Chapter 6: Quota
A well-built man, with several Hidden Fu Bags attached to the leather on his waist, was wearing black arm guards and had skin stacked with Fu Patterns which extended to his face. He had a head of white hair, and a leather ribbon around his forehead with a pheasant feather stuck behind his head.
He leapt off of his horse and walked forward. This was a Fu Warrior Grandmaster; he had an air around him similar to Qi Nan Shan as the two men stood face to face. The man said, “I’m Elder Guai of the Maelstrom! Who are you?”
Qi Nan Shan proudly said, “I’m Qi Nan Shan of the Northern Fu Sect!” His voice was like the sound of rolling thunder over the land.
Another man dismounted his horse and walked over, saying, “Elder Xie of the Maelstrom!” This was another Fu Warrior Grandmaster.
The three men stood in a triangle.
Behind Elder Guai and Elder Xie stood a Zhou Grandmaster, who announced, “I’m Elder Du of the Maelstrom!”
T/N: The characters for Guai, Xie and Du, can be translated to mean, “Strange”, “Wicked” and “Poison” respectively.
Luo Jie stood up straight and called, “I’m Luo Jie of the Northern Fu Sect!”
12th also called, “Guo 12th of the Northern Fu Sect!”
Elder Xie shouted, “Adults are speaking, children shouldn’t interrupt!” and moments later laughter sounded.
12th was infuriated, as ever since his spirit awakened he hadn’t seen himself as a child at all. Without speaking, he tapped his Innate Fu Orb and a light gold coloured True Spirit Fu rose up,causing a streak of golden light to shoot straight up into the sky. He brusquely said, “Elder Xie was it? You old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, take this!”
Elder Xie wasn’t scared, he said, “A mere child Zhou Master, just try it!”
A sharp sound whistled through the air. Elder Du frantically yelled, “Elder Xie watch out!” He was a Zhou Grandmaster, so he was well aware that this type of attack was deadly. As soon as he saw 12th’s Fu Attack turn into a golden line of light shooting into the sky, he knew that this was trouble, so he hurriedly called ou the danger.
Elder Xie raised his head and couldn’t stop his expression from turning.
The Sword Fu turned from a line of light into a sheet of golden light, like a giant knife with the lengthwidth the height of a door and an thickness incredibly thin width. With a whoosh as it rushed past the air, the terrifying display made Elder Xie realise that this was by no means weaker than an attack made by a Zhou Grandmaster. With a cry, he summoned a giant battle-axe into his hands; it was the size of a small car and was covered in FuZhou. It was a very powerful Fu Weapon.
Elder Xie couldn’t evade the attack but he couldn’t lose face. With a wild cry, he swung his battle-axe towards the golden light.
Qi Nan Shan had already witnessed 12th’s abnormal attacks, as he thrusted himself backwards and instantly landed back to Luo Jie’s side, yelling, “Move back!”
Bang!
Elder Xie cursed a slew of profanities; he was forced onto his a.s.s by the golden screen of light, a majestic, unrivaled power that had almost destroyed his battle-axe. He never imagined that such a small guy could be so powerful.
12th waved his finger and the giant, golden sword, instead of disappearing, rose back into the air and slashed down once again. At that point even Elder Du grimaced as he tapped his Innate Fu Book, and shot seven Frost Spikes, shouting, “Go!”
Luo Jie yelled, “You’re mine!”
Seven crimson streams of fire shot straight towards the Frost Spikes.
Elder Guai cried, grabbed Elder Xie, and then suddenly dodged. The golden sword of light hit the ground with such force that the ground erupted around it; a giant crevice appeared which was about a metre deep and five metres long. The dirt and dust was still floating in the air, accompanied by 12th’s roars of laughter as he called, “Elder Xie, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d…… You shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d, see if you can withstand another attack by a child!”
Bang! Crash……
Seven explosions happened continuously as Elder Du’s attacks were completely nullified by Luo Jie.
Qi Nan Shan laughed happily, saying, “Elder Xie, you’re an embarra.s.sment…… Haha, Hahaha!”
Elder Xie’s face flushed an immense red, but luckily his face was covered in Fu Patterns, so n.o.body could see that his face was red. He was far too complacent with his strength; he shouldn’t have been humiliated like this. He screamed and was about to charge forward, but Elder Guai grabbed him and shouted, “Elder Xie, don’t be stupid! There’s still work to do!”
Seeing 12th unleash a Grandmaster level attack, the rest of the Maelstrom Cavalry sheathed their weapons. With an opponent of three Grandmasters, once battle broke out the Grandmasters wouldn’t be scared, but the underlings would struggle to survive. Right now they risked the Mysterious Land, they couldn’t make any disastrous mistakes.
