I was in the middle of researching when my Second Uncle found me in my bedroom near the hearth.
Funny how the scenario repeated itself.
He came just at the right moment when Tao Fang was meditating and I would not have any forewarning as to his visit or his purpose.
Since he told me yesterday that the men responsible for looking out for me, in their own ways, I knew they wanted something from me, and something only I could explain or give.
So when Second Uncle told me to follow him, that's what I did.
Similar to yesterday our destination was the same, the lounge or the guest room as it was called.
It was the biggest room in the house so it could accommodate more people, which was good since it was winter.
Right behind Second Uncle, who entered before me, I saw the A-Team that had gathered because of me.
The old man. Healer and the oldest among them, He Shoushan.
The oldest after him. Leader of this place and my First Uncle, Yu Qiao.
The not that much younger instructor, Gao Junjie.
My father in this life, Yu Liwei and the Lord of the Clan.
And lastly the youngest of them all, Yu Ying, The Alchemist.
All of them were seated at the round table with only one place left for me to fill. With a large tea kettle and cups by their sides, they watched as I passed the door.
Too bad for them that was all I did.
As I watched them all observing me, I took a few steps back and hid behind the door opening.
The only thing peeking through was the upper part of my face.
Which meant I wanted my innocent eyes to be seen, at least I hoped they appeared that way.
Through my eyes, I tried projecting the wariness, so seeing them being puzzled at my behavior was worth it in a way, as behaving differently from time to time should give them the impression that I am not as easy to figure out.
After the fiasco of Bai Hui and his ‘probable’ MC aura, which I dealt with lots of cursing, I had two things that bothered me.
The Pill which I traded for, and this meeting that was coming up.
For all of them to gather, it had to be important and I knew that it was about me, but I am not a simple person, so I was thinking of a way to increase my favors.
This was one of them.
Observing them with my eyes, showed me that Gao Junjie was well… Gao Junjie. His face betrayed little and when it did all I saw was his brows moving.
The three brothers looked at me with confusion and it was only the old man, the healer, that had some intrigue on his face if my eyes had not played tricks on me.
“ Jiao, what are you doing? ” Questioned my father.
“ Oh, nothing special, father. I just refuse to enter the room. ” I plainly point out the obvious for him, and his companions at the table.
For a few seconds, he and I glared at each other. In his eyes, I could see on his face that he knew that I knew that he knew that I would not tell any details without his prompting.
“ Why? ” He questioned me as he picked up his teacup and took a sip of the warm tea.
“ That is simple to answer. I read stories about these kinds of things. ” I said to him.
Again he took a sip and asked the obvious question. “ What is the story about? ”
“ Oh, nothing that special. ” I said while giving a small inner giggle, which I had practiced just for occasions like this, at the end before finally saying the things I wanted to say, but had to wait for the perfect timing of him attempting to take a sip from the cup.
“ It's about a tender little delicate girl walking in on five adults who scheme against her only to get abused by them as she figured out their hidden scheme. ”
Cough, Cough, Cough,
“ What? ” He questioned as he finally found his breath, only for another sound to interrupt him.
Crack… small boom, sounded out as the teacup in my father's hand exploded like a fruit being squeezed far, far too hard.
“ What??? ” He shouted in my direction.
‘ Guess, it kind of worked. ’
My ploy was simple in a sense. My new identity was that of Jiao, but that word could also be used for tender, and delicate depending on the context of the sentence.
By saying tender little delicate girl, I meant, I JiaoJiao was about to be abused by them because I knew about their scheme or something along those lines.
I was still mastering their language, and it is fucking complicated. It's a wonder I am even able to communicate with them with so little time spent learning it.
When my father's shout finally finished echoing I looked at the others beside him.
First Uncle Qiao, was shell-shocked if his wide eyes were any indication.
Second Uncle Ying was in a similar position but he appeared calmer, on the outside.
Gao Junjie was the same stoic man as he was before.
Only the old man, with whom I had spent the most time in these five months of me being here, knew I was kind of joking.
It was easy to guess by the little smile around his bushy beard.
“ You, you, you? ” I heard my father utter before a hand clapped him on the right shoulder.
