure, and send Qiang back to the living world to fetch you as many as she can carry from your temple's medicine stores (Fortitude trial. Higher roll = better results)

>Tell Qiang to get to safe distance, and show the crow king your one true demonic art, Blood Rain, Chaos mist. Hopefully, it can infect even demons...(Magic Trial. DC 60)

>Don't prepare at all and leap into the Arena.

>Spend a portion of your winnings in the night markets and black markets in search of something to give you an edge (Luck trial. Higher roll = better result)

>Write in

Also, just figured I should remind you all. But you still have that +35 to cultivate/ train

Lets burn that bonus now by trying to have a Dao epiphany the eve before battle. We did just watch a shit ton of fights and learn some interesting info. I vote we try to grasp a basic samsara technique where some grudges are capable of enduring reincarnation and physical/spirit death.

>>5305129
Geeze this is gonna be tough,
>Tell Qiang to get to safe distance, and show the crow king your one true demonic art, Blood Rain, Chaos mist. Hopefully, it can infect even demons...(Magic Trial. DC 60)
Demons have bodies, and blood, so it should work. The challenge then will be having a strategy to deal with an angry Baoli-Wuyawang.

>+write-in
Let's use this contained environment.
I assume he'll be fighting with speed and flight with tricks and so, I think we can try something that will get a good hit in. We can't do it with just using one or two techniques he's already seen, obviously. The chaos mist is the opener.

We can then use the crown of trapped sands and caged winds to sustain a tornado the arena, after he's taken flight. It should also mix the chaos winds the winds of the crown. If we make the wind simple but strong circling winds, rather than overpowering it he'll probably try to use it to go faster, and he's the type that would want to use our attack against us. Pretending to "lose control" of it to sell the idea. Even if he's not fooled, the combined chaos wind will be extremely useful.

The second stage of the trick is to get him into thinking we're going to attempt what Qiang did with her crow opponent, by pinching a wing off while the demon was blitzing around. But instead what we'll actually do is Blood Red Lightning Cat Step ourselves towards him with a Dying Grudge Shield to slam into his attack with his powerful speed.
If it works well, we shouldn't even need to see him, we just need to run against our own wind after pretending we're going to try what Qiang did. Of course, using the Lightning Step as opposed to Blood Torrent because that will be better if he tries to counter after being thrown by our combined horrific force.
Uh, how many rolls would that be?

>>5305129
>>5305183
Probably worth mentioning that the Blood Red Cat Step is very cool, and utilizes a great deal of Qi. So it's a good primer for following up with some real damage like Whispering Death Claw.

>>5305129
>Write in
I think we may be missing an obvious solution, here, guys. The old crow crone would probably be willing to tell us about Baoli Wuyawang's fighting style and secrets, due to a vested interest in not being murdered. If him killing her once he's done fighting us is already a foregone conclusion, it makes no sense for her to withhold that information. It probably wouldn't even take that long, and could maybe be taken with other actions, depending on QM's feelings on the matter.

>>5305294
Excellent. We can turn his murderous nature against him like that. +1

>>5305129
>Take as many spirit medicines as your body can endure, and send Qiang back to the living world to fetch you as many as she can carry from your temple's medicine stores (Fortitude trial. Higher roll = better results)
>Ask Qiang to warn Monu and Ping, so they may help her pick the best ones for alchemy and exorcism.
A part of hell going berserk would probably have greater consequences, and I don't fell like gambling with the fetus merchants.
>>5305294
Also supporting this guy, the crow crone has no reason to screw us over.

>>5305129
>>5305183 and >>5305294 +1

>>5305294
supporting. I was actually about to suggest that but you were quicker.

>>5305294
An excellent idea. ask for his tricks and secrets first.

>>5305183
We do really want to lock down his ability to fly. So giving the air control and sand storm, that's a really good idea.

Now if we regard the Demon King's personality and temperment, I think we can agree he is an amazingly Yang oriented individual, with his personality at the very least aspected towards fire. So we'll want to use a lot of water aspected shit, unless the crone reveals his personality and powers are out of sync, in which case we need to reorganise.

But if he is fire, Blood makes for an easy water substitute, one wherein he can be heavily countered.

At the very least, we should run our luck
>Spend some of our winnings in the night and black markets

>>5305129
Supporting >>5305177. Meditate on the experiences we've just had to achieve a level up. Flashback to our training optional.

>>5305621
Is hell genuinely the best place to meditate on the Dao of Ghosts and Grudges?

It might be, but it could be aligned all wrong.

>>5305621
Considering our breakthroughs tend to cost several months of cultivation, I don't think we have time for this. Also probably unsafe as >>5305666 mentions

>>5305666
>>5305709
I don't mean a cultivation breakthrough, but a fighting skill breakthrough. We can compose new techniques without sitting in a cave for a year.

>>5305713
This is true. What kinds of technique? I have some ideas myself for Grudge Shield & Guqin slashes, which would be very situational and likely hilarious to turn a battlefield into a bounce house, and Blood Qi based attacks channeled with our Guqin as well. Though with blood the idea would be using its more specific aspects, like using its body weakening aspects as a sound based attack. Both of these would excel at ranged anti-air, but even these basic brews seem difficult. Not too much for a prodigy, but a lot to come up with on the spot. Particularly how to solidify a shield onto a slash without thinning it into uselessness, and diverging the natural tendencies of water/metal Blood into lesser sound while retaining its strength. The latter perhaps by limiting its range, though it would be pointless while the whole strength of the Guqin is range, but again its a bit of a complex effect we haven't attempted in detail on a smaller scale.

We do have a grudge against hell and its inhabitants to utilize as we see fit in any technique we already have, or to help us expand into something new.

>>5305713
There's also a possibility of a Blood Qi Lightning Strike, or perhaps better as a close ranged reflex strike, as close and/or ranged paralysis. It might need a diagram for it to become ranged, but it would involve bolstering our metal with destructive yin, and using blood qi's ability to "target search" for veins to an extent, to nullify the speed difference.

It'd be a great back up attack in this fight in particular, because of Bao sees us drawing a diagram and conjuring lightning like we did in a previous fight he may mistake it as the same attack and think he can just go fast. In counter argument, it can be stopped with any type sufficient barrier, and although he's certainly going to be yang heavy Bao knows about our penchant for lightning and birds tend to be wary of storms.

Might we... bottle a grudge into lightning? There ought to be more than enough yin, after all.

>>5305772
To clarify, a reflex strike would require us getting hit or grappled to trigger the blood lightning into surging through the veins of our attacker. I don't really want to get hit by Baoli-Wuyawang.

Ending the vote, tallying the result.

Burn your cultivation Bonus to have a Dao epiphany before the battle: 2

Tell Qiang to get to safe distance, and show the crow king your one true demonic art, Blood Rain, Chaos mist. Hopefully, it can infect even demons: 2
- use the crown of trapped sands and caged winds to sustain a tornado the arena+ trick is to get him into thinking we're going to attempt what Qiang did with her crow opponent, by pinching a wing off while the demon was blitzing around. But instead what we'll actually do is Blood Red Lightning Cat Step ourselves towards him with a Dying Grudge Shield to slam into his attack with his powerful speed.:2

Ask the Old Crow Crone about Baoli Wuyawang's fighting style and secrets:6

Take as many spirit medicines as your body can endure, and send Qiang back to the living world to fetch you as many as she can carry from your temple's medicine stores :1
-Ask Qiang to warn Monu and Ping, so they may help her pick the best ones for alchemy and exorcism:1

Spend a portion of your winnings in the night markets and black markets in search of something to give you an edge: 1

So You'll cunningly ask the Condemned Crow Crone to reveal the secrets of Baoli-Wuyawang's fighting style, his powers/ abilities, techniques and any weaknesses he may be hiding

Update will arrive shortly.

"Well" You say cordially, feeling rather pleased by the old woman's compliment of your attitude "it is only natural for a follower of the Dao of Ghosts and grudges to recognize when death lies in their way, and I in turn praise your glib dignity and fearlessness in fact of that very same death, you courageous old crone. If you were not the kin of Baoli-Wuyawang, I'd be honored to call you my grandmother"

"Such a shame we won't have an opportunity to talk more, Huanliuxue. You're a rare breed of proud that isn't lead and blinded by their ego and arrogant sense of privilege" She cackles, as she gnaws on a piece of black wood, that drips with a sheen of oil as she chews on it "You hold yourself with the pride of lions, kitten, and all the dignity of an imperial consort"

"Oh, I'm aiming for a much higher position than mere consort" You laugh, as the old woman's daughter pouts and glares at you "I'm a self styled empress after all, and queen, and Princess"

"Three grand titles to pursue! Let alone hold all at once" She says with a beaming smile "But, one as bold as you could very well reach all three noble stations in one lifetime. Alas, my own will soon be ended, and I don't know if that self crowned brat will offer mercy outside of his family, while he retracts that same grace from his own kin with his other hand!"

"Well you need not die here, it'd be a shame for one who has lived as many years as you and come to acquire such vast wisdom by her greatly old age. An utter waste of knowledge and cunning! The kind of frivolent and pointless loss of competence that both disgusts me and pisses me off"

"Ohoho? So it is true what they say about cats, that their cunning is only matched by their grace" She sneers, her features becoming more devilish as feathers sprout from her wrinkled, liver spotted arms "You seek to make a pact, to exploit my well aged wisdom to your own ends and survival"

"A mutually beneficial partnership, Neither of us wants to die, even if we don't hold death with the same reverence as most do" You say, as suddenly the Crow Queen stops glowering and barring her teeth at you and turns away. Her mother notices your surprise in the sudden change of her demeanor

"Oh don't mind her, she's just ashamed to see her dear old mother stooping to the same low she herself happily stooped to in seeking to earn her paramours favor. Betraying her own father in pursuit of love, that most repugnantly mortal emotion. How'd that romantic dream of yours turn out, foolish girl?"

The Crow Queen says nothing, and merely looks further away, bitterness and shame written deeply upon her features, pain radiating from her dark eyes.

"Oh how tragic" You chuckle as you watch the princess stew and brood in her humiliation, disgrace and regret "But, we are not speaking of past transgressions and mistakes made from passion like gossipy hens, are we, old Crow"
cont

>>5307478

"No, I suppose we are not, kitten" The old woman snorts, smiling smugly as her traitorous child grimaces as her remorse overcomes her

"So then, tell me how your son in law fights" You hiss "What techniques does he know? What kind of style does he employ? Hard or soft? Aggressive or reactive? What tricks and Secrets does he keep in his sleeves? Does he practice any magic? Demonic Sorcery? Qi abilities? What abilities does he possess? What unnatural gifts is he blessed with? Is he skilled with any particular weapon? What about bad habits? Martial or supernatural weaknesses? Failings of his character or practices?"

