Elder Cultivator

Chapter 851

Determining what the rules were for a fair fight between two individuals of vastly different cultivations was not as simple as it seemed. For Devon to simply say that he would use power equivalent to Life Transformation was insufficient. Both the quality and quantity of natural energy he had access to were different.

Strangely, his opponent didnt seem focused on that detail as much as how they would be fighting. The only honorable way to fight is unarmed, without any tricks, said Vera, the woman who had challenged him to a duel.

What tricks? Devon asked. That could mean many things. Devon had no problem fighting in a straightforward manner, but he doubted that was exactly what she was talking about.

Techniques that arent geared towards crushing your opponents. Things like messing with their energy unnaturally instead of battering it into submission.

So basically, everything Devon did. Well, that wasnt quite true. He could still batter people with his chains. As an example, Devon formed a chain around his arm with spikes sticking out of it. Would this count as unarmed? Devon held up his arm.

Its just your energy on top of your body. No problem.

Well at least it didnt cut off all of his options. What about this arm? Devon asked. I had to get it replaced. Its artificial.

The sturdy woman stepped forward, looking at Devons arm. You put metal in your arm? Smart.

Right. How do we determine the winner?

Simple, when someone admits defeat or until a clear loss of consciousness.

That was about what he expected. Devon knew it was too late to back out now, but he still had to consider the consequences of accepting this duel. Hed more or less come to the conclusion that choosing to fight was the important part and while winning would certainly be better, it wasnt necessary. As long as he stuck to the rules and put on a decent show, they should be better inclined towards the Lower Realms Alliance.

Before the battle, Devon set up some internal locks that would prevent him from using too much energy. It didnt make it impossible- everything was under his control, after all- but it meant he couldnt surpass the limit by accident so easily. It was similar to restricting the energy flow of others, except much simpler since it was all internal to himself. The Hardened Crown Sect on Nidec obviously had an arena for duels- very few sects didnt have one, and it would be absurd for this particular group to not possess one. Unless they liked having their facilities broken by brawls breaking out in random parts of their sect, which could potentially still happen.

When the battle began, Devon instantly coiled chains around himself. They would serve as both defensive and offensive benefits, and he wasnt really specialized in fighting without weapons by Veras definition. He could augment his movements with the chains, if he needed to.

Surprisingly, Vera didnt immediately charge towards him. Instead, she watched Devons movements. If this was a normal battle, he would have lashed out with a chain and tried to trip her. That certainly wasnt his most effective move, but it would be a good start.

Instead, he had to rely on much shorter range tactics. Devon imagined he could outlast Vera in a trial of patience, but he felt that taking the initiative would be more beneficial for how things looked. He threw a simple punch, which she countered with a simple slap of her hand, deflecting the blow. Her palm slipped around his arm, following the curve of the chain wrapped there to avoid the spikes.

Devon followed up with his opposite knee, while at the same time creating tighter coils of the chains around himself so that they were less easily avoided. It was more total energy to create them, but maintaining them in their form wasnt particularly intensive unless they made contact and were damaged.

Veras other arm caught Devons knee- some of the small spikes piercing through her defensive