Chapter XI: Karmic Tribulation

The land echoed with the cries of battle, clashing of weapons and armor. My green robe Legionaries demolished my enemies as the Lord of the opposing force stood next to a familiar-looking boy with a bewildered expression.

"Shane!" I roared. I've read enough novels during my past life to know that this entire situation stunk of a protagonist and his quest for revenge.

"Y-yes..." he answered.

"I must be hallucinating because I see a man that you told me that you had killed," I spoke with unfiltered frustration.

A couple of years back, when Ace Zenith stopped coming around, I asked Shane to find the boy when he confessed that he had his love rival killed. I instantly forbade him from pursuing Little Wu and put the matter to bed as Ace Zenith was already dead. However, now I see the boy as clear as day with a cultivation at the first stage of the Houtian Realm.

"We did! Orym, I swear my guards gave me a Martial Heart Oath that that boy fell into a gorge." Shane explained.

"Haiz! How fucking cliché! Falling into a gorge doesn't mean death! This battle is your fault, and I will have my pound of flesh later." I growled as I summoned a Javelin from my interspatial ring.

Meanwhile, Shane was cursing the guards in his head. If the idiots weren't dead already, Shane planned to give them a fate worse than death.

Woosh! Shunk! Shunk! Boom!

I leaped into the air then hurled my javelin. I watched as it ripped through the ranks of the Primrose Family. When I touched the ground, I sped off in a blur. Shane followed close behind with his fans as a short sword appeared in my hand. Together we slaughtered guards and subordinates of the Primrose family.

Closing in on the gate, my short sword electrified, and Shane's fans emitted a cyan mist.

'Thunderbirds' Talon!" I muttered as I bisected a peak stage body refinement guard then hurled my short sword at my enemy's gates. Stomping my right foot to the earth, I twisted to my left as Shane skimmed by me. He skipped forward and landed as his arms swing up, stopping parallel to the battlefield, striking a warrior pose.

Snap! He flicked his fans shut, finishing his motion.

Boom!

The gates exploded as two wind conjured scythes tore through the earth from Shane's Earth-Grade Fans I had given him for his birthday the year before. The Woodland Legion rushed into the inner courtyard of the Primrose Family as Shane and I led the charge.

When we entered, we found the man that we were looking for on his knees. Behind him was a woman with white hair and intense ocean blue eyes. Her figure was heart-stopping. Her curves were displayed for all to see. Unfortunately, her attire left very little to the imagination.

Behind the young woman was a stocky man with a chest long beard, a glaring Ace Zenith, and Situ Qing.

I stopped the Legion as Situ Qing crossed the distance in a flash. Ace Zenith tried to reach out and grab her but was stopped by Lord Primrose, the long-bearded burly man. Throwing her arms around me, successfully executing her flying hug, Shane audibly scuffed.

"I helped too, ya know?" He muttered.

"Yes, you did. Thank you, Shane." Situ Qing sang.

"Yeah, Yeah, yeah, let's end these bastards and get out of here." Killing intent rolled from Shane's person like a dense fog.

It had been five months since I had officially met Situ Qing. Situ Qing had made many journeys to the Ironwood Clan often, then to the Vamoria Clan. Surprisingly, Situ Qing, Shane, and I became a trio. When Shane was stuck with responsibilities, Situ Qing spent most of her time in my courtyard, cultivating the connection she was eager to form.

But Situ Qing was never over the top and moved almost as quietly as I did. However, this time, the Young Master of the Primrose family managed to intercept her on the road. When he discovered who it was, instead of letting her go, he proceeded to have her guards killed and kidnapped Situ Qing to turn her into a living cauldron to support his cultivation.

I originally thought it was a coincidence until I saw that little bastard Ace Zenith. It was an open secret that the Primrose Family were dual cultivators that kidnapped, raped, pillaged, and assassinated for money. But they were backed by a sect of their own, so the Dark Water Kingdom allowed them to do as they pleased. Throw Ace Zenith into the mix, and their blade was suddenly aimed at a mutual friend of both the Ironwood and Vamoria Clan.

"Qing Qing, are you alright?" I asked as she hugged me.

She lightly hummed as she continued to cling to him. I then parted from her and handed her over to Hu Yin.

