(Author: Hello all! Last chapter Zhuang went berserk and killed one of the Six. Note: a Six will be replaced if the member of the Six was a martial artist who did not fuse his body with his martial spirit to gain a martial body as explained in my earlier chapters. Anyway, the remaining ninety eight parties have entered the ruins and the race for the treasures is on. We also find out more about martial spirits and martial bodies. As usual, the title of the chapter explains itself. Enjoy.)

Chapter 13: Spirit Abilities

Zhuang was dreaming while Shuang was giving him spirit energy to stabilize his condition.

A lone evil jade spirit wrestled with its chains as it stared back in defiance. A court of seven beings made of light looked down on the evil jade spirit. It watched as the Seventh it was bound by soul to scream in agony. All they wanted was to destroy the Six and rule the world. They did not want to be chained by the laws of the Overseers. All they did was watch. What gave them the right to make them follow the rules. The Seventh and Eighth were made to wreck havoc on the planet.

The Eighths of all the mortal worlds were annihilated and their martial spirits were enslaved. So too were all the Seventh and only the evil jade spirit and his master remained for three years until they were found. It watched as its master was killed and the evil jade spirit no longer had a host. It lived as it was a martial spirit. It cannot remember how many hosts it had who died before the evil jade spirit could fuse with their body and give them power while it died. It was tired of the endless cycle. Spirits were meant to be a higher being! Why did they have to be tools for humans, demons, and other creatures? WHY?

"You are guilty of aiding your Seventh during the rebellion to slay the Six Heroes of the worlds. A new law will be made. Any Six will chose which path they want as there is no longer the supreme Seventh or Eighth to create chaos. Suitable candidates will be chosen to represent the balance of good and evil. The martial spirits are sentenced to eternal damnation in solitary confinement to the end of time and after," one of the seven Overseers declared.

"YOU BASTARDS! WHY? Why must we live under your rules? Why can we only die through becoming the martial body of our host? Why can't we kill the Six? What makes them special?" the evil jade spirit roared as an orb formed around it. "WHY? Answer me! Answer me you f*cks! I will get out and kill your precious Six! You hear me? I will gain a body and become immortal and find your dogs, the Judges, stuffing their faces in the echelons in the Immortal Realms! When I kill them so very slowly and painfully, I'm going to the Divine Realm to torture you and return my suffering tenfold. No, a thousand fold! I'll kill you pieces of----"

The evil jade spirit's voice was cut off as the orb encased it in darkness. The seven Overseers waved their hands and the orb was cast into the void along with other orbs.

"...Sh*t!" Zhuang shouted as he woke up, scaring Shuang and the others.

"Ugh, what happened?" Zhuang groaned as he held his head, his eyes widening as he realized his depleted spirit energy was returned.

"Had a bad dream?" Lingqi asked as she gave him a water pouch.

"Sorry about that. Bad memories of another time," Zhuang sighed as nodded his gratitude and drank some water. "You guys killed the pig and the others? I remember you calling Yu a pig last week for his perverted comment."

"I kept his twin swords," Lingqi said, smiling as she showed him her new swords. "That guy was really rich or profited from bullying others. Zhao got a shield and Chang got a new broadsword, both of them are also made of holy metal. I gave the staff of the mage you killed to Mei as she is also a mage. I only found a few gold coins and some mana and health potions that are useless to martial artists like us. However, it seems we are the only ones with magical beasts bound to our soul. Must be because of the strict standards of our sect. Mei though, hasn't learned how to summon familiars yet and hasn't awoken her Spirit Guardian either."

"We got a mage in our party?" Zhuang asked as he didn't know who they were due to snapping upon seeing the sentient Spirit Guardian of the mage girl he killed.

"Zhao and Chang Guo are the two boys there while Mei Liang is the mage over there," Lingqi explained as she introduced and pointed out their party members.

"Dude, you are crazy strong for a demi-human. I'll never make fun of them again after seeing the baleful aura around you earlier," Zhao laughed, admiring Zhuang's power.

"It's too bad the others didn't have anything but a few strands of spirit grass," Chang sighed.

"You guys don't feel anything after they died?" Mei asked.

"It's a typical event in the world of martial artists who cultivate qi in the hopes of becoming an immortal," Chang shrugged. "My big bro and I killed a few people in our sect who tried to take advantage of us. Compared to us, you mages live extravagant and peaceful lives as mages are paid REAL well for their services."

"Was the girl also a martial artist or was she just a mage?" Shuang whispered in draconian as it helped Zhuang rest against the wall.

