Chapter 1097: The [Art] of War
About a century ago, the Zhen Clan suffered a horrible tragedy.
The previous leader, Zhen Xun Bo, and his eldest son, Zhen Xun Gin, died in a rather dramatic fashion at the hands of the Fallen.
At that point in time, the Zhen Clan had managed to locate the Fallen in the [Abyssal Lands] after getting tipped off by some informants that the former were attempting to acquire the inheritance of some ancient super expert.
Little did they know, it was a trap.
In reality, there was no inheritance, and the War Elder had lured in the Zhen Clan’s leaders in order to kill them as he did the leaders of the other clans.
Before he could finish the job, Zhen Xun Tian, the last surviving daughter of the Patriarch, suddenly exploded with power and captured him, imprisoning him in the Zhen Clan prison until the end of time.
This single act cemented her position as the next clan head, and under her reign, the Zhen Clan prospered.
But alas, history has a tendency to repeat itself in strange ways.
Once again, Zhen Xun Tian, the Zhen Clan Matriarch, faces off against Gao Ao Long, the War Elder of the Fallen.
Only this time, this battle wouldn’t end the same way it did last time.
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Boom. Boom! BOOM!
“Ya know, I can’t tell if I should be impressed or annoyed that you’re still able to fight despite your obvious injuries,” Gao Ao Long taunted as his [Avatar] reared a fist back to attack Zhen Xun Tian.
“Right back at ya. So why don’t ya do us both a favor and keel over already!,” Zhen Xun Tian roared back as her own [Avatar] intercepted the attack.
In a battle between Aether Emperors, when neither side is holding back, there is very little physical contact involved.
Instead, their [Avatars], the manifestation of their legends and how others perceive them, would clash in their stead.
Of course, that isn’t to say their other abilities, [Regalia], [Astra] and [Icon] were useless at this level of combat, rather, they were being wielded by the [Avatars] instead!
As the battle continued to rage on between the two lifelong foes, both sides proceeded to manifest their respective [Astra] and [Regalia] onto their [Avatars], causing them to take on more war-like appearances. As for their [Icons], they made sure to affix it to their own chests in order to keep pumping aether into their bodies.
Well…aether and something a little extra.
“Ya know, I can’t help but to notice that your [Avatar] is looking a lot…fatter, the last time I saw it,” Zhen Xun Tian taunted as her squid-like asura of an [Avatar] began to launch six fists forward at once. “Is your arm finally taking over your brain?!”
“You’re one to talk!,” Gao Ao Long retorted as his [Avatar] slashed the arms with his axe.”Can’t help but to notice that your [Avatar] is looking less like a giant version of yourself, and more like a giant squid! Has the ink in your back finally poisoned your brain?!”
Evidently, there was a modicum of truth in those words, but not in the way Gao Ao Long hoped.
In fact, has he been paying more attention to the ambient aether, he would’ve noticed something was off…
‘Just a couple more seconds…’
…About a week or so ago…
“Are you quite done? My chest is getting sore.”
“Hey, I never had to ‘complete’ a tattoo before, so a little slack would be appreciated.”
“Boy, you learned how to make aether tattoos in a timeframe that was significantly shorter than what I had planned, and now you’re getting nervous on me?”
“Fair enough…I’m almost done, just give me a couple minutes.”
“Bleh.”
Aboard the [Storm Queen’s Galleon], at an hour most of the other Zhen Clan members were sleeping, Zhen Liu and Zhen Xun Tian were burning the midnight oil in a rather unusual fashion.
The former was completing a certain kraken tattoo on the latter’s back.
“Huh…great grandauntie?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you currently manipulating your kraken tattoo to mess with me or…”
“Nah. Damn thing has been acting up more now that we’re down here. It got even jumpier when we started sailing towards Undertow.”
“Huh…I guess that explains why it seems to be directing me on how it wants me to finish the design…”
“Wait, what?”