"Are you her man?" The young woman spoke.

"Nope...She's a good friend. " I replied with little expression.

The woman smirked at me. "Either way, the Primrose family apologizes for my stupid brother's actions. To keep the peace, you can have his head."

I could hear the arrogance in her voice. This made him angry. She believed herself untouchable because of the Sect she was connected to. But the gamble was, how much did the main clan really care about this branch family? I gave the woman a firm nod as she continued to say, "But we are prepared to offer--"

Pah! Shplat!

The Young Master of the Primrose family lost his head the moment my arrow touched it. The blood, brain matter, and skull fragments splattered across the Family Head, Young Miss, and Ace Zenith as they looked at me in a daze.

"Boulder bursting shot. Such a messy technique..." I spoke while putting away my bow just as fast as I summoned it. "What? You said I could have his head." I spoke innocently, and the legionnaires snickered behind me.

"Y-you...You kill my brother!" The Young Miss shouted.

"With one shot... How is he so fast?" Ace mumbled to himself. "But he's only a first stage--"

Before Ace could finish his ramblings, the Family Head launched at me. Hu Yin quickly moved and met the man's palm with a fist.

As the two parted, Lord Primrose massaged his arm in fright.

"You think you're the only peak Martial Foundation Expert. You would have lived like a king, but now you're making trouble for our General and his family in 'their' territory." Hu Yin growled.

To repay her for the injuries I caused, I had my father aid her cultivation a little more than the rest of the legionnaires. In a few months, the woman had advanced to the peak of the Martial Foundation with a rare perk seldom found in the Mortal World.

"You...You have a physique?!" Lord Primrose looked at Hu Yin with terrified eyes.

"My Master looks after me well, and I do my duty as his sword," She replied with pride, and the Woodland Legion roared in agreement.

The Martial Foundation consisted of three stages, Early, Middle, and Late. However, It was the realm that cultivators connected their meridians. If they have a bloodline, this was the time it would be awakened. Then a physique would be established. Unfortunately, though, most humans like Hu Yin didn't have a bloodline. So they would have to use special techniques to acquire a physique. Naturally, those techniques are extremely rare amongst humans without a deep background, even more so for commoners of the Mortal World.

"Lord Primrose, I assure you that my White Tiger Wild Physique will stomp your YinYang body to rubble. It's made for fucking, creating Yin Cauldrons, stimulating Essence cultivation. But, I'm hard-wired for battle, so invite my Young Master in to talk terms of surrender or die! Either way, this territory belongs to Vamoria Clan, and your days of decadence are over. How it ends is up to you!" Hu Yin spoke her final words before she returned to her position behind me.

Lord Primrose had thought about the situation. His eyes moved to the corner of his sockets, and something idiotic happened.

Woosh!

The Houtian leveled Ace Zenith appeared in front of me. Pah!

Guh!

The taste of warm iron filled my mouth as I coughed up blood. The motherfucker should have killed me. Instead, a moment later, I phased as the wind rustled through the inner courtyard. Ace's eyes widen with shock.

"This isn't right. You're supposed to be trash until the war starts," he uttered.

I couldn't help but frown. I had to kill him. I don't why, but it felt like he knew the future or has lived the future. Either way, I needed him dead because his existence made me nervous.

Suddenly an old man appeared, and the head of Lord Primrose rolled, then his body hit the ground, painting the stones red.

Ace's world was collapsing around as the old man kneeled in respect before me. Thankfully he knew how to recognize a hidden power and pay homage. It made my task a lot easier.

Swish!

Riding the wind of the Dancing Pixie movement technique, I appeared near Ace, and we engaged in an exchange of fists.

Ten, twenty, forty, one hundred exchanges in moments as we worked hard to kill each other. To everyone, it looked like I was climbing levels to face my enemies. But the truth was a lot more sinister. Ace had eaten my mother's pills to cultivate, damaging his foundation.

Before Ace sought out the Primrose Family, he raised his cultivation by competing in tournaments. I had no idea at the time, but I would later find out that Ace Zenith was the boy Shane had tried to recruit to his clan a few years back. The same boy I told him not to worry about because the pills that Ace won were tainted.

"Y-You! You hid your strength this whole time?!" Ace exclaimed.

