On Factions

Bai Guang looked at Li Peipei.

Then he burst into laughter without the slightest restraint.

"Whose fat woman is this!?"

Two cold glints flashed from between the folds of flesh. Li Peipei looked at Bai Guang, her heart sinking.

The two were old rivals.

Yet she spoke no harsh words. Instead, she bent down and gave Zhou Yan a solemn bow.

"Greetings, Hall Master. Peipei has come here to seek martial instruction."

Her fat rippled like water. With her head lowered, Li Peipei failed to see the smile vanish from Zhou Yan's face as he narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down.

Soon, Zhou Yan spoke in a voice only he and Bai Guang could hear.

"There's a rotten stink of the Immortal God Clan about her."

He sipped his tea and cleared his throat.

"Martial instruction? What kind?"

"Your true inheritance and your breathing technique!"

Li Peipei didn't say outright that she wanted the Blood Fiend Breathing Technique, stating her request more tactfully instead.

After all, as Li Peipei saw it, the Three-Phase Martial Arts Hall's true inheritance was the Blood Fiend Breathing Technique, which was also Martial King Lie's signature limit-breaking technique.

Zhou Yan gave a slight nod.

"Sure. Pay up first. The admission fee is one million."

Li Peipei's breath caught.

One million in local currency was equivalent to 100 Ash Zone Points.

The amount was outrageously high, but fortunately, Li Peipei could afford it. She had exchanged several million in local currency when she entered, precisely to deal with a situation like this.

Zhou Yan took out a POS terminal, and Li Peipei promptly swiped her card.

Then Zhou Yan continued, "A technique cannot be passed on lightly!"

"I can see you already have some skills. I'm afraid it'll be hard for you to inherit my mantle in the future."

Li Peipei wanted to say something, but Zhou Yan cut her off again. "How about this? If you want my true inheritance, you'll need to do one more thing to prove your sincerity and magnanimity."

A bad feeling rose in Li Peipei's heart.

"What is it?"

"Claim the title of Fierce Martial King, and I'll teach you a breathing technique."

[Side quest issued...]

Bai Guang's face turned bright red from holding back his laughter, while Li Peipei felt both hopeful and worried.

The quest was difficult. Extremely difficult.

But the reward was tempting too...

Martial King Lie's signature limit-breaking technique... Wasn't it reasonable for a quest to be this difficult?

Li Peipei soon cupped her hands and said solemnly,

"I won't let you down, Hall Master!"

Zhou Yan nodded expressionlessly. "Mm. Go home for today and come back tomorrow. I'll teach you some basic martial arts techniques."

Only after Li Peipei respectfully withdrew and the doors were tightly shut could Bai Guang no longer hold back. He burst out laughing.

"Senior, you really are something!"

"Just like that, you've got a million!"

Zhou Yan dropped his serious demeanor and chuckled. "This old man gets a good pension, but a little extra on the side is always welcome."

"That sucker walked right into my hands. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't take her for a ride!"

"For a million, I'll teach her a few exercise methods tomorrow. She can forget about breaking her limits, but if she loses all that fat, her credit points won't have gone to waste."

As for the Blood Fiend Breathing Technique, even the Three Aspects Gang's nominal members can't get it. You're an outsider, Li Peipei, and you think you can have it?

If you really become the Fierce Martial King, I'll teach you a breathing technique that raises one attribute by a point after a month of arduous training. Then this old man will have kept his word.

As he spoke, he looked in the direction Li Peipei had gone and sneered.

"She reeks of the Immortal God Clan, yet she still wants to come to me for martial instruction? I don't know what's going through her head."

Bai Guang didn't know what the Immortal God Clan was.

But he and Zhou Yan got along well enough, so he voiced his question directly and got an answer.

"The Immortal God Clan is one of the subordinate clans of the Old Ruler, one of the Six Pillars."

Superstar, one of the Six Pillars.

The Old Ruler, one of the Six Pillars.

Bai Guang had heard a little about the existence of the Six Pillars, but he didn't know the details.

