novelraw Chapter 262 - 261 - Crippled
Chapter 262 - 261 - Crippled
Lind took 3 days to recover. Part of it was the mental strain the tournament had put him through but most of it was from the risky maneuver at the end of his fight with Cara. He had only tested pushing conjured Qi to low grade 4 in small amounts before.
He had risked a lot and damaged his saber hilt. Still, he had learned a great deal. He also was able to repair the hilt after 2 days of rest. His body's recovery rate was shocking even to him.
The other fights varied in quality but many agreed his and Cara's were at the top of quality if not in quantity. It had felt short but it seemed a whole morning had passed just for that fight. The clash of moments consumed far more time than he had realized.
Many of the battles became a game of cat and mouse as foes tried to trap or manipulate the open plains to their advantage. Lind grasped why it was on a plain at that moment. It made for a level playing field but offered resources to use in the fight.
Despite some not having earth, there was all but fire present in the soil. So aside from that weakness, most cultivators could put it to some kind of use. A golem had been created of earth and grass in one arena which was difficult to overcome but not impossible.
The opponent was able to wield light Qi to disrupt the controller of the golem. If they could not see it, and had no talent to compensate, the golem would be as blind as them. Lind approved of the defense but it still left a golem wailing with their giant limbs to defend its controller.
The golem master was experienced and did not panic but the shape of the arms changed to a hammer and the other a shield. The result was a wide area protected by the golem while the light Qi cultivator was frustrated by the effective moves of the golem.
The battle waged for a full day before both pulled back. There was nothing in the rules about fighting without stopping and many arenas had such breaks. Over half had already ended, but half kept going.
No one complained as many of the competitors were injured, exhausted, or plain in need of rest. There had been a few near deaths and there was no restriction to stop it but simple survival instinct kept people from crossing that line in personal battle.
The large-scale battle of the first round gave it all an ambiguous result in that no one could be expected to perfectly control all aspects of a large battle. The people who died were due to the speed of events more than anything.
Lind had confirmed that anyone falling into a fatal trap was teleported away before actually dying. Since that round, no one had died despite attempts to do so. Clear fatal attacks resulted in the realm spirit whisking them away.
Lind found the limits of the spirit odd, but perhaps it was simply that whoever created the realm made the rules follow certain limits. In other words, since the rounds before the quarter finals seemed meant to push cultivators more than kill them, it was meant to inspire the losers to get stronger.
The deaths in a large battle were a fact of life and nearly facing that death later would hammer it home. Lind did not like that thought as it meant the realm spirit chose to allow certain deaths per conditions built into the rules.
He had no way to find out as many had tried that very thing by interrogating the realm spirit but it ignored them. His pure luck with requests and grasping what power he had with it was severely limited.
While watching the rest of the quarter finals, he had tried engaging the realm spirit but it ignored him which made the rest of the crowd nearby relax. They had begun to worry that Lind Frey was somehow chosen by the tournament that time around.
Lind suddenly noticed one particular battle. It was the girl that looked similar to Bastion. The man, himself, was still mired in his own battle but victory seemed assured there. The girl, Cicily from what he had heard, was heavily wounded and clearly at a disadvantage but her opponent did not seem in any hurry to end the fight.
He had long black hair and his black robes looked all too familiar to Lind. He glanced over and saw Athena frowning deeply while looking at the same battle. Others also frowned but more cheered on the brutal display of power over a weaker opponent.
"What are the conditions of victory?" Lind suddenly asked a question and all jumped as a booming voice returned.
"Incapacitance of opponent, loss of all Qi, fatal strike unimpeded, and loss of ability to fight." Lind frowned deeply on that last answer. It was far too vague. The first 3 were clear and concise in that a cultivator had no options left but to be defeated, but the last one had a wide range of implications.
"Is there clarity for the last condition?" Lind hoped it would answer but there was only silence. His grave concern spread to his wives and Ethry began to rub against his cheek to comfort him as his worries were no doubt felt by her.
"What is wrong, Lind?" Annabelle could see he was seemingly contemplating something but he waved her off and simply pulled her close. He was locked on the battle where the pale skinned man was clearly toying with his foe now.
No one could hear what was said but fear and pleading was clear on the girl's face. Bastion's sect or clan were shouting in rage but all watched as the man used a spear to stab just above her navel area.
Her dantain, he destroyed her dantian!
Lind was not worried, he had long improved his Dantian Restoration elixir so he could help her without an issue, but then his dark green eyes narrowed as black flames spread across her body.
"NO!" A voice cried out from the crowd and Lind recognized that pain. He had felt it when he saw Little Fey essentially left for dead and barely clinging to life. He had challenged the Heavens to make the elixir to save her he could never replicate nor fully understood.
Light covered both as they left their arena.
"Winner of #66: Athan Lear." Lind noted that name for the future as he was welcomed back by a select number on his side. Athena was distinctly one that looked enraged but Lind simply put it aside as he moved quickly to the collapsed girl.
