Note: Sorry guys ahaha... Here's the chapter 😩!!
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The arena was still loud when I left it, and it stayed loud as I climbed back through the tunnels. I easily ignored the boos since they weren't directed at .
Even though I understood why, the victory felt boring. Lin Lie had surrendered, I'd been declared champion of K'un‑Zi, and the crowd booed like I stole their dinner. Then the announcer started screaming about the next phase, the "real tournant," and everyone got excited again because violence is easier to cheer for when it's not toward them. I felt it too. The desire of victory there.
So yeah. The colosseum kept being a colosseum.
I was walking toward Illyana's gallery down a corridor that slled like incense and old stone when two crane-masked attendants stepped into my path.
They weren't guards.
Guards here tended to look tense and ready to die for their boss. These two looked clean, calm, and expensive. Their robes weren't dusty, and their masks had gold lines in the carvings. The way they stood made think they had done this exact job for a long ti. As in, standing and sneaking around.
One of them bowed and produced a scroll from his sleeve.
I took it and broke the seal with my thumb. The wax had the crane crest stamped into it. It was simple and smug at the sa ti, which I was learning represented the Crane Mother's whole personality.
The ssage was short.
– Champion of K'un‑Zi. Present yourself tonight. A gift is prepared for your victorious soul. Arrive before the third bell.
No signature, because she didn't need one.
I read it twice anyway. This was a xianxia hidden world, and here polite language hid threats and sotis "gift" ant "test" and sotis "test" ant that I might end up losing my limbs and stuff.
The attendants didn't move while I read. They just waited, heads slightly lowered, like I had a choice.
"I got it. Tell her I'm coming," I said. The attendant bowed again and reached out a hand. He wanted the scroll back.
That annoyed . I liked keeping ssages, because I liked knowing what people ordered to do. It made it easier to rember who owed whom.
I was about to roll the scroll back up and hand it over when I stopped. Wait, I don't have to listen. As far as I knew, I was the reward here, not Crane Mother. She should be grateful that soone as aweso as was going to receive whatever "gift" she had, right? To begin with, I didn't need her gift to roam the world like a King.
I might be overstepping, but at the sa ti, I am Ben Tennyson.
"Nah, I'm keeping it. And I'm going back to my gallery first," I told them. "I'll go et your Mother after."
They went quiet. Then they bowed once more, stepped aside, and let pass.
I headed back to Illyana's box.
****
The door opened without resistance. The wards were tuned to Illyana's magic, so it felt like entering her space even when I was the one who had just won her a tournant.
Everyone was there.
Luna sat on the couch with a bowl of candied food in her lap, idly poking it with chopsticks as if it had offended her. Charmcaster was sprawled in her characteristic pose, looking as if she had been waiting for my arrival to make an annoying remark.
Psylocke as always stood by the balcony with her arms folded. Lin Lie wasn't here, he had likely returned to the gallery where the rest of the Agents of Atlas were.
Illyana sat on her bone throne, boots up, chin on her fist. She looked pleased with herself in that lazy way that was like a cat's. She looked at the mont I entered.
"Champion," she called out, like she was testing the word in her mouth.
"Don't start, the end was very anticlimactic," I told her.
Charmcaster perked up. "He did the thing," she announced, pointing at like I was a circus animal. "He beca important! Wow, Ben. How does it feel to finally get so attention?"
Was she trying to make so kind of reference or joke? I didn't really understand. I just shot her a look and dropped onto a cushion.
Luna didn't look up. "Crowds don't like being denied their murder show," she muttered. "You're lucky they didn't throw fruit at you."
"They did, actually," I recalled. "It was so kind of spiritual fruit though. That's why it stopped after the first one."
Illyana was staring at , as if wanting to say sothing. I leaned forward. "Yes, Crane Mother summoned ."
That changed the mood in the room.
Charmcaster sat up a little. Luna finally looked up from her candy. Psylocke's eyes shifted from the balcony to .
Illyana didn't even blink. "Then?"
"That's your reaction?" I asked.
"Hey, I'm a guest here, I was told about this beforehand," Illyana said. She sounded bored, like I'd asked whether water was wet. "You're her Champion now. She will give you a blessing, and she will remind you who owns you."
"I love when you say it like that," I muttered. "But no, she doesn't own . Even Iron Fist, after getting powers from Shou-Lao, flees K'un-Lun all the ti. If he can flee from his responsibilities, I can for sure too."
The big reason I'd even bothered to participate in this tournant was that it didn't really change anything for . If I represented Crane Mother and won the real tournant, I'd have the role to… "protect Earth." Which I was doing already.
Luna frowned. "Speaking of Shou-Lao, a blessing ans power. But sotis it also ans a trial. Didn't the Iron Fist have to fight Shou-Lao the Undying Dragon?"
"That's what I'm asking." I spread my hands, looking at Illyana. "Since you claim to know, enlighten too. Do I have to fight a dragon? A spirit? Maybe a crane made of knives?"
Charmcaster snorted at that. "You can beat a big fat dragon, why are you worried?" It was less of a question and more of a proud declaration. I was glad she had such faith in , but uh…
Luna glanced at her. "Why are you so fixated on dragons being fat? You said it earlier too."
