Mana 5 Chapter 22 (Patreon)

“How are you here? There shouldn’t have been another ascension for another seventy years.” Hendrick’s words made Quixi’s eyes light up in understanding.

Now they both recognized me. Quixi’s pretty face pressed into an ugly scowl.

“A lot has changed in our world. A sect’s mountain even fell.” I said.

There was a flicker of concern on Hendrick’s brow. “Where is my brother?”

“Your brother? I lost track of him, I’m afraid.” I stalled. Ming was still deep in her attempt to break through to the sixth rank and my task wasn’t to kill Hendrick or Quixi in this moment, but keep Ming safe.

“Where is he?” Veins popped out on Hendrick’s neck, and he tensed, ready to attack.

Knowing he wasn’t going to let it go, I charged in first, slashing at him and driving both him and Quixi back. I needed them away from Ming. “Rachel, protect Ming from the fight.” I called over my shoulder as they blocked my attacks. I smiled as I was able to force both of them backwards several steps.

Behind me, I heard a sharp snap. It sounded like the cultivator under Aurora had met their end. Their neck snapped. Sure enough, Aurora flew over Ming to block the other cultivator.

Quinn, Mei and Lumi appeared at my side, ready to fight as I moved the fight between Hendrick and me further away from Ming.

Wanting to catch him off guard, I smiled and stated simply, “Your brother is a dead coward.” I mocked him as I dodged an angry, over-extended attack.

I used the opportunity, encasing my fingers in void mana as I went to pierce his chest.

But right before I reached him, his own mana beast appeared to block me.

She was a vapid looking woman with proportions like someone had stretched her like a piece of taffy. Her dark hair crackled with electricity.

Despite looking partially deformed, I could tell she was still just as strong as any fifth rank beast.

“You aren’t the only one with mana beasts.” Another beast appeared at his side, evening out the fight into four on four.

The new beast was a man with rocky skin and spiked blue hair.

Both of his beasts were lightning elements; the air crackled around them and Hendrick.

I ignored Aurora’s fight behind me as I slammed into Hendrick, crossing blades as his bloodline flared to life on his forehead. In response, I activated the heavenly dragon bloodline.

Shock waves rippled out as we traded a dozen moves in the blink of an eye, breaking apart for only a moment before darting back in with explosive attacks.

Rachel stood before Ming, protecting her from the multiple battles occurring all around her.

My mana beasts and Hendrick’s were at a stalemate, and Quinn was fighting Quixi. Luckily, Aurora had hemmed in the other cultivator away from Ming.

For now, Ming was safe to push her way into the sixth rank.

Seeing everyone in their battles holding their own, I quickly focused my attention back on Hendrick.

His fighting style was similar to his little brother Leo’s; they both reflected the strengths of the lightning element, explosiveness and speed.

But I had to give him credit. Hendrick fought me with far more experience. He had called my faints and pressed me, nearly sinking his sword into my gut during our quick exchange.

We glared at each other over our swords before we began once again.

Sand exploded around us as we moved into the air at the same time. We met twenty feet from where we’d stood, swords clashing.

My raw power and Hendrick’s lightning exploded, sending sand everywhere, and turning it into flecks of glass. We evenly matched each other in power.

I dipped low and pushed Hendrick off my sword into the air, only for him to bolt back down like a lightning strike.

Hendrick’s face was filled with rage as I blocked another attack, my arms straining under the force of this blow. “Did you kill my brother?” He seethed.

I shoved him off of me. “Yes, and I did it with the blessing of the elders. He attacked me after I won a duel for the first rank in the sect.”

“He should have killed you the second he had control of the sect.” Hendrick’s brow furrowed.

“I dueled him the moment you and Quixi left the mortal world. You abandoned him to his death. After I won, I even saw your letter to him.” My smile only infuriated Hendrick more as he screamed into the air. Lightning surged down around him.

Hendrick was releasing enormous amounts of mana in his rage. Anyone in this red desert would see his lightning storm from miles away.

