The Martial Master - 88 Su Min's regret.

*PSSSST*

A distraught sizzle issued out of the ball of flame as the warrior got smothered in heat. Su Min smirked as he waved his hand and compressed the flames, magnifying its power until it reached a hair-raising temperature.

“GAHHHH!!”

The warrior cried and gurgled in the flames, yet this screech didn’t even last as silence overtook the blitzing ball. Though, just after this, black fog puffed out of the flames and onto the ground a couple meters away. A shaking body formed from this fog, where its swirling eyes flickered like a dull lamp.

Su Min paused as he found this warrior to be rather interesting. His clenched hand loosened, and the ball of flame dissipated without a sound. Of course, not even a grain of dirt was damage after the confrontation…

Nevertheless, as Su Min eyed the twitching warrior, shock began to surface.

‘Am I seeing things?’

The warrior, beneath his stupified stare, grasped the dirt with its shaky hand of fogged blackness. It shoved itself up, then in a strange tremor, its body began to emit random crackling noises.

A grey aura emerged and smothered it, and from this, its indistinct and injured frame healed at a visible speed! In no less than a couple seconds, the warrior stood there with the same body it had in the beginning!

In fact, Su Min could feel a similar strength as well. One of a piercing sensation, and from this he deduced that the warrior had recovered… Just like that.

‘Isn’t that a bit…’

He didn’t know what to say, but even then this didn’t seem to be the end as intelligence brewed within the warrior’s eyes…

It seemed to become confused as that intelligence brightened ever so more. Then, in a gasp, the warrior collapsed onto the ground out of nausea.

“W-where? I’m not dead? Is this heaven? Miss..?”

He caressed the floor with hysteria, though, as his inhuman eyes caught sight of his hand, he cried out with a jolt.

“What the fuck?!”

He raised his hand with enough strength to split mountains right up to his face, where sudden shockwaves tumbled out and onto said face.

*BANG*

Though his eyes remained wide open as he just stared at his hand and arm, even with the blast of hot air. He didn’t move for a while, then as if he had realised something, his hand plopped onto the ground like it was dead.

He raised his head, and discovering a black figure that resembled himself way too much to the side of him, he seemed to want to cry.

“I knew that you were sadistic, but did you have to turn me into a piece of black filth?!”

The black figure jumped with a little surprise as his face distorted a bit with hurt.

“Hey, watch your ‘filthy’ mouth ya piece of shit! Oh, wait…”

Su Min coughed as he stepped in front of the black figure before it insulted itself anymore. The warrior’s eyes jumped as he saw Su Min, where a multitude of emotions battered his being.

Nonexistent tears welled in his nonexistent eye sockets as he murmured with a strange derangement.

“You… You’re the one who awakened the freak in me… Ah, yeah… I killed them all, didn’t I… How could I forget? Heh?! Yeah, this must be the punishment! To live looking a piece of shit, and serve the person who caused it all! HAHAHA, RIGHT?!”

Su Min felt a little confused, but as this surfaced, a memory of a kid entered his mind. One who he saved for a wisp of bloodline, but then found to be possessed by such a bloodline.

He didn’t expect such a person to still be alive, yet here he was, staring at him with resentment and self-loathing…

Though, from what it seemed, the village he fought on was empty because of a reason much more sadistic than he would’ve hoped.

‘Ah shit.’

No words could explain the feeling Su Min was going through right now as he stared at the tattered warrior, who was in fact that naive boy he saved just to collect his bloodline.

He felt a little regretful…

‘I am feeling..? Even though it is small, I am feeling…’

Su Min eyes brightened as he realised this, and although it was near nothing, he was feeling something! He expects nothing, but somehow, he could feel that certain hint of that emotion he has been rid of!

The black figure seemed to notice this as he took a glimpse at Su Min, where a faint thought echoed in his head.

‘Interesting…’

Su Min took a slow stroll towards the collapsed warrior as a complicated light shined in his eyes. He kneeled down, and staring at the whimpering image of a dangerous being, he spoke.

“I can’t help you with an issue that has already been thrown in the bottomless hell hole known as the past, but I can say this…”

The warrior quietened a little as Su Min continued.

“You won’t get anywhere by feeling sorry for yourself. You have been given a new chance, and with this, if you must, you can use it to aim for my head! If you hate me that much, then why are you sitting there like a pathetic piece of shit, get up and face me!”

Su Min’s roar quaked in the ears of the warrior, reverberating booms in his head. The warrior’s eyes brightened, and in a slow but steady push, he lifted himself off of the ground!

His eyes, levelled with Su Min, stared on with hatred. He gripped his fists and spoke.

“Although I don’t understand, a power I can’t even imagine seems to be within me…”

Su Min’s face lifted into a grin as he laughed.

“Hahaha! If you can’t even imagine your own power then how on earth will you beat me? It seems that your previous self was some sort of subconscious thing, interesting! Go on, if you can beat me then I’ll gladly let you take my head, if not then you’re serving me! But first, what’s your name?”

A dangerous light brewed in Su Min’s eyes as a golden haze spewed out and around him. The warrior’s body quivered in response as a dangerous and almost inconceivable feeling billowed, but he grit his teeth and spoke.

