Just Who Are You (3)

Lady Mai sighed coldly as she looked back at her dwindled alliance disciples," We proceed forward. Follow the deadly air," she said and all the disciples turned to Ikan De in question. Their actions angered Lady Mai greatly. What did they mean by this action? They turn to him for guidance when she gives an order? This had happened far too long.

"Merge Your shields," Ikan De ordered, "We prioritize the Ethereal stones. We will circle the tomb clockwise," he ordered and the disciples obeyed.

"You go against me?" Lady Mai asked in anger.

"You are short-sighted as always, costing us the lives of some of our disciples. If Lady Mai wishes to die, let her do it herself. We will not follow you," Ikan De said and merged his shield with the others.

"You dare disobey me?" Lady Mai asked coldly.

"Yes. You are not yet heir. We are wasting time here. Will you fight through the wards on your own or will you merge your shield?" he asked and she paused. Anger pulsed through her veins. This orphan dared to instigate the disciples against her?

"We are leaving. Choose. We have moved under your command and we no longer wish to. You come under mine or you travel alone. Choose," Ikan De asked. Lady Mia glanced at the others and they looked away coldly. Their wretched state, covered in dirt and blood is her doing. Her recklessness will kill them all soon. Whatever the consequence when they return, they will bear it. Right now, they had to survive.

Lady Mai knew there was no way she was going to move on her own. Even if other powers may welcome her for her mother's face, she will be greatly disadvantaged there as supposed here. She gritted her teeth and merged her shield. But before they could move, the entire illusion created by the warding disappeared. Ahead, the tomb was gone.

"What? Another warding?" someone asked.

"One should not be too full of themselves," Lady Mai snorted as though vindicated.

"This is no warding," Ikan De said, "Look around," the disciples frowned at the sight before them. They could see other cultivators from other powers. They were just as clueless as they were.

"The tomb is really gone?" someone said and they looked towards where the massive stone shack last stood.

"Who is that?"

"Someone is inside the swirl,"

The dust settled allowing them to see the form of Ed at the centre. Just then, cultivators swept past them quickly.

"They wish to take him, step back," Ikan De said and they rushed back quickly. Ku Nam and the Ku clansmen appeared beside them the next second.

"It's them," Ikan De said.

"Those who put down those wards," Ku Nam answered and Ikan De glanced at him.

"Who?" Lady Mai asked.

"Don't tell me he has taken all that is inside," someone said.

"You were right. He had a great chance," Ikan De said to Ku Nam.

"Good to see the Phoenix alliance has come under your care. You have good eyes," Ku Nam said and Lady Mai paused and stared at the two of them. She was quite livid in anger. He was looking down on her. The two of them seem to have come to some kind of understanding.

"Are we just going to stand and watch as they take him away? We have an equal right to whatever he got from the tomb," she said and Ku Nam ignored her words. As they watched Nti Anem arrived between the approaching cultivators and Ed. He placed a barrier between the cultivators and himself and another between Ed and himself. As the barrier lit up in a transparent blue hue, towering into the sky, Ku Nam stared at Nti Anem's flicking wrist.

"Energy Manipulation, quite the sight to see it in action," Ikan De said. They watched as Nti Anem turned and concentrated on the barrier between himself and Ed.

"What is he doing?" Lady Mai asked.

"The heavens are about to descend," Ku Nam signalled for them to look up at the darkening sky. Nine figures loomed over Ed from the heavens.

"He is breaking through," Ikan De said.

"And the heavens have come fully armed. The nine guards have come just for him. What is he?" Ku Nam asked as the nine figures raised their swords and struck; lightning descended upon Ed.

"Retreat!" Ku Nam shouted as they all retreated in a hurry. Ikan De grabbed Lady Mai and retreated in haste, his eyes never leaving the scene ahead as lightning struck Ed's seated form.

Nti Anem muttered a spell insistently as the lightning struck. When the light receded, Ed's seated form still remained, but his clothes burnt to ash.

The second lightning descended, then the third and forth, before the heavens seemed to give up and the figures started to recede. Before they could leave, Nti Anem activated the spell and blue ropes tore through the ground, binding Ed to the ground and springing for the nine figures above, latching onto their arms and spreading out like a web, binding them to the scene, keeping their insisting lightning descending without stop.

To this, many gasped.

"Is he really on his side?"

"Binding tribulation lightning to the world,"

"Madness,"

Ku Nam stared at both Ed and Nti Anem's figures and sighed, "They are really out of this world,"

"Is this worth admiring? He might kill him," Lady Mai said.

"To be able to hold back tribulation lightning is worth praise and stand the insistent descent of it is even worthier," Ikan De said.

"The tribulation lightning came in full force, even the nine guards came for him; something only heard of in myths. It was almost as though they knew it was him. They have done this before. They have challenged heaven before. It has got to be," Ku Nam said.

"At the time rumours surfaced that his tribulation lighting almost killed Patriarch Nse, many did not take it to heart. There is nothing like seeing it yourself," Ikan De said.

"He probably uses the tribulation lighting for his cultivation. There is no other reason why the energy manipulator would do this," someone else said.

"Still, we have been so concentrated on Patriarch Nse's disciple; we have ignored the energy manipulator. If not for that shield we would all be dead right now. As much as one should be thankful I think it had nothing to do with saving our lives. They do not want to be interrupted," Ikan De said.

"Those in front are soul realization masters. Yet they cannot break that shield. Looking at the outcome of the tribulation, it is a good thing they cannot. Holding those shields up and holding the nine guards down, we really ignored him. Is this why energy manipulation was so revered long ago?" Ku Nam said.

Nti Anem felt Ed's growing aura still and released his spell. The nine guards retreated quickly back into the sky and the sky cleared again. He turned his attention to Ed in the distance as he still sat eyes closed.

"Who are you?" he heard those behind ask but kept his back to them and his eyes trained on Ed's naked form.

"Break the barrier since they refused to answer," another said and brandished his sword.

"If the lightning could not penetrate it to kill us standing too close, your power is useless," another said.

"Energy manipulation; one should thread carefully with these two,"

"Have you gone soft because of a display? No matter what, they must answer to us,"

Nti Anem ignored those talking behind and walked through the shield between himself and Ed till he stood before him. He waited and waited in silence, till Ed opened his eyes.