"My my, you sure can speak a mouthful quickly!" The old crow crone laughs, shaking her head as she grins widely "And, I know well how Baoli-Wuyawang fights. His fighting style is incredibly aggressive and violent, relying on brutal strikes and crippling blows. He combines Ferocity, Speed and raw Power to overwhelm his opponents quickly. It is a style as hard as his head! And you'd become as old as I am, if I were to list every technique, trained strike, or martial maneuver he knows, but I can tell you of his favorite moves"

"Go on" You say in a lull of her explanation, nodding your head as she taps her sagging chin

"Well, there's the Eye Stealing Grasp, which he tends to lead with, Blinding his opponent to rob them of much of their ability to fight. If that misses, he'll fight more cautiously' She explains, scratching at a scab beneath her wrist as she mulls and considers what information she can share that could lead to your victory "For a few moments, to lure his opponent into going on the offensive, before he'll unleash a relentless barrages of kicks, stomps and slashes, But you should look out for his "Earth burning Comet Kick" if he begins such a combination, it is strong enough to shatter a stone pillar and the fire that coats his leg is intense enough to melt through even iron strengthened in the forges of hell!"

"Any other attacks I should worry about?" You ask, after the old woman explains the movements of the techniques, and the motions that announce them

" "Descending Hell Wing Inferno", "The Black Star's decent" and the "Whirlwind of Razor wings" " She says simply, as her wings lift behind her back " As you can tell, the Brat likes to attune his strikes with fire, since he has a natural affinity for it and has achieved mastery over even the cold, black fires of the underworld. So if his moves are not constructed around the destructive power of fire itself, they're inspired by them. Fighting him is like battling a wild fire, he fights quickly, aggressively and without pause or discernment. He is a wild and dangerous opponent, though he is cunning and blessed with a tactician's acumen despite his berserk tendencies, and has less honor than most thugs in the gutters! He'll take every advantage he can, and use every opportunity that presents itself no matter how disgraceful they are"
Cont

>>5307480

"Hmm, So he's a talented brawler, a trained and relentless warrior and a deceitful, treacherous fighter. Like a thug whose risen to stand amongst martial masters, but without any of their refinement or warrior's etiquette. A brute who has so mastered his brutality, and so trained the clumsy, instinctual style known by any drunken lout it has managed to rise to equal the more elegant kinds of fighters...That's terrifying, I must admit? Does he wield his Qi and Fire magic like a brute?"

"You'd be surprised to learn he's just as much of a sorcerer as he is a brawler. Somehow, despite his obsession with violence and addiction to combat and murder, he's actually something of a reputed scholar. Before he seduced my daughter, he was even vying for the position of court sage in the Count of the Eleven Resplendent Furnaces' court, and High Astronomer in the employ of the Shrieking Black Nightingale. He has countless spells memorized and mastered, his mind is a repository that would make most mortal sects green with envy or pale with fear. However, he specializes in destructive spells, summoning conflagrations and unquenchable fires. He could burn the countryside to cinders if he so chose to, but again, to believe that to be a sign he is nothing more than a brute without refinement or higher finesse beyond pure force, is too court death. He is also well versed in the ways of hexing and cursing, and knows quiet archaic spells you should be aware of, if you're to have any hope of victory"

"It seems he only has strengths" You mutter nervously "That kind of opponent is more troublesome than a thorn in my paw, dare I ask if he has any weakness?"

"Why, weren't you listening? I already told you" The old crone says coyly. You furrow your brow, before a sudden revelation strikes you like a cold shock a moment later, and you understand that she has revealed to you the crow king's weakness already! And what a blatant weakness it is! His own murderous nature, his bloodthirsty and volatile character. The same fury that empowers his strikes and blows, that strengthens his fire magic, is his weakness. Rage is always more of a weakness than it is a strength, no matter how many blows it allows one to shrug off or what strength it may impart to them. He is a fire that burns out all of its fuel and then sputters out. Clearly Yang oriented, and with a fiery personality to match his affinity to it. An angry opponent, is an opponent easily controlled and tricked and a foe who fights with wild abandon and without caution, is one easily overcome!

"Thank you, grandmother" You say reverently, as you bow to the old woman "You have enlightened me with your words and lead me to find new insight, and given me the key to defeating the crow king"

"He's promised to kill me, there's no need to thank me, this is just a mutually beneficial partnership, nothing more" She says with a wink and joyful smile
Cont

>>5307481

"Besides, though unlikely, it'd be a once in a lifetime privilege to see one so high and mighty, and powerful as he be defeated by one so far beneath him" She says, before taking several deep gulps of her black hued wine, spilling it all over her face and chest, soiling her fine silk hanfu "Even a demon can cheer, when a lower stage cultivator manages to knock over a higher state opponent, I'll be rooting for you, Proud Kitten"

"Wait, Master. Are you going to fight that Monster?" Qiang asks in shock, her usually dull and partially monotonous voice risen and filled with concern and surprise, and her dour expression replaced with one of worry and near panic "Should we retreat from here? There's no shame in running away to live another day, but I'm sure one as wise as you does not need to be told that. I'll think no less of you if do take flight, I was an assassin once, and as such am well of the prudence of withdrawing away from unnecessary peril"

"Tch, junior! Master is going to kick that monster's ass!" You boast, huffing as you puff out your chest and lift your head proudly

Do you prepare any further, Huanliuxue?

>No. With knowledge of your opponents fighting style, strength and weaknesses, you're now ready to challenge him even though he's stronger than you are

>Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage. (Luck trial. Higher DC= better result)

>Ask Baoli-Wuyawang if there's any rules to this fight, and if it will be to the death or not. And try to trick him into placing a handicap on himself (Deception Trial. DC 80)

>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)

>Meditate on the fear you're feeling, in the hope of achieving further insight and force an epiphany (Mental training. DC 90. Total Bonus +35. Please note the amount of the bonus you wish to use )

>write in

Before I forget, if any of you haven't already checked it out, give Jade Sworn Quest a look. The QM's previous Quest was great, and so is this one. Also, even better, its Wuxia/ Xianxia. Figured it'd only be just to give a Shout out to our fellow Daoists

>>5307482
>Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage. (Luck trial. Higher DC= better result)
>>5307489
When I saw that quest was run by Kismet I started following it immediately

>>5307482
>Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage. (Luck trial. Higher DC= better result)
first
then
>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)

As for the tactics we use later making him mad seems like the surest thing. Strategic tricks aside, this is pretty scary. We'll have to fight a battle of countermeasures and deception with our soft style. Given his cunning, he'll realize the crone spilled the beans within the first few moves before adjusting.

Also, my previous idea of facing him as a grudge shield comet is too risky knowing he has at least three "rain down" styles of attack. He might just use two in conjunction, or use grabs while on fire, either of which will grant us a wound even if the shield triggers. And he likes to never stops attacking? This is gonna be fun.

>>5307482
>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)
>Meditate on the fear you're feeling, in the hope of achieving further insight and force an epiphany (Mental training. DC 90. Total Bonus +35. Please note the amount of the bonus you wish to use ) +35

>>5307482
>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)
>>Meditate on the fear you're feeling, in the hope of achieving further insight and force an epiphany (Mental training. DC 90. Total Bonus +35. Please note the amount of the bonus you wish to use ) Use up all the bonus.

>>5307500
I support this option.

We should focus on our blood as a counter to his fire.

>>5307482
>Ask Baoli-Wuyawang if there's any rules to this fight, and if it will be to the death or not. And try to trick him into placing a handicap on himself (Deception Trial. DC 80)

even if we fail the deception this should give us useful info.

>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)

>>5307482
>Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage. (Luck trial. Higher DC= better result)
>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)
With these high DCs we are going to need every trick in the book.

>>5307482
>>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)
We can likely reproduce the medicine some time. Also, the more experience we gain, the less helpful those consumables are on relative terms.

>Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage. (Luck trial. Higher DC= better result)

>>5307482
>Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage. (Luck trial. Higher DC= better result)
>Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials! (Can be taken with other options)
At a glance, we have two options tactically speaking. We can try to run circles around him, exploiting his aggression and tricking him to make him leap at shadows and waste his strength until he tires himself out. This is the obvious approach, but he is pretty cunning himself and knows a lot of spells, so he can probably pull plenty of shit out of his sleeves too. This would devolve into us trying to out-mental gymnastics each other, and I'm not sure how long we would last with that.
The other option is to just be more aggressive than him. Usually fighters who rely on ruthlessly beating down opponents are significantly less good at taking beating themselves. He has seen a lot of our techniques and has a good idea of how fast we are, but he has no seen everything. A quick Blood Red Lightning Cat Step into a Red Death Scythe should catch him off guard, and if it lands, bleed him out as the fight progresses. Of course this is assuming that he isn't able to just dodge it outright anyway, or exploit our own aggressiveness against us.
I suppose one approach would be to just combine the above two, either by opening aggressively and landing a draining claw attack then deflect until he bleeds out, or wait until patiently until an opportunity comes where he wouldn't expect a direct attack, and strike. Either way, we are in for it now.
Maybe tell Qiang to be careful she doesn't fall victim of any "Aim my big beam attack conveniently towards the audience" bullshit. If he is as scummy as Grandma Crow claims, he would totally pull this shit on us if he was loosing.
A list of our abilities would be pretty nice for this type of planning.

>>5307482
>>5307649
>tell Qiang to be careful she doesn't fall victim of any "Aim my big beam attack conveniently towards the audience" bullshit.
Solid +1.

And yea it's hard to remember, I'll have some notes for abilities later. But for this fight..

For the sources we draw on our Deathly Yin Qi can produce ice on our fur and materialize it in our veins, though we haven't formalized it into a technique. We were able to freeze the Yang heavy tiger in place, but of course Baoli-Wuyawang uses hell fire, so there's not a great deal to compare to other than type.

Balancing the chilling water aspects of our Deathly Yin with water-heavy Blood Qi may produce a better external and internal defense against both the raw fire qi and heat, and we know we can do that without any extra training given what we did against ice block monk. That should be strong enough for preventing indirect damage.

An advantage of fire is that it can use wind to gain strength, which is why I felt he can be led with it. It can also burn away mists, fogs, and breath. In his case being stronger than us means our breath based grudge attacks might not reach him if he just puts a fire foot forward to fumble our fetid flatus.

Going on a bit of tangent, theoretically, a prodigy like us could go even further beyond if we drew on our metal to feed blood qi as well and make a sort of directed self-supporting cycle, with the colder aspects of deathly yin(chilling, ice generation) and metal(yin leaning), together twin enhancing water focused Blood Qi for whole body and internal fire negation.

The mystery is if Blood Qi can be tempered with our natural metal in this way, which given our existing blood-lightning techniques could seem an odd ask, but instead of pushing metal qi's strength outwards we would be focusing our metal qi as an enhancer entirely inwards(which is when metal qi is at its absolute strongest, extremely close to its source). And to do so while we're cycling it with the iciest of our Deathly Yin while not grossly disrupting the Yang lifeforce power of our Blood Qi.

And whether or not using metal to internally enhance Blood Qi that we've already steered into being aspected towards water will too-deprive it of its own natural metal(and therefore lose its beneficial functions) by property of imbalance. There's the potential to also just completely self destruct into ten thousand sparky red catsicles if we screwed it up.

And if that's successful it should, theoretically, create a nigh impregnable suppression effect that continuously diverts fire, heat, and any Yang Qi away from our body excepting that which already exists inside us, and deprive us of more than half of our abilities by focusing the greatest majority of our strengths inwards. So, a theoretical desperation move at best. I'm not entirely sure we can survive being successful at that kind of technique at our current level, but the easier one we can do.

>>5307649
>>5307880
Forgot to mention it, but yang fire should solidly overcome yin metal in direct confrontations, however more important indirect effects should take effect if they're "together" with our deathly yin or yang blood qi.