My First Uncle spoke, as he tried to calm down my father. “ Second, remember the day you arrived here and how she did a similar thing. She is trying to destabilize your thoughts to gain the upper hand. ”
“ It's my first time attempting something with this language but from all of your reactions, I guess the meaning did come across. ” I told them. “ And your right uncle, I am attempting to improve my own position, but at the same time, I did not lie. While this JiaoJiao won't be abused physically, you do want to abuse my knowledge for your own gains. Am I right? There is no point in denying it, I know it's true. ”
“ You're not wrong that we are interested in your knowledge but there will be no abuse. Of that, you can be sure. ” Stated my First Uncle as he let go of my father’s shoulder.
He gave him a look, to calm down probably, and focused back on me.
“ Sooo. Using age, numbers, gender, and the societal position that you possess in this world and validates your superiority, it is fine to milk a little and delicate girl of her knowledge and not consider it abuse? ” I retorted back at him.
And Oh, did his eyes open up.
For a second I could imagine flashlights bursting out of them, but only for a second.
“ Jiao, I understood the meaning of your words but could you explain it in more detail? ” Interrupted us, the old man.
Breaking our staring I glance at him, still behind that door and only my upper face being visible. “ I am interested in how you see this? ”
“ Old man, what is there to understand? It's as I said it. ” I told him.
“ Come, humor this, old man. Will you? ” He said with a smile.
“ Hmph, fine. ” I said but stayed silent for a bit, to find the right words.
I did not expect to have to explain myself like this. “ All of you are older than me, even if I count the years of experience from the memories of my past life. That inherent age gap already puts me one step down in the negotiations. The numbers are about the peer pressure emitted by those having a greater number of people during the negotiations. My father and the two uncles unconsciously know that I am a tough nut to crack, so they decided to hold this meeting with all of you present to pressure me to talk. ”
From their reactions, it was easy to see that I was right. I just don't know how aware they were of their actions.
“ As for Gender and Society. Well, those go hand in hand. ” I said. “ The Eastern-based culture is a patriarchal society. Meaning that those in powerful positions will always be men and very rarely women. I have asked about the Azure Wind Empire and its structure so you can not deny it. ”
I had paid a lot of attention to this part of the Empire's structure from the beginning since I had turned into a girl. “ Aside from the Empress, no women are holding any political positions. With that being the case and with an Eastern-based tradition of worshiping one’s Ancestors, that won't change, ever. ”
Seeing their eyes light up at my words, I knew I was going in the right direction. “ This means that I will always be looked down upon because of my gender. Whether young or old, all of them will think of me as somebody that is below them and to be used however they want. In the best-case scenario, they will see me as a girl from a mighty background and try to find an easy way to pluck me as if I am a fruit just waiting to be plucked at their convenience. At the worst, they will simply ignore me thinking I am delusional and overreaching my position. Or something similar because I am a girl now. ”
There I stopped my rant, took a deep breath, and relaxed but a suspicion came to me as I looked at the old man. “ That… felt good. I may have been holding that for quite some time. Old man, did you by any chance notice I had some pent-up stress in me? ”
A small smile and shrug of his shoulders told me all that I needed when I heard somebody address me.
“ I see, so that is how we appear to you? ” Questioned my First Uncle, but I could see the same look upon everybody present before me.
Sighing internally I stepped out of hiding and made my way inside the guest room and sat upon the round table.
In seconds I poured myself some tea and sipped a bit of it.
“ It's not what I think, it's what you are already doing. ” I said to all of them and pointed at the round table. “ Due to your upbringing and the culture you were raised in, you will always have those feelings when looking at me. No matter how the familial bond is strengthened, women in a patriarchal society will always be looked down upon. The degree will be different due to familial relations but that fact is indisputable. ”
With a stern voice behind my words, I continued. “ Do not bother denying it. Just the fact that you all gathered here like this, without notifying me of the reason, confirms it. The only reason as to why I am able to sit here before you all, without being beholden to you all is that I refuse to accept being treated that way, and the only reason you have to tolerate me at all is that I carry the blood of the Yu Clan. Another fact is that I have ways with which I can defend my personal mental health, meaning you can't force me to do anything. ”
With those words said to them I looked at my father and spoke with a softer voice. “ Father, I have told them my inner thoughts to see my conviction just like you had experienced it once. ”
Immediately I could see the understanding in his eyes. “ So let me give you a warning as well. In the future when somebody comes and offends me in some way, I will always retaliate. The degree of retaliation will depend on the offense, but no matter who it is, why they did it, their cultivation, or their position in society, I will sooner burn them all to ashes than risk my own mental health. ”
“ Even if that offender carried the same blood as you? ” I heard him say with a sorrowful voice.
