STNS: Chapter 467 (Patreon)

“This is preposterous! Why are we not doing anything against those rebels?!”

The sound of a fist slamming against a hard surface echoed around the room as a man who looked to be in his early twenties stood up and glared at Qiang Bao.

“I suggest you watch your tone, Elder Xi Feng,” Qiang Bao said.

Elder Xi Feng was a gaunt man with sharp, angular features and piercing gray eyes. His long, silver hair was always tied back tightly, accentuating his stern facial features. He wore elaborate hanfu robes dyed in the colors of the sun. They were the official robes of an elder of the Undying Sun Sect. Everyone except Qiang Bao wore them.

“My… apologies. I lost my head,” Elder Xi Feng sat back down.

“While he might have spoken out of line, he does have a point. How can we sit here while the rebellion is sitting right outside our doorstep like they own the country?” asked someone else.  He was a robust man with a clean-shaven head and vibrant tattoos resembling the sun’s rays along his arms. His fiery red beard and muscular build made him an intimidating sight. The golden hanfu he wore strained against his thick pectorals and shoulders.

This man was Elder Lian Huo. He had an explosive and passionate personality most of the time, but he was also highly loyal to the Undying Sun Sect. He was one of Qiang Bao’s first initiates. He used the powers of the sun to enhance his flame techniques, making him unrivaled in explosive and incendiary attacks. Some people called him the Pyro of the Undying Sun Sect.

“I have to agree with Elders Lian Huo and Xi Feng,” said another person. “Matters have only gotten worse since Mei Xilan Sui arrived. The rebel army has swelled in size ever since she took over. They might not be very strong individually, but as more and more people flock to join her, we will find ourselves losing support among the people.”

Maintaining a youthful visage, the man who had spoken was Shui Ming, a young looking man with striking blue eyes and long white hair that gave him a sage-like aura. He appeared quite young, with not a trace of wrinkles on his baby face. Despite that, he moved with the grace and wisdom of someone much older than his appearance suggested.

Qiang Bao and his seven elders were sitting around a table with elaborate engravings carved upon its surface. Hidden behind sturdy glass polished to a shine, the engravings showed the first disciple of the sun, a man bowing in worship to the sun, which granted him his blessing. It was the story of how the sect’s cultivation method came into being.

“I understand where you’re all coming from. However, have you considered that we are at a disadvantage?” asked Qiang Bao.

“What do you mean?”

He looked at the elder who had spoken. Lei Gong was imposing and tall, the tallest among them, with stark white hair and eyes that sparked like lightning. His hair was surprisingly spiky. It looked like he had been shocked by a lightning bolt and it caused his hair to permanently stand on end.

“I mean they are stronger than us,” Qiang Bao explained. “All of you are experts at the Human Limit Realm, except for you, Elder Xi Feng. You have reached the Deva Realm. Your strength is unrivaled among many. Few reach these heights. Unfortunately, Mei Xilan Sui and her companions have already achieved even greater heights.”

His words caused a stir among them.

“Do you mean to tell me that little princess and her companions are at the Seeker Realm?” asked Elder Tu Yan. The man’s skin was rough, but he had a solid build. He was not one for talking much. When he did speak, it was with a quiet solitude.

Qiang Bao shook his head. “Mei Xilan Sui is only at the Deva Realm, as is her companion, Jian Wu and Zhou Lihua. However, with them is Hou Jingshu and Huo Shuchang. They are both at the Seeker Realm.”

This knowledge caused an even greater stir among his elders. Several began to look pale, as though the blood was being drained from their faces. He didn’t blame them.

“Why have you not said anything about this until now?” demanded the last among his elders. Elder Jin Sheng maintained the appearance of a distinguished gentleman in his early thirties, with sleek, golden hair and eyes that glinted like polished metal. He was an ambitious man. Qiang Bao didn’t really trust him, but he had proven useful in the past.

“Because there is no need to fret. They might be strong, but I have a plan to deal with them,” said Qiang Bao.

“Don’t tell me you plan to use Luminous Eclipse Seal,” said Elder Xi Feng.

“I do,” Qiang Bao said.

“I do not believe that is wise,” Elder Lei Gong said. “The Luminous Eclipse Seal is our trump card for when we are backed into a corner. Using it for one little girl and her companions seems excessive.”

Qiang Bao sighed, then gave them all a stern look. “One little girl who is at the Deva Realm and her companions who are also all at either the Deva Realm or the Seeker Realm. Do not underestimate them just because of their age. Mei Xilan Sui is the greatest threat we have ever faced. If we do not use everything at our disposal, we will lose.”

Silence met his words. They understood as well as he did the direness of their situation. It might not have seemed like it right now because nothing had happened, but there was a reason for that. Qiang Bao refused to go out and fight against a force that was superior to his own.

“What about that… pet of yours. Will he also take part in this battle.”

Qiang Bao almost grimaced at what Elder Tu Yan called Luan Desheng, but he kept it from his face and nodded. “He plans to take part in the fight once I activate Luminous Eclipse Seal.”

“At least he knows how to act when the situation calls for it,” muttered Elder Xi Feng.

Elder Lian Huo nodded. “I do not like relying on him, but he is strong. We should be fine if he acts.”

The meeting was soon brought to an end. As the elders began filing out to prepare for the coming confrontation, Qiang Bao leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. All this trouble would end once Mei Xilan Sui was dead. He just needed to hold out until then.