Dashing at him, I knew I needed to finish this quickly. Others were bound to be on their way. There was no way that this wouldn’t attract attention.

Thinking about how I could end this quickest, one answer came to mind. There was no one here to see my Pixiu bloodline. At least there wouldn’t be after I executed Hendrick and his group.

As I moved, I activated my Pixiu bloodline for the first time.

Everything came into a strange clarity as I attacked Hendrick. While I was moving, I could see how he would counter, how I could adjust to get ahead of his counter. Almost luck and fate given vision.

No wonder this bloodline stood above the rest.

Trusting in my new instincts, I countered based on how he’d move. I dipped my blade lower than he was expecting. My blade slid past his, nicking him along the ribs.

Hendrick’s face flickered with confusion. And he wasn’t alone. I knew my bloodline came from the God beast of luck, but I didn’t realize the potency it would have in this fight.

I attacked Hendrick again, but this time he was more cautious, dodging back free of my swing. Unfortunately for him, I saw that move coming as well. I took an extra step forward, turning my swing into a lunge.

With that, Hendrick’s confusion boiled over to full on bafflement. He knew enough to spot that I was changing my strikes midway through. And I was changing them to strikes that got around his defenses.

I was only limited by my physical body in my ability to act on what I was seeing. I did have limits on how quickly I could move.

“Another bloodline?” Hendrick asked, staring at me as if I was a freak of nature.

It wasn’t worth responding to him. As far as I was concerned, he was going to be dead after this fight. There was no reason to waste my breath on a dead man.

The battle between Hendrick and I swayed greatly in my favor, and I grew used to adjusting my attacks mid-swing. It was a chaotic and somewhat sloppy way of fighting, at least compared to the rigorous techniques I had learned from my father.

But I had to admit, it was highly effective. I was enjoying the extra boost of luck and ability to strike at my opponent's weaknesses. It sort of felt like I was cheating.

Five minutes into our fight, Hendrik was covered in minor cuts and his clothing had more holes than whole. I had wiped all the arrogance from his face.

Hendrick panted, looking to the sides and abandoning his fight with me to strike at Quinn, who was fighting Quixi.

I saw his move ahead, but my luck pushed me to go for Quixi instead of trying to block him.

For that brief moment, Quixi’s focus was still entirely on Quinn, and I was unoccupied.

Quinn successfully blocked Hendrick’s attack, only ending up with a slight scratch.

Quixi fumbled as my sword came down on her hilt, only nicking my blade. Then I turned a fraction before I buried my sword into her shoulder.

She dropped her sword while my other hand came around. White gauntlets formed over my hand as I punched five clawed fingers into her chest and erupted my palm with mana.

Quixi rocketed away, sliding into the sand as Hendrick wheeled on me, swinging with abandon.

I parried his attacks, making space between us and trapping him between Quinn and me.

At that moment, I looked over to Quixi, who was struggling to get up out of the sand. Blood poured from her shoulder.

Hendrick turned and spat. “Get up Quixi, I need you.”

Even if she got up, I knew I had dealt a devastating blow. She’d be greatly weakened.

This was my chance to press my advantage. I moved to attack Hendrick again as Quinn attacked his back, her hands wreathed in steel mana. She swiped down at him.

Hendrick’s blade blurred as he used his speed to his best ability. He was able to hold her off for a moment, but then I attacked. Quinn’s clawed hands tore into his back as I locked him in a sword stroke.

Hendrick’s leg gave out from all the wounds he had suffered, and he crumpled down to the ground.

Threat finally eliminated. I let myself take a breath and sense around us, finding that his reckless display of lightning had indeed painted a target on us.

I sensed two other groups approaching.

“Fuck,” I spat.

Hendrick chuckled around the blood welling up in his mouth. “I knew that lightning would get you killed. How many are coming?”

I scowled at Hendrick, and with the swing of my sword, I removed his head. As he died, his two mana beasts disappeared as well. It wasn’t worth talking to him. I had greater things to worry about now.

