I Shall Steal The Heavens

The five martial artists, including Zhu Jiao, dashed in a straight line toward the gauntlet-type Spirit Treasure Weapon that was hovering in the air, stopping for no one or nothing. Their focus was entirely on the gauntlets and gauntlets alone.

Zhu Jiao glanced at the other four, his gaze stopping to rest briefly on the middle-aged man on the leftmost of the five. The middle-aged man was emanating powerful qi from his st.u.r.dy-looking body. Don"t ask me what stage he was at. I am not a qi-measuring machine. Besides, if a martial artist"s stage was determined by the amount of qi he had, then wouldn"t all the students of Wu Ling Academy be counted as being at the Qi Fusion Stage or something, since they had several s.e.xagenaries of artificial qi?

Despite my lack of estimation sense, I could tell that the middle-aged man was stronger than the other three, who despite being strong in their own right, most likely wouldn"t pose much of a threat to Zhu Jiao. However, I would warn against underestimating them. Most martial artists got too carried away by these ridiculous stages and amount of qi and got complacent. A punch was still a punch, and a sword was still a sword. It would hurt if you get hit by it, no matter what stage you were at. The idea that you would be completely immune to someone"s attacks because you were at a higher stage than him was utterly absurd and unrealistic.

Fortunately, Zhu Jiao seemed to realize this.

"So many experts!" he gasped. I guess he had reason to feel amazed. This was only the smallest group and he already faced such stiff compet.i.tion.

Even so, Zhu Jiao did not falter. He had his eyes set on the gauntlets and he wasn"t going to let anyone in his way. Unlike me, who valued my life and preferred to avoid conflict if I could help it, Zhu Jiao was ruthless like the typical wuxia and xianxia protagonist. Meaning he wouldn"t hesitate to kill if anyone offended him or got in his way. Just like how Li Fu Chen justified his murdering spree of destroying the Shen Tu Clan by killing them for being tyrannical, but ironically becoming a tyrant himself. Or Lin Feng slaughtering everyone hypocritically despite accusing them of being evil murdering b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Or Chu Feng going around ma.s.sacring guys and raping women, yet everyone praises him for being honorable and just.

Like…seriously?

And before people complain about me not being a psychotic murderer who ruthlessly kills anyone in my way because of the experiences I had been through (surviving being abandoned in the abyss in Sen Lin Forest, being tortured at the hands of a lunatic s.a.d.i.s.t like Ba Yun), let me point out that it was precisely those experiences that allowed me to understand the value of life and not take them so easily. Sure, if someone tried to kill me, then I"ll kill him to defend myself if I have to. But that didn"t mean I would go around slaying everyone who offended or provoked me. That was just ridiculous. This wasn"t a killed-or-be-killed world.

My experiences in Sen Lin Forest proved that, especially. There were a lot of times, like against the Hydra, where I realized I wouldn"t be able to kill my opponent. It doesn"t have to be a kill or be killed situation. If my opponent was stronger, then I should escape. I should do my best not to provoke a Hydra or sleeping dragon and go around it. If a conflict was inevitable, then I had other options instead of only "kill or be killed." The whole kill or be killed scenario was stupid to begin with. If you can"t kill your enemy, it doesn"t mean you get killed. It means you find some way to survive, even if it"s pathetically escaping with your tail between your legs, digging a hole and crawling into it (like I did against the Shadow Leopard), or baiting it into a fight with some other monster. Don"t just narrow your options to kill or be killed. And take note of your surroundings.

Like, when some edgelord whined that I should have killed Qi Fu Ren during an official match, he obviously was letting his emotions rule over his head. If I killed Qi Fu Ren in an official match in front of all the teachers and other students, I would be punished for excessive violence. Murder was illegal. I had disarmed the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, and had no reason to kill him, not unless I want to be put on trial and potentially executed. Was it worth losing my life to the legal system and getting hanged just for petty revenge? No, surviving in Sen Lin Forest against magical beasts and monsters of all sort of monsters did not turn me into a psychotic b.a.s.t.a.r.d who had no qualms killing. Instead, the experience exposed me to the reality that there were always more options than "kill or be killed." Escaping, using your G.o.dd.a.m.ned brain and understanding your situation were more important than just simply murdering every enemy who got in your way.