So for example I'd expect him to tank or barrier through any of our lightning very easily, but any deathly yin enhanced lightning or blood lightning techniques should have some of their effects manifest properly, if for example he begins by setting the entire arena on fire to hamper any of our ranged lightning spells as a smart flying enemy should, but any techniques themselves should retain effect even if most of their actual damage is negated. Thankfully, most of our truly combat effective Deathly Yin techniques for are defensive/countering methods (well, no duh ofc), but I feel it can't be overstated how we shouldn't spend too much Qi on any metal based assaults.

In that vein, things like Red Death Scythe and Whispering Death Claw will kind of have to be our reliable bread and butter here. Anything else would be insufficient, or best used as a distraction. This also means closing any range between us and surviving close combat.

So yeah actually, we should entirely blitz him with that aggressive strategy when we get in the arena even if we can't pull off anything tricky. We know he's going to go for the eyes first, which ought to place either of his feet or hands right in front/above us as a perfect target.

>>5307482
>Ask Baoli-Wuyawang if there's any rules to this fight, and if it will be to the death or not. And try to trick him into placing a handicap on himself (Deception Trial. DC 80)

>>5307880
Took a bit to remember, but the easiest antifire we have would be incarnating Monu's grudge like we'd considered in a previous non-arena battle.

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Ending the vote now, tallying the result. Apologizes for taking awhile, father's day caught me unaware, so to preserve my filial piety I had to scramble to find a gift in time. Hope the holiday has treated you all well.

Check your winnings first, before fighting. Who knows, maybe some gambler forfeited a treasure or material that could help give you an advantage.:6

Wear the Crown of Trapped sands and caged winds, and swallow your most refined Divine blood honey Medicines (Ox's strength drug, Hare's fleetness drug, Tireless stamina drug, Flickering Wind pellet), deciding that your current situation necessitates the use of such high grade materials!:8

Meditate on the fear you're feeling, in the hope of achieving further insight and force an epiphany:2
- full bonus: 2

Ask Baoli-Wuyawang if there's any rules to this fight, and if it will be to the death or not. And try to trick him into placing a handicap on himself: 2

tell Qiang to be careful she doesn't fall victim of any "Aim my big beam attack conveniently towards the audience" bullshit: 2

So You'll place the magic treasure, The crown of trapped sands and caged winds, atop your head, and take the most refined and highest quality pills/ elixirs of four particular spirit medicines/ drugs (Strength buff, speed buff, Stamina/ energy boost, EXTREME speed buff)

Before checking your winnings right before fighting, on the off chance some senseless gambler bet a powerful treasure or material you could use to your advantage.

Update will arrive shortly

>>5307649
I still need to get around to making one. Thankfully, reading so many cultivation novels has given me a great memory when it comes to techniques/ powers, lol

"But first, I must prepare and ready myself for this deadly fight that awaits me just a step ahead" You say, not allowing your cheerful tone to be marred by trepidation or fear as you maintain your dignified air and proud smirk without so much as allowing your composure to slip enough for your worry to be seen in your eyes or even in your tail "Qiang, open the satchel tied around my neck, and take out the small, sandalwood box inside of it. There will be several vials of pills. Ignore them and instead take from the box the four bundles of black silk, wrapped with red string"

Qiang wordlessly carries out your orders, as you swing your dimensional storage gourd around and begin to bite and pull at the cork keeping it inside. Thankfully, Yujijiao had the good and common sense to not appear before those who believe her to be dead and who, despite being on your side, would take great offense to realizing they were tricked and watched a performance rather than a true fight to the death.

"What kind of drugs are these?" Qiang asks, carelessly rolling your masterpieces of alchemy around her palm "They smell odd, but even just holding them in my hand I can sense that are incredibly dense with Qi"

"That's one way of putting it, mortal" The crow Crone whistles "Those medicines are so refined, they're raising the ambient levels of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, a novice would sooner use them to cultivate than swallow them down for a quick boost? I see you've been taught well the art of alchemy, as expected of a daughter of a self proclaimed witch!"

"Be careful not to drop them, those are the most valuable pills I carry with me, and represent a not insubstantial portion of our schools wealth" You explain through your clenched jaws, as you finally manage to pry the cork out and retrieve one of the few treasures you keep at hand while you're away from your underground temple. A crown of blackened silver, violet silk, set with red jade and rubies. The Crown of trapped sands and caged winds You never thought you'd need it for any reason besides vanity, or showing off. But its ability to control sand and wind is a great advantage to have, when fighting in a pit filled with sand, against an opponent who can fly and command the winds himself. But the crown will be a particularly useful as a weapon against Baoli-Wuyawang.

For, the fires of the spells he casts and the Qi he'll sheathe himself with, can be snuffed out with a strong enough gale. At least, it can so long as he isn't so unfairly strong that the Qi flames and spiritual fires he creates burn too brightly for even the gods to smother. You're hopping that is not the case! But even if it is, its ability to affect and worsen his ability to fly freely is nothing to look down your nose at!

Qiang shrugs her shoulders, and flicks the first pill at you. It is the oldest and most highly refined example of the humble Ox's Strength Drug, one of the basic divine blood Honey medicines.
Cont

>>5310115

You're already the size of an Ox, and having such a body already makes you stronger than most men and beasts, but when facing a foe that has long surpassed the natural limits that the mundane world follows, and was probably born far above them, every bit of boost of strength and might is worth while.

You wince as you swallow down the drug, it is neither bitter or otherwise acrid.. Apparently, according to Feiqing, it is incredibly, teeth numbingly sweet, but you can't taste sweet things.

"Gah" You gag, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of the pill slowly crawling to the cauldron of your stomach "Yi Zhu! Get up and be useful! Gather mine and Qiang's winnings! I wish to look over all that I have won so far, before fighting the host of this grandly pointless tournament"

"A...at once lady Huanliuxue!" The bruised and bloodied Pig spirit squeals, rising from his hiding place underneath the table set with bottles of wine brewed from blood, and choice cuts of organ meat, huffing and puffing as he limps away. You can practically smell his relief at being given a golden excuse to get away from the Royal family of the Crow Demons, before he ends up as lunch or a convenient target upon which to vent their rage.

Qiang tosses a second pill into the air with an unamused look on her face. This one is almost blindingly white. You open your mouth and nearly choke as it falls directly down your throat. Hare's fleetness drug. Another of the basic divine blood honey medicines. Hare and rabbit are about as fast as cats, and so the lower quality examples of this medicine would do little to increase your already great natural agility and deftness, but, when it has been refined and raised to a higher quality, the improvement will be much more noticeable.

But, to be able to use the extra strength and speed granted by these two pills, you need deeper reserves of energy. Luckily, one of the other divine blood honey medicines can grant just that! The tireless stamina drug! Bright blue, like the color of a cloudless day, you catch the pill between your teeth. Hopefully the increased potency of its higher state of refinement would counteract the exhaustive effects of the first two pills.

Qiang gasped, and nearly dropped the last pill as she held it.

"Is this a poison?" She asked, wincing as she catch it between two of her fingers "The Yin energy radiating from it would be enough to freeze the blood in my veins"

"No, or well, not entirely. It is An unfortunate side effect of refining that most miraculous pill" You sighed shaking your head "That the poison I introduced into it, to prevent the users heart from exploding after taking it, would be strengthened alongside the medicine itself"

Qiang frowned, clearly concerned for your well being.
Cont

>>5310116

"I'll be fine! That is the last Flickering Wind Pellet (闪烁风 丹, Shǎnshuòfēng Dān) in my possession" You say confidently, hoping to ease her worries "One of the most potent of the drugs I know how to make, and one of the four truly remarkable pills. It is a combination of the second pill you gave me, another, and a drop of ogre blood. The poison you sense, is meant to petrify the heart . In this medicine, that otherwise deadly effect is weakened enough to force the beating of the heart to slow and adopt a more reasonable pace. If it wasn't included, that Flickering Wind Pellet would be lethal to its imbiber!"

"Truly a witch's daughter" The crown Queen muttered, looking almost fearful. Perhaps due to simply how confident you were concerning your skill as an alchemist! For truly, it was intimidating to see someone who had enough faith in their ability to trust their lives into it.

"Seems like quite the effort to make a single pill, and quite the risk if its creation was flawed" Qiang mused, pursing her lips as she rolls the pill between her fingers "Its effect must be truly powerful to devout so many resources to make it and risk so much in taking it"

"It truly is, the effect of that drug, is as I said, truly remarkable! It is a miraculous medicine!" You say brashly as you catch the pill on your outstretched tongue "It allows its user to move so swiftly, precisely and gracefully, they become as the wind! Enough for them to match the speed of the Phantom Cat Step with using the technique itself! And when combined with a certain other technique! It'd allow them to outrun even divine retribution!"

Qiang blinked, and the crow queen and her mother gasped, as to their eyes, you became a blur of red motion, before vanishing entirely from sight. Oh this did not feel good! Your heart was pounding, beating like it was being played like a drum by a mad musician! You could feel your blood coursing through your veins so rapidly, if they had not been so refined and strengthened you are certain they'd burst. The combination of those four potent drugs was a truly powerful force. The sensation alone was staggering, and felt alien. Your subconscious knew that the strength and the God like speed you had unlocked within yourself should be not only exhausting but destroying your body! So there was a great sense of instinctual dread rippling through you just behind the power!

You could feel your muscles twitch and tense, a thousand times per every breath you took. With your perceptions quickened and heightened the world had become even more detailed and refined than even your sharpened, Qi enhanced senses would notice. You were twitchy! On edge! So filled with energy you though you might shatter! It was an amazing high! You felt so powerful and full of vigor! Truly Radiating with flourishing life and burning spirit!
Cont

>>5310120

You raced through the tower, dodging between the crowds and servants, and ended up at the vault where Yi Zhu was arguing with the guards outside of it, crow demons with bags under their tired eyes

All three were bowelled over as you came to sudden, and complete stop, a great wind sweeping in front of you as your jittered and hopped on your feet, trying to keep from being overwhelmed completely by the seemingly endless storm of energy now coursing through you

"Whatstakingyousolong?wherearemywinnings?Wherearemyprizes?!showmethematonce!ShowmeshowmeshowmeSHOWME!" You shouted, as you shivered, and began hoping and running about, flickering and "blinking" as if you were using the specter lightness skill, but the haste of which you moved was not born from altered perceptions or slowed time! It was entirely real and truly exhilirating to experience

"Incredibleincredibleincredible!Thereisnothingthatcanmatchthisfeeling!" You shouted, as you stopped again, and found your hand created a whirlwind from running around "Nowgimmemywinningsalready!stopbeingsoslow!"

roll 1d100. Best out of three. Higher number = better result

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>5310122

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>5310122

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>>5310077
>Hope the holiday has treated you all well.
It was a good day.
>I still need to get around to making one

I can help. Here are the named ones in order of acquisition. Let me know if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies.

>>5310122
Also, I'm betting Qiang is worrying we'll become a drug addled cat like our mother. Hopefully showing the demon crow nobility here how great an alchemist won't create a rumor that nets us devil petitioners begging our aid to their ills. Wouldn't be the worst business.

I'm almost tempted to try coming up with a name for taking all these medicines at once, as if it were a technique itself more than a back up plan, their clearly compounded effects are already superb.

We need to finish the fight before the come down.

