Gabriel carefully disinfected the strange burns on Xie Ling's arms. The glow had completely died out, leaving only wrinkled and blistered skin behind. Yet the gold still stayed, like cracks on a doll. Its beauty clashed with the ugliness of the burns.
Gabriel applied an ointment, careful not to break any blisters. He wrapped up the burns, making sure to use a non-stick gauze that wouldn't leave fiber.
Xie Ling watched him with an attentive eye.
" You're good at this. " Xie Ling remarked. " I'm not trying to insult you or saying it's a bad thing " He felt the need to justify himself.
" You say that often. " Said Gabriel.
Xie Ling frowned and looked carefully at his face, as if he would better understand the remark this way. Having apparently failed at interpreting his expression, he opened his mouth again.
" Say what often ? " He asked.
" That you're not trying to insult me. Or that you didn't mean to be rude, or noisy, or any other sentences that means the exact same thing. " Gabriel continued.
" That's because I really don't mean it in a bad way ! " Xie Ling exclaimed. Again with that same envy to prove himself.
" It's not that I don't believe you. " Gabriel clarified. " I'm just saying. "
" Then… would you like me to stop ? " Xie Ling asked.
" I genuinely don't care. But I just want you to know that I won't interpret anything you say badly anyway. " Gabriel thought Xie Ling was already too polite. It was impossible for Gabriel to think he meant to insult him.
" Oh. " Xie Ling said with a small smile.
He seemed pleased.
" But why do you feel the need to defend yourself so much ? " Gabriel was curious. It seemed like an odd thing to do.
" Ah. As a side branch member, I did mention that I was practically a servant. And, well… the young masters often liked to purposely misunderstand me to have an excuse to punish me. So I got used to always make it clear I meant no insult, and I guess it stuck. " Xie Ling explained.
Gabriel observed his face. Just talking about his family made Xie Ling's smile dim, and his eyes had that faraway look. Gabriel hoped Xie Ling had stolen all the most precious ressources of his family.
Gabriel's stomach growled loudly. He blushed and avoided Xie Ling's amused gaze.
" Want me to make you something ? " He asked.
Gabriel nodded and swiftly got up, dragging Xie Ling to the kitchen. They ate together before going back to their respective room, careful to obey Lord Zhou's order.
Back in his room, Gabriel saw a plate of food that laid on his bed. It was surely one of the inner disciples in charge of the kitchen. After eating with Xie Ling, he was already pretty full. He put the food aside.
Gabriel got in lotus position on his bed. As he expected, he had won the fight against Xie Ling, but that was only because of Divine Fire Art. And it had been much too close to his liking. If someone stronger than Xie Ling showed up, Gabriel wasn't sure to win as he had thought.
He made abstraction of his environment, forgetting the softness of the bed and the slight current of wind caressing the wooden walls.
Breathe in, breathe out. He started using Celestial Tyrant's Method. The same uncomfortable warmth seized his body. He shifted, but didn't stop. He forced the foreign magic inside of his body, bending it to his will.
[ + 1 Magic ]
[ + 1 Magic ]
Sweat dripped heavily down his face. He didn't know how long he stayed there, focusing on his qi.
Someone knocked at his door. Gabriel's eyes suddenly opened. He flinched. He heard another knock. Gabriel got up, quickly wiped his sweat off and opened the door. A tall man was standing in the doorway. Gabriel recognized his robes as the ones inner disciples wore.
" Lord Zhou wish to see you in his office. " That was the only thing the man said before disappearing.
Was it already time, Gabriel thought. Indeed through his window, the sun had started going down. Gabriel cleaned himself up quickly and arranged his clothes.
He then promptly remembered that he had no idea where was Lord Zhou's office. He stopped a random servant to ask for directions. It was on the last floor of the palace, a floor he was entirely unfamiliar with. Still, he quickly managed to find the office.
The three other disciples were already there, waiting at the door. In the corner of his eye, he sees a screen pop up. Discreetly, he shifted his body to read the message. His eyes quickly went over the message. His muscles tensed. It was a quest.
[ Quest
Survive. ]
The door to the office opened. In the doorway stood a bulky woman, her face weary and scarred. Gabriel guessed that she one of Lord Zhou's guards.
" You may enter. " She said in a rough voice.
They obeyed and she closed the door behind them. She stayed standing in front of the closed door, guarding it. It filled Gabriel with unease. He reasoned that if needed he could go through the window. It would be a pretty tall fall but he thought the bandages binding his wings were loose enough to give away if he forced with his wings.
