Rise of the Midnight King - Rise of the Midnight King – Chapter 65

If you think about someone, they’ll appear. Bao bi had only just thought about discussing something things with Jiang Bo when about fifteen minutes later, he saw the boy running toward the tower. At first, he thought Jiang Bo was just in a hurry to reach the tower and explore. He always pushed himself hard to obtain excellence. That was one part of his friend that he didn’t admire. It must not be easy being a prince with an entire country depending on you. The stronger Jiang Bo became, the more political power his country could obtain. It was a lot of pressure to put on a young man.

Bao bi had been thinking for some time that this world was a bit too hard on children. There weren’t entire cults dedicated to predating on children, and even the clans considered the good guys were willing to let some kids fall through the cracks in the name of efficiency. It seemed a bit ridiculous to him that every success only led to other opportunities for more success.

Should people who are already shown to be powerful be given all the resources to become more powerful while everyone else is left to struggle on scraps? It felt a bit like the 1% in my world getting all the money, except this world seemed to reward those with more by giving them even more. Nope, our worlds weren’t that different.

Bao bi didn’t have any more time to think about inequality while concocting pills, because Jiang Bo suddenly leaped to the side and an explosion occurred where he had been standing. He got back up into a run, but Bao bi had been taken off guard enough that his pill concoction ended up failing. The spiritual furnace he created collapsed and the ingredients turned to ash in a flash. He wasn’t concerned about the easily obtained ingredients though. His eyes went to his friend.

In the forest he had emerged from, three people came out following. They were all wearing black robes, and Bao bi immediately recognized them as Shadow Destruction Clan members. His eyes narrowed as he noticed that had their eyes set on Jiang Bo. Putting away the supplies around him, he immediately left the platform he had been sitting on and headed to the surface.

“Come on, little boy!” One of the Shadow Clan Destruction members yelled. “We’re gonna get you!”

“Drop all of your stuff, and we’ll kill you quickly after!” Another yelled.

“Hey, brother, do you ever think that if we didn’t threaten to kill them, we’d have more success?”

“How so?”

“I’m just thinking out loud here, but perhaps by promising to kill them even if we take their stuff, we might be taking away an incentive they have to surrender. As a result, they’ll fight us to the death by using every trick in their arsenal, even sacrificing their life to inconvenience us.”

The other looked thoughtful for a moment, but then his eye brightened. “No, but I said that I’d kill him quickly! You see, if he doesn’t give it to us, his death will be slow and painful. That’s motivation.”

“Well, that’s what I’m saying. Maybe a painful death isn’t the motivation that we think it is. After all, cultivation as a process often involves many feats of pain and suffering. Furthermore, are we going to ensure their deaths are long and painful? I like torturing those weaker than me as much as the next guy, but would we have the time? We’re only here for a select time before our badges pull us back to our sect, and do we want to waste the time to follow through on a threat.”

“Well, that’s the thing, we don’t have to follow through on the threat. We just hope that they believe it!”

“Except, if we don’t and they survive, then our threats will hold less meaning in the future, not just for us, but all Shadow Destruction disciples. We’re practically obligated to follow through on the threats we make.”

“Well, what would you rather have us do? Not threaten him?’

“I mean, and just hear me out… maybe we offer to let them go if they give us all their stuff. That way, they might be willing to give up if they think that we will spare their lives.”

“We won’t spare their lives though.”

“I mean, I know that, but they don’t.”

The other disciple gasped. “You mean… lie?”

“Why not?”

“Once they realize we’re liars, won’t that also tarnish our lies…”

“Naw, because we kill them, so who are they going to tell?”

“That… is genius! Let’s try it.” He turned and called out the to fleeing Jiang Bo. “Hey, you… if you give us all your stuff and surrender, we’ll let you live! Eh… he’s still running.”

“You can’t yell it to him… he probably overheard us.”

“If it’s not going to work, why even mention it? You know… from now on, keep your thinking to yourself. Come on, we need to move quicker or he’ll escape in the tower and we might lose him and then the boss will kill all three of us.”

“You… wait… there were three of us… where?”

The two disciples looked back, and the third disciple who had been following up the rear was standing a dozen steps back, with a spear sticking through his head. The tip came out of his mouth and was embedded into the ground in front of him. He was trying to make gurgled noises, while his eyes were filled with terror. Behind him, there was a small boy who happened to be at the end of a throw.

“Sneak attack!” One of the disciples cried out.

“That’s not fair!” The other shouted.

“Are you kidding me? It was three on one!” The boy shouted back angrily.

“Bao Bi!” Jiang Bo saw the sudden change and came charging back.

He was no coward, but before it had been three on one, and these guys were all in half-step into the 2^nd realm just like him. He had made progress in the last day and a half after some lucky encounters and planned to enter seclusion to reach the 2^nd realm as soon as they settled in the clan. However, his luck had dried up when he encountered these three who were set on killing him. He was confident he could defeat any one of them in a fight, but all three of them were too much. Thus, as soon as a three-on-one match became a two-on-two, he didn’t hesitate to charge forward.

