NOVPUB<<The fuck you mean you can’t extract any memories about what happened last night?>>
<<It is as we said, Master. For some reason, our resident Anima Wielder can’t find any memories pertaining to what occurred last night...at all.>>
<<And that’s despite the fact that they swear they watched the hotel all night but couldn’t find an opportunity to try and recruit the exiles, even with the aether tool confirming they’re telling the truth?>>
<<Okay, they can detect something had occurred last night that is conflicting with their testimonies, but any attempts to actually determine what it was exactly is...conflicting.>>
<<Conflicting? Conflicting how?>>
<<I’m...not entirely sure how to describe this, but...all three are somehow telling the same story, but the settings are completely different from one another.>>
<<What?>>
<<Yeah, all three remember nothing happening that evening...but they also remember it being in different...countries.>>
<<…what the fuck?>>
<<That was our reaction.>>
<<Gah! Whatever, I guess that just means we’ll have to move on with the plan without their help. Such a shame...but if they’re so insistent on carrying the Zhen surname, let them be buried along with them.>>
<<As you wish.>>
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<Ah fuck. I accidentally set the locations to be random on that last batch of people’s memories...oh well!>
=So...do you think our lord is going to tell the others about that fallen clan plot or not?=
<No, but I am dead certain he’s going to use that plot to his advantage, well, the advantage to his family that is.>
=As is the way.=
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<{"Welcome one and all to the second day of the Zhen Clan competition! Are you ready for a bloodbath?!"}>
"WOOOOOO!"
The energy in the Willow Scale arena today was electrifying to say the least, a remarkable improvement to yesterday.
That wasn’t to say yesterday’s attendance and crowd wasn’t good, in fact the arena was three-quarters filled up.
Today, however, not only was the entire arena filled but the Zhen Clan had to make use of a special aether tool to provide the people sitting outside of the arena a way to watch the battles unfold.
The reason for this sudden uptick in attendance?
Word of mouth.
First, there was talk about those homegrown heroes either shining like brilliant stars, or being dissipated like clouds in a desert sky.
<<Man, did you see how First Young Master managed to win his four matches? There’s no stopping that kid!>>
<<Personally, I’m a hoping that that outer disciple, Zhen Kang? Manages to win his remaining matches. Three out of four ain’t bad.>>
<<Speaking of bad though, the Sixth Young Master only managed to win one match out of his first four matches, right? Disappointing, I tell ya, I did not expect a broken heart to be that detrimental.>>
Second, came the rumors of the strange warriors of unknown or foreign origins, coming in and showcasing abilities that made people shudder with shock and awe.
<<Is it true what they’re saying? That there are outsiders even stronger than the star pupils of the Zhen Clan?>>
<<Yup, there’s a young man that goes by...Howlite, I think? He can perfectly mimic and distort any move they see. Never thought I’d see a sand aether version of a [Tidepool Devil Strike].>>
<<I’m more interested in that bloodliner woman, the one with the curly hair? She fights as if she can read her opponent three steps before they can even move!>>
<<That mysterious handsome youth with the ability to tame dragons...you think he might be a hidden prince?!>>
<<If so, I wish he would look in my direction...>>
Of course, amongst all of these conversations about notable warriors participating in the Zhen Clan Competition, there was one group in particular, one set of names, that kept coming up that people spoke about in equal parts respect and disdain.
The scions of the branch clan.
The general impression people had of the branch clan was that they were a wild bunch that fought less like the prim and proper "heroes" of the main clan, and more like animals and barbarians that knew how to rip someone’s throat out with just their teeth.
Which wasn’t exactly wrong.