Inside the room was Lord Zhou, sitting at his desk . It was the first time Gabriel saw him. For some reason, Gabriel had imagined the Lord as someone tall and big, someone intimidating.
Lord Zhou was intimidating in his own way, Gabriel supposed. His stern face and cold glare were definitely intimidating. But his frame was small and his face was delicate in the way most noblewomen's face were. His hair was long, although that seemed to be the norm in the east. But his was silky too and well-taken care of.
To Gabriel he looked more like a princess than a lord of one of the most powerful sects in the world. Gabriel glanced at the other disciples but they didn't seem to be weirded out.
" I called you here for two reasons. First off to inform you of the Sect Leader's decision. " His voice got meaner when mentioning them.
The Lord waved at someone beside him, probably the messenger. The messenger straightened up.
" Our Sect Leader has decided that any disciple to get one of the first ten places in the upcoming tournaments will get a reward personally handed out by the Sect Leader. In addition, those disciples' master would be given a reward as well. " The messenger explained.
" Which is why I have decided that if any of you were to attain one of the first ten places, I let you take an item from my personal treasury. " The Lord paused. " And if any of you were to fail, I would expel you from my palace and revoke your rank as one of my core disciple. "
The Lord let the message sink in. Gabriel didn't care much. If he failed, he be dead anyway. The disciples' faces were tense. Gabriel wondered if being a core disciple really meant that much to them.
Xie Ling seemed particularly tense. His hands clenched tightly on each other. His nails dug into his flesh. That would leave a mark. Gabriel instinctively wanted to take his hand to stop him. He ignored the weird urge.
" Second off, " The Lord continued. " I wish to assure myself that you are all strong enough not to embarrass me. "
Lord Zhou rose from his chair. He started giving off a dangerous aura. Gabriel got goosebumps. The quest made sense now. Suddenly their environment changed. The closed room disappeared, in its place was a wide training ground.
" Survive for five minutes. " Lord Zhou ordered.
Gabriel jumped to the side. Just in time, a giant crater formed in the wall behind him. Lord Zhou had merely struck the air with his palm.
Gabriel cursed. He started panicking before he used his brain. Lord Zhou struck again, Gabriel jumped back as far as he could. He cast Sanctuary.
[ Sanctuary ( lvl 2 ) ]
He saw the other three disciples dodge too. Xie Ling's movement looked slightly off. Gabriel thought he might be using Ghost Steps. Lord Zhou continued to attack his disciples, all without much effort and without any weapon. He noticed that his attacks stopped dead in their track whenever it approached Gabriel.
The Lord moved so fast it seemed as if he had teleported. He was right in front of Gabriel. He raised his arm to throw a hit. The Sanctuary spell stopped him. Lord Zhou's eyes widened. He took Gabriel and threw him out of the Sanctuary. Gabriel went flying but landed on his feet with ease.
Gabriel used Bless on himself a few times. Lord Zhou didn't follow Gabriel. Instead the Lord stayed in the Sanctuary zone with a small smirk.
" How amusing. " He commented.
Gabriel didn't understand. He looked back at Xie Ling and realized. He used Eyesight, and indeed the actual Xie Ling was hiding in the Sanctuary, while an illusion Xie Ling created by Ghost Steps was lying on the ground.
Dai Yu too seemed to have the same idea and was sneaking into the Sanctuary. Gabriel stared at them with judgment. They clearly saw Lord Zhou throw Gabriel out of the Sanctuary without any problem.
And indeed, Lord Zhou had no problem throwing the other two out. Behind the Lord, Li Xinyu was raising his spear, ready to strike.
Lord Zhou dodged and kicked him hard. Li Xinyu keeled over and fainted.
There is a moment where Gabriel caught Xie Ling's eyes and they both shivered in tandem.
Gabriel started using Magic Regeneration, Sanctuary always took way too much magic out of him.
Lord Zhou was focusing on Dai Yu. The woman was the second most agile of the group, just behind Xie Ling. She dodged each of the Lord's fast-paced attack.
Gabriel saw Xie Ling shaking, his hands gripped his blade. He saw the look in Xie Ling's eyes and understood that he wasn't shaking from fear anymore but from envy.
Xie Ling lunged at Lord Zhou's back. Lord Zhou stopped aiming for Dai Yu and violently struck him with his palm. Xie Ling was sent flying, his back hit the wall.