***

Much had changed in the two months since Wu Jian returned from the Southern Tang Dynasty. Zhou Lihua had used all of the ingredients brought back to refine pills for their army, and they had been used to great effect. Several members of their army had reached the Asura Realm, though most were stuck at the Anima Realm. No knew soldiers had reached the Hunger Realm, but that was natural. It was impossible to reach the Hunger Realm if you didn’t break through and activate your dantian when you turned sixteen. While most of their soldiers were not cultivators, they had done all they could to train up the cultivators they did have.

Wu Jian, Hou Jingshu, and Huo Shuchang had been placed in charge of training the cultivators.

Wu Jian had never trained anyone before. He had spent most of his life simply trying to train himself. After his family was murdered, he spent his time wandering from one place to another, training to grow stronger. He didn’t really know how to train others. That was why he used the only method he could think of.

Beating his students until they got better.

His approach to training those under him was a reflection of his own experiences from his personal journey. Since he had spent so much of his young life training alone and learning through personal challenges and battles, he naturally gravitated toward this method as a way to teach others.

He called this training approach--Learning Through Adversity.

The way Wu Jian had always grown stronger was by overcoming obstacles greater than himself. When he was a child, that obstacle had been Wu Yong, Elder Wu Wei, and the Ming and Juichi Families. After he began his journey of revenge, he gained strength by fighting against cultivators at a higher cultivation realm than him. By pushing his soldiers to their limits in combat, he expected them to learn resilience, adaptability, and to uncover their latent potential just like he did.

Unfortunately, his expectations were not met.

“None of my students seem to be getting any stronger,” Wu Jian complained to Hou Jingshu one night.

They were lying in bed, fully clothed this time. While Hou Jingshu had a high libido, that didn’t mean they always had sex, and Youmei was with them, so Wu Jian didn’t want to set a bad example. The young panther magical beast was playing with a toy called a Zhuīhuāqiú. It was a spinning top that adults used to demonstrate and teach the principles of physicals, specifically rotational motion and balance. She seemed to be having trouble with it.

“That sounds like a problem,” Hou Jingshu said. “Do you mean their cultivation isn’t growing, or they are not getting better at fighting?”

“They’re not getting better at fighting,” Wu Jian muttered. “I’ve been trying to drill good fighting instincts into them, but they seem to be entirely incapable of learning what I teach.”

Hou Jingshu was lying with her head on Wu Jian’s chest. He ran a hand up and down her arm, enjoying the warmth of her soft body against his. It helped calm him down. Her presence and scent pervaded him, and the way her long hair tickled his collarbone felt nice.

“How do you teach them?”

“I beat them until they get better.”

“…Jian.”

“I-I don’t know any other method of teaching!”

Wu Jian had to look away when Hou Jingshu raised her head to give him a deadpan stare. This was the only way he knew how to teach. This was how he had learned himself. He couldn’t teach his techniques to others. They wouldn’t be able to learn them anyway, so he decided to teach them how to fight by fighting them over and over to make them learn.

“Well… it’s not like I’m much better,” Hou Jingshu confessed. “I’ve been having a hard time too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She nodded against his chest. “At first, it was because they underestimated me. Some of my soldiers kept saying they couldn’t learn from me because I was a girl. I can’t tell you the number of times I had to beat the snot out of them just to make them listen to me.”

“You sound worse than me--ouch! Don’t pinch me for that!”

Hou Jingshu had snuck her hand underneath his shirt and pinched his side. She didn’t hold back either. He was surprised her pinch hadn’t broken through his skin. She let his skin go and sighed as she began rubbing his chest through his shirt.

“Anyway, they began listening to me after a while, but now that they actually listen to what I have to say, I realize that I’m not sure how to teach them. I can’t teach them my fighting style since it relies on my cultivation method. That’s why I’ve been doing my best to teach them the forms of Wing Chun. That seems to work.”

Wing Chun was a concept-based martial art and form of self-defense that utilized both striking and sticking, or controlling, while specializing in close-range combat. It was an exceedingly popular martial and was the main form of martial art taught to the Shang Kingdom’s army.

According to legend, it was created by Ng Mui, a cultivator who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation many thousands of years ago and passed this martial arts down. She was a legendary figure who created this style because of a traumatizing event in her past. Nobody knew if that was true. However, the style had grown in popularity recently, especially in the Shang Kingdom. It was a very practical style that could be learned in a short period of time and could be practiced by people of all shapes, sizes, and degrees of athletic ability.

“Unfortunately, I can’t teach them a martial art since I don’t have a style of my own,” Wu Jian muttered.

Wu Jian’s style was formless. He had no real hand-to-hand combat style to speak of, and instead relied on his brute strength, spatial manipulation, and greatsword to defeat his problems. He wasn’t even all that good at using a greatsword. His idea of a style was simply to swing with all his strength. The only thing he had was the techniques that his master had taught him.

“Why not start from the basics?” suggested Hou Jingshu.

“The basics, huh…”

“Yeah. Do you remember back when we were young. Before we began learning combat, we strengthened our bodies. Maybe you should focus on increasing their physical prowess.”

“That… could work,” Wu Jian mumbled.

That was how they had trained before they became cultivators, back when they were at the Hunger Realm, so he had dismissed that as a possible training method. However, most people didn’t train like they had. Perhaps that would help them. If nothing else, it would increase their strength, and that was never a bad thing.

“I guess I’ll try that. Thanks, Jingshu.”

The next day, Wu Jian would begin trying this new method and meet with moderate success. Unfortunately, he eventually learned that Shuchang had been doing a much better job training his subordinates, which would result in Wu Jian coming back to Hou Jingshu for comfort.