Unfortunately, edgelords just wanted to see blood spilled, and they quickly spam the 0.5 ratings the moment they saw the protagonist being intelligent enough not to devolve into a psychotic murderer who indulged in slaughter of everyone who offended or tried to kill him. They liked to stoke their egos, thinking of themselves as alpha males, while calling all those who don"t follow their ridiculous values spineless beta males and deeming them as "weak". It was pitiful, really. Being intelligent wasn"t being weak. In fact, I survived more from avoiding killing than indulging in my psychotic tendencies like most wuxia or xianxia protagonists such as Chu Feng or Lin Feng or even Lin Dong loved to do. Besides, the sects bringing down their wrath and trying to slaughter the protagonist made no sense. See my rant about Lin Mu in I was Trash last chapter for reference.

Anyway, Zhu Jiao seemed to have an advantage even though the other four experts were capable of soaring through the air. It wasn"t as if they were literally flying, but they were able to cross the s.p.a.ce between them and the treasure gauntlets in a single bound. Zhu Jiao was similar, but he had the Golden Kirin Sacred Beast techniques to boost his physical capabilities and allowed him to be a lot more agile and faster than the other four.

A golden glow of dense yang qi flared around his feet and Zhu Jiao accelerated in midair, defying the laws of physics (actually, I doubted they had physics in this timeline, given how many people keep breaking the scientific laws set down by physicists in the other timeline), and he reached the hovering treasure gauntlets in an instant.

He gleefully reached for the treasure gauntlets, which true to form, was emitting a dull silver glow from its metallic surface.

"Kid, you"re courting death!"

The four people behind him were furious when they saw that Zhu Jiao would be the first to reach the gauntlets.

"ARE YOU f.u.c.kING KIDDING ME?!" I yelled at them. No, seriously?! Why the f.u.c.k would they yell something like that?! Did they expect Zhu Jiao to sit back and watch them take the treasure? And why the h.e.l.l weren"t they targeting each other? Even if Zhu Jiao wasn"t the one to reach it first, it would be one of the others. Did they never consider that possibility?

And furthermore, this just seemed like an excuse for Zhu Jiao to kill them in "self-defense."

I wanted to help out, but at that moment I was contesting for the treasure spear. Oh, right. Chronologically, this was happening at the same time I was trying to grab the treasure spear. I was just using my protagonist privilege to rewind a bit and show you guys the flashback of what happened with Zhu Jiao while I was busy with my own endeavors.

The four martial artists raised their hands, qi swirling about them, and they coalesced the qi into sharp blades that lanced toward Zhu Jiao"s back.

"Hmph!"

Zhu Jiao snorted when he sensed the ferocious blasts of qi streaking toward his back in a lethal manner. His golden aura expanded as he used the Golden Kirin Sacred Armor, which formed a golden aurtype barrier around his body, protecting him from the qi blades that ended up dissipating harmlessly against the screen.

Twisting around, Zhu Jiao then launched his own attack.

"Golden Kirin Divine Claws!"

Slashing out with his hand, Zhu Jiao unleashed several sharp claw-shaped qi blades that hurtled toward his opponents and forced them to scatter. As I said, it wasn"t as if they could actually fly, so the four of them fumbled about clumsily in midair as they did their best to evade the incoming Golden Kirin Divine Claws.

While the four of them were occupied with dodging, Zhu Jiao seized the chance to draw near the treasure gauntlets and reached out to grab it with his hand.

Blitz!

"Ow!"

Just as Zhu Jiao"s palm was about to touch one of the treasure gauntlets, a brutal blast of qi sparked and repelled him physically, taking the form of qi that resisted his grasp and forcibly turning his hand away.

"Kuh! d.a.m.n it!"

Zhu Jiao rubbed his hand gingerly, frustrated.

It was only natural. Of course a Spirit Treasure Weapon wouldn"t yield to anyone so easily. It possessed some sort of soul that allowed it to resist the touch of any humans impudent enough to grab hold of it.

"As if I"ll give up!"

Undaunted by the failure of his first attempt to seize the treasure gauntlets, Zhu Jiao sought to try again, throwing his arm out with more ferocity than before. However, a ferocious burst of qi surged toward his back, only to dissipate against his Golden Kirin Sacred Armor. This time, though, the tremendous impact was enough to send him sprawling in midair. Cursing, Zhu Jiao spun around and spotted the middle-aged man glaring at him, his eyes glinting murderously.

"Brat, beat it before this old man gets serious!"

"Oh, come on" I cried, getting irritated by these cliché lines and even more stereotypical antagonists. Why do they always have to act so b.l.o.o.d.y ent.i.tled? It wasn"t as if the gauntlets had your name carved on it, right? Furthermore, given how this middle-aged man didn"t even receive a name, it was clear that he was a random mob character who existed solely to get in Zhu Jiao"s way before getting beaten up badly so that the protagonist could show his power off as usual.