Gabriel acted before he could think. He cast Heal on Xie Ling. The wounds and bruises on Xie Ling's body rapidly faded away.
On Xie Ling's face was a wide smile. Before Lord Zhou could attack anyone else, Xie Ling lunged again.
Predicting that he would have to use Heal multiple times, Gabriel used Magic Regeneration over and over again.
A familiar dark energy enveloped Xie Ling's body. His blade swung in the Lord's direction in a wide arch. Lord Zhou avoided a hit. The attack left a deep dent on the ground.
Lord Zhou stared at the dent with an appreciative eye. Gabriel thought he might as well use Xie Ling to take up Lord Zhou's attention. He used Bless on him.
Xie Ling startled. He threw a quick glance around before focusing his attention back on the Fifth Lord.
Lord Zhou, instead of merely hitting, finally took a proper fighting stance. Gabriel thought Xie Ling might actually die.
Xie Ling lunged at the man. Gabriel healed a few times, and Lord Zhou was far from using his full power, but Gabriel was still surprised when Xie Ling managed to match Lord Zhou blow for blow.
Lord Zhou's cold facade broke into a feral smile. He hit Xie Ling in the stomach. But this time Lord Zhou didn't stop and turn away. Gabriel had a bad feeling. Behind the two, Dai Yu looked him in the eyes. They had the same realization, Lord Zhou was going to kill Xie Ling.
Gabriel spammed Magic Regeneration. He sprinted toward them and used Sanctuary just in time. Gabriel continued Magic Regeneration. Xie Ling was lying on the ground, moaning. His stomach was bleeding profusely. Gabriel tried to heal him to no avail. He had no more magic.
Gabriel stared at Lord Zhou like a deer caught in headlights. If he threw them out of the Sanctuary both him and Xie Ling were going to die. Dai Yu was firmly avoiding having to look at them, she clearly had already accepted their death.
Suddenly, another person appeared.
" Five minutes have passed my Lord. " Said a familiar rough voice.
It was the woman that had let them in. Gabriel stared. He didn't know she had a high enough rank to interrupt the Lord, yet Lord Zhou didn't seem to be offended. How had she even managed to follow them into the training ground, Gabriel thought.
" Thank you for the reminder Liu Jing. " Lord Zhou thanked her with a gentle expression.
Gabriel wondered if they were involved, given Lord Zhou's unusual soft smile.
Lord Zhou seemed to remember their existence and his face became closed off again.
" You all passed. Except this one. " Lord Zhou said, talking about Xinyu.
Li Xinyu was still lying down, eyes closed and breathing unsteady. Gabriel relaxed hearing he had passed. A screen with the quest's rewards popped up but Gabriel ignored it, too worried about Xie Ling.
" Shall I reduce his rank to that of an inner disciple ? " Liu Jing asked.
Lord Zhou nodded. The training ground faded away, in its place was once again the walls of the office.
Xie Ling and Li Xinyu were both still lying down. Xinyu was out cold while Xie Ling was breathing with difficulty, his wound still bleeding.
[ Magic Regeneration ( lvl 3 ) ]
Gabriel had enough magic now and healed Xie Ling a few times until he exhausted his magic once again.
[ Heal ( lvl 7 ) ]
The wound had stopped bleeding and scarred, but it was too deep for Gabriel to heal completely.
Lord Zhou looked contemplative as the wound closed itself. He glanced between Dai Yu and Gabriel.
" Which of you healed him ? " He asked.
Gabriel didn't know if it was intentional, but Dai Yu immediately glanced at him. That plus Gabriel immediately tensed up, making it obvious who it was.
" You were the one who stopped me from attacking too. You have talent. " The Lord declared.
Gabriel's respect for the Lord had gone up by a thousand with fight, if one could even call it that. In consequence, he appropriately bowed.
" Thank you, Lord Zhou. "
" Once you achieve ten place in the tournament, you may call me master. " Lord Zhou said to all of them.
Gabriel hid his grimace. He knew calling their teacher 'master' was common in the Eastern Kingdom, but in the Western Kingdom, where Gabriel was born and raised, that kind of thing tended to be seen as inappropriate.
" I have nothing else to say to you. " Lord Zhou released them.
They left their first meeting with their Lord with Gabriel carrying a half-dead Xie Ling and Dai Yu dragging out Li Xinyu.