Awhile back, Zhen Xun Tian had made Zhen Liu her unofficial apprentice in the art of aether tattoo making. In exchange for this tutoring, alongside several other benefits, Zhen Liu was tasked with completing a certain tattoo that had been crucial to Zhen Xun Tian’s growth as a warrior.
Unfortunately, it was also holding her back.
Due to the incomplete nature of this [Chaos] tattoo, Zhen Xun Tian’s cultivation was more or less being impeded after years of accelerated growth.
If this issues wasn’t resolved soon, Zhen Xun Tian was doomed to be stuck at her current stage until the end of her natural life…or possibly worse, if Logos and Pathos were to be believed.
And they didn’t exactly leave much room for doubt.
“Exactly, how is my tattoo directing you on what to do?,” Zhen Xun Tian asked with genuine worry in her voice this time around.
While she was normally the type to roll with the punches and whatever life gave her, when it came to her own cultivation, she couldn’t help but get a little worried.
“Well…I actually slipped a bit earlier and almost caused the needle to go sideways, but the kraken on your back grabbed the needle before it could go sideways as well.”
“That’s…okay.”
“And now it’s using one of its free tentacles to designate how it wants to be filled in, with specific patterns and runes.”
“My brain is telling me that’s a trap, but my gut is telling to go for it…what about your brain buddies?”
“They said that it should be fine, but they also said that finishing this thing wouldn’t just restore your cultivation but it would also give you the same weaknesses that kaijin got.”
“Dragon Force vulnerability?”
“That and musical aether arts will have an exaggerated effect on you.”
“Really? Huh…”
After this warning was given, Zhen Liu went back to adding the finishing touches to Zhen Xun Tian’s kraken tattoo.
Once the last few lines were added, the effect was almost immediate.
“Oooh…now that’s a feeling I haven’t felt in a long, long time!,” Zhen Xun Tian declared with joy as she got up from the table and got into a seated position.
“Hey, whoa! Towel at least!”
“Bah! Cultivation waits for no one!,” Zhen Xun Tian boldly declared before focusing on her own formula and the tattoo on her back.
As she did, the aether around her began to distort and twist in ways that were characteristic of someone condensing an aether ring.
Except this time, there weren’t any signs of interference.
“Okay, now things are going to get interesting…”
…Now back to the present…
‘…now!’
FWIP!
“See ya, bitch!”
“Huh?”
In a moment that was quicker than the blink of an eye, Zhen Xun Tian had performed a series of actions that befuddled Gao Ao Long for a moment, before turning into despair.
First, she had dismissed her [Avatar] just as it was about to be impacted by Gao Ao Long’s. While this was technically a way to dodge a hit, it was highly unrecommended due to the time it took summon an [Avatar] post-dismissal.
Second, Zhen Xun Tian had suddenly dropped from the air like a stone. In most combat circumstances, this would be the dumbest move possible, as it would leave them wide open for a follow-up attack from an opponent or outside source.
However, it was the third action that caused Gao Ao Long to realize that this was entirely calculated.
“Oh…fuck.”
Because just as he was about to dive down and attack Zhen Xun Tian for exposing herself in such a manner, he noticed that the object in front of his eyes was a Bronze tier aether tool known as an [Reverb Stone].
Unlike [Echo Stones], which could record sounds like speeches and songs, [Reverb Stones] could record the effects of musical aether arts.
And this little rock was just about to pop.
“Motherfu-”
BWAAAAAANG!
“BAAAAAHHHH!”
The sound of a stringed instrument being heavily strummed was released from the stone and caused Gao Ao Long an immense amount of pain as the sound reverberated throughout his body and soul.
Surprisingly though, Zhen Xun Tian was unaffected.
“Ha! So there is actually an effective range for this shit! I knew it couldn’t be that simple,” Zhen Xun Tian laughed as she reoriented herself in the air and circulated her [Chaos] and aether in a more turbulent manner.
This circulation was accompanied by her [Avatar] reforming, with knuckle dusters on all six of its arms.
“Now get ready for my symphony of pain!”
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