Her green hair was shoulder length and plastered to her due to sweat and blood. The damage to her stomach was not lethal at all as it had been cauterized by the vicious flame. Lind's Eyes revealed the extent of her damage.
Her dantian was a charred hole as her meridians had been seared from her body.
Crippled. She was permanently crippled. No pill or elixir could save her. There was nothing to repair. Fey at least had damaged cores and meridians to fix, but this girl was left with nothing.
She had made it to the Iron Tier and was tortured until her opponent was done with his fun.
Rage flared and suddenly all near Lind backed away in fear. He had uncapped his aura and the strength was clearly at the peak of Gold Tier! The aura was still Iron Tier, but the aura was a major Tier above!
"I know you are listening, you empty spirit. I know the purpose of this tournament. I know what awaits me at the Heaven Realm. Are we to be no better than them? Is this a lesson we need to burden the younger generation with? If you were created by any sane person the answer should be no." Lind looked up and all but his wives, Fey, and Ethry flinched. This Iron Tier looked like a god at that moment. An angry God.
"Speak." Shock flooded the crowd as the spirit was actually requesting him to continue.
"You know what I am but there is nothing in my power to save her. I want to save her but I am too weak. You are not. Use me." Now his wives reacted but strangely Ethry and Fey stopped them. The Heavenly Maiden Sect's elders stopped the Divine Sword Sect from responding as well.
Arrogance! It was pure arrogance to demand the almighty realm spirit to bow to the will of mere Iron Tier. Even a Sky Realm was an ant inside the realm here. How dare an Iron Tier believe they could make a spirit obey them!
"Incompatible. I am not allowed to break the rules. No rule was broken." Lind frowned and summoned an elixir. He had made several of them back then but consumed them all. He had worked to replicate it, but the feeling could not come back to him.
Thus, he had only made imitations.
"I was trained by Younger Twin. I challenged Heaven and won for my disciple. I was told I could never advance yet I have. Do not presume to tell me arbitrary rules of men can bind you. We are cultivators. We respect strength but we also defy Heaven and Earth to advance. I am not asking for the solution, I am asking to be an instrument for what I need." Silence greeted the litany but the silence expected was instead replaced by a flash of an older man appearing.
He had a long white beard but simple robes. The sigil on his right breast was very complicated as his bottomless eyes bored into Lind who did not shirk from it. The pressure and aura was beyond anything the crowd could handle.
"So, you are his disciple. I recognize the foundation in you. Your words are not wrong, but this place was created for the purpose of reaching an Inheritance. The life of a cultivator has this risk and it must be faced honestly. Is it fair? No, but our lives are never fair." Lind did not bow and instead stepped forward.
"Fine, being crippled is a possibility, but I know it is not an end if I do not allow it. I have saved crippled cultivators before. Heaven always leaves a way but right now, you are the way. I will pay the price, but allow me to do what I must or do you think I can ignore my Dao?" The skies suddenly rumbled.
The spirit looked up in awe as it was not something it did, but the actual Heavens. The boy spoke the truth! It was his Dao and it was a dangerous one.
"Very well. The battle is over, she is no concern of mine and there is no explicit rule, but the price will be indeed heavy. You will forfeit your right to an Inheritance." The spirit was cold but Lind nodded immediately. Many blanched at that. How could he give up that chance?!
"LIND FREY! Do you dishonor your slot with us so easily?" Elder Quin was angry but felt a tremor when the dark green eyes looked back at her.
"I honor my friendships deeply but my friends know I cannot allow such cruelty to pass me by. I swore to help, to protect, and to learn. I swore to follow my Dao and my Dao demands I save this girl." Lind looked so noble right then that Elder Quin felt her heart skip a beat.
"Mwuahaha! Save her? There is nothing to save in that husk! She is just a useless mortal forever afterward. Maybe she could make for a good romp once she is healed." A voice cut across the crowd as Athan looked on from his sect. Many did not like his words but found it hard to disprove them.
Lind Frey's words were nice to hear, but reality was harsh. Lind smiled darkly as he turned to the man. They stared at each other before Athan was forced to look away.
"I will deal with you later. As to what is possible or not, I will try and damn the price. I keep my word!" All the while the spirit was watching the Heavens before a smirk appeared and disappeared before any could notice.
"I am ready, are you?" The booming voice drew all back but Lind quickly summoned a few artifacts to give him any edge he could use but the spirit frowned at them. "I am all you will need, Lind Frey. This will hurt but you asked for it yourself. You have 1 day."
Before Lind could speak, his mind suddenly felt pressure and his dantian nearly exploded as something entered his body he had only a rough impression of after 2 masters using it. Immortal Qi!
Blood came from his eyes and nose but he waved off his wives. There was nothing to do but what he swore. Lind then maxed out his talents and began to do what all believed impossible.
He was going to restore the broken girl in front of him!