<<Five out of seven of them are one a four win streak with only two of them at three wins and one loss each...shiiiiiit, these brackborn exiles are way tougher than anticipated.>>
<<Ey yo, you better dial back on that kind of talk in public. If those branch clan scions hear you, they’ll probably kick your teeth in. Or worst.>>
<<Ah, right...>>
<<By the scales though, they really raise them different out in frontier though. Those kids fight like, well...monsters.>>
<<I don’t blame them. The frontier, regardless of the continent, tend to be dangerous. Plus, didn’t you hear? Their whole business relies on them being able to tame and dismantle aether beasts. I would fight like that if I raise in such an environment.>>
<<Fair...>>
<<Hey, I didn’t get to see the matches yesterday and could only get a ticket for today, is it true that there was a guy slapped his opponent so hard that he had to forfeit his next two matches?>>
<<Yeah...that happened. Immediately after he slapped the guy, that puppet master guy proceeded to taunt the whole arena and his next three opponents...who he won against without actually throwing a punch.>>
<<What?!>>
<<Well, he used his puppets but still...same thing, I think?>>
<<Eh...I guess that counts?>>
Although, even when it came to this eclectic group of wild children, all Aether Masters no less, there was one that stood out amongst them for being the oddest of the odd.
Zhen Liu.
<<Yo, you wanna hear this crazy rumor I heard in regards to one of those branch clan guys?>>
<<Always. What’s up?>>
<<You know that puppet master guy? The one who antagonized everybody yesterday?>>
<<Puppet master? Which puppet-oh right...that guy...Zhen Li->>
<<SHH! Don’t say his name, I’m like...eighty percent sure you’ll end up cursing us if you do.>>
<<Sorry...>>
<<Anyways, so as a primer of why I know this, you know how I got a sibling who works in the Medicine Hall for the Zhen Clan?>>
<<Yeah, what about her?>>
<<Well, its customary to have the contestants do a medical exam before and after the matches to confirm that none of them are doping and to make sure they get the right treatments after a match. Burn wounds, fractures, poisons, you get me?>>
<<Yes, go on.>>
<<Now yesterday, my sister was a part of the group that had looked over the same block as that puppet master guy and she found out the strangest thing about him. He has no aether channels. Like...at all.>>
<<What?! But that should be impossible! You sure your sister hasn’t been abusing her medicine access?>>
<<Swear on my life, she told me that despite the fact that man had no channels, he had the same quality of aether of that belonging to an Aether Master.>> 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
<<Fucking, how though? Last I checked, you need those channels to cultivate even the weakest of formulas. By the scales, you need at least some to use a minor Corporeal Aether Art!>>
<<And that’s the weird part, again. My sister was understandably bewildered by this so, being the blunt girl that she is, she just straight up asked him how he could cultivate and fight despite having no channels.>>
<<And? What he say?>>
<<He said, and I’m paraphrasing here, "Yeah, I can’t really cultivate normally...but my puppets can.">>
<<What the f-wait...is that why those puppets were able to fight like that? Hell, is that why he can use multiple ones at a time without flagging?>>
<<I guess so.>>
<<Damn...>>
Under this swirl of rumors, speculations and predictions, many of those attending the competition today couldn’t help but to wonder what kind of fighting they’ll witness today, what champions will arise from this event.
And, perhaps more importantly, many of them wanted to see if these young warriors can live up to the expectations that they had so carelessly built.
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"Two in a row."
"Pardon?"
"Two in a fucking row," Zhen Liu reiterated to his cousin, Zhen Xing.
"I was supposed to have two matches by now...and yet both of them immediately surrendered before I had a chance to get out of this seat. What kind of bullshit is this?"
Frustrated by this fact, Zhen Liu proceeded to flop his head onto the lounge table he was sitting at with his cousins.
Technically it was only his cousin, Zhen Xing, present at the moment, since his other five were in the middle of their own sixth matches.
Zhen Xing had actually won his fifth match in a surprisingly swift manner, so he hadn’t been called up yet as a result.
The moment he heard Zhen Liu’s complaint though, Zhen Xing proceeded to shoot a strange expression in his direction.
"You know a lot of other people would love to be able to breeze through this thing without worrying about injuries or losing, right?"
"Yeah...," Zhen Liu agreed, "but I’m getting bored."
"Wow, and thought Zhen Hai was battle crazy."
"Meh."
As a quick disclaimer, part of the reason why Zhen Liu was so despondent at this moment was not just because he himself was bored, but because he was feeling it fivefold due to the kaijin feeling bored.
They were promised battle, they got nothing.
[Maestro, when are we finally going to table to throw hands?]
’Hopefully soon...’
