Chapter 41: Bones of an Ascetic

Feng Biao sat astonished. His plan had backfired.

'I only meant for him to get mad, not suicidal!'

Feng Biao thought that if the Black Oni drank a lot in one turn then he could one-up him by just a second in his own. Forcing the Black Oni to be on the back foot. Constantly having to one-up Feng Biao who had drunk less than him in total.

'I thought I was going to have to try and trick him to drink first. I was relieved when he did it on his own, but this...'

"Friend," Shuten-Douji said looking towards Feng Biao, "that one has made a considerable sacrifice. It's unfair for me to let you disrespect that. Drink, now."

Feng Biao picked up the gourd. Looking towards the Black Oni its skin now had a slight tinge of yellow, but its eyes didn't resemble the cloudy nature of the Yellow Oni surrounding them. Fierce determination burned through its pupils.

'This might be it'

Feng Biao began to ingest the liquor in the gourd.

10 seconds later

It began to burn.

20 seconds later

It began to hurt

30 seconds later

He was shaking. His body screamed at him to stop drinking. The pain was immense, a feeling like heartburn that felt as intense as lava was building up in his chest.

40 seconds later

Feng Biao began to fade out of consciousness. Not because of the pain, but because the liquor was eating at his mind.

Perhaps in an attempt at defending itself, his brain began to shut down.

50 seconds later

Feng Biao saw a light. A shining light in his mind. A wonderful feeling began to overtake him.

Very few Marked had ever ingested the liquor Feng Biao was drinking. It was a well-known poison. Even if you were strong enough to resist the effects of the pain nobody could resist the mental deterioration.

Feng Biao was not immune either. Not to the pain, not to the feeling of his mind breaking.

60 seconds later

But-

[Indra's Indulgence]: "Effect: You have gained a tolerance for any drink that causes you to lose your senses."

Feng Biao did have a tolerance for it.

65 seconds later

A tolerance that allowed him to drink far beyond what any others had. A tolerance that reduced the mind-wiping effects of the liquor.

66 seconds later

Down to just getting drunk. A type of mental deterioration for sure, but not a permanent one.

"You can put it down, you've won," Shuten-Douji said.

In his drunken stupor, Feng Biao didn't question if Shuten-Douji was lying and placed the gourd down.

The Black Oni grabbed the gourd and immediately began to drink from it, but just 30 seconds in it had to put it down. Its skin was turning a darker shade of yellow. If it continued any longer it would become a Yellow Oni.

If the Marked was able to surpass it once again then what? As a Yellow Oni, the Marked would be stronger than it. Meaning it would have sacrificed its existence for nothing, and the Marked who insulted its ruler would get away.

But if it stopped here, it would still be stronger than the Marked. In an hour it could simply find and kill him. And it would make sure it did so in a way that made the Marked suffer.

The Black Oni looked towards Shuten-Douji who wasn't looking in its direction at all. Its ruler's eyes were focused on a sleeping Feng Biao.

The liquor Shuten-Douji drank had a self-explanatory name. Dementia Sake, because the Marked who drank large amounts of it developed permanent mental impairments. Shuten-Douji was not immune to this either.

When his Marble was left without a Reset for long enough he would grow increasingly unstable. With this in mind, no one saw any benefit in consuming the liquor.

Feng Biao was also not immune to this. If he consumed the liquor without end he too would lose his mind. The poison in it would not leave the body after consumption, his body could not process it out.

What nobody had realized was that mixed in with the liquor, inside the "poison" was actually the essence of Pure Divinity. Developed for Shuten-Douji to overcome his body's innate resistance to any normal poison. His body would accept the poison because it desperately craved Pure Divinity.

Feng Biao was also in need of Pure Divinity. It was the sole requirement needed for him to become a Divine Mortal.

Rank Up Quest: Gather Pure Divinity (100%)

And now he was in the process of becoming one. His Contract shined as new text was added.

Divine Active: [Vajra (Dadhichi)] (Grade C) - Divine Armament.

"One day while Indra was particularly stupid he mistakenly killed two mortals by accident. This angered their father so much he swore vengeance at all cost. Indra laughed it off and continued partying, but awoke one day to find Vritra had returned.

The man had kept true to his word. Reawakening the sleeping dragon once thought dead. Indra was no match and quickly lost the fight. In the end, the Trimurti saved him and assisted in the fight against Vritra. For the final blow, Brahma handed Indra a new Vajra forged to specifically bypass Vritra's Monstrous Abilities.

Vishnu had said at that time 'A great soul who you belittled gave his life and his body to craft this.' But Indra hadn't cared in the slightest and simply lazily threw his new Vajra at Vritra ending it. Shattering the new Vajra in the process.

After the battle, Shiva had demanded Indra explain where the original Vajra was. Indra could not say for sure, and went back to drinking."

Effect: Summon a brittle Vajra into your hands. It can bypass defenses if it makes contact for long enough, but there is no guarantee it can keep itself together long enough to successfully pierce something.

The more Divinity pumped into it the better it can hold itself together.

Carries inside it the properties of lightning. Which is released upon breaking. Once the Vajra is broken this Divine Ability cannot be reactivated for a full day.

Feng Biao awoke to the feeling of someone carrying him.

"Awake?"

"Yeah, I am," Feng Biao replied.

"Then this is my stop," Shuten-Douji said as he placed Feng Biao on the ground.

"What happened?" Feng Biao asked clutching his head.

"You won the bet, you outdrank an Oni."

"Where is that Black Oni?"

"I told him to go bring me 50 cups that I've lost around the mountain. I swear it's like someone has been stealing them," Shuten-Douji said looking at Feng Biao with a knowing smile.

"I thought the bet said he needed to entertain you for an hour?" Feng Biao said still in the pangs of a hangover unable to take note that Shuten-Douji was aware Feng Biao had an Oni-no-Ochoko.

"He did. I had a bit of a spar with him. I didn't even use any of my limbs. I looked pretty funny, but he lost if you're wondering."

"Wait how long have I been asleep for exactly?"