“ Father, I will be honest. Any memory that existed from before the current me resurfaced, I simply have no memory off. Any feelings that I carried before are gone in the wind. To me, you and everybody else are strangers. ” I said anxiously as I looked at all of them at least once before refocusing back on him.
My words hurt him. That was easy to see. “ I am trying to cultivate any familial bond that could exist between us, ultimately though, it's the little Me versus the whole new world. And I will always pick little Me over anything else. ”
“ Ha. ” Was all he said before taking a deep breath himself. “ If that is how you think, then that way it will be. You know my own stand on these things. We have made a deal, after all. ”
“ Thank you, Father. ” A bit thankful that it stayed that way. I focused on the others. “ You have seen my resolve and felt my reasons. Now are you done posturing like a certain bird or is there anything else I need to say before you tell me the reason as to why you all gathered like this? ”
“ There is. ” I heard the old man announce. “ Could you elaborate a bit on the Eastern culture part? I have never left the Azure Wind Empire and from what I hear those surrounding the Azure Wind Empire have the same traditions as we do. ”
“ Umm, we can talk about that on a separate day. Suffice to say that my past world had many, many cultures. ” I said to him. “ So, First Uncle. Isn't it about time why you tell why you gathered everybody for little me? ”
“ Why would you assume that it was me that organized this? ” I saw a slight twitch of his brow as he asked.
“ I doubt it was Second Uncle since he could have asked me yesterday, but did not, and since he is the youngest of you three. That tells me that it was somebody above him that made this meeting happen. Father on the other hand is a bit too busy processing well… other things. ” I say to him. “ Which leaves you? So out with it? What do you want to know? ”
“ Hmph, fine I will take the blame. ” He said as I noticed his eyes shift to the left for a second. “ The bout you had with Junjie the other day has shown us a few things we had ignored up to that point. First, so far we had left you alone and did not inquire as to how your Power works in any detail. Second, following that, we also do not know the growth you will possibly achieve and neither the needed time for it. Thirdly, we want to know the details as to how our Mantra could help you. Fourth, Junjie has theorized that since you do not want to make the Oath required for the Mantra we tempt you with something else. ”
“ That something else, being? ”
“ Your father's bloodline Ability. ” There was such a thing? “ Aside from our great-grandfather and founder of the Clan, Yu Tian, he is the only one to manifest it. Junjie thinks that it can help you somehow? And finally. Fifthly, we want to know about Abilities as the only knowledge we have is scarce. ”
With a tiny bit of regret at not possessing the knowledge, he went on. “ It is very hard to acquire any knowledge in detail about them. Those that have it usually take it to the afterlife. All we know is that they are a representation of one’s Ancestor’s comprehension and the stage of cultivation they reached, and them being passed down very rarely, of course. ”
“ You people genuinely want to milk me dry of knowledge. ” I responded in return. “ That is a lot of things to divulge. ”
Cough. Echoed a few times as I considered their proposal.
“ Well, let's start with the obvious. Father? ” I stared at him.
“ Right. ” He said. “ The bloodline Ability manifested for the first time in a battle when I was 19. At that time I had just reached Foundation with both cores and went for my first mission at that stage. It was a caravan escort mission. “
My Father explained. ”There was a lot of merchandise and predictably there was an ambush. At first, it was fine, since they only showed the prowess of bandits. So everybody's guard was lowered ignoring the fact that bandits of such caliber should not even think of attacking a caravan of such size. Anyway, when the alertness was lowered down, the true force attacked and I happened to engage a Core Cultivator right at the start. ”
“ Foundation vs Core? How did you do? ” I interrupt him to ask.