Elder Du shouted, “Everyone stop!”. He eyed the spinning sword of golden light still in the air and was overcome with surprise and disbelief, for a child being able to wield the power of a Grandmaster is truly terrifying.
The surrounding people were all stunned. Where did this Demon Child come from that he could humiliate a Fu Warrior Grandmaster so mercilessly.
Luo Jie said, “12th, that’s enough, they won’t attack now.”
12th reluctantly complied and said, “That b.a.s.t.a.r.d, underestimating me…… Hmph.” He was actually really happy inside because this Sword Fu was indeed very powerful—even a Fu Warrior Grandmaster struggled to defend against it. However, he was well aware that he may have placed his group in a difficult position, for if the opponent only wanted to talk from the start then they may not be very agreeable result now.
12th lightly tapped the Sword Fu, the giant spinning sword of golden light turned back into a gold line and retreated back into his Innate Fu. He opened his mouth, inhaled his Innate Fu Orb, and sat comfortably on the back of his horse. Huo Bao and the others watched wide-eyed with shock and envy, they didn’t realise that 12th could already fight evenly with a Fu Warrior Grandmaster.
Elder Du laughed and said, “You all stay back. Elder Xie and Elder Guai, let me go meet these new friends of ours.” His att.i.tude changed rather quickly, changing from enemies to meeting new friends.
Luo Jie smiled and likewise changed his att.i.tude. Of course he didn’t want to fight with three Grandmasters to the death, that wasn’t worth it, as something where both sides lose out is unfavourable to everyone. He also laughed and said, “Alright, Nan Shan, 12th, I’m going to meet with these new friends of ours, haha.”
“Haha, new friends, how could you forget about us, the Black Eagle Cavalry!”
Two warhorses strode over and on their backs sat two middle-aged men, both Fu Warrior Grandmasters. 12th wondered silently, “Huh? Aren’t Grandmasters a rarity? How are there two more now?”
Suddenly, someone let out a long laugh. A man from the vagabond groups sprinted over. 12th was stunned because he recognised this man, it was the one from the South Castle, the one who ate his kebabs as well as the one who gave him a Spirit Fu—Ying Muo. Yet another Fu Warrior Grandmaster joined the fray.
The two middle-aged men, one tall one short, were all covered in Fu Patterns with the ones on their faces so compact and dense that is was hard to see their faces’ colours. The two of them riding on horseback, wore black capes with a Lightning Eagle embroidered on them.
The tall Fu Warrior Grandmaster said, “I’m Feng Yuan of the Black Eagle.”
The short one said, “I’m Ma Shan Dian!”
Seeing Ying Muo sprint over, Feng Yuan called, “Ying Muo! Why are you here?”
Ying Muo retorted coldly, “None of your f.u.c.king business!”
Ma Shang Dian calmly said, “The two of us…… can completely chase you away!” The three men were tense. Elder Du cleared his throat and said, “Since everyone is all here, let’s discuss the issue of the Mysterious Land!”
Ying Muo closed his mouth and walking to 12th’s side, he smiled and said, “So we meet again.”
12th instantly understood, this guy was here to make allies. The Maelstrom Cavalry had three Grandmasters, the Black Eagle Cavalry had two and it was obvious that Ying Muo and the Black Eagles had animosity, but he didn’t seem to be on particularly friendly terms with the Maelstrom Cavalry either which meant that Ying Muo’s only other option was with himself, at least then he had one person to depend on. He smiled and said, “Why h.e.l.lo there Mister Ying Muo.”
Ying Muo wondered, “Oh, you know who I am? I don’t think I named myself when we last met.”
12th laughed and said, “The gra.s.slands is filled with rumors of the famous Ying Muo, of course I know.” Slightly kissing a.s.s to make Ying Muo feel happier.
Seeing that Ying Muo and 12th were previously acquainted, Feng Yuang and Ma Shang Dian stopped talking about him. It was best not to anger this little guy, as they just saw clearly, Elder Xie said one little joke and it invoked 12th’s wrath. The worst part was that 12th was just a child, they couldn’t fight him properly as there would be no honour in beating him, and losing was even worse.
The two of them stalled for a second as they suddenly realised 12th’s intentions hidden in the flashy display. They couldn’t help but feel shocked and surprised at the fact that this kid did it on purpose. A child making an attack, regardless of the result, would be unscathed and regardless of win or loss, there would be an excuse for ceasefire, meaning everyone could act civil and talk. The two of them shared a glance, disbelief showing on both their faces.