"The tiger spirit disappeared into nothingness as the girl died. If it was a martial spirit, it wouldn't be able to hurt or attack me as it had no physical form," Zhuang replied, finishing the water pouch. "We got lucky one of the Six was a mage. There's no guarantee the next member we see isn't a mage. If that member of the Six does not have a martial body, avoid being seen at all costs. If the member of the Six dies before fusing with his martial spirit, it will return to the Divine Realm and report my existence to the Overseers."

"DIVINE REALM? There's another realm after the Immortal Realm?" Shuang cried, shocked.

"Did you really think qi condensation levels end at one hundred?" Zhuang said and began playing the zither to cultivate his qi.

"Since we are at the ruins," Zhuang said after he rested and regained his strength. "We should find magical beasts and kill them. If we kill them, Zhao and I might have a chance to gain spirit abilities."

"Spirit abilities and only us?" Zhao asked. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a known fact that mages are stronger than martial artists equivalent to at least two qi condensation level due to their ability to cast any kind of magic, regardless of what element it is," Zhuang began, seeing them nod before continuing. "Well, the heavens give us a chance to fight them on equal grounds. If a person with a qi condensation level of seven or more kills a magical beast, there is a chance they gain a spirit ability no matter what element it is. You all know absorbing spirit energy makes your martial spirit stronger just as it awakened it before right?"

"You're talking about when we went to the mountains and absorbed the spirit energy of a magical beast to awaken our qi and enter the first qi condensation level," Lingqi said.

"Exactly," Zhuang grinned. "Did you think martial spirits were just levers to unlock our qi? When you gain a spirit ability, you manifest your martial spirit in physical form to use it. It's main weakness is that if the martial spirit is injured, so are you. They can't be killed, but your mind will eventually break if they are destroyed over and over like being subject to a torture chamber. A martial body does not have that weakness as the martial spirit fuses with your body. We even have resistance against qi techniques and magic because we gain a martial body. However, it is very difficult to fuse your martial spirit. That is why mages are predominately stronger than a martial artist despite being outnumbered ten to one as being able to use magic is innate talent and very rare."

"Where'd you learn this stuff?" Chang asked, excited at the chance to be able to fight a mage on equal grounds.

"I am the grandson of the Yewan emperor. Naturally, I have access to the imperial library and no section is off limits to me," Zhuang answered. "Lingqi, how far to the rock formations? Magical beast should be more concentrated there due to the richer amounts of spirit energy."

"We actually only need to go a quarter mile deeper. Turns out you were chasing the girl down the path we intended to take," Lingqi laughed.

"Let's go," Zhuang said as he sat on Shuang. "By now the other parties should be inside and making a lot of fuss finding all the treasure here. The higher quality treasures lay behind the rock formation. The faster we get there, the less competition. Plus, we are more likely to avoid bigger hoards of magical beasts."

Lingqi led the others down the ruins and they all marveled the 'veins' in the ruins. There was so much spirit energy that one didn't even need to cultivate to replenish their lost spirit energy. The deeper they went, the darker the rocks became.

Finally, they entered a clearing and saw a huge wall of black rock as far as the eye could see. Luckily, the path indicated on their map automatically led them to a clearing in the formation. The only problem was the fifteen magical beasts that were resting in front of the opening.

"Rabid ebony snakes at the fifth level of qi condensation," Zhao muttered. "No wonder only inner sect disciples were allowed in. An outer sect disciples becomes an inner sect disciple by either getting first in a competition or reaching the fifth level of qi condensation. With this many, a whole group of outer sect disciples would still die when fighting these fifteen brutes."

"The leader is over there," Mei whimpered. "It's a rocky star hydra at the eighth level of qi condensation."

"My level?" Zhuang grinned. "It would give me a spirit ability for sure when I absorb and refine its spirit energy. I should also eat its demonic core. Okay, we're gonna kill them all. One of the rabid ebony snakes is a variant with two heads. Zhao, you should definitely gain a spirit ability when you kill it."

"Oh, right! A spirit ability," Zhao said, his blood thirst rising. "I can't wait to get one of my own."

"Mei will support Zhao with healing magic as he fights the variant and tanks," Zhuang said. "The leader definitely won't make a move until the variant dies. Lingqi and Chang, you'll kill any rabid ebony snakes that flank around Zhao and protect Mei. I'll be spreading my paralysis powder on them to slow their movements. As Lingqi and I are the only ones to have magical beasts of our own, they will help Zhao and attack on his left and right."

The party nods as they go into formation. They had reached the rock formation ahead of the others and were sure to get magical treasures inside. All they had to do was fight a small horde of magical beasts.

Chapter 12: Baleful Aura Main Page Chapter 14: Horde Leader