“ Having a double Core I was not as disadvantaged as you might imagine, but being a fresh Foundation, all I could do was defend myself and pepper him with Spiritual Arts from time to time to keep myself alive. ”
With a smug expression on his face, he went on. “ It was during that dance of death that the Ability manifested. I can still remember the rushing feeling of strength and control that I never would have imagined I could have. With it, my Heavenly Jade Qi control went through the roof, and with that control, my Spiritual Arts gained the needed strength to help me overcome my opponent. ” He said with an elated expression on his face.
“ So what happened afterward? ” I ask him.
“ Afterwards, well… I sort of went on a rampage and slaughtered Foundation after Foundation. ” Said my father proudly but as I stared at him, he realized what I wanted to know. “ After the combat ended I lost consciousness and slept for a few days. When I woke up I continued feeling bad for another week before the effects started vanishing. ”
“ You must have trained it to avoid the side effect? How is it now and do you know its effects in detail? ” I sent him another few questions.
“ Much to my older brother's dismay, I put a lot of work into it. ” Replied, my father. “ It was hard at first, but over time I gained the needed control over it and the benefits it gave. Depending on the expenditure I can have it up for a long time but right now, without any combat, I can have it up for hours. ”
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“ That said, I am sure you want to see it. ” He said as he stood up and strayed a bit away from the table and started to slowly take off the upper part of his clothes.
He let them hang from his waist and I got to see a very nicely detailed muscled body. The definitions of the muscle groups were impeccable. It made me remember my experience of going to the beach and seeing men like that wander around and picking up women as if they were candies.
Before he did anything I stood up and closed the distance between us and with my right hand touched his abdominal muscles.
When I finally looked up at him, I saw his puzzled look. “ Stay like that for a second. ” I said to him and moved around him while memorizing the muscle definitions to memory.
“ Ok, I am done, go ahead. ” I said before staying by his side.
“ Hmm, I will ignore that. Anyway, my bloodline Ability is not showy at all and all the effects that happen are inside me, but as I gained more control over it, a few changes happened. ” He informed me, as his skin started to turn pale green and a crystalline structure started to materialize above his skin.
Within seconds he turned into a Jade statue.
It was also then that I saw what he meant. All over the Jade Skin Armor on his chest and arms, I saw squiggly lines being drawn.
They were the most prominent on the chest part but to my mind, they made no sense at all.
Looking away from them I spotted something on his head. “ Is that a crown? ” I ask him.
The crown in question was neatly placed and styled just right for the top bun hairstyle that he had, or touji as it's called here.
It made him look quite regal, in my opinion.
“ Cough, something like that. ” He replied. “ That's not all. ” He added as he turned around and there on his back another curiosity could be seen.
From the neck, down the spine, I could notice the slight indentation of lines, but these were different.
These were layered properly and it was easy to recognize them as words.
Reading from top to bottom they said ~ Yù gāo yú yīqiè ~
“ Jade… Above… All? ” I pronounced the words slowly, out loud.
Only after father turned around did he nod to my deduction. “ Yes, that is what I called it since it manifested and that's what appeared on my back after I entered the Core Stage. ”
“ Jade Above All? It does explain a few things. ” I commented and switched topics to not have them troubleshoot what I meant by it. Namely father’s inner wants.
“ First Uncle, you said only Ancestor Yu Tian, had an Ability. Is it the same as fathers? Oh and by the way, since I am asking about him, let me ask this. Is he still alive? ” I asked and stared at him.
“ I don't know about that, but the probability is high that he is still alive. Before he made his departure, he only mentioned his destination and left some notes for the family. ” Replied Uncle.
“ According to the notes left by Great-Grandpa, it should be similar as both had increased the user's control of the Heavenly Jade Qi by a staggering amount. However, there is no mention of anything else, especially the words Jade Above All. ” He said firmly, as they all probably searched for answers in it.
“ Oh, and what is the destination and why is it there? ” I absently replied to him as I reached out and touched the materialized on my father's skin.
It, well… It definitely felt like Jade. For a Clan carrying the name Jade, they had a lot of Jade here and there, so I can tell that fact easily.