Elder Du, who was obviously the leader of the Maelstrom Cavalry, said, “This Mysterious Land was discovered by our Cavalry, however, since this Mysterious Land as a limit of people entering, according to regulations, we occupy seventy percent of that.”
“There’s a entrance limit?”
12th was shocked. To think that the Mysterious Land could limit the number of people entering, that was too strange.
Feng Yuan coldly said, “Seventy percent? Why don’t you just take all of it? At most you get thirty percent! When did the Three-Eyed Well turn into the Maelstrom Cavalry’s property? What a joke!”
Elder Xie suspiciously said, “Oh, then…… The Three-Eyed Well is the Black Eagle Cavalry’s property? Don’t make me laugh!”
“You can’t even beat a kid, stop acting all high and mighty!” Ma Shang Dian shadily said.
At that moment, Elder Xie jumped up and angrily said, “Then why don’t we have a little fight? You short little f.u.c.king snake, other than ambushes what else can you f.u.c.king do?”
As soon as he opened his mouth, he threw a slew of curses, which 12th found amusing as he quietly asked, “Master, how do they know that there’s an entrance limit?”
Luo Jie said, “This is a Mysterious Land that has opened before, as only after the initial opening can they discern the secrets it holds.”
Ma Shang Dian closed his eyes after he finished speaking, refusing to even look at Elder Xie, which angered the man immensely. Elder Du said, “Thirty percent? For you lot? We’ll take at least sixty percent! If you don’t agree then let the battles begin!”
12th asked, “How many people can enter?”
Ma Shang Dian calmly said, “Seven hundred and twenty, once the limit is reached, the entrance will close, not even one extra person can enter, but if it is just one under the limit…… Then the entrance will remain open.”
Ying Muo spoke from the side, “A hundred and thirty seven people have already entered, the number that’s left, well, you can work that out for yourself.”
“Five hundred and eighty three!”
12th exclaimed the number. He shook his head; this limit was far too small, so ten percent was only fifty eight people at most. He suddenly thought of something and asked, “Do warhorses count towards the limit?”
Ying Muo said, “No! No animal or wild beast count towards the limit, it only counts people! This Mysterious Land is so f.u.c.king bizarre.”
12th was thinking continuously, counts humans but not beasts, this was really strange.
After this altercation, all of the tense murderous atmosphere calmed down.
Ma Shang Dian said, “My demands aren’t high. The Black Eagle Cavalry only wants fifty percent.”
“Bulls.h.i.t!”
These words that Elder Xie spat caused Ma Shang Dian’s face to darken again, “If you want to s.h.i.t a bull…… do it elsewhere! Don’t be here disgusting everyone!”
T/N: The characters that I translated as ‘bulls.h.i.t’ here actually literally translates to ‘farting’, which would make more sense for the joke but unfortunately isn’t something that exists in english.
12th stifled a laugh, Elder Xie and Ma Shang Dian were bad news. Seriously, he said, “Technically speaking, we ought to occupy twenty percent, haha, however, we only need ten percent!”
Elder Xie called, “Ten percent! You’re crazy!”
12th impatiently said, “You’re the crazy one! You ignorant b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Dumb s.h.i.t!” If 12th started throwing curses from his mouth he could infuriate someone to death. This slew of curses just made Elder Xie seethe with anger.
Elder Xie suddenly pounced forward. Qi Nan Shan and Ying Muo moved at the same time, and with a loud crack, Elder Xie was sent flying away. 12th cursed at him, exhaled his Innate Fu Orb and was about to use his Sword Fu to smite him. Luo Jie said, “Believe me when I say that I can gather some people and destroy your entire Maelstrom Cavalry!”
Elder Du called, “Elder Xie! Stop!”
12th forced himself to calm down and inhaled his Innate Fu Orb, he cursed, “f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Trying to sneak up on me! How shameless are you……”
Elder Xie bitterly walked over and said, “Don’t let me catch you alone!”
12th smiled coldly, “Oh I’m so scared! All you can do is bully little children, so calling you an old b.a.s.t.a.r.d is more than appropriate!”
Luo Jie said, “12th’s words reflect our intentions. Only ten percent is enough, and our group has two Grandmasters to occupy this percentage, that’s not unreasonable!”
Feng Yuang announced, “I have no objections!”
Ying Muo smiled and said, “Agreed!”
Elder Du furrowed his brows, for the current situation is being controlled by this child. This was beyond belief. He could clearly see that Luo Jie was only following this child’s words, and the other two sides both agreed. As soon as they received that ten percent, what followed would be difficult.
