Chapter 582: Practice is PAAAAIIIINNNN

"Hey, do you find it bullshit that we weren’t asked to participate in that competition tomorrow?," Rianna asked.

"I mean...not really," Jin Fang answered, "from what the others said about this competition is that it is a very...personal conflict. The kind that spans generations of blood spilt and shared kind of thing. Technically speaking you’re a...guest disciple, and not well...Zhen Family."

"Not yet..."

"What was that?"

"I think the term you’re looking for is, a possible romantic rival and someone who can become your confidant/girlfriend," Rianna quickly answered.

"...have you been hanging out with Pathos again?"

"...maybe."

"Don’t do that for too long, otherwise you’ll end up with a twisted view of the world…more so than before…"

Shortly after the Zhen Clan elders and Corriandis had cleared the pills for safe consumption, Jin Fang was tasked to delivering the pills to the scions while the elders discussed about what the fuck they were going to do about tomorrow.

While none of them knew if something bad and/or dangerous was going to happen tomorrow, they at least wanted to be prepared for it.

Partially out of boredom, Rianna decided to tag along to make small talk with Jin Fang...that and she wanted to vent about not being asked to participate in that weird family tournament happening tomorrow.

Rianna was well aware that she and Jin Fang were already way stronger than most of Zhen Liu’s cousins, so a part of her thought that it would’ve been a sensible choice for them to join in and help win this thing.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

It was already explained to her as to why she couldn’t participate, and she was going to honor that statement, but she was at least going to see how the Zhen Clan scions were going to prepare for tomorrow at the very least...well, she was going to see if Zhen Liu was actually going to blast them all in the face with some kaijin power.

"So do you think-"

"Absolutely yes."

"Damn girl, no hesitation, you didn’t even give me a chance to formally ask the question."

"If you were going to ask about whether or not I think Xiao Liu has had the kaijin posses his cousins in order to give them a power boost by now, then the answer to that would be an unshakable yes," Jin Fang answered.

At this moment in time, both she and Rianna were just about to turn the corner into the alleyway and see how the Zhen Clan scions were doing.

"I like to pride myself on knowing what Xiao Liu is thinking, and despite being significantly more...bold than what I remember, he is still incredibly kind. I’m fairly certain that right about now, we’ll be walking in as the young masters and mistress freaking out over their newfound abilities that Xiao Liu had painstakingly-"

*POW!*

"HOW IS THIS HOLDING BACK?! THAT WAS LIKE BEING HEADBUTTED BY A JADE HORN GOAT!"

"YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TEETH, AND THE IRONY OF THAT STATEMENT IS IMMENSE."

"PLEASE STOP ARGUING, ITS HARD TO DODGE WHEN-HEY!"

"I’M TRYING TO-WHOA!"

"FUCKING, MOVE!"

"-or you know, they’re getting asses whipped, that works too."

"Freaking out indeed..."

As Jin Fang and Rianna walked into the alleyway, they were greeted not by the sight of Zhen Liu acting like a magnanimous bestower of power and gifts, but instead, he looked more like the coordinator of a gym program from hell.

"Come on guys, they’re at their lowest setting right now. I think you guys can handle it, I mean...I have to."

"Wait, what?!"

"That explains...a lot."

"I’m pretty sure subjecting yourself to this kind of training counts as self-harm!"

In four different little arenas made of ice, Zhen Tai, Zhen Xing, Zhen Guo and Zhen Feng were sparring against Nepherage, Razorstella, Hurricroak and Frosttusk, respectively.

Or, if we’re going to be more accurate about it...

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Zhen Tai vs Nepherage

*FWOOSH!*

’Bullshit this guy is only as strong as an Aether Acolyte right now! It’s moving twice as fast and hitting three times as hard!,’ Zhen Tai cursed as he narrowly avoided a straight punch to his fist by whipping his head to the side.

Among Zhen Liu’s cousins, Zhen Tai decided that he would be the first one to undergo this…exposure practice.

As such, he was given first go on deciding which of Zhen Liu’s puppets he wanted to face.

It didn’t take long for him to choose the red jade demon woman puppet, i.e., the one Zhen Liu had initially returned from the dead with, because he had figured that since she was technically his first puppet, that meant she was probably "weaker" or less refined than his other puppets.

Lo and behold, he probably should’ve taken longer to decide.

’I can’t get a fucking single hit in…and all they’re doing is punching!’

The moment he stepped into the ring with the jade puppet, the latter took on a fighting stance that seemed to emphasize punching attacks as opposed to anything more flexible.

This stance had initially given Zhen Tai the impression that he could possibly outmaneuver his opponent, since they would likely only attack in straightforward ways…woe be unto him.