“ Jiao, remember our conversation in the carriage about the Beast migrations? ” I heard the old man intervene in our conversation.
Focusing on him for a second, he continued. “ Those that reach Soul Creation find it hard to progress from that point on but that is nothing compared to the stage after if one is lucky enough to achieve Soul Formation at all. Usually, those that reach Soul Creation, if they have no more attachments, leave for one of the three Great Empires bordering the Eternal Forest. ”
“ Eternal Forest? Is it truly Eternal or is it just a metaphor? ” I ask for the sake of my curiosity.
“Probably not Eternal, but probably very big. ” The old man said. “ It is said that the Qi density in the forest is so high that even rocks will kill you as they can gain sentience with enough time, much less the Spiritual Plants and Beasts themselves. ”
“ Sounds like an interesting tourist destination, I will write it on my list for the future. ” I said and focused on the here and now.
Placing my palm on my father's arm I sent a bit of my power to check the insides only to find out I could not penetrate the armor.
It was chock full of Jade Qi.
“ Father? Are you actively defending against foreign Power intrusion or is this natural? ” I ask him, without taking away my eyes from the spot my palm was touching.
A few tests showed me that without major investment I was not breaking through that defense.
“ Natural, as all Jade Skin Armors have that benefit. Only mine is stronger than usual. ”
“ I see. It wouldn't be wrong if I assumed there was a significant physical strength increase. Right? ” I asked and gazed at his face when he nodded.
“ Alright, so far I have gained what I can and come to a conclusion. ” I declared.
“ And the conclusion is? ” I heard my father ask as I detached my palm from his hand.
“ Well for that I am gonna need some ching-ching! ” I laughed a bit at that part.
Despite the Jade Skin Armor, my father’s facial remained fairly fluid, unlike what I had imagined. “ Yes, father. Just as you imagined it, I am talking about my pay. After all, a girl has to earn money to survive in this world. ”
Stopping there for a second for a greater effect, I tried my best to make a cute cat-eye expression as I looked up at him. “ Or could it be that you will deny your daughter some pocket money? ”
“ Pocket money? Are you talking about an allowance? ” He asked me curiously.
“ Naturally. Soo? ” Another cat-eye temptation bounced on him and I saw the signs of surrender.
“ Fine, we can talk about that later. Let's continue with the current topic first. ”
“ Sure, I will start first, before we try to see what I can gain from your Ability and only then speak of the details. ” I said. “ First, What is an Ability? How are they made and lastly how are they divided? ”
“ First, What is an Ability. ” I adopted a teacher's pose of pointing a finger at him and the others in the room. “ The easiest explanation would be that an Ability is a permanent Spiritual Art cast on the user so that they can use it whenever they want or however the Ability is meant to work? I am sure you and others could come to that conclusion easily, right? ” Few nods later I went on.
“ Of course, there is more to it than that. Like the inherent knowledge of said Spiritual Art and all its effects, but those are not that important to you, father. ”
“ They are not? ” He asked, puzzled.
“ Yes, you inherited the Ability therefore any inherent knowledge of it has to be experienced and practiced to be able to harness its full potential. ” That part he understood, easily.
He had trained it for years, after all. “ Any of the knowledge that would come with that experience is secondary as you only need to know its effect to use it. Not like you need to create it from scratch. No, the hardest part is acquiring the needed knowledge of Spiritual Arts and their effects and attempting to create an Ability. ”
“ And for both a very high cultivation is required? Then how did you do it? ” I heard the questing voice of my Second Uncle.
The alchemist inside him was curious as he finally spoke up, probably.
“ Different Power systems, different requirements. ” I told him. “ But the inherent understanding needed for creating them does not change. I not only have to know what I want to create, but I also have to define it to a certain standard before finally attempting its creation. If that standard is not met its creation is rejected. ”
“ Now, Second Uncle, before you ask by whom, let me say how it's created in general. ” I say to him. “ Imagine a stamped signature. The one that is used to mark an official document or something. The paper is the user. The signature would be the Spiritual Art. The stamp is the Universe and the Ink is the Power used for the binding, meaning Qi in your case, father. ” I explained to them. “ Another important basic thing to know is that there are two places an Art can be imprinted on. The physical body, meaning a bloodline, and the other being one’s Will or Divine Sense in a Cultivator. ”
At that last part, I saw my father's gaze turn cloudy for a bit.