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>5310122

>>5310126
Good news, we won more than a humble rock.

>>5310126
72. A highly valuable, high quality treasure, that would be the envy of Young masters anywhere! Not priceless or so great to be a Divine artifact, this prize is powerful and useful and worth more than jade!
Update will arrive shortly

>>5310136
Thank you a thousand times and a thousand times more. You're a saint!
The list is incredibly accurate and better put together than anything I could've made. Abd there are no mistakes! Truly it is a manual worthy of the heavens

Though I should mention "Anti Healing" comes from Ghost/ Dead Yin Qi. Huanliuxue usually coats her claws in Yin Qi to imbue her strikes with it...and because the destructive aspect of Yin gives an extra OOMPH to her blows.

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>>5310178
Excellent! I'll edit that for clarity. Here are some cliff notes for our Guqin's basics, since it does so much.

>>5310247
As the Dice Gods looked upon the thread, they spoke with whispered venom, "We will remind them."

>>5310251
One of the Crow Demon guards manages to pull himself off of the ground, lifting himself from his back and into a sprawled, half sitting position as he holds onto his spear with shaking hands and trembling legs. His face reminds you of a rat, a particurarly skinny won that's survived and learned how to escape and fight even the most veteran and successful of mousers. He for some reasons winces and looks away as you lean closer, skittish like a mouse as he tries to find his tongue and answer your rapid fire demand to see the winnings of your bets. Sweat rolls from his brown, flowing past his eyes and dripping down his chin like tears as he gasps and struggles to find the resolve to speak in the presence of an existence as high and majestic as your own. Blinking rapidly and staring deep into his shrunken, rodent like eyes he manages to find his composure in the face of your peerless beauty and imperial aura and stands

"You want to see the winnings of the bets you placed on yourself and your, uh, mortal student, Lady bloodshed?" The devil squeaks as he leans back to stand, and you step forward, keeping your eyes locked with his "We've been keeping a detailed tally of all your and our lords earnings, to ensure nothing was skimmed off the top or stolen by the greedy or opportunistic"

He glares as Yi Zhu, before being forced to look into your wide, manic eyes as you step closer to him again and grinned, showing your fangs as your tail swished and whipped behind you as grudges poured over your lips, filling the room with their shadowy mist and cold miasma.

"YesareyoudeathIhaverequestedassuchseveraltimeswhyareyouwastingmytimewretch?Doyouwishtobetreatedliketheratyouresemble?OpenthevaultandleadmetomyearningsbeforeIlosemypaitenceandtoleranceforyourrudeandslothfulbehavioristhatclearenoughofademandormustIusemyclawsaswellasmywords?!" You angrily and annoyedly ask, growling as you lean even closer and cover the cowering devil in your shadow "hurryhurryhurryhurryhurry!Idon'twanttobekeptwaiting!Myvaluabletimeisbeingwastedlikewisdomonadrunk!Hurryhurryhurry!Doyouwannadieorsomething!?"

"Yes right away! Forgive this fool for taking time to breath! He had forgotten his duty!" The guard cries out, almost stopping to kowtow and bang his head on the ground before he sees the glare of the mistress of death, ghosts and graves bearing down on him with the full ferocity and weight of your indignation

"hurryhurryhurryhurry" You hiss and mutter under your breath, trembling even though your standing still, your body desiring motion so greatly you begin to vibrate and shiver to become a blur of irritated and restless motion despite not moving so much as an inch from where you sit

"That is a terrifying sight!" Yi Zhu cries out, as the guard fumbles with the key ring hung around his belt, nearly dropping it as you move behind you and continue muttering your mantra of "hurry hurry hurry".
Cont

>>5310272

He begins to cry and whine like a dog as you impatiently stamp a paw behind him and sigh through your nose.

You hear the lock of the door click, and push past him to sprint towards the wealth you've aquired from this tournament as he rushes after you, wheezing and panting as he struggles with a jade slip secured by his wrist.

"Wait! I have the ledger right here! You're not allowed to go in there! Wait please! My Lady!" he cries out as you've already found your winnings from the sent of Yi Zhu that clings to them like mud to a shoe. And of course, the Qi radiating from one or several items amongst your prizes!

Flapping his wings, the crow devil guard rushes to catch up to you, and tries your paitence further by choosing to, now of all times, read off the exact measure of wealth you've earned through your betting! You can barely hear him, with how slow he is too catching up and how far behind he is already, but you're able to make out what he's trying to tell you.

Before he can even see that you've turned down the corridor, you've walked through the door blocking your way to the treasures you've won.

And immediately you are awed by a vast pile of spirit stones, of various sizes and quality, carefully and neatly stacked one atop the other, and small lanterns and bird cages that all too clearly hold human souls. The gloomy, cold light cast by the caged orbs of ethereal fire, casts the whole of the room in an eerie, pale blue glow.

Except for in the center of the room. There is a bright red and orange cushion, that itself would be a worthy treasure, from the amount of fire Qi that oozes from it and is as far as your drug empowered eyes can tell, is filled with phoenix feathers whose heat has somehow been subdued to a pleasant level of warmth like morning sunshine rather than sheer blistering heat that is often used to light forges or power alchemical furnaces in the world of cultivation. But upon that cushion is your prize! A bangle of Enchanted Copper and Demonic Iron, hammered together to form a solid ring in the vague shape of bat wings sits, levitating in the air. Blood Red and Pitch black, in glows with an inner light that casts the space around it in a deep, dark crimson shadow.

Hanging from it, from a length of chain connected by what seems a rope spun from fiery red hair that almost seems to be actually aflame, sits a black knuckle bone and a curious carving of jade, the waxy colors of it mingled between brown, black and red, to form a swirl of color that has been carven into a pendant shaped like a fearsome, horned devil surrounded by flame.

The Qi flowing from it is incredibly dense, refined and pure. And, to eyes unassisted by medicinal elixirs and a untrained spiritual sense, the spiritual energy flowing and surround it would be appear to be solely and purely Fire Qi. But you can sense the Metal energy that hides within it.

And you recognize the demon depicted from the charm hanging alongside the soot blackened bone.

>>5310273

That is the Forge Devil! One of the favored servants of the Demon Lord Zhìzūn-Móxīn (至尊-魔心, Supreme Devil Mind). A favorite boogeyman for legends and children's stories in the Chuan region, whose accursed earthly lair still radiates with evil and malevolence. A place Monu warned you from venturing anywhere near! The Forge devil, depending on the story told, was either slain by the Five Colors Celestial Emperor or some other folk hero, or sealed away with the burning Calderas of his former domain.

That enchanted bangle either once belonged to the Forge Devil, or one of his servants. And you do not have to study it to know what magic it holds. Magic that will allow its wearer to resist heat that could melt metal, and work a lit and heated forge as if it there wasn't any heat at all.

A Supreme token of fire resistance! You don't know how such treasures are measured and ranked, but you're sure this one would draw envious stares and fetch a fortune at an auction! If it wasn't not the former property of at least two devils.

But, that doesn't seem to be all the bangle is capable of. Clearly, it is hiding a deeper power or more complicated ability behind the appearance of "merely" just a fire resistance charm powerful enough to allow its user to walk into a furnace unscathed. What, you aren't certain. But as a cat, you're naturally attuned to what is dangerous and what isn't. And you don't sense any threat coming from the bangle, so you're confident wearing it won't curse you!

Bangle of the Great Forge Devil Acquired. Three thousand spirit stones acquired (total 4268). A hundred and eight sinners' souls, forty four trapped souls, and a single pious soul also acquired

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Put the bangle on your tail, and enter the arena to fight Baoli-Wuyawang, and have a brief chat with the crow king before the battle begins.

>Plot with the ghost of Yujijiao, and release her to catch Baoli-Wuyawang by surprise so you can land a decisive blow against him (martial/ trickery trial. DC 44.DC vastly lowered by buffs)

>Hide one of the two Miraculous healing pills you own in your mouth, and focus on avoiding Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike. The Bangle may allow one to resist the heat of flames, but every protection has its limits... (Agility trial. DC 22. DC vastly lowered by buffs)

>Have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money

>Write in

>>5310251
lol

>>5310219
Excellent work again. Chuckled at the "Heavy. Able to communicate blunt damage" bit.

>>5310276
>Wear the bangle on your tail and have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money.
These seem neutral. I have less fear with Qiang at least this far away from the arena.

>Hide one of the two Miraculous healing pills you own in your mouth, and focus on countering Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike with multiple of your own by activating Blood Red Lightning Cat Step first and utilizing Red Death Scythe in compliment.

Blitz. With DCs massively lowered by the medicines, let's not waste this chance for a real aggressive surprise attack and use our draining abilities to their utmost before our medicines start to fade. My reasoning is it would be pointless to only begin by dodging and seeing his strength when we're at our best, only for that benefit to fade as the fight progresses and after he's seen our speed.
So strike him with speed he hasn't seen us possess, with techniques he cannot even guess we have, cross counter!

>>5310276
>>5310293
>Write-in+
FORGOT. But since we're wearing the crown it should be possible to add its wind to our Blood Red Lightning Cat Step, since it does not siphon great Qi from us, which ought make our strikes utterly ridiculous.

>>5310276
>Wear the bangle on your tail and have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money.
>Hide one of the two Miraculous healing pills you own in your mouth, and focus on countering Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike with multiple of your own by activating Blood Red Lightning Cat Step first and utilizing Red Death Scythe in compliment.
>Give the pig demon a few of the spirit stones as a reward for his work getting us invited to this tournament

>>5310276
>Have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money


>Put the bangle on your tail, and enter the arena to fight Baoli-Wuyawang, and have a brief chat with the crow king before the battle begins.

I think we're as ready as we'll ever be.

>>5310276
>Put the bangle on your tail, and enter the arena to fight Baoli-Wuyawang, and have a brief chat with the crow king before the battle begins.
>Have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money
>Hide one of the two Miraculous healing pills you own in your mouth, and focus on avoiding Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike. The Bangle may allow one to resist the heat of flames, but every protection has its limits... (Agility trial. DC 22. DC vastly lowered by buffs)
I had an idea to release Yujijiao before, but I'm afraid to risk her unlife against Baoli.

>>5310276
>Focus on avoiding his first attack
>Then counter attack with whispering death claw.

>>5310276
>Have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money
>Hide one of the two Miraculous healing pills you own in your mouth, and focus on avoiding Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike. The Bangle may allow one to resist the heat of flames, but every protection has its limits... (Agility trial. DC 22. DC vastly lowered by buffs)
>>5310251
Did I miss something? That post is deleted

>>5310494
Just checked archive.moe, it was a 1, thankfully outside of the bo3.
Maybe this post will help any suptg readers in the future.

>>5310498
Yeah the fact it was out of the BO3 is why I deleted it

Anyone else wondering if defeating Baoli would create a good grudge for our cultivation? A unique one, at least.

>>5310837
I don't know how defeating him could create a new grudge, it seems more like something that could settle one instead.
But we are probably getting a boost in some way, last time we won one of this tournaments Huan evolved.
Perhaps we will finally get thumbs.

>>5310849
Oh, I mean defeating him may create a grudge within him against us, within the context of however we've defeated him. We've been driving him mad since we got here, and laughing at him helped, but since he's an angry demon I thought nothing of it.
But rereading how grudges can be formed made it seem like defeating him might create, within him, an extremely powerful grudge. It just depends on how he's beaten, and if.