"Hey, think about it. Dragons are greedy creatures," Charmcaster replied, tapping her temple as if she'd solved rocket science. "Greed and Gluttony are very close, you know? So greed equals eating. It's math."
Illyana's mouth twitched like she found that mildly funny, which was a dangerous sign.
I looked back at Illyana. "Hey, stop being quiet. Is it like Iron Fist stuff? Iron Fist's fists glow bright when he punches people through walls, but to get all that he had to wrestle a dragon."
"Ehh, similar idea, different flavor," Illyana said. "Current Iron Fist, Daniel Rand, is K'un‑Lun's little hero. You're K'un‑Zi's champion, which ans she'll try to shape you into sothing she approves of."
"Yes but how?" I was annoyed how she seed to keep avoiding the question.
Illyana shrugged. "You'll see. Don't be an idiot."
"That is always your advice."
"And it keeps being relevant."
Charmcaster spoke up, voice calm. "If she offers you a blessing, accept it. K'un‑Zi does not offer twice."
I raised a brow. "Suddenly you know a lot about K'un-Zi, a martial arts plane, while you're a mage."
She smiled, "Did you forget it was who researched all this to find you Martial Art and Chi Manuals and stuff? Naturally I had so findings about the heavenly cities' politics as well."
Psylocke turned from the balcony and looked at . "I'm unsure what procedure she'll grant you power with, but if it's so sort of direct Chi infusion and not a divine beast's blessing like Shou-Lao the Undying, be sure not to take it in your human body. You're not conditioned."
"Huh. Sure, I'll just accept it in Four Arms' form, Tetramands are a race of warriors," I agreed.
A shadow moved near the door, and I turned.
Two crane-masked attendants stood there, silent and patient. They hadn't been there a second ago. Either the wards didn't care about them, or they were so good at being background that nobody noticed. Or Illyana just let them in, which was likely what happened, otherwise she'd have reacted.
One bowed, then gestured toward the hall.
I stood up and brushed my hands on my pants. "Alright. Ti to go get blessed or murdered. I'll let you guys know which one."
Luna's eyes followed . "Be careful," she said, and it ca out more serious than her usual tone.
Charmcaster waved lazily. "He'll be fine. Worst case he turns into Feedback and eats the palace. Trust , you don't know how crazy Feedback is!"
"What's Feedback?"
"Hope, stop spilling my secrets," I warned her while waving at everyone, walking out of the gallery.
****
The attendants led deeper into the Crane Mother's territory, and the difference was obvious fast.
The routes tourists walked were pretty. The interior was ticulously clean, as if even dust required permission to exist. We passed courtyards of white stone and shallow pools, with water so still it appeared artificial. The distant sound of a bell rang across the walls.
Carvings were everywhere.
Cranes, obviously, but not the soft gentle kind. These carvings showed cranes hunting and cranes standing over prey, beaks pointed down like spears. The artistic skill was honestly impressive.
I kept walking behind the attendants and let my eyes move. You had to do that in places like this. Everything was a ssage.
As we went deeper, my Omnitrix began to itch, and I felt a faint discomfort in my teeth, strangely like biting aluminum foil. The Dragon Furnace, located sowhere below, emitted a sensation akin to a powerful engine idling.
We passed ward after ward.
Sotis symbols glowed underfoot when we stepped on them. Sotis I felt a pressure in my head like sothing checking if I was really .
The final doors were tall and plain, and that made them more intimidating than sothing carved and fancy. Two crane statues stood on either side, eyes made of black gems that didn't blink.
The attendants stopped.
One knocked three tis.
The doors opened on their own.
Warm light spilled out, and a woman's voice carried through it.
"Enter."
It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
I stepped inside.
….
The chamber was simple, and that was the first thing I noticed.
Instead of my expectations of a mountain of treasure, an army of servants, or a truck-sized throne, the room was simple.
It was a wide space with smooth stone floors, a low platform at the distant end, and floating candles suspended in the air as if fixed in place. The air slled faintly like tea, and there was a clean sharp feeling in it that made aware of my skin. It wasn't fear, but a visceral sense of power, the kind of power that settles in one's bones when they enter the domain of a superior force.
The Crane Mother stood on the platform, a still point in all that empty stone.
The floating candles washed her in soft gold. Her ashen skin showed at her throat and hands, and silvery-black hair spilled from beneath a narrow jade crown shaped like stylized wings, while the filigreed crane mask hid everything above her mouth.
Her layered white and muted blue, gold-trimd robes were pristine, looking more ready for ritual than for practical use. Her hands were precisely folded. She viewed through the mask's eye-slits like a severe teacher judging a tardy student, no warmth, just quiet, absolute authority. And unlike last ti, her clothes showed her… cleavage.
I didn't know how old she was, and while her gray skin was worrying, she looked like a healthy woman.
I walked closer and stopped at a respectful distance, mostly because I didn't want to accidentally offend her. Not yet anyway, she was going to grant a gift after all.
"You summoned ," I said.