Yeah, yeah…I know people say I should learn from the protagonist and fight for the spear, but I was highly aware that if I tried to s.n.a.t.c.h it from the current wielder, I would be defeated…or at least suffer severe injuries. Given how there was still so much of the tomb left to explore and unknown treasures possibly waiting deeper inside, I wasn"t going to risk it here. Patience was a virtue. People these days were just too impatient, wanting instant success and overpowered protagonists right from the start. If only the real world was so convenient.

Instead of wilting under the middle-aged man"s murderous glare, Zhu Jiao chuckled coldly. Without hesitation, he smashed forward with a Golden Kirin Divine Fist. Golden qi flared up around his arm and extended into a gigantic gauntlet-shaped qi form that solidified and packed an immense amount of destructive power.

"Golden Kirin Divine Fist!"

Zhu Jiao didn"t even bother to waste any time a.n.a.lyzing his opponent"s strength. With so many people competing for the gauntlets, he understood that he couldn"t spare even a second thinking. That was the difference between him and me, I guess. I think too much, and therefore I lost my chance to get the spear (though I doubted I would have gotten it, there were way too many people for me to fend off even if I seized it, so it would have been extremely difficult for me to keep hold of it, and I didn"t have Zhu Jiao"s protagonist plor armor or luck to help me). Whereas Zhu Jiao was decisive and ruthless, throwing out one of his strongest attacks right from the start.

The middle-aged man"s face blanched when he saw the ma.s.sive golden fist hurtling toward him, and realized that he had underestimated his enemy. I would have laughed out loud that moment if I wasn"t so busily watching the guy fight off six (or five since the fifth guy wisely retreated) with his newly acquired spear.

You were saying something about getting serious?

Despite gathering all his qi and condensing it inside his body for a defensive measure, the middle-aged man wasn"t able to defend against Zhu Jiao"s full-powered Golden Kirin Divine Fist. He crossed his arms just as the Golden Kirin Sect disciple"s attack struck him.

Bang!

Despite forming a qi barrier, the Golden Kirin Divine Fist easily smashed through his st.u.r.dy aura in seconds, detonating and engulfing the poor middle-aged dude in golden flames. Blood spurted from the middle-aged man"s mouth before he plummeted pathetically onto the ground, carving a crater upon collision moving. Even though he was still alive, it was evident that he had suffered severe injuries and wouldn"t be getting up anytime soon.

Obviously Zhu Jiao didn"t waste time to finish him off, returning his attention instead to the treasure gauntlets. Quickly spinning around, he dashed for the floating treasure gauntlets, trying to grab it again.

Swoosh!

"!!!"

Unfortunately, this time, he sensed someone sucking the treasure gauntlets away in a different direction, pulling them away from him.

Someone else had joined the fight for the gauntlet-type Spirit Treasure Weapon. And…dare I say it, his techniques sucked.

Zhu Jiao"s expression darkened slightly when he saw the gauntlets being imperceptibly shifted away. Turning around, he caught sight of the newcomer, and was aghast to see that he was none other than Jiang Jun Hao from the Heavenly Way Sect.

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d didn"t go for the sword-type Spirit Treasure Weapon, or even the spear-type Spirit Treasure Weapon even though he"s a spear user, but aimed for this dull-looking gauntlet-type Spirit Treasure Weapon instead? Did he realize the secret behind it?!"

Even as he fought to keep his raging emotions in check, Zhu Jiao"s eyes widened.

Jiang Jun Hao, who was simply standing on the ground nearby, glanced coldly at Zhu Jiao, his eyes narrowing to a glare. Clearly he was trying to intimidate Zhu Jiao with that menacing glare of his, warning the latter that it was in his best interests to give up and hand the gauntlets over to him.

However, Zhu Jiao being Zhu Jiao, spat defiantly in the face of such tyranny (never mind that he could be quite the tyrant himself).

"d.a.m.n it, I don"t care if you"re from the Heavenly Way Sect! Since I want it, this Spirit Treasure Weapon is mine!"

Uh, you do realize that you"re from the Golden Kirin Sect, which was potentially one of the nine major sects if you ever successfully restore it, right?