“Li Wei…”

Su Min’s grin remained as he laughed and leapt back. He raised his fist and roared with provocation.

“Well, will you fight me? Li Wei?”

Li Wei’s eyes shook as he gazed at Su Min who exuded a mighty presence. His heart began to thump, and with a stagger, he slumped on the ground with a gaping gaze and a dull mutter.

“N-no…”

Su Min’s grin widened as he lowered his fist and let out a breath in silence.

‘That was close… Luckily he’s timid, otherwise I would’ve had to waste every last ounce of strength to beat him again…’

Though none of this shone on his face as he redirected his gaze onto the dazed black figure, asking.

“Right, you said that he would help me?”

The black figure didn’t respond for a few seconds as he looked at both of them with a strange light. Though this quickly disappeared as his snarly grin widened. He pointed at Li Wei and spoke with a thunderous bellow.

“Oi, stop being a dimwit and stand up! You need to use your first ability to escape from this void, and I’m sure you know what that ability is, right?”

Li Wei seemed to be a bit confused as he heard the black figures roar, but as this confusion rung, it dissipated just after. His eyes seemed to seethe with enlightenment, where he replied with an odd gaze.

“Yes…”

The black figure laughed as his eyes shined a deathly black, causing a chasm to form in space itself. He appeared before Li Wei, and grabbing him by the neck like a chicken, he went and sneered.

“Now go and guard this gal called Wen Mian! Make sure she doesn’t die, otherwise your master will have to endure the wrath of the Overseer! Or something, that’s what he thinks anyway.”

His voice boomed, but in this second, he leaned closer to Li Wei and whispered in a way that Su Min wasn’t able to hear.

“Keep this between you and me, but the Overseer is probably dead. So if you have a change of heart anytime don’t be scared of NOT doing your job, eh? If she dies she dies, and IF SHE DIES you get to go back to the heavens region, and IF THAT HAPPENS you may be able to find something rather interesting. Hehe, Just a thought.”

Li Wei eyes shook as he seemed to want to speak, but the black figure didn’t even give a moment as he went and threw Li Wei into the chasm. Su Min eyes narrowed from this, but he didn’t say anything.

‘This guy…’

…

…

…

“This is difficult…”

Sitting in a cultivation chamber, a girl dressed in red grumbled as she read a blue manual. She would sometimes wave her hand, where oceanic booms would echo. Each time she would frown, but she didn’t give up as she kept trying.

*SPLASH*

A frightening blue hazed around her as she tried once more, where a vague outline of an ocean formed and encompassed her. It held inconceivable detail, but Wen Mian didn’t seem to be able to take it as she started to sweat.

Her eyes glowed a bright blue through this, lightening the burden by a substantial degree. Yet, as the minute ocean surrounding her flickered, her face grew pale.

*BANG*

The ocean erupted with a rebounding force as it dissipated, sending a bone-crushing boom right at Wen Mian. She lifted her arms to block it, but it still smashed her into the back wall of the chamber.

*CRACK*

A web of cracks chipped the stone on her back as her face went white.

*THUD*

She dropped onto the ground, and for a while, she didn’t move. Her head tilted, and with a droplet of blood leaking from her lips, she coughed.

“Agh…”

Her hand lifted as a pouch appeared, where a small pill-sized thing got thrown into her shaking lips. A green aura flashed over her, and her face returned to a healthy glow.

She got up and mumbled.

“What am I doing wrong…”

She strode back to the book on the floor and read its contents again.

‘Dragons harness nature.

Fulfil this by becoming one, and with the oneness imagine an ocean.

The ocean rumbles and wafts with life, the more the better!

Harness this ocean, and with your mind as one, encompass yourself in heavenly power.

The first step defines the period when you can conjure an ocean around yourself.

The second, when the ocean replaces your surroundings.

The third, when the ocean becomes nature and the world, for everything is an ocean is your eyes!’

With this introduction came a confusing set of pages upon pages of text. It was in a language that she couldn’t understand, and whenever she read it she felt her mind hurt.

In fact, she knew exactly why this was the case!

‘Spells require a cultivator’s direct comprehension to work, whereas techniques can work without it… I need to understand this text, and from this, I can begin to conjure the first level!’

Nevertheless, she couldn’t even get past the first word. It felt like an irrefutable barrier was clouding her mind, where no matter how much she tried she wouldn’t gain anything from this!

It wasn’t a matter of her comprehending abilities; it was her cultivation.

‘Master said that no matter how talented someone is, if they don’t have enough power then they won’t get anywhere. Does this mean that I need to increase my cultivation? Dammit!’

She thumped the ground with grit teeth.

‘I still only have a 5th step Heavenly Condensation cultivation, ok! I’ll just cultivate!’

She grabbed the blue book and shoved it into her storage pouch as she relaxed into a lotus position. Though, before she could even begin to cultivate, a knock resounded from her front door.

‘Hm?’

Then, in a playful bellow, a man wrenched her door open and sauntered in, somehow bypassing the arrays defences. He had red hair, crimson eyes, and an aura that made Wen Mian quiver.

He spoke, grinning.

“Sorry for barging in, but I want to have a little chat!”