The others taken care of. Only the cultivator Aurora was keeping away from Ming remained, along with Quixi bleeding out in the sand as she failed to get back up. Aurora’s opponent was easy enough to finish off.

Once that was done, I had to face the new threat. The approaching two groups of cultivators were unknown, and I didn’t recognize the mana of my wives. That meant they were both potential enemies. And we couldn’t move Ming without risking ramifications.

Sure enough, as soon as the first group came into sight, I knew we were in trouble. Standing there proudly was Yi Long and half a dozen of his men. I should’ve known he wouldn’t be far behind Hendrick. He likely saw Hendrick’s lightning and came straight away.

Yi Long didn’t speak. Instead, he stared down at Hendrick’s body, which was laying at an odd angle with blood pooling around it.

Yi Long drew a large glaive from his spatial ring. “You’ll pay for that.”

His aura exploded with the peak strength of fifth rank immortal. His power was intensely domineering as it flooded over the area. Hendrick was nothing compared to Yi Long.

This was the strength of the man who ranked second among my generation.

Knowing I’d need everything I had, I didn’t hold back. I kept the Pixiu bloodline active and brought forth the heavenly dragon bloodline as well.

Yi Long’s eyes flickered as he felt my second bloodline activate. He narrowed his eyes as his legs tensed for just a moment before he appeared before me; the glaive leveled at my neck.

I barely had time to respond and get my sword in the way before I felt his blade. I likely wouldn’t have been successful at all if it hadn’t been for my Pixiu bloodline giving me the extra moment to respond.

Skidding several meters, I righted myself and readied for the battle.

But Yi Long’s attention flickered to Ming. “Why are you in such a rush?” He demanded at Ming who was still cultivating as he swung his glaive like an ax to chop Ming in half.

Luckily, Rachel was there and blocked Yi Long, but his blow was so heavy her knees buckled. She knelt before him in the sand as his glaive pressed down harder.

Anger surged through me as he attacked her. Moving, I was next to her in an instant, driving him back with the wild flurry of blows.

But Yi Long had come with his group. There were six others, and we were outnumbered as we fought to defend Ming.

Yi Long was relentless in trying to kill Ming, keeping me from being able to help any of the others fighting around me.

We could hold our own, but just barely. I could tell we were weakening just as Ming’s eyes cracked open. In that moment, the world around us changed. Power thrummed in the air. It was like someone had just hit the world’s biggest gong; you could feel the air vibrate before it boomed.

The surrounding area became as warm as a summer day as Ming thrust her hand forward and ejected the cultivators from the surrounding space. Most were blasted away, but Yi Long and I had managed to resist the push.

Seeing that Ming was back on her feet, I withdrew my mana beasts before they could sustain any more injuries.

“I’ve got you now, Yi Long.” Ming’s domain solidified in the world, and she appeared at his side. Her hand became a thrusting spear, and she shot it into his side.

Inside her domain, I felt a pressure on me, as if I were trying to move through water. I had no doubt he was feeling the same based on how slowly he reacted to her attack.

Blood spurted out Yi Long’s side as Ming pulled her blood-soaked hand out.

“Retreat,” Yi Long shouted, launching himself out of her domain and disappearing in a flash of lightning. His allies were right behind him, disappearing with a variety of techniques.

As soon as he was gone, Ming collapsed to her hands and knees, panting. “For a second, I thought he was going to be too cocky to run.”

Even if I wanted to give chase, I couldn’t leave Ming in the condition she was in. Ascending to the sixth rank had taken everything out of her, and she needed time to recover.

But we didn’t have time for that at the moment. The other group I had sensed was approaching from the other direction.

“Ming, I need you to stand up straight and give off the aura of a sixth rank cultivator.” I picked her up off the ground.

She gritted her teeth, but her dark eyes burned with fiery determination as her body flooded mana out into the world around her. The sand beneath us no longer had all the flecks of mana crystals, she’d completely consumed them in her growth to the sixth rank.

We needed to move and find some place for Ming to recover.