>>5310854
Shit I hope we kill this mofo good. Definitely don't want him as a nemesis.

>>5310858
Yeah, he needs to die.
He has proven to be way too resourceful and knowledgeble about us to let him go around with a grudge againat us.
Also it could rurn the crow women an ally on hell, if they manage to stay nobility.

>>5310862
Poor Crowboy. Too competent to live. Personally I don't -want- him to die but I do understand how dangerous he is and that it is probably the right call to drop him. If only the dead weren't so chatty.

As far as actual demons go he's slightly less shit than I'd expect.

>>5310858
>>5310862
Precisely. So if he does form one as he's injured or dying, we ought to steal it! And then mush his body and soul into motes of spent ashy qi.

Aside from the humiliation of being defeated by someone he wanted to show himself off against, I suppose destroying his meridians would establish a deep resentment. I feel kind of giddy imagining we could steal the form of his strength just by cultivating a grudge he'd have against us. What a powerful mask he could be. Heck, we can even tell him we're listening to his "advice", on sowing and cultivating enmity, for the short moments he'd have left existing. I bet he'd love that.

Geeze that'd be kinda mean, huh? Well, I think he's earned worse.

>>5310866
If he wasn't a powerful demon king, we could spare him and try to just get him in a way he would no longer be a threat, but he is too competent, and hasn't show much reason to keep him alive other than not being a complete super asshole.
Unless somehow he doesn't get a grudge, and instead gets happier that we beat him and gave him a good fight. He has surprised us non-stop, so I wouldn't out past him.

>>5310866
Yeah he is by far the coolest demon we know. I absolutely love his character, he put so much effort into trying to get us to reveal everything, with his knowledge of us second only to Monu and ourselves. It's like he's our biggest fan that also just happens to want to beat the shit out of us.
It's somewhat unfortunate, but the nature of hell, or just what we've experienced, is a place where only strength and the fear it can create can maintain any semblance of peace in mock civility.

There is a cost to winning by killing him. And that will be stories and rumors amongst demons of all kinds and the nobility in hell telling of how Baoli-Wuyawang was killed by Huānliúxuè. A straightforward upgrade of our reputations in hell, which will eventually filter into the middle realm. Cue human demon worshipers going to our Chuan shrines and squinting to level insight. And cue demon cultivators trying to find us in the real world because a beast less than two decades old and less than half of that in cultivation time defeated a demon king, and our showing of Pure Blood Qi here will aid that mightily.

The cost of losing though? I believe he'll try corrupting our Pure Blood Qi in some fashion, he doesn't strike me as a cat is fine too kind of demon, so he'd go for maiming/burning and showboating as our "true reward'.

The cost of winning but making the mistake of letting him run away? Unknown, uncapped.

Oh no, what if he actually surrenders when he thinks we might defeat him and has some actual back-up reward for us? That would be the worst. We can't eat his power if he gives up!

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Ending the vote now, tallying the result.

Wear the bangle on your tail: 4

Have Qiang guard your winnings. You do not trust Yi Zhu and you especially do not trust him around money: 5
-Give the pig spirit a few of the spirit stones as a reward for his work getting us invited to this tournament:1

Hide one of the two Miraculous healing pills you own in your mouth:4
-and focus on countering Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike with multiple of your own by activating Blood Red Lightning Cat Step first and utilizing Red Death Scythe in compliment.:2
-and focus on avoiding Baoli-Wuyawang's first, testing strike. The Bangle may allow one to resist the heat of flames, but every protection has its limits...:3
--: And then use whispering death claw: 1

Enter the arena to fight Baoli-Wuyawang, and have a brief chat with the crow king before the battle begins.:2

So I'll be nice and combine the votes, since it'd be pretty lame to just go forward with only telling Qiang to guard your cash.

So You after telling Qiang to keep the greedy pig away from your winnings, will equip the Bangle of the great forge devil, hide a miraculous healing pill in your mouth for easy access and focus on avoiding Baoli-Wuyawang's first strike. Hoping that by doing so you will create an opening you can use to launch a devestating Counter attack

Update will arrive shortly.

So you decide to put it on. You're going to be fighting what amounts to a thinking, furious and violent natured inferno. Any extra protection you can find for yourself against being burned to pile of ash or exhausted by the sheer, blazing heat that will surely fill the arena should be taken if it is found and worn with pride! You're certain there are many who'd look down at you over their noses or scoff for you taking so many precautions and weighing the match as far you have in your favor already by taking a great quantity of spirit drugs and abusing the generosity of your opponents patient to shore up your defense and strengthen yourself, even though said opponent is stronger and more experience than you. And those fools would be lucky to leave behind charred bones if they turned away from the chance to wear such a miraculous piece of jewelry! Simply because it was previously owned and often worn by a devil! It'd be like refusing to wear armor as you marched into battle or purposefully dulling your claws and pulling out your fangs before a hunt! You'd be an utter fool to leave behind the bangle, when it will offer at least some measure of defense and resitance against the fire storm commanded by the malovlent and sadistic devil who demands you meet him in bloody combat!

Yet, despite the uncertainty and danger of your current situation, and the well placed and instinctual fear you hold knowing you must face a foe greater than yourself whose blood lust and killing intent eclipses any you have ever before seen, you feel strangely excited! Even amongst the denizens of hell and his fellow devils, Baoli-Wuyawang is a lunatic for the sport of brutal violence and vicious combat! Yet you're excited, thrilled even! And it isn't a side effect of the Spiritual medicines you shoved down your throat, it is honest and joyous anticipation to fight in spite of the grave peril you face.

'Perhaps, perhaps, spending years taking in the vital breath of ghosts and corpses into myself, has made the glorious me numb to the fear of death and the dread it casts as its shadow' you ponder, managing to form a coherent thought despite the manic energy coursing through your veins like lethal poison and the most divine of medicine simultaneously. Enthusiastically, you push your tail through the bangle until it becomes securely stuck half way down it. It is uncomfortable how your fur is pressed down and pinched, and the heat and unnatural weight of the band is also irritating, but it is pretty to look at and will grant you a vital advantage in the battle to come. Why it might even save your life, so you can stand the discomfort of wearing it.
cont

>>5312653

Quickly and briefly, you become distracted by the hellish, yet subdued beauty of the magical jewelry you now wore, flicking your tail as you watch the metal and jade shine with an oily glisten as it caught the lights of the caged and trapped souls and expressed its own gloomy glow, which marvelously accented and deepened the shade of red of your fur. A purr rumbled in your throat, and you narrowed your eyes in delight as you admired the bangle fastened to your tail. You knew nothing of fashion, but when combined with the crown you wore atop your head, this underworld forged bracelet must make you look like the pinnacle of refinement. Smugly, you puffed out your chest and lifted your chin, and left the treasure chamber at a leisurely trot

Though no one who saw you leave would describe it as such. Knocking a recovering Yi Zhu back over, you left the pig spirit, the rat faced Crow devil and his fellow guard behind to cower after being so blessed to stand in the presence of one as high and might as yourself.

However, despite your anticipating to throw yourself into battle against your host, even beneath the haze drawn over your mind by the boundless, wild energy you have infected yourself with, imparted by the primordial beast essence and massive burst of energy of both the spiritual and mundane variety imparted by consuming such rich divine blood honey, you do not rush to the arena. Rather, moving as swiftly as lighting flashing across the skies, you return to the crow king's private viewing platform. Your entrance blows down the curtains and screens blocking out the curious glances and envious stares of the audience, and fills the box with the same, cool light that fills the rest of the tower.

The old Crow Crone is napping, and her daughter has gnawed her nails down to nubs and has began to chew on the skin and flesh of her finger tips, leaving smears of blood to color her otherwise jade-like and corpse pale face. Qiang, however, is entirely at east, calm as a corpse soon to be interred. Your disciple, sitting upon the ground with her arms crossed and a sullen, grim expresion writ over her pretty face, glances up to you, her vividly red hair fluttering from the winds whipped up by your sudden return to the regal deck.

"Qianghurrydowntothevaultsbeneaththetowerwherethewagersandstakesofthistournamentarekept" You swiftly command, as Qiang closes her eyes to focus all of her senses on her ears, so she can understand what exactly you are asking of her "andkeepYiZhufromourwinnings. IdonnottrusthatpigaslongasIcansmellhimnearESPECIALLYaroundmoney!"

"As you command, teacher, I shall not yet you down" Qiang says dully, yawning as she stood up and walked past you "Oh and uh...don't die or anything. I don't think I could find my way back home if you dead"
Cont

>>5312656

You cackle, and swift as falling thunder, grab another pill from your collection and hide it in your mouth. Just in case you get brutalized and mauled quicker than you anticipated. For, while your new jewelry allows one to resist the heat of flames, all protections, no matter what against have their limits. And it isn't like Baoli-Wuyawang is going to be fighting with fire alone. The moment you laid your eyes upon him, you sensed he possess a truly monster level of strength. So it will pay to take every precaution you can.

Leaping out of the private box of the crow devil nobility, you run down a pillar of blackened iron, hopping to avoid the curling spikes and burs jutting from it like thorns of a rose, and in moments reach the sunken arena. Sand flies around you as you gracefully land atop it, at your side of the arena.

Baoli-Wuyawang has tossed away all of his finery, and royally regalia... well what little he actually wore, considering he barely wore any clothes to begin with. The two necklaces of hanging, silver skulls, sit at his feet and his loose fitting red pants have been pulled up and bundled to expose his legs. He is stomping the sand, as he cracks his fingers.

"So!" He shouts, pounding together his knuckles as he begins to weave and sway as if avoiding phantom limbs "My dearest guest, the darling of this tournament and heir to the primordial legacy of beasts my kind stole away and tarnished, is there anything you wish to say to your adoring audience before we begin this blood bath?! Surely a woman as proud and haughty as yourself has some wisdom to impart or boast to make! Do it! Brag, mock me if you must! Revel in your power and give the people a show before I give that silky fur of yours a fresh coating of dye, drawn from your own noble veins! HUAN! LIU! XUE!"

You blink, having started to lick the back of your paw to begin cleaning off the dust and sand that has already settled atop your fur, having grown bored with the crow kings needlessly long and wordy greeting to you. With your tongue still partially sticking out, you look up to your opponent and host. His scarlet eyes sparkle with murderous glee and barely restrained and very much violent impulses. You've seen eyes like that before. They're the same as those mad murderers you killed, filled with a selfish apathy for all but their desire to do harm and spread misery. The eyes of a true devil, the look of capriciously savage brute.

"Nope!" You cheerfully and cutely explain, lifting your paw and turning your head so your notched ear is pointed towards the ground, as you struggle to suppress the ongoing rush of bottomless energy and nervous speed assaulting your body and mind. "no reason to waste any more time !Lets go!Lets go!Lets go!"
Cont

>>5312659

"HONORED MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE! FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY! RETREAT AWAY FROM THE PIT!" The black skinned, pot bellied devil shrieks from somewhere above "We'll evacuate the tower according to the guidelines put in place in case of our young master going on a rampage! For you own safety, keep away from the fighters, were ever they end up!"

Eh?

"Haha! Excellent, Excellent! As you wish my lady of dusty bones and grieving ghouls!" He manically crows, throwing his head back as he catches his fist with his hand and extends his wings to their full, and admittedly impressive span before suddenly stomping the ground.