Elder Xie screamed, “Not a chance! I don’t agree!”
Ying Muo smiled wildly and asked, “You don’t? Hehe, there are four Fu Warrior Grandmasters here, as well as a Zhou Grandmaster, and also a young friend who is just as powerful as a Zhou Grandmaster and you don’t agree? What, you lot?”
Elder Xie was about to speak when he was stopped by Elder Guai. He wasn’t stupid, and he knew that if Elder Xie kept arguing the three of them would become the common enemy. Elder Du said, “Fine! I agree as well!” he couldn’t disagree with the terms. The opposition had two Grandmasters as well as someone with that level of power, leaving them unable to argue. Luckily they weren’t asking for much, only ten percent, the Maelstrom Cavalry still has a chance.
12th tugged lightly on Luo Jie’s sleeve, Luo Jie said, “12th, if you have something to say just say it.” 12th put on a display of fatigue and loudly said, “Master, disciple is tired, let’s find somewhere to rest!” Luo Jie couldn’t help but laugh as how cunning this little guy was, he got what he wanted and then just leaves.
Qi Nan Shan said, “Yeah, we ran for a whole day, 12th and the others must be quite tired. You guys carry on, we’ll go to rest.”
They left the other Grandmasters, took the horses and found an open s.p.a.ce to feed them, and set up the tents, with each person feeling gleeful. 12th snuck a laugh and Luo Jie couldn’t stop himself from lightly slapping his head, laughing and saying, “You sly fox, got what you wanted and now you leave.”
Qi Nan Shan said, “If it wasn’t for this sly fox we would probably have had to fight for it.”
Luo Jie nodded, he also felt very lucky. With 12th’s meddling and interference, and the support of the two Grandmasters’ presence, they were able to successfully s.n.a.t.c.h ten percent from the three opposing sides.
Just when they settled down, Ying Muo walked up besides 12th and called, “12th.”
Of course, 12th knew why this guy came, he smiled and said, “The last spot is for you.” There are fifty eight places, but 12th and the others only made twenty, they had no use for the remaining s.p.a.ces, inviting another Fu Warrior Grandmaster can only be good for them.
As for how the Maelstrom Cavalry and the Black Eagle Cavalry distributed the remaining s.p.a.ces, 12th didn’t need to worry over that.
Ying Muo was so shocked, his jaw sagged. He asked, “You knew that I came to ask for the remaining s.p.a.ces?”
12th smiled and said, “Unless you’re actually here to gift me another Spirit Fu……”
Ying Muo laughed heartily, he nodded and said, “Alright, you got me.” He turned and left. Getting a Fu Warrior Grandmaster to owe him a favour was not an easy task, 12th smiled, collected his Hidden Fu Bag, and retrieved some food to feed the horses.
“They’re fighting!”
They could see the horizontal slashes from the swords.The light slashes of the swords were like lightning, Fu being slung all around like a lightning storm and four streaks of fire were shot.
12th said, “Ignore them, once someone loses they’ll automatically cooperate, we don’t need to interfere.” Before he finished speaking somebody screamed, “Wild beasts are attacking as well, hurry…… Defend it!”
Someone ran to 12th and the others and called, “There’s work to do; you guys can defend this opening!” After he finished, he rushed away leaving a trail of dust.
Qi Nan Shan said, “12th, you guys don’t move. Elder, you rest. Everyone else follow me!” He led a group of men and charged to the front ranks.
12th said, “Huo Bao, you guys take you Fu Bows and go practice.”
At that Huo Bao got excited, he called, “Hong Shi, Chen Bing, let’s go!” Chen Hong shouted, “Don’t forget me!” as she took out her Fu Bow and ran over. 12th arrived next to Luo Jie and said, “Master, if the situation turns sour we might have to charge through.”
Luo Jie nodded, he eyed the entrance of the Mysterious Land and said, “This Mysterious Land ought to be very interesting, we must seize this opportunity at all costs. Luckily we don’t have many people, so if it comes down to it, they can’t stop us from charging through…… But first let’s see how things go.” The two of them watched and smiled as the old fox and the young fox finished their conniving.
Luo Zhan and another Fu Warrior Master didn’t leave. The four of them stood there like statues, not going to join the fight, just like an audience.
Not only are those inside the campsite fighting each other, but they also have to deal with the wild beasts. 12th sighed and said, “Man, it’s exciting tonight!”