Never mind that. Zhu Jiao"s expression was darkening. If this gauntlet-type Spirit Treasure Weapon really had the potential that Qi Lin told him, then it was totally worth the risk of offending someone of Jiang Jun Hao"s stature. Even though Zhu Jiao most likely did not know the value of a high-ranked Spirit Treasure Weapon, he was aware that even among the eight major sects, only a handful of people actually owned such things.

He was mistaken. The Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was capable of forging Spirit Treasure Weapons. Well, only the sect leader and elders were, actually. But even so, they required a ton of resources and a huge amount of time to do so, so unfortunately the Spirit Treasure Weapons weren"t something they could just hand out like freebies.

"This treasure gauntlet will be mine!"

Throwing down the gauntlet, Zhu Jiao ignored Jiang Jun Hao"s icy glare and kicked off, lunging toward the treasure gauntlet while simultaneously conjuring a qi barrier to block off the latter"s technique that sucked. A lot.

"Kid, you have guts!"

Just like that other character from Wu Dong Qian Kun, Jiang Jun Hao spouted an identical line, which made me wonder why all wuxia and xianxia stories resorted to the same cliché dialogue, character archetypes and stupid situations where everyone was out to kill the protagonist for no f.u.c.king reason, and his expression turned even more ominous than before.

His eyes gleamed murderously and he began to acc.u.mulate a ma.s.sive amount of yang qi into his hands, which then took the form of an enormous palm that hurtled mercilessly toward Zhu Jiao"s back. I wondered why he didn"t use his beloved treasure spear but I guess true to form, he was underestimating his opponent because Zhu Jiao was the protagonist.

However, Zhu Jiao didn"t even deign to turn around to face Jiang Jun Hao when the other sneakily shot him in the back. In every literal sense of that phrase. Just before the palm was about to obliterate Zhu Jiao, it struck and harmlessly dissipated against his formidable Golden Kirin Sacred Armor. Having sparred with Zhu Jiao during the tournament final, I knew just how incredibly resilient his technique was.

There was no way Jiang Jun Hao was getting through that without using his Heavenly Spear.

"Impressive. Seems like you"re not just any small fry from nowhere."

Uh…no, he"s actually the number one student of Wu Ling Academy. You"re the idiot for not knowing who he was and underestimating him.

Even so, Jiang Jun Hao was taken aback by his unexpected setback. He finally deigned to draw his Heavenly Spear and twirled it around, showing off with flashy moves what he could do in the most pointless fashion ever.

I mean, if you were going to waste your time and energy spinning your Heavenly Spear like that, presumably to intimidate him (I couldn"t think of any practical reason), then why not just attack Zhu Jiao directly? Yeah, Zhu Jiao was my friend, but I couldn"t fathom why the idiot Jiang Jun Hao was showing off with his spear.

"…"

Zhu Jiao evidently shared the same sentiment, for he was staring at Jiang Jun Hao pitifully.

"W…what"s with that look?!" Jiang Jun Hao spluttered furiously, not at all expecting the dull reaction. He pointed his spear at Zhu Jiao. "Hurry up and move away!"

Zhu Jiao merely ignored him, infuriating Jiang Jun Hao further. The spear user slammed the shaft of his spear on the ground.

"Then don"t blame me for being merciless!"

He began drawing immense amounts of qi into his spear, crouching down and lowering his spear. I could see the s.p.a.ce distort around the sharp blade in a bloodthirsty manner. My brow twitched when I recognized what that technique was.

"Don"t tell me…"

"Gae…"

Jiang Jun Hao arced his back and raced forward before throwing his arm forward, putting all his back into a single action.

"…Bolg!"

"YOU"VE GOT TO BE f.u.c.kING KIDDING ME!!!!" I shouted furiously. "We"re in a xianxia type world, right? Not one where heroic spirits are summoned as Servants by Masters in order to fight over the Holy Grail!?"

As usual, everyone ignored me.

Jiang Jun Hao hurled his golden spear forward, which transformed into a terrifying golden streak that pierced through the air and zoomed toward Zhu Jiao with a speed that most people were unable to follow with their eyes. It slammed right into Zhu Jiao"s back, and even with his formidable Golden Kirin Sacred Armor, he was almost unable to withstand the hit.

"Gr…!"

Twisting around, Zhu Jiao grabbed the spinning spear, which was attempting to drill through his defensive aura, with his hands.

"I don"t care if it"s a Treasure Weapon or whatnot…as if I"ll let something like this stop me!" perspiration was pouring down Zhu Jiao"s face. With a roar, he bellowed, "Golden Kirin Sacred Armor, maximum power!"