The other group was just entering eyesight, but I can’t tell who they were. Whoever they were, the second they sensed Ming’s cultivation, they turned tail and ran.

She collapsed back down to the ground after that display of her cultivation. “Are there any more?” She asked.

“Not at the moment, but Hendrick put on quite the display. If we don’t get out of here, I’m sure more will come.”

Ming’s brows pinched together. “Hendrick?”

“Yes, he came before Yi Long’s party. I’m sorry Ming, but he tried to attack you while you were cultivating. He had a deal with Yi Long and the Long family. He was killed during the fight that ensued.”

She cursed under her breath and spat on the ground. “He’s dead, but what about Quixi?” Ming pushed off the ground, and Rachel quickly helped her up. Ming spotted Quixi’s body. Pointing over, Ming got Rachel’s help to move to where Quixi lay.

I could see Quixi’s chest still rising and falling as she gave labored breaths and clutched at her stomach. “She fought with Hendrick.”

Quixi’s eyes were blurry with pain, but as we stood over her, her eyes cleared up as she saw Ming. “He made me do it. Hendrick was the one with the plan. Please save me.” She lifted the hand on her stomach and I saw my attack had torn her gut wide open.

Even after she lost, she was still a snake, trying to blame it all on her dead betrothed.

Ming shook her head and pulled the spear out of her spatial ring. “And you have made me do this.” Ming lifted the spear and slammed it into Quixi’s throat.

Ming grimaced while she killed her, and a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye as she twisted the spear and pulled it out. “Fuck, I knew something like this would happen eventually.”

Rachel patted Ming on the shoulder. “I’m glad this isn’t easy for you. It shows the kind of person you are. But you had no choice. They were traitors.”

“I know. A part of me knew that they would be the ones to betray me. But I couldn’t bring myself to kill them just because of the threat of betrayal. I’m sorry for any inconvenience they caused you two.” Ming bowed to both of us with Rachel’s help.

I waved it off. “They were the two I came to Blueheavens to kill. I’m glad you didn’t take matters into your own hands. You gave me the chance to fight them fairly.”

“What did they do to make you want them dead?” Ming asked.

“We should get moving. I’ll tell you on the way.” I drew in the bodies to my spatial ring before grabbing Ming’s other side. Between Rachel and me, we were able to hold her weight and moved our small group straight through the middle of the desert towards the monolith.

“Hendrick betrayed my sect back on the mortal world and sold our elders to the Su family as slaves.” I shook my head in disbelief as I said the words. It still seemed mind-boggling to me.

Ming gave a chuckle of self defeat. “Then you already had a sense of his character. I suppose it was probably easier to see this betrayal coming. I was curious why your wives seemed to absolutely loathe the two of them.”

“Yeah, Kat isn’t subtle about things like that.” I stated, causing Rachel to snort.

“So, what do we do now?” Rachel asked.

“The monolith is the key to the next step of the tomb. So my best guess is to continue in that direction. But we need to keep our guard up. So far, all three groups we met seemed to travel along the edge rather than straight through the center of this desert.”

It hadn’t escaped my notice that Hendrick, Yi Long, and the unknown group had all been walking along the edge of the chamber.

“It doesn’t matter.” Ming pushed off of Rachel and I, already regaining her strength. “We now have the strength of a six rank cultivator among us.” She grinned broadly.

But her smile faltered as there was a large boom further in the distance, one that sounded a lot like Ming’s own ascension to the sixth rank.

“And it would seem you aren’t alone.” I commented, looking over the red sand wondering who else had just reached the sixth ring. “Now that people are reaching the sixth ring, others like Yi Long will have to cultivate to breakthrough as well.”

“It’s only natural. As we cultivate, so does the rest of the world. A lead is only momentary as everyone else chases you to catch up. But we may as well use the lead we have while we have it and see what the monolith is all about.” Ming said.

She wrapped us in her domain and lifted us a foot off the sandy floor of the chamber. Her domain skipped on the sand at first as she figured it out, but it didn’t take long before we were hurtling towards the monolith across the sands.