Luo Jie laughed and said, “If humans aren’t killing other living creatures, they’ll just kill themselves. If they didn’t then we wouldn’t be here today, it’s not strange.”
12th said, “I didn’t find it strange!”
Luo Jie smiled and said, “But you yourself are a strange creature!”
“Well I learn from the best.”
Luo Jie choked on his words. He thought that his disciple would call him a strange old creature, but he never guessed that he would praise his teaching, although thinking about it, it still made him a strange old creature.
12th laughed and said, “Haha, Master, I was just joking……”
Luo Jie stared at 12th, and could see 12th’s hairs stand on end. He had to call, “Master? Master!”
Luo Jie slapped his own forehead and said, “Oops, I’m getting old, randomly dozing off like that.”
12th was speechless.
Luo Jie said, “12th, according to your current progression, I estimate…… You ought to be able to advance into a FuZhou Grandmaster very soon, only…… I don’t know what will you do in the future?”
12th was jumping with joy, he said, “What else will I do? Once I become a FuZhou Grandmaster, n.o.body will be able to threaten me, hehe. I’ll just get by…… Eat some nice food, do what I want, get what I want. Yeah, what would I like to do then? Oh, it’s still eating delicious food, sleeping as much as I’d like…… Man it’ll be awesome.”
“What? Just getting by? Eating? Sleeping…… What sort of direction is that?”
Luo Jie couldn’t help but be stunned at his disciple’s life goals, he’s never met anyone with such a personality. He asked, “Hey, disciple of mine, your brain isn’t broken is it?”
12th mindlessly laughed for a moment. He was still deep in his fantasies.
Luo Jie impatiently smacked him around the head and said, “Oi, wake up! Man, you have no ambition!”
12th stood up straight and said, “This is my ambition, too bad it’s hard to achieve.”
Luo Jie still had the impulse to beat someone up, as he said, “Fine, forget about your ambitions. 12th, once you become a FuZhou Grandmaster, you’ll have reached the top of the ladder at the Northern Fu Sect, it’s the most powerful t.i.tle, although, ever since meeting Li Ran the last time we were in the Mysterious Lands, I’m still suspicious, there ought to be even higher levels that exist…… Didn’t you make a deal with him, that when you become a FuZhou Grandmaster, to go to a place? I think…… You’ll discover something new there.”
12th said, “I won’t be in any hurry to go when I become a FuZhou Grandmaster, haha. Master, the FuZhou Grandmasters are split up too, there are ones more powerful than others. At the very least I have to reach the very top, only them will I go to that promised land.”
Luo Jie nodded, “Yeah, I thought as much, if you aren’t strong enough then going there will be dangerous.”
Honestly speaking, 12th didn’t want to go, but since he’d already agreed the deal must be kept. However to him, it’s not a matter of going or not, but when to go. Opportunity and power are both essential and neither must be lacking.
12th very quickly stopped fretting over this; he wasn’t even ten yet. There was no need to worry so much about it. First live until eighty and then see. Being so young could be annoying sometimes, and if he hadn’t have followed a good master, he might have been just another disciple in the Northern Fu Sect, learning the basics, playing with creating Fu. n.o.body would have taken any notice of him.
Huo Bao dragged a dead wild boar over and called, “12th, this thing ought to be delicious!”
12th’s cooking was the best in the group, regardless of what he made. He was always the best and n.o.body could cook better than him. This guy was born loving food, which fueled his love for cooking.
“Wow, this wild boar is huge, there were wild boars in the attacking horde of wild beasts?”
Huo Bao said, “This was the only one that was amongst the pack of tigers, haha. They all have these tusks, with a pa.s.sing glance they do look the same. Grandpa Nan Shan killed it with one slap that left no marks on the corpse.”
“Skin it!”
Under 12th’s command, the wild boar was quickly skinned. Chen Hong set up a giant stewing pan and 12th started cooking.
They ignored the Maelstrom Cavalry and Black Eagle Cavalry’s battles, and started dining. The sky turned twilight but the entrance to the Mysterious Land was clear because in the Mysterious Land it was still bright. 12th thought that the Mysterious Land’s entrance was similar to the movie screens from his past life. When the night fell, the entrance looked like a beacon of light, attracting huge numbers of wild beasts over.
The battles from the two Cavalries finally ended and each returned to their camps to dine.
Ying Muo smelt the scent of wild boar meat and ran over to 12th’s side as he laughed, exclaiming, “It smells so delicious!”
12th wasn’t stingy. He pa.s.sed him a large bowl of meat soup and said, “Here! Mister Ying Muo, what do you know about this Mysterious Land?”