However, Jiang Bo had already run half the distance to the tower, so he had to come running back. The two Shadow Destruction disciples may seem foolish, but they had fought and killed countless others both since entering this realm and before. Although they were young, the Shadow Destruction Clan pushed their disciples from a young age to be vicious. After exchanging only a single look, the two abandoned their dying friend and charged Bao bi.

He was closer and appeared a bit smaller in stature than Jiang Bo. They didn’t know his realm, but they likely assumed he was in the first realm. Furthermore, Bao bi had thrown his spear again, leaving him without a weapon once again. As long as they could kill or incapacitate him before Jiang Bo reached them, then they could take care of Jiang Bo as well with ease. This was a level of thought that only came with experience forged in blood.

Seeing the two come at him didn’t worry Bao bi though. Even if Jiang Bo had continued to run, he wouldn’t have minded. He planned to kill all three from the start, which was why he got behind them and launched a sneak attack in the first place. Although these guys were a bit younger than the ones he had encountered in the cavern underneath, they were still part of the pedophilic clan, and nothing he had overheard earlier had altered his point of view on this.

He lifted his palm and attacked the two of them. The pair approached confidently. They already had him pegged for a spear user, so they saw him raising his hands just for show. The spear also appeared to be a rather nice item, so it was probably true that all of his strength was in having an above-average quality spear. They reasoned this all out in the moments it took them to reach him. It never even occurred to him that the spear was a secondary tool.

One of the disciples had a slim sword, while the other attacked with a one-handed axe. Both of them were focused on speed, with the intent of overwhelming their opponent with rapid strikes. The sword user reached him first, immediately giving a stab with his sword. He didn’t use any particular technique or skill. Weapon users of that level rarely had only just begun to pick up their weapons. Many of those in the first and even the second realm were just feeling out various weapons, and had yet to settle on one they would stick with for the remainder of their martial arts.

They mostly depended on their increased speed and strength to guide their weapons, and would only learn skills and techniques that went with their weapons as they approached the later stages of the mortal origin realm. Of course, Liao An had already started Bao bi down the path of the palm, mostly because Tigra’s past had taught her that the only thing someone could always rely on is themselves, and you never knew when you’d be caught without a weapon when you needed one.

There were other disadvantages to weapons. A weapon could be destroyed or separated from the cultivator. Plus, you had to keep looking for the next one as your cultivation increased, and if you couldn’t find one at your level, you were forced to use other weapons you were less adept at, weakening your overall power.

As the two descended on Bao bi, Jiang Bo couldn’t help but tense. He still was some distance away, and such battles could be decided in moments, especially in the lower realms. Although he knew Bao bi was a higher realm and any higher realm could crush a lower realm with ease, this was two-on-one, and the Shadow Destruction Clan was known for their viciousness and using despicable means, just as when they attacked him earlier using superior numbers. Jiang Bo would never act in such a despicable manner.

Bao bi didn’t flinch though. He already had some experience encountering several foes at once. Tigra didn’t hesitate to include such scenarios in his training. Who was Tigra if not thorough? She had already known she wouldn’t be able to stick close to Bao bi forever, so she had made sure to give him the tools to protect himself in any situation. As the sword came down, Bao bi’s palm came up and struck the side of the sword causing it to move at a bad angle. He sidestepped and grabbed the guy’s wrist and then spun.

Both disciples were racing forward at full speed intending to kill him quickly, so the disciple with the sword was expecting to strike him, and when Bao bi evaded him, he kept moving forward. Bao bi spun that momentum and threw it toward the incoming disciple with the axe. Before either of them knew what was happening, the outstretched sword slammed into the chest of the axe wielder. He was dropping his axe already and couldn’t stop. The strike to his chest only made him more helpless as the blade fell on the wrong target.

His companion could only stare in shock as his companion’s axe struck his forehead. His head was split in half down the middle. Although the blow was strong, so were cultivators, so the axe stopped after about six inches down his head. This was still more than sufficient to destroy the disciple’s brain and kill him instantly. With a sword in his gut and now covered in the blood of his companion, the remaining Shadow Destruction disciple could only stare in horror and confusion at how quickly all of his plans had gone wrong.

Bao bi straightened his legs from his lowered stance and then struck the disciple in the chest above his sword wound. He was thrown off the sword and into the distance. Even though his sternum cracked and he had a gaping wound in his stomach, the cultivator’s strong body couldn’t be underestimated. He was still able to remain on his feet, and his brain had been working furiously as he considered how to escape the situation. When Bao bi kicked him back, his eyes flashed with scorn.