"Champion," she replied.
Instead of welcoming or thanking for my immaculate performance, the old lady just called "champion," like she was naming a tool on a shelf.
I glanced around once, then looked back at her. "So what am I fighting?"
Her head tilted slightly, and I could feel annoyance from behind the mask. "Do you believe all power is earned with blood?" she asked.
"Most places I've been, yeah," I admitted.
"Then you have lived in crude places," she said.
"Probably," I said. "Including this. I only stand in front of you because I shed other challengers' blood, don't I? Anyway, what is this?"
"...A gift," she said. "K'un‑Zi will not send its champion into the Seven Cities tournant unprepared. After all… you represent now."
That was, uh, promising. The way she said it showed how she thought of , like a pet. Think of chicken fights. She surely had fun ideas for in her head. It sounded like a leash, like Illyana said.
I nodded once. "Okay. How?"
She watched for a mont, and it felt like standing under soone's microscope. "You are incredibly untrained," she said.
I lifted a brow. "No offense, but I won your tournant."
"You won with a strange machine that changes your body," she replied. "Not with understanding of the Crane's flow."
That was fair, even if it annoyed . But the thing was, did it really matter how I won? She pointed at my wrist. "Go ahead, pick a stronger form. Your human vessel will not hold what I will give."
"Four Arms?" I asked.
"I do not care which," she said. "Choose the one that endures."
Alright, sure. I slapped the Omnitrix and turned the dial. The green light flared and my body surged outward. My bones grinded and muscles layered thicker, until the heavy form of Four Arms hit the floor with a loud thud.
I rolled my shoulders and looked down at her. "Now what?"
She didn't flinch, not at my size or my red skin or my extra arms. That told she'd dealt with weirder than this. She clapped her hands once.
A side door slid open.
I nearly flinched. Four won stepped out, dressed in skimpy Chinese dresses. They moved quietly, and they didn't look lost or confused. They appeared well-trained. Their hair was impeccably styled, and their expressions were serene. They wore minimal, sheer silk garnts that seed intentionally designed to reveal more, almost as if exposure were a required part of their uniform.
They're gorgeous, I stared at them, then looked back at the Crane Mother.
She wasn't amused or embarrassed. She just looked like she was rearranging furniture. The won walked toward and surrounded in a half-circle.
One touched my upper arm, fingers sliding over the muscle like she was checking the shape. Another placed a warm hand on my chest. The third ca up behind and set both hands on my shoulders, thumbs pressing into the tight spots like she'd done it a thousand tis. The fourth stood right in front of and looked up into my eyes, then down again like she was asuring .
I stayed still. Not that I was afraid, I was simply waiting.
"This is…" I started.
"Practical," the Crane Mother interrupted.
I looked down at her. "This is the blessing?"
"This is the thod," she corrected. "You have not trained in the Way of the Crane. Your Qi channels have opened recently, but they are rough and unrefined. If I pour K'un‑Zi's Chi into you directly, it will disperse and much of it will be wasted. So of it will rip through you instead, tearing apart your organs, ridians, and possibly even your sanity."
I didn't like the phrase "tear apart," but I appreciated the honesty.
I still didn't understand the girls' roles. Well I had a theory, but it couldn't be that right? I asked just in case. "So they're… what, conduits?" I said.
She fell quiet, as if surprised, but it was hard to tell with that mask. "Yes," she said. "I have placed the Chi inside them, in their womb. Through intimacy, you will receive it with minimal loss."
I stared at her mask again, then looked at the four won touching like I was a statue. Then I looked back at the Crane Mother.
"Whoa," I said. Dual Cultivation! "Sounds good."
She didn't smile. "Do not mistake this for indulgence. I am not pleased by it. I am doing it because it works."
That, weirdly, made trust her more. If she had looked like she was enjoying this, I would have assud it was a trap.
She lifted her hand slightly. "One at a ti."
I blinked. "What?"
"There are four," she said, like she was explaining math. "If you take all at once, even in this form, you may lose control. Start with one, stabilize, then continue."
The won in front of shifted subtly. The one closest to my chest stepped a little nearer, and the others eased back a half-step like they already knew the order.
I felt embarrassed for about two seconds, which was stupid. I'd been in weirder situations with demons and sorceresses. Still, this was a different flavor of weird.
I cleared my throat. "And you're sure there isn't a catch?"
The Crane Mother's voice sharpened. "Do you believe I need to trick you?"
I started to answer, then shut my mouth again. She had a point. If she wanted dead, she would not need silk‑clad girls to do it. She could poison and stuff, or more like at least try it. She had no reason to hurt her Champion.
I still did not trust the situation. Suspicion was how you stayed alive.
I nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll do it."
The Crane Mother stepped back. Her robes were still perfect, and her hands returned to that calm, folded position. She watched as if this were a dical procedure and she were the doctor overseeing it.
Then she gave the final instruction, her tone flat and absolute.
"Begin."
The door behind was closed. The room was quiet except for the soft flicker of the candles and the faint hum of power in the air. A sudden fear crept in about what was truly going to happen in this room. Will it really just be funsies and gas?
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