Zhen Tai didn’t expect that the jade demon woman would not only use Ignati aether to accelerate the speed of her punches, but also use it to literally fire off attacks from her knuckles.

Even more frustrating, there were times that they didn’t use any aether at all and just went for a much slower punch, which completely threw off his rhythm.

While in his head he knew that this was probably Zhen Liu’s doing, he couldn’t help but think this puppet had a mind of its own and was messing with him on purpose.

’How am I supposed to counter this shit?,’ Zhen Tai asked himself as he got back into position.

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[Pride yourself on flexibility…unable to cope with sudden changes in patterns. Come on snake boy, show some courage.]

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Zhen Xing vs Razorstella

*Swish-swish! Thrust!*

’Crap! Shit! Dammit!’

Zhen Xing had decided to go toe to…blade, against Zhen Liu’s weird looking Razor Maiden puppet.

In his mind, he figured that since the Razor Maiden was the smallest and thinnest looking of the bunch, he’d be able to beat it if he got in a solid hit.

That was significantly easier said than done.

From the moment he entered into the ring, this ballerina of blades began spinning and dancing in such a way that threatened to lob off his head with a single strike of her legs or claws.

It reminded him a bit of how he would relentlessly combo attack during a fight, but this was significantly more elegant.

Every kick, every swipe, every spin seemed to cohesively flow into each other, essentially creating a barrier of knives that made it impossible to break through without cutting oneself, and impossible to avoid without creating a lot of space.

Zhen Xing knew he had to stop the spinning…but how?

’Do I just risk it and throw myself directly into danger, or…’

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[Come on star child, pay closer attention! Every dance has a rhythm to it, just find it.]

_____________________________________________

Zhen Guo vs Hurricroak

*ZAP! ZAP! SWISH!*

’If you’re going to use projectiles, please stick to one type!’

Amongst the remaining two aether puppets left to fight, Zhen Guo had decided to go up against the one organic looking puppet that just so happened to also look the most colorful amongst them.

He remembered seeing this puppet once before, back when he had initially gone with some of his cousins to go see Zhen Liu at the abandoned quarry he insisted on training in.

Zhen Guo now understood why, completely.

’An opening!’

*CLANG!*

’WHAT THE FUCK?!’

This weird frog chimera puppet had to have been the most confounding opponent he had ever faced.

One minute, its jumping around like a frog and alternating between using its tongue or sound-based aether arts to attack him, the next, its suddenly growing giant wasp wings and threatening to pierce his skull open with oversized stinger arms!

And now, just as he was about to land a proper hit, it suddenly developed ultra tough crab-shell like armor.

Zhen Guo could swear that this thing was smiling even wider after doing that little trick.

’Its like fighting five warriors in one...how the hell am I supposed to cope?!’

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[~Come on, come on~ And show me, some fighting spirit~]

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Zhen Feng vs Frosttusk

’COLD, COLD, COLD, COLD, COOOOOLDDDD!’

Zhen Feng had been given the short straw in this particular sparring line up, since he was up against Zhen Liu’s biggest puppet, which was also the one that could produce ice constructs.

From what Zhen Feng could remember, this puppet was called "Frosttusk", due to its icey abilities and the fact that it looked a bit like a mammoth, which was apparently a type of hairy elephant found in colder climates.

And as it turned though, this thing weighed way more than the average elephant.

’Why. Aren’t. You. Moving!’

In comparison to his cousins at the same level, Zhen Feng prided himself on being the ’strongest’ and ’toughest’, due to his rather...rotund physique, so he thought he could easily just lift Frosttusk out of the arena.

That turned out to not be the case,, and the damn thing kept sapping his body heat the longer he clung on.

’There has...got...to...be...a...way!’

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[Strength...without...direction...is...meaningless...]

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"Y’all sure you don’t want to get into the ring? I do have more puppets stashed away."

"I’m good, I already got the power-up from the frog puppet," Zhen Hai declined.

"GOOD LORDS, IT HAS CLAWS! WHY DOES IT HAVE CLAWS?!," Zhen Guo complained.

"That and I kind of don’t want to be on the receiving end of whatever the hell those other puppets are hiding, because by the heavens I didn’t know that your current ones could do…that."

"Fair enough, what about you Zhen Yue?"

Off to the side of these hellish sparring matches, Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai were watching in order to see if they could provide advice to their cousins about their fighting abilities.

So far...nothing.

"I...maybe," Zhen Yue answered.

"Although, I think you should probably address your girlfriend and fellow disciple’s entrance."

"Huh? Oh! Hey-o, what’s up with the bottles?"