And a ripple runs through the stone as a fracture crawls towards you and ends right before where you stand.

There is no ring anymore. And barely any arena. The ground has been broken apart, great chunks and peaks of stone rising up from the once solid ground. But a cleared path remains between you and the crow king, and though great clouds of sand and the remains of previous fighters shower down all around you like a wonderfully macabre rain falling from a broken open tomb, you can clearly see your shirtless opponent and the stance he is using.

One leg forward, one back. A formidable built, and clearly sturdy defensive stance, with the center of his mass repositioned from his middle down below his legs, below even the soles of his feet to be buried in the ground! He has one arm pulled back, fist tightly clenched, one arm held forward, raised like a shield were strapped to it or he was throwing it towards the heaven. Every muscle you can see is tightly compressed and toughened. You'd have an easier time slicing through artisanal forged steel than you would his chest! The stance he is taken, is also an aggressive, offensive stance! He has both boundless defense and boundless offense! How scary! How Scary~! That is a stance that could break through the gates of the underworld, that could topple even the mightiest of mountains!

A wickedly excited grin plasters itself to your face as you tilt your head and use your chin to beckon him forward as the effort of keeping your excess speed and overflowing vitality suppressed and hidden begins to slip away from you as you begin to twitch, shiver and all but vibrate like a struck gong as Baoli-Wuyawang's expression becomes fiercely serious as onyx feathers sprout along his arms and chest

"DIE!" He roars, vanishing as he kicks from the ground. A flap of great wings, he rushes towards you through the air, in flight. He's flying at such great speeds it make a falling star seem like a tortoise pulling itself up a hill.

But, you can see him clearly and he is not moving so quickly you are unable to study his form enough to anticipate his next move. The arm held in front of him is a shield and distraction. He'll swing it, break the stone slabs around him and creating a blinding wave of dust and shards of rock.
Cont

>>5312661

And then he'll slam the fist held at his side up against the bottom of your jaw, driving it upwards. An powerful uppercut that'll have enough strength behind it to punch through a solid iron gate ten feet thick. The strike is meant to both to disorient you with head trauma and inflict a crippling injury on not only your jaw, but your neck. Fighting with a concussion and nearly, or completely broken neck or jaw is not something most creatures could do. And you doubt even you, a prodigy and natural figther, could pull it off


So you'll just dodge it. He's put all his weight and gathered and stored power behind that blow. Missing it will leave him open, landing it will make you helpless before the relentless barrage of claw strikes, kicks and stomps that will surely follow.

"Letusseethencrowking. Ifdeathisfasterthanthedevil!" You boast as you jittery and begin to shake violently in place, becoming as a crimson hued wind

"Hnuh?" Baol-Wuyawang manages to grunt as he stomps down in front of you, his fist already rising towards where your head had been positioned a moment ago

Roll 1d100. DC 22. Best out of three

BOSS THEME! https://youtu.be/uu2XSQgdQDY

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>5312664
We can't possibly mess up a DC that low, right?

>>5312664

Rolled 48 (1d100)

>>5312664

Need one more roll. Oh, and cause I got curious. What, if any, cultivation/ xianxia stories do you/ have you read?

>>5312705
I have read none.
I had heard of them before but was never interested enough to actually read any.
Nearly all my knowledge of the genre and it's tropes comes from this quest, funnily enough.
I was mildly familiar with Wuxing, but that was it.
Should I roll again, or...?

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>5312664

>>5312705
I read a Condor Heroes manhua back as a wee youth, and a series called the Celestial Zone by the same author. Was good stuff.

>>5312705
King of Gods, tripe but I managed it.

>>5312666
Incredible success. 60 over DC and 1 under 70 over. Update will arrive shortly

>>5312712
>Nearly all my knowledge of the genre and it's tropes comes from this quest, funnily enough.

That's pretty cool, actually

>>5312714
Jim Yong is one of the greats, and Condor heroes is a classic. I'd call it a Wuxia, though myself.

>>5312719
Oof.

My first exposure was Grandmaster of demonic cultivation/ The untamed.

For a moment, it seems as though you had involuntary, or through reflex activated the Specter lightness skill in anticipation for the arrival of your enemy's blow. He moves so slow, so slow, so ponderously slow, like he was nothing more than an actor playing out a scene in one of those incredibly melodramatic and pointless plays Monu likes and has talked your ear off describing her favourite performances of. Like Baoli-Wuyawang, rather than truly attempt to shatter your skull and end your life in the most gory and painful manage he was capable of with his martial arts, was instead demonstrating his techniques, like a friendly peer or kindly master would. Now you were confident this wasn't the case, since you had spent more than a breath in the crow king's company and because the look in his fire filled eyes. Surprise, confusion and the emotion any warrior delights in witnessing appear in the faces and posture of their foes. PANIC!

'It would seem' You triumphantly praise yourself in your thoughts 'that death is faster than the devil, and I didn't even need to risk inflicting myself with grievous internal damage by using Blood Torrent Rush alongside my already nigh self destructive combination of pills!"

'at least for now' a quieter, more reasonable voice of your consciousness hisses in the furthest reaches of your mind 'we must still be cautious, a single slip up or misstep and we'll become a fur rug rather than the ruler we dream of becoming'


You thought both these things in the time it took the Crow King to Blink, by time of which you had leaned completely out of the way of his skull splitting uppercut. His eyes, amazingly, manage to follow and track you as you hop away. His perception can keep up with you. Seems the muffled voice of logic was right. Your heart, constricted and restricted, begins to rapidly flutter and thump, as the adrenaline rush you feel upon realizing you're still in danger of being swatted aside like a fly slowly drips into it past the demi-petrification you yourself had forced upon the organ.

He stumbles as you gallop around him, trying to get behind him so you can strike his exposed back and hopefully cut an important tendon and cripple his wings, denying his flight and much of his mobility. But the Crow King, just as swiftly as he had launched himself towards you, slams his reserve fist through the ground, and use it as a sort of anchor and lever to catch himself, preventing himself from falling and also use it as a kind of axel to swing his body around.

Performing a long, crescent axe kick directed for your midsection. The air screams, as if it were being defiled by the sheer rapidness of the motion as his limb ignites with red and black flames. But still, you're too quick, though as you leap past his leg, you feel the air shearing just behind the tip of your tail and half expect to see a cloud of pink and red fur as you pivot after you land.
Cont

>>5312751

You begin bouncing and hopping around Baoli-Wuyawang, as you had escaped his field of awareness the moment you zipped under his leg and landed five paces behind his back. You aren't ready to risk going on the offensive, as he has yet to perform the Eye Stealing Grasp, and because, even though he cannot follow or keep up with your movements, through simple instinct and training as a warrior and a killer, The Crow King stays one step behind catching you, slamming his fists and stomping his feet through the stone and earth beneath, trying to grab hold or crush and pin your tail beneath your heel.

This tiresome but not physically exhausting, and you have your own experience that soon lets you extend the distance between the two of you far into the horizon! And that is your expertise at avoiding being caught! The village children may have loved and nurtured you, but some of them were little brats who liked to grab you by your tail and make it pop or chase you with sticks and bowls of water, and even the nine children you loved and cherished the most of all would be at times smothering with their love.

As such, you became adept at escaping grasping hands and unaware feet. You may be several magnitudes larger than you were before you became Huanliuxue and awoke your intellect, but the basic and foundational principles of not being caught remained the same not matter what size you were!

So, you alluded the Crow King's instinct driven strikes and attempts to grab hold of you, slipping beneath his legs and even jumping over him and kicking off his back to then run circles around him in the Arena. You could barely hear a thing through the sound of stone breaking as he punched and forced his way through it, as he began to miss you by much more distance than before and even strike at places in the air where you had never so much as passed by or ran through.

Frustration is clear on his face as you race around him and circle him, and dodge under the gouts and puffs of fire he sends out of his fist and breaths out of his mouth. He is rampaging about now, realizing he is unable to catch you with with precise strikes and blows, and is instead trying to surround you in a sea of flames. But still, you do not approach to strike him.

He's holding back. Trying to make you overconfident and sure of the superiority of your reflexes and speed. He's moving and attacking slower than the height of his ability. He's trying to trick you. How quickly he recovered from the shock of you escaping his slowest strike. Now he's testing the limits of your speed, and trying to find exactly how much you can handle while simultaneously preparing for your inevitable counter attack when you become fully confident in your ability to evade anything he throws at you.

However, this plan has a vital weakness he has completely failed to address.
Cont

>>5312754

You're a cat. Cat's are ambush predators. Patience before striking is part of their innate wisdom. And while his rage has yet to turn against him, it soon shall when he realizes you've seen the trap he's made for you and have lead him to fall for it himself.

So, you play along, out running a tide of fire he extends to fill the whole of the arena by twisting himself around after dusting every feather of his vast black wings with Fire Qi. You out one the oncoming wave of burning death, running around the edge of the scorched arena that has now become a field of broken rocks covered in sand. By running just behind the tail of the field of flame, you are able to avoid its mouth. Baoli-Wuyawang, having spun his legs around as he sent out his great current of flame, stands half crouched on the ground.

He looks for you, first idly, then panicked and then at last furiously, his wings spread and lifted as his hands become black talons as he sees, in the once more flattened pit, you have vanished completely. There's no burning mass of fur and screams, or even charred bones resting atop the gravel and scattered stones.

The time before he looks up and spots you clinging to a wall, which you had clambered up it and held on to avoid the unexpected wave of superheated air when he finished his whirlwind sweep kick and the vortex of fire you had just escaped, can be measured in moments. You were already greatly appreciating the magical protection of the bangle around your tail. But, you had not time or mind to reflect on that, as, in the moment of confusion before he realized you had fled higher up to escape the area of fiery, burning death he had created, Baoli-Wuyawang had left himself entirely open.

You had to strike and strike now, or you'd lose your chance to land the first and hopefully decisive blow of this lethal match! And it had to count, since it was all but certain he'd start fighting more seriously after that display! His pride won't allow him to hold back as much as he has been.

+60 to next attack roll, due to your sudden and expertly performed dodge, your opponent has left himself completely open and vulnerable
cont

>>5312756

How do you attack Baoli-Wuyawang, Huanliuxue?

>Activate the vein hunting eye risk your health, and perform the Blood Torrent rush and then the Blood Red Lightning cat step.. The Crow King must've calculated the limits of your speed by now. So you have to go EVEN FURTHER BEYOND. Extend your claws, and aim for a wing (Martial Trial. DC 70)

>Like falling lightning, Pounce on him, and try to bite onto the back of his neck (Martial trial. DC 100)

>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)

>Cloak yourself in as much metal Qi as you can, and charge him, slamming into him as you use control off the Qi, trying to knock him off his feet before he can dodge the Massive bolt of lightning you've just thrown at him mid charge (Strength Trial. DC 130)\

>Don'. What is more humiliating than your opponent choosing not to hit you when you're unable to defend yourself? Instead, mock and tease him and try to piss him off, as you return to avoid and dodging his attacks (Agility trial. DC 44. Not an attack roll. DC Greatly lowered by buffs)

>write in

And yes, if the roll had been 92 or higher, you would've gotten a +70 bonus to the attack.

>>5312756
>Distract him with a Destructive Yin sphere and slice him with vein draining fang, use this new blood drawn to Blind him further.