Although Bao bi had damaged his chest, he had also freed him from his confines. Bao bi had him trapped in close quarters where Bao had the upper hand, but then had given him a second chance. Although he had the axe, he was best at long-distance fighting. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the kunai he had for just a situation. Bao bi just stood there and watched him as the corpse of his friend fell to the ground. He must have been too shocked by the gore, he was practically a sitting duck!

That was what he thought, but his blade didn’t even reach his pocket yet when he felt a sharp thud, and then the world spun around. No, that was his head. The last thing he saw was his body collapsing, and right behind him was Jiang Bo with a scimitar in his hand, and a cold expression on his face.

After chasing after Jiang Bo like a predator on prey for countless hours, how could have foreseen his death at that very prey’s hands? Bao bi had kicked him forward on purpose, practically delivering him to Jiang Bo for the final blow. It felt almost like a mother capturing a mouth and dropping it in front of her kittens for practice. If he even could talk at that point, the disciple would have been speechless. Yet, as darkness overtook him, he couldn’t even come up with his usual curses.

“Are you alright?” Bao bi asked.

Jiang Bo broke into a grin as he wiped off his blade on the decapitated body of his victim. “Not bad, not bad.”

Bao bi’s lips tightened as he watched this. He once again reminded himself of just how cold and unforgiving this world could be where even young teenagers could behead each other without care while wearing smiles. He didn’t let any of that touch his face, as he didn’t want to concern Jiang Bo. He had allowed Jiang Bo to deliver the final blow. He felt that after being chased, Jiang Bo might not be satisfied unless he was able to get some revenge. He hadn’t expected him to be so decisive, but what was done was done.

Liao An had taught him about something called heart devils. He didn’t get it, but basically, cultivators were kind of like ghosts. If they had unrequited desires before attempting to broach a bottleneck, it could hinder their ability to continue upon their cultivation path.

This was the number one reason people’s cultivation progress halted other than a lack of sufficient resources. People would find something, an enemy they failed to defeat, a humiliation, or even a love that they were not able to resolve in their heart, and thus they failed to move on, uh… got a heart devil. If Liao An knew that this was how he thought of heart devils, she might have started reconsidering teaching him anything more.

Either way, Bao bi had done his best to honor his friendship with the young Jiang Bo. Being closer to him now, he was able to get a better look and could see various wounds and scratches likely earned as he made his escape earlier. Bao bi pulled out a pouch filled with five of the pills he had just made and handed it to you Jiang Bo.

“You’re injured, here you go.”

Jiang Bo was crouching down and checking the bodies for stuff. When he finished, he approached me and took the pouch I had out.

When Jiang Bo looked inside the pouch, he let out a cry nearly dropping it. “This…  Heavenly Mending Pills? F-five of them?”

“You can take one now, and if anything comes up later, you have them just in case.” I shrugged.

He shook slightly, looking at me strangely. “I know that the Xaoi sect gave you a pill before. If that gave you the opinion that these pills were easy to come by, they’re not! The treasury for my Jiang Province only has ten pills, and they’re only used with the expressed permission of my father!”

“Really?” Bao bi blinked in disbelief.

He had found the ingredients easily and had made twenty of them. He had a feeling that Jiang Bo was being misled somewhere. However, he felt that revealing how many he had or correcting Jiang Bo might only make things harder on himself, so he decided to not argue.

“And why are they stored like this?” Jiang Bo asked, pulling out a small bottle and opening it. “Spirit pills lose their spirituality over time, so they are placed in spirit bottles. This allows them to keep far longer.”

“Really?” Bao bi was interested in this, thinking that this might be the first thing that Liao An didn’t know.

Of course, that wasn’t true. Most of the pills she made Bao bi make were either discarded or consumed immediately after. Furthermore, at her level, her storage rings naturally protected the spirituality of any pill inside them, so there was never a need for pills to be in a bottle unless they were being sold and needed to be left out. She had never thought to instruct him about them. In truth, she would have considered what they called spirit bottles trash anyway.

“There…” He tried to hand the bottle back now that the pills were protected. “Typically, it’s ideal to put no more than seven in a single bottle. Three is considered acceptable, so anywhere between that amount, unless you’re dealing with very special pills. Those should be put alone, or possibly even need a place where they can get nourishment.

“I’ll tell you what.” Bao bi coughed. “I’ll trade you. I don’t have any spirit bottles and may need more… so, five spirit bottles for five pills.”

“That’s not even remotely a fair trade. Bottles are pennies compared to the pills themselves. I’ll tell you what, when I was younger, I had dreams of being an alchemist and providing infinite pills for my family. As I grow older, I realize it’s a martial path for me, but I can trade you this.” He gestured, and an odd-looking cast-iron furnace appeared from his storage ring.

“What is it?” Bao bi asked.

“This is a pill furnace! You’ve never heard of them?”

Pill furnaces could be made of metal now? The book he had just read suddenly made a lot more sense.