Zhou Yan offered a simple explanation. "The Six Pillars are the strongest beings in the universe. Their forces are vast, and many have pledged their loyalty to them."

"In fact, if you trace their origins, any organization you've heard of, or even anyone you know or have met, can be traced back to the Six Pillars."

Take Zhou Yan, for example. He belonged to the Three Aspects Gang, which in turn belonged to Superstar.

Bai Guang was another example. As an oni warrior, he was a nominal member of the Three Aspects Gang, so naturally, he could also be traced back to Superstar.

Then there was Li Peipei. Her backing was one of the countless Cities of Immortality established by the Immortal God Clan, a subordinate of the Old Ruler. Tracing her origins led back to the Old Ruler.

Even Xia Lin.

He was originally from Iron Rain Base, which belonged to Li Peipei. So, if one insisted on tracing his origins, Xia Lin could also be placed under the Old Ruler. Of course, that was quite a stretch, but the logic did hold.

"The Six Pillars contend with one another, and the conflict reaches the myriad worlds."

"The Six Pillars are also far too high above us. We can only look up at them from afar."

"You and she are both too low on the ladder. You've seen and know too little. You might not even know which factions you belong to, or about the open and covert struggles between factions and who is friend or foe. So most of the time, factions have nothing to do with you, and I won't go out of my way to kill that fat woman outright."

Zhou Yan paused briefly.

"But she landed in my hands, so it's only natural that I give her a hard time."

"Kid, you'll need to be careful when you venture into the Ash Zone in the future. As an oni warrior, your position is fairly clear. Everyone in the know will assume you're one of Superstar's people. If you run into anyone from the Heavenly Dao Creator's, the Old Ruler's, or the Primordial Dark Side's factions, stay far away from them. Don't deal with them lightly."

"Even if you meet people from the Soul-Taming Demon Emperor or the King of Kings, you need to approach them cautiously and be careful not to fall into a trap."

Bai Guang nodded in agreement, sincerely taking the lesson to heart.

Inwardly, however, he came to a realization.

During the previous Sequence Hegemony Battle, he had overheard high-ranking sequence members talking privately and seen them band together.

He hadn't understood why before, but now it couldn't have been clearer.

He vaguely recalled the message the Ash Zone System had given him when he changed classes.

[Superstar has vaguely turned their gaze toward you.]

[Fortune lies within misfortune; misfortune lurks within fortune.]

Suddenly, Bai Guang realized something else.

He looked at Zhou Yan. "Senior, that woman has a grudge against me. Could you give me a hand...?"

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Zhou Yan rolled his eyes at Bai Guang.

"Magnanimity! You run to an elder because you can't beat her yourself? With that little magnanimity, what the hell are you practicing martial arts for? Damn it, kid, your magnanimity is utter crap. Get lost!"

Grinning, Bai Guang sidled up to Zhou Yan and set about massaging his shoulders and legs, though he sighed inwardly.

That underhanded approach hadn't worked.

He could only find another way.

"Factions are important. They're incredibly important!"

That night, in his rented room, Xia Lin stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the nearly hundred cards laid out on his bed as he spoke.

After all, if he didn't have a faction, whom would he backstab? And how would he break his limits?

The cards on the bed represented the factions Xia Lin had found for himself!

The Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall, the White Bird Martial Arts Hall, the Rushing Thunder Martial Arts Hall...

Here, I'll sign up for a card—a three-month membership.

Now that I have a card, I'm a disciple of the martial arts hall, right? What? Only a nominal one? Just tell me whether I count as a disciple.

Yes, of course I do.

Then tell me, if I step into the Savage Martial Arena as a disciple of another martial arts hall, does that count as a backstab?

Yes, why wouldn't it?

If a disciple of my hall fights for someone else in the Savage Martial Arena, that's a backstab.

And if you win, that's even more of a backstab.

But deciding which martial arts hall to represent as a disciple, and whom to fight for, required some thought.

Xia Lin fell into thought.