I want to remove a wing, but this will do.

>>5312759
>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)
If we get him to bleed, then he will have a timer above his head, as the longer the fight goes, the more he will bleed out.
This will mean we can focus on dodging without worry too much about dealing damage.
Getting a wing would be great too, but I don't want to reveal the Blood Rush Torrent this early, especially if it damages us. It's best to keep that as a finishing move.

>>5312759
>Don'. What is more humiliating than your opponent choosing not to hit you when you're unable to defend yourself? Instead, mock and tease him and try to piss him off, as you return to avoid and dodging his attacks (Agility trial. DC 44. Not an attack roll. DC Greatly lowered by buffs)
>>5312705
I can hardly remember, the names are always so weird that I keep mixing them up.

>>5312794
Actually, changing to
>Activate the vein hunting eye risk your health, and perform the Blood Torrent rush and then the Blood Red Lightning cat step.. The Crow King must've calculated the limits of your speed by now. So you have to go EVEN FURTHER BEYOND. Extend your claws, and aim for a wing (Martial Trial. DC 70)
This no time for hubris, and crippling his ability to fly means we can keep being the more agile.

>>5312759
I'm worrying that this is a trap and Baoli is expecting an attack, so let's at least distract him.
>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)

>>5312759
>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)
>Write-in (modification) Aim for his eyes.
From what the crone said, Baoli *loves* to cripple his opponents and then toy with them once they're relatively helpless. What better way to enact poetic justice than by turning his own strategy against him, and showing him, firsthand, that payback is a bitch? It's not like he'll be able to fly very well if we succeed and he's blinded--- and he'll still probably bleed a fuckton anyway.
>>5312840
>This no time for hubris
We're already pushing our body to its physical limits, hopped up on enough magic drugs to kill a lesser being. The problem of GOING EVEN FURTHER BEYOND (from shonen, and such) is that it's a desperate all-or-nothing, and the blowback is usually so harsh that it typically wrecks the person involved for a good while. QM was nice enough to tell us that using that option will put our health at significant risk, and Hell doesn't strike me as a safe place to lick our wounds, especially in the power vacuum brought on by Baoli's death.

>>5312759
>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)

>>5312759
>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)
We'll need to get a Red Death Scythe in at some point to negate him reigniting his vigor, but this'll impair him if it hits. Something tells me his inner healing will be greatly strengthened by his ire. Hopefully he doesn't have any rampage healing types of techniques.

At least he's adding a lot of new sand.

>>5312773
>>5312907
+1 to blinding him/aiming for his eyes.

>>5312840
We actually want him to keep flying. Since we haven't shown off what the crown can do yet. Set him up for a wombo combo.

>>5313069
Too right. He's also setting up a couple earth spells for restricting our movement by making and freeing up boulders everywhere with his stomps and kicks. A tactic which can be effective no matter how obvious it is.

>>5313069
That's a good point actually.
Anyway, since the other option is winning, there is no need for me to change my vote for a third time.

>>5312759

>Distract him with a large Destructive Yin Sphere, and then slice him with the Vein Draining Fang (Magic/ trickery. DC 120)

I kinda want to bite his neck but I guess it won't be so easy.

>>5312907
+1

>>5312907
I also support trying for his eyes.

>>5312759
>>Don'. What is more humiliating than your opponent choosing not to hit you when you're unable to defend yourself? Instead, mock and tease him and try to piss him off, as you return to avoid and dodging his attacks (Agility trial. DC 44. Not an attack roll. DC Greatly lowered by buffs)
The angrier he is the easier it will be to herd him

>>5313853
To be honest if we get the opportunity we should taunt him whenever we attack or dodge. The stuff he'd hate most, etc.
There's a lot we could say. Just have to write-in it as Huanliuxue appropriate.

Ending the vote now. Tallying the result. It is too fucking hot outside.

Distract him with a Destructive Yin sphere and slice him with vein draining fang, use this new blood drawn to Blind him further.:8
-Aim for his eyes. Attempt to blind him:5

Don't. What is more humiliating than your opponent choosing not to hit you when you're unable to defend yourself? Instead, mock and tease him and try to piss him off, as you return to avoid and dodging his attacks:1

Activate the vein hunting eye risk your health, and perform the Blood Torrent rush and then the Blood Red Lightning cat step.. The Crow King must've calculated the limits of your speed by now. So you have to go EVEN FURTHER BEYOND. Extend your claws, and aim for a wing:1

So you'll distract Baoli-Wuyawang with a Destructive Yin Sphere, and then try to slice him with a Vein Draining Fang aimed at his eyes.

DC will be slightly increased

Update will arrive shortly

A blind bird cannot fly. You realize. And eyes are easily tricked with a little slight of hand. Or slight of claw and tail in your case. Lifting up your tail, still clinging tightly to the stone walls of the arena, you gather as much destructive yin Qi as you're capable of safely controlling at the end of your tail, channeling and moving it down the your tail before condensing it as tightly and heavily as is possible with your level of Qi Control and mastery. A black dart of Qi, formed from shadow appears at the very tip of your tail and begins to bulge outwards rapidly as it swells with more and more destructive spiritual energy. The power within the dart shapes and forms it into a dense sphere of highly refined and pure Yin Qi, dyed blacker and darker than a winter night without the light of the moon or stars to light one's way through it. And then that sphere grows and grows, expanding as you contain the spiraling vortex of the raw forces of destruction. The pure yin Qi grows ever darker as it rotates around itself, feeding upon itself cannibalistically as the sheer destructive potential of the simple Qi burst spell, refined and heightened past its natural level of spell craft into a potent and deadly expression of the yin aspect of destruction. For any lesser cultivator, and even many of your level, to create a Qi blast of such size and sheer power would be courting death. A single failed rotation, even bungling the addition of freshly refined Qi into the core of the spell, would cause it to prematurely fire and explode directly in their open palm. You'd never make such a novice mistake, of losing control or being overpowered by your own Qi, but the threat of causing at least your tail to explode as the ball of destruction upon it is still present none the less, no matter how miniscule and unlikely of a possibility it may be.

You push the spell to its furthest limits, in terms of size, raw power and everything else. And even then, you can feel your hold over it fail. It is around the size of your head, and is cracking and breaking at the seems like an over filled balloon about to burst as it spins and twirls around the tip of your tail. Black smoke shoots out of these cracks, as the sphere begins to rumble and shake, twisting and turning faster and faster.

Not want to test your skill and luck any further, you flick your tail and launch the largest Qi Sphere you have ever made, directly at Baoli-Wuyawang's back, aiming it directly at the space between his wings. The roar the ball of pitch black energy makes as it screams through the air, is more than enough to warn the crow king of its hasty trip towards his back. And his reflexes are honed enough to easily dodge the mass of destruction shooting towards him, tearing apart the air and any piece of rock it passes by. He launches into the air, taking off in a manner like any other bird, flapping his wings once to ascend like a lit firework.
Cont

>>5315773

Which, brings him level to your claws, as you leap from the walls and float atop the wild winds churned up by the spell you just threw at him. Brilliantly Carmine light coats your claws like fresh blood, as you cast the spell that will be your first true attack. The feint of the destructive sphere, has kept Baoli-Wuyawang distracted from the true angle of your strike. His gaze and attention are still focused down, down towards the cloud of dust, sand and shards of stone thrown up by the explosion of blackness that had struck the ground where he had stood not even a fraction of a second ago.

Swinging your paws down, you send out ten cutting sickles of blood Qi. Nine of the red, curved blades of light, are distractions. Though they'll cut all the same, they are meant to draw the crow king's attention away from the real threat. For, the tenth of the sickles, smaller than the rest and aimed horizontally rather than diagonally, is no mere blade of Qi. It is in fact, the Vein Draining Fang! (血管 倾浆 獠牙, Xuèguǎnqīngjiāngliáoyá), hidden amongst the lesser blades. And it is aimed directly for his eyes!

roll 1d100+60. DC 125. Best out of three

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>5315776
65 or above, c'mon...

Rolled 60 + 60 (1d100 + 60)

Not a 1. >>5315776

>>5315785
>>5315780
Auspicious.

Rolled 15 + 60 (1d100 + 60)

>>5315776
HUZZOHHHHHHHHHHA

>>5315780
20 over DC. Nice success.

Update will arrive shortly

>>5315785
Nice.

>>5315807
Meant to reply to this
>>5315780
But a double 60 is a nice number, even if it wouldn't pass the DC

Baoli-Wuyawang moves like a flash of lightning cracking the sky. His movements are so swift, that you barely realize he has moved at all, even with your heightened and enhanced senses pushing your perceptions far beyond the limits your already inhumanely close and keen sight. Black streaks of movement, that even with seeing and knowing all you do seem so fast and quick you can barely comprehend them as being possible to achieve. Beyond swift, beyond hasty, beyond rapid, the Crow King's talons flash through the air like a hallucination or dream of death. Your breath is stolen out of your mouth, as you struggle to measure exactly how fast his hands raked through the air. He clicked his talons with such great speed, you can see their path they tore through the still air more than you could follow their actual motion through it. To any eyes less trained than yours, the nine blades of carmine light simply dispersed as Baoli-Wuyawang turned a disdainful glare in their direction, the Qi forming them scattering like so many butterflies flying around him. Crimson and scarlet sparks of energy, flutter and fall around him as his wings spread wide, and moving so naturally, as if he has given control of his body completely over to his killing instinct, Baoli-Wuyawang shifts in the air and readies his next, charging attack.

There is a loud cheer from the crowd, showing their support to their host, employer or king as a great hand made of fire appears, wrapping around and completely swallowing Baoli's fully exposed and demonic claws, feathers burning to ash as he pulls his arm back. And then, he screams out. His face, half between a man and a crow's, is hidden behind a screen of red. A red redder than any red you've seen before. More vivid than any color you have seen since you began your cultivation. More real than any blood you've seen before. More than even the blood of Ling Meng, as it coated the fur of your snout and disappeared down into your gullet. He hasn't moved. Time slows down, as you watch, like a character in a shadow theater, Baoli-Wuyawang recoils from the first blow to actually land in this match between titans. His triumphant, excited and murderously delighted grin shifts into a grimace of horror and pain, twisting and contorting into a bestial howl of agony before his body is able to react to the sensation of having his eyes cruedly gouged and torn out.

His wings spasm, feathers knocked loose as his whole upper body is thrown backwards, his ready fist falls limp as his other hand reaches through the fountain of blood hiding his face to grasp at his eyes. There is no noise besides his screaming, which splits through the silence like a rain of arrows falling from the skies. Great globs of blood flow, dragged forcefully from his veins as your blood Qi begins its work, draining him of his vital essence and filling the air with free floating bubbles of his spilt lifeforce. It rains around him, spilling and flowing in great rivers.
Cont

>>5315891

More blood than can be contained in his body, more blood that could be contained in a body twice the size of his own. It flows. It flows. and it keeps flowing, spilling from his face like a geyser. Finally, he places his hand in front of his eyes, stemming the tide long enough for you to appreciate the damage you dealt. A single cut, a gouge, slashed perfectly over his the center of his eyes and cutting the bridge of his nose before wrapping around the side of his head. You can see bone, as steam and smoke rises from his split flesh.