"I never hid a thing," I replied as I threw my forearm up to block an ax kick the twisted midair to deliver a kick to his ribs before falling back to the ground.

"Early Stage body refiners can't use elements!" He shouted in anger as his were red like a demon.

"They can if their comprehension is deep enough."

"You can comprehend the elemental concepts?!"

"No, I can comprehend the essence of the Martial Skill. The element is a by-product. Marrow chilling palm!" I slipped his strike and landed a palm strike in the same place where I landed my kick only a few moments ago.

Ace seized up as he fought off the penetrating cold Qi. By this time, I kept a calm face, but I was tired and apprehensive. Ace was right. I couldn't use elements. Performing those techniques at that level required me to pull qi into my body and use it according to the martial skill rather than strengthening my body. It was crude and tiresome because my meridians weren't open yet. But ultimately, it was effective for a short time.

"Who are you?" I finally asked.

Ace frowned at me. "I'm your death. Kill me today, kill me tomorrow. It doesn't matter which because I'll be back. The day the bastard chased me into the gorge, I was fated to be your eternal shadow."

'No,' I thought, then I did something shameless as I didn't have the confidence to move and execute a killing blow. Weak foundation or not, If I persisted, Ace Zenith would have killed me. And I refused to run.

"Fei Rong! Kill him!" I hissed.

Ace didn't have a chance to react as the spear burst through his chest. I then moved and did something that would haunt me for centuries.

Two fingers coated with my soul forced punctured Ace's skull. Then, with a simple hook motion, I snatched his soul before his light went out. I could feel my soul force holding on to his as it fought to escape, but I refused to let it go. My soul force wrapped around his and pulled him in.

After moments of tussling, I pulled him into my dense sea of consciousness and drowned him. Ace's body went limp, and Fei Rong kicked him off of her spear.

Four more Primrose elders then appeared and followed the old man's lead as they noticed Fei Rong's cultivation at the peak of the Houtian Realm. But, of course, she was stronger than that and only showed what she wanted them to see. Each of the elders looked to the side, waiting for the Young Miss of the Primrose family to submit or relinquish her life.

Thud!

Miss Primrose fell to her knees and looked at me with distant eyes and a face still wet with her brother's blood. "The Primrose family welcomes Young Master Vamoria." Her voice was low and lacked life.

"Hu Yin, Take Situ Qing back to the clan. Everyone else! Secure the area!"

Boom!

The sky rumbled, and dark clouds converged above the Primrose Family. Every survival instinct I had, flared up. Naturally, I fled!

Using Dancing pixie, I ran as fast as I could, but the exchange with Ace had me dead to rights. The sky crashed, and a bolt of lightning came for me, striking my footprint, missing me by half of a hair. Looking into death's eyes, I did what any young master would do after the fucked up.

"Momma! Daddy!" I shouted at the top of my lounges. "They're trying to kill me!"

As another bolt descended from the heavens, it struck my calf, and I was electrified, tumbling to the ground. Following the circulation of the Nature Sutra, I used what every Nature Qi I had to keep me from slipping into the void. Lightning wrecked my body as it did what I trained it to do --absorb energy.

The sky cracked again, and another bolt descended, looking to finish me when it hit a barrier. The heavens became angry when my parents arrived and intervened, but they didn't waver as they took on the Karmic Tribulation sent to punish me for crudely devouring Ace Zenith's soul.

"Little Punk! What the hell did you do?!" My father shouted as he maintained the barrier.

When I didn't answer, he looked back to see me fighting for my life.

"Mina!" My father shouted.

My mother blipped behind and took a deep breath when a sudden sense of Deja Vu hit. She placed her hand on my back and began to take the Karmic Tribulation lightning into herself. Unfortunately, her siphon didn't last half a breath when blood started to boil, and the dragon's roar emitted from my body, hurling her towards the barrier wall.

Unlike the night I condensed my meridians, my mother was prepared. She quickly stabilized herself and watched in awe as my body soaked up the lightning Qi as if it was another pill to aid my Qi Fermentation Technique. The tribulation lasted for another hour as I laid on the ground smoten, body bleeding, with a Lichtenberg scar stretching from my right calf, up to my leg, onto the right side of my torso.