Golden qi poured out of his body, thickening the dense yang field that surrounded him. Grappling with the spear, Zhu Jiao clamped his hands down on it, and fumes began hissing from the shaft as the golden qi shrouding his fingers made physical contact with the spear.

"Impossible!"

Jiang Jun Hao"s eyes widened. Zhu Jiao ignored him and slowly but surely yanked the spear away from him, forcibly turning it upward.

"Ha ha! Thank you for giving me your Heavenly Spear! You don"t mind if I keep it, after throwing it away in such a spectacular fashion, right?"

"You…!"

Panicking when he realized that not only would he not be able to grab the Spirit Treasure Weapon, but he might possibly lose the Heavenly Spear that had been pa.s.sed down to him, Jiang Jun Hao frantically waved his hand to recall his beloved weapon. The Heavenly Spear struggled wildly in Zhu Jiao"s grip, but try as he might in order to keep hold of it, the divine treasure weapon managed to squirm out of the Golden Kirin Sect disciple"s grasp and rapidly streaked back toward its owner. Jiang Jun Hao grabbed it in relief, and observed the smoke pouring out from where Zhu Jiao"s fingers and closed over the shaft.

"You…"

He gritted his teeth in impotent rage.

"What a waste."

Zhu Jiao shook his head in disappointment, finding it a pity that he wouldn"t be able to claim Jiang Jun Hao"s weapon as his own. However, he knew better than to be too greedy and he had bigger fish to fry, so he took another two strides and hastily seized the floating pair of gauntlets again, before anyone else could take hold of them.

Bzzt!

Sparks flew and the Spirit Treasure Weapon began to struggle and resist his hold once again. However, this time Zhu Jiao kept a firm grip on the gauntlets, having steeled himself for its defiance. Qi gathered in the center of his palm and extended rapidly to wrap around the hapless gauntlets that were now firmly in his grasp, dominating its qi and forcibly persuading the soul of the weapon that he was its new owner.

Even though Zhu Jiao exerted unyielding force, the gauntlets seemed to struggle even more violently, as if it was afraid.

"Oh, come on! Just give in already!" Zhu Jiao grumbled, irritated. I understood his frustration. It would be ludicrous if, after investing so much effort, time and qi, and even fighting the renowned Jiang Jun Hao off, he wasn"t able to claim the gauntlets because the treasure weapon itself was so unnaturally stubborn.

Fortunately, while he held on, his master had a hint for him.

"There is a soul in every Spirit Weapon, which will naturally resist anybody who tries to lay claim to it. Use your qi to activate your golden amulet!"

b.l.o.o.d.y f.u.c.k, this protagonist b.a.s.t.a.r.d just had every convenient plot device in hand working in his favor, didn"t he?!

Zhu Jiao didn"t question Qi Lin and obeyed, immediately pouring qi into the golden amulet in his possession.

Whoom…

When the golden amulet absorbed his qi, it trembled slightly for a few seconds. And then it emanated a gently flow of qi that streamed through Zhu Jiao"s hand and into the violently struggling gauntlets, placating it.

As for how I knew all this, I had Heaven and Earth Sense, that"s why. Probably n.o.body else in the main hall would be able to tell or detect the flow of qi, but I could because of Heaven and Earth Formula. If only it was more practical and applicable to combat…wait, it was applicable to combat. But I could also use it for an Omniscent Reader"s perspective like this!

Anyway, the moment the qi from the golden amulet flowed into the gauntlets, the treasure weapon ceased its struggling. In fact, the glow it emanated even seemed to dim a little. Zhu Jiao and I could sense a sliver of fear from the revered weapon.

However, right now neither Zhu Jiao nor I had the time to wonder about the strange reaction of the Spirit Treasure Weapon. The moment he subjugated it, Zhu Jiao wasn"t able to conceal his delight. With a whoop, he stuffed it into his spatial pouch.

"Oh, yeah!"

He punched his fist into the air and cheered. Having acquired a Spirit Treasure Weapon for the first time in his life, Zhu Jiao was overwhelmed with joy. Even though I had failed in my attempt and was left bitterly disappointed, I couldn"t help but smile a little and share in my good friend"s celebration.

"Kid, you dare to steal my Spirit Treasure Weapon! If you do not compensate with another Spirit Treasure Weapon, then I won"t allow you to leave this ancient tomb alive!"

However, before Zhu Jiao could finish celebrating, an incredibly furious voice echoed thunderously throughout the vast hall.