Both of his eyes have been completely destroyed. His hand covers them, growing larger and more feathered, but still, more and more blood spills out, over the sides of his hand and between its fingers. He slouches, leaning forward as if he's about to collapse as wrinkles begin to appear around the skin of his eyes. Is he drying out? Was the blow fatal? Has your Vein Draining Fang brought about his sudden demise

Your triumphant, wicked grin falls slightly, as you realize he isn't shuddering as he attempts to resist being drained of every drop of blood in his body. No. No. Much more terrifying.

Baoli-Wuyawang is laughing. His eyes have been taken. and he is laughing like you just told him a bawdy and lewd joke. He's laughing himself sick, laughing his voice hoarse and weak, as more and more of his blood pours out of him, drains out of him like he were a broken pot!

"How scary" you whisper, more amused and transfixed by the Crow King's strangeness than actually frightened by him. He just keeps laughing, as time slowly crawls back to its natural pace. His great wings drooping as his red streaked face twists into a truly maddened grin, his fangs flashing as he laughs louder and more crazily.

Tongues of fire slip through the fingers of the hand pressed tightly over the empty spaces where his eyes used to be. His wings lift and spread behind him.

"Oh~" He purrs, causing your fur to stand on end as his grin turns into a oily smile "I was beginning to think I'd end up disapointed. Huan~. Liu~. Xuuuue~"

A dry cackle rips out of his throat, as you pull his demonic blood around you, forming a sphere as a sort of secondary defense, wary of the devil king as he remains still, laughing despite being blinded.

"I thought....I was worried, I'd have to go easy on you. That'd I'd get bored and just snap your neck when you spent everything you had~" He giggles, like a little boy being caught doing something naughty.

You realize he's still looking at you. You realize, as his feathers span out, and his body shifts towards more bestial, feathers covering it as it expands up and outward, slowly pushing him to the form you first met him in. But his head remains...mostly human, that he can still sense you

"Oooooh Huanliuxue <3!" He cries out pulling his hand away from his face, and you half expected to see his eyes regrown, but they remain hollow, blood filled pits of raw and torn flesh.
Cont

>>5315894

He throws his arms out as his wings lift completely upright

"I haven't had a challenge since I killed my wife's father! He put up one hell of a fight! I was worried, you'd be like all the others!" He cries, as the blood that should be draining out of him in great torrents now drips like tears down his reddened cheeks. He's resisting your spell, somehow, but he's already lost a lot of blood. and should be blinded. Should be. But you can't help but feel.

"Lets dance! in a festival of blood and screams! lets tear eachother apart, without restraint! Let us become drunk on eachother's pain and misery!" He screams, and you realize why you still feel his attentions. There are eyes, growing on his feathers

"So that's why you eat eyes, not for sustenance or sick pleasure" You hiss as he laughs, staring at you from a dozen blinking eyes

"That is the secret of my eye stealing technique! And what a deadly trick! Is that the same move you used to end the Sinner's bone centipede? I underestimated its power!" He shouts back "Oh I might just have to kill my wife as well! You're much more fun than that meek bitch!"

"Urrrgh" You groan, shivering as he dances in the air "Can you just shut up and fight"

"Oh, I can't deny a lady's request! Lets see how much blood YOU have in you, Bloodshed" He snarls viciously "See how you like having your eyes plucked from your skull? I wonder, how lovely of a scream will you make for me then? Are you willful enough to endure the agonizing loss of sight! COME! PRINCESS OF THE DEAD! LET US MAKE MERRY"

"AND DANCE TO OUR HEART'S CONTENT!" He roars, vanishing from your sight. He's rushing you again.

"WHIRLWIND OF RAZOR WINGS! GET TORN TO SHREDS AND SHRIEK IN AGONY! BLEED! BLEEED!" He screams, as he appears in front of you before you can react. His arms are wrapped around his legs, gripping the feathers there. He pulls out a handful and flexes his wings. You can see the air being split and sliced to pieces, as hundreds of razor sharp feathers are launched from every direction around Baoli-Wuyawang, as he throws the ones he pulled from his legs directly at you, like a dozen darts and knives.

You can see eyes on some of them, blinking and watching you.

What do you do to try and avoid the attack, Huanliuxue?

>Crash the blood you stole from him against his attack! (Magic trial. DC 76)

>Create a Dying grudge shield! ! Quickly! (Reaction/ Magic trial. DC 65)

>DODGE! You took all those cultivation drugs for a reason! (agility trial. DC 60 DC vastly lowered)

>Counter! With the red death scythe! Spill more of his blood and steal his lifeforce (Martial Trial. DC 92 OR DC 45 if you use the Blood Torrent rush)

>Don't try to. Just clench your jaw, and bite down on your miraculous healing pill.

>write in

>Crash the blood you stole from him against his attack! (Magic trial. DC 76)

>>5315896
>Dodge bitch.

What absolute insanity.

>>5315896
>Crash the blood you stole from him against his attack! (Magic trial. DC 76)

I think destroying the feathers should be a priority, the more eyes are left around the arena the better he'll be able to see us from multiple angles.

>>5315896
>DODGE! You took all those cultivation drugs for a reason! (agility trial. DC 60 DC vastly lowered)

>>5315896
A point black ranged enclosure attack from all angles with tracking, and fire. Flaming feathers with eyes. That's cool. YOU ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD

We have a great deal of his blood available to us. His feather attacks have eyes, and while we can dodge them I don't believe dodging is the best solution. We need to ensure they've been expended as he closes in physically, otherwise we'll be fighting off his feathers and fists at the same time.

He knows we can handle at least one of those, but not both, so I believe he's using this as a chance to set us on the backfoot and force away any momentum we can build. His eyes are everywhere now, so that means any he doesn't use to attack will be giving him extra angles of vision and permitting him to fill the arena with them will make many attacks harder to pull off. Well, also, the crone said his fighting style is aggressive/chase down. I think we've figured out that running away will just let him build too much offense. Which means he's actually the perfect opponent to our soft style.

>write-in
We should activate our Scarlet Healing Armor empowered with HIS blood, and hit him with Red Death Scythe while he's attacking.

Because his yang heavy fire aligned blood should both strengthen the basic properties of its healing, but more importantly its barrier abilities will be elevated with his alignments and strength- which are tremendous.
Maintaining it for multiple turns of combat like we did against Xiaosi (ice block monk) will provide us the opportunity to keep using drain attacks.

>>5315935
There's a possibility to use the Crown to great effectiveness against his eye feathers, but I don't know if we're capable of splitting our attentions that much while focusing on a barrier and dealing damage, which is why I didn't include it here. But if we do good it might be a great followup.

>>5315935
Do you think there's a danger of his blood having some property that would make using Scarlet Healing Armor a move that could be more beneficial to him than us? By the description it increases the bodies natural healing, and if it's made out of his blood rather than our own, could it help him heal?

>>5315944
I wouldn't believe so. As the healing effect is partitioned within a clinging barrier and refining blood into techniques (so far) has given us total control of all effects via Pure Blood Qi.

For example if we just coated ourselves in his blood itself, no extra Qi or barrier, that would likely have a suppressive effect on us given our nature, and no effect on him.

Simplifying the relationship, he would have to gain control of our Blood Qi itself, and then the Barrier technique to translate a beneficial effect from it. I thought of this initially, but If he could control his own blood to the degree that our Blood Qi within it is usable by him then the attack we just used should not have worked to the extent that he needed to cauterize the wound to stop the flow.

As the Barrier's healing encouragement is such a limited aura, I would also think If he is to gain any healing from it by coercive property he would need to grapple first and then stay grappled. That he's decided to stick to ranged and strikes makes that hard to see. He would also have to notice we're using his power to heal us, and it's not just another property or greater Blood Qi technique, and then act on that.

The Qi/Blood Qi/Blood relationship appears highly restrictive to intent, so even if he can, we can nuke the barrier's benefit by wrapping it around him and make it an enervating effect much like most of our other Blood Qi attacks. In which case our usage of it for defense here would only be the first stage of a deathly feint.

The closest potential benefits to Baoli I see are the simpler ones; the strength of his blood will not hurt him greatly itself, which is why I didn't suggest imbuing the attack itself with his blood or hitting him with it.

tl; the Healing Aura is conducive to Blood Qi Control restricted by healing intent whenever we've used it in action. If he has an ability to change that, he would need to adopt a different fighting style.
BUT he is a crafty old bastard, so we can be cautious by remaining out of grappling range as we have been so far.

>>5315896
>>5315921

Then I'll switch over my vote to your write-in >>5315935

>>5315978
I'll add a caveat that I'd only considered thanks to looking back at the ice monk fight.

With the essential factor that our Blood Qi is primarily Yang aligned for its lifeforce aspects, using a material perfectly suited to strengthening the Qi itself [Baoli's Fire/Yang Blood] is more like consuming a cultivation item to enhance an ability's basic properties temporarily. It'll run out. Yang alignments and therefore the extended energy of Fire is not alien to us, we have it in the form of Blood Qi's lifeforce, but we're inexperienced with wielding it in full techniques, which is always a very real risk to any technique being bolstered with an item.

Since the ultimate simplification is we're expending his blood to buff our shield, we still need to have the ability to control a much stronger shield.

>>5315980
After our show with the pure Yin energy orb, I'm confident in our ability to control spell constructs that are much stronger than normal, even if using the energy to bolster our techniques to such a level isn't something we've built a familiarity with.

>>5315983
We'd better! Once these pills wear off we'll need to switch to such a different strategy that most of the blood techniques we're using now likely won't aid at all, and because he'll be expecting them.

I mean geeze these DCs basically mean this was going to be an unwinnable fight if we hadn't pill scummed AND gotten above average luck. We have to kill him in the most seriously thorough ways we can imagine and execute.

>>5315896
>>5315935

>>5315896
Two ideas:
>Those are flying feathers. We have wind power. Trap the blades in a tornado using the crown of trapped winds and sands and throw it back at him. Also try to kick up some sand to throw it in his 1000 eyes to further irritate him.

or

>each of these feathers has an eye plucked from a foe, who died in agony and with a powerful grudge. Summon the vengeful spirits of his victims through their eyes and allow them to take control of their respective feathers.

>>5315896
>Create a Dying grudge shield! ! Quickly! (Reaction/ Magic trial. DC 65)
My first reflex is to just dodge, but it seems to me that that is exactly what he want.
Consider that we hit him it was because we attacked him out of his blind spot, striking him while he couldn't see us, and otherwise dodged. A great way to counter such an approach would be to scatter literal eyes everywhere, like he is now, so that he can keep track of us no matter where we are. There is no way he actually expects this to hit us, he is spinning his web to ensnare us with, and its probably best to keep up the pressure so he doesn't have the time to abuse his extended field of vision.
He might be able to control his feathers after having thrown them too, so we will have to keep track of them. Wouldn't be much of a stretch if he can place eyes on them.
Too early for the Blood Rush Torrent though, so Grudge shield should at least keep him on his toes.

>>5316275
>each of these feathers has an eye plucked from a foe, who died in agony and with a powerful grudge. Summon the vengeful spirits of his victims through their eyes and allow them to take control of their respective feathers.
I like this idea. I have no idea if its possible, but I like it.

>>5316286
it just feels like an enemy that has killed and tortured so many should be especially vulnerable to ghost/grudge fuckery. Maybe we can somehow channel his father-in-law, lol.