“ And the last thing you need to know is the most basic of them all. ” I declare to my students. “ Abilities are divided into three categories. Attack, Defense, and Support. All of those have their own categories, but for you, father, the important one is the Support category. ”
“ Support? Indeed, that's how I see it most of the time. ” He said as I saw his eyes telling me to go on. “ Support can also be divided into two subcategories. First, Base or Foundation, if it sounds better, and the second, Utility. ”
“ Of the two, which is mine? ” He questioned not only me but himself as I saw his eyes slightly blank.
“ The distinction between them is small. It could be either but that is up to you to decide, father? Is it not, father? ” That did bring him out of his stupor.
“ That makes sense. So far it was up to me to decide what it will be used for. ” He remarked.
“ With all that said, father, I think it's time I received my payment, or at least we attempted it. Otherwise, I will have to stop here. ” I proclaimed my demand to him.
“ Sure, how do you want to do it? ” How indeed?
With a thought, I summoned my phantom in its full Jade form and had it appear behind me.
Seconds later, I was done reshaping its muscle definitions and seconds later I felt five distinct Divine Senses on it.
Sensing them I had the phantom materialize so their naked eyes could see it.
“ Here is how I imagine it will go. ” I said. “ It will be far too much trouble for me to attempt and pass your natural defense, only to receive far too little in return. I think we will do it in reverse. Take my hand. ” I told him and gave him my left hand.
He took it and locked it in a handshake lock. “ Father, I want you to concentrate on my hand and send all the feelings your Ability Jade Above All gives you, to it. Let's try that first. ”
In seconds I felt Qi protrude from his Jade hand and enter my own. I kept it close to my wrist and examined it. “ Father, stop. It won't work this way. ”
“ Why? What's wrong? ” He questioned me.
“ Just a feeling that it won't work that way. Let's try it another way, but first, let go of my hand” I said and separated a small piece of Auril from my phantom and had it stay in that same hand.
Transferring some Life Essence into it, I had it grow to a small-sized ball. Not too small for my father's hand and not too large for my own.
Showing him the little ball, I explain. “ Touch the ball and send the Intent of the Ability to it when the Qi touches it, but don't let the Qi mix with it. Just the Intent. The Jade Intent in your Ability and this ball should be able to resonate. Go ahead and try. ”
It took him a few tries to do it. Probably as he never had separated Jade Intent from his Qi before, after all, it was all Qi to him.
Normally nothing would happen but as he was sending that Intent to my Auril infused with Jade Intent, it happened on the fourth try.
That is when I felt it, the difference that is.
What father sent me was Intent, yes. But at the same time, it was SO much more.
It was regal, yes, majestic even. Heavenly too, but most of all it was something else.
Something that is, Intent, yet so far above it.
It was Authority.
Authority over Jade.
Finally, it clicked to me as to why he had named his Ability as such.
His Jade was truly Above All.
I wanted it.
I longed for it.
With such infatuation, I only realized it when it was too late.
The Jade Authority resonated with my Auril infused with Jade Intent and like a shark jumped from the ball father and I held, entered my body, and through the Internal LE Construct, that I used to heal my injuries, and went straight for my head.
The Jade Authority used the Life Essence construct like a superconductor and hit me straight where it hurt the most, my Will.
It stunned me as I had never felt anything like it before, and then used my Will to jumpstart itself into the Jade Phantom behind me.
Paralyzed for those few moments I may have been, but I felt what happened next.
The Jade Authority resonated with my Jade phantom and like two lovers they kissed and intermingled only for them to become one and immediately call for the priest to officiate their flash marriage.
When the priest came, I felt it.
My father, who was connected to all this, felt it.
The others in the room felt it, as their Divine Sense was connected to us, to observe us.
All six of us felt it, as the Will of the Universe descended on us but mainly on father and me.
Like a giant boot, it pressed on us when I heard somebody exclaim out loud with sheer astonishment behind the words.
“ By the Heavens, This is Dao's Descent? ”
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. I shouted in my paralyzed head.