Molting the Mortal Coil

His Soul Clone had many years to adapt the Windscreen into a more powerful defense technique, and even to learn how to incorporate the Law of Corruption into its use. Sound is a vibration of molecules, with each knocking up against another to transfer energy and he knew that everytime sound changed mediums much of its energy was lost. For example, trying to hear someone talking while submerged under the water nearby.

He gave his strengthened technique an unimaginative name, Soundshield, but he felt the usage was quite inspired. The original Windscreen created two bubbles and then expanded the outer bubble to create a vacuum of air between them. For Soundshield, here merely layered multiple Qi bubbles. As the sound changed from air, to vacuum, then back to air it lost the majority of its strength. As for the Law of Corruption, he merely had to consider sound as a ‘corruption’ of the air’s natural state and he used his law to reduce that corruption.

Seeing that his first attack seemed to fail, Jinxi Po didn’t give up and released another strike. This time the Elders were prepared and various shielding techniques appeared, sheltering the others in the room from the sudden attacks that were being launched directly down the path between where the Elders of the Xie, Wa, Wu and Xiyi were sitting. The ‘young’ master was only in his sixties and had already become a Nascent Soul, a mark of his great talent, or at least a demonstration of the vast wealth of the Jinxi Faction as the leaders of the Chong Clan. After the second attack was unsuccessful, the man started to attack rapidly, his violent screeches starting to sound much like the chirping of a bird.

At least from Sage’s opinion. With multiple layers of defense around him, he didn’t suffer any damage and instead only heard a soft chirping sound. He turned his head to the side and reached one hand up, sticking his finger into his ear and twisting it. Then he pulled the finger out and checked for earwax.

Jinxi Po was infuriated, his hands formed into fists and held to his sides like he was trying to power up. Sage could see his neck flexing with big veins appearing on it and then his lungs inflated. Then they deflated and Sage heard the man yelling, but it wasn’t to the level that he felt any pain.

Outside of the Soundshield, everyone else in the room was overwhelmed by such a loud noise they could only hear a ringing sound. Even with the Elders shielding them, they had all suffered damage and couldn’t hear a thing. The forest floor in front of Jinxi Po had been torn apart, blasting a channel between him and Sage. Some of the people in the room even had blood dripping from their ears even though they weren’t even the target of the attack.

The once tranquil grove was now torn up and greatly disturbed. The layer of grass was ripped up and there was a huge channel cut into the dirt. The aftereffects of the explosive sound waves had shaken up and knocked many branches and leaves off the nearby trees and there were hundreds of insects skittering away from the conflict with many times more of them laying motionless on the ground, killed by the shockwaves from Jinxi Po’s attacks. Even so, Sage seemed completely unharmed and Jinxi Po was even more infuriated, he attacked two more times, just as ineffectively before Patriarch Jinxi finally made a move. The old man released a sort of whistle sound that instantly stopped Jinxi Po in place. The screeching attacks abruptly stopped and the man snapped his mouth shut.

Everyone in the room was now giving Jinxi Po a dirty look, especially the weaker people at the meeting. They were supporting each other and taking out healing pills to recover from the sudden attacks. They weren’t the target of the attack, but they were still struck by an attack from a Nascent Soul and many suffered injuries. Even if there was such a grudge, why did they all have to get punished for it? Many of them immediately began to think that Jinxi Po was perhaps not as far-sighted or intelligent as they imagined. If he was supposed to take over as the ruler of the Chong Clan how many of them would suffer because of his temper?

Sage couldn’t hear much of what was going on, but there was a field of stars in his right eye that informed him of when it was safe to speak again. He dispelled the Soundshield and shook his head. He gave the Jinxi Patriarch a disappointed look, “An incompetant older generation gives rise to an incompetent younger generation. A corrupt father doesn’t raise a virtuous son.”

The patriarch wasn’t Jinxi Po’s father, but his ancestor. With the long lives of cultivators, there was no telling how many generations were even between them, but Sage didn’t mind insulting them all.

“I’ve brought your leadership into question and you immediately attack? How competent you are, leading the clan with the mindset of a beast, attacking anything that threatens you.”

The old man was not enjoying this moment. He wanted to strike as well and silence this ungrateful bastard, but that would just make his insults all the more true. He also knew that they were true, because he’d never raised Po properly, because he had other plans for the man. Plans that didn’t matter how smart he was, all that mattered was that Po had a strong body. Even so he couldn’t let Lang Sheng smear the prestige of the Jinxi and so he had to get involved.

“What exactly are your intentions, Lang Sheng?”

Patriarch Jinxi didn’t bother with insults or entering into an argument with him. Instead he cut straight to the point as if to say: I can do whatever I want, what can you do about it? Sage nodded in appreciation of how the old Jinxi was far more capable than the young, “I will represent the Xie Faction in a formal challenge for leadership of the Chong Clan. The Jinxi have been in charge for far too long, there are far too many rotten ‘traditions’ that have been created during your time in power.”

A hush fell over the room for a moment and then the Jinxi Patriarch laughed, “Haha, is that your master plan? You, the last scion of the Lang, dares to challenge the Jinxi? Do the Xie agree to this? A failed challenge means a vast deduction to the faction's resources for a decade, can you decide for them?”

Sage turned towards the Great Elder Xie. He fixed his golden eyes upon the ancient woman’s and stared deep. This was the moment of truth. Earlier when he showed off his strength to her, he wasn’t just trying to defuse her anger, but also to set the stage for this moment. If she took the risk on him now, then he would support her wholeheartedly in taking over leadership of the Chong Clan. If she was too cautious or untrusting of him, then even if she did take over there would be little relation between them. If she couldn’t take the leap in forming a relationship between them, then he would have to go with his backup plan: breaking off ties with the Chong Clan completely.

The Chong Clan had barely done a thing when the Lang Clan was eradicated. As far as he was concerned, they had betrayed the Lang Clan by not doing anything to avenge them. Even so, after meeting those on the Xie side, he realized the problem was those in power. Not everyone in the Chong Clan was a heartless wretch, and so he did not plan on destroying them all. Instead, he was going to teach this Patriarch Jinxi a lesson, one way or another.

A single moment seemed to stretch to an eternity as everyone in the room waited patiently. They were all waiting to see what the Great Elder of the Xie would say. If she agreed, then not only would her faction's resources be impeded even more than they already were, but she’d also be unable to make another challenge during that same decade. It was widely understood that the Great Elder Xie was second only to Patriarch Jinxi in the Chong Clan. From the few times they’d butted heads, it always seemed that he had a slight advantage. They’d never openly fought, but because she’d never dared to actually fight him head on, everyone believed that Patriarch Jinxi was more powerful. They were all amazed that suddenly, this new Lang branch head was openly challenging Patriarch Jinxi, something which the Great Elder never did. Lang Sheng appeared out of nowhere less than a century ago and now he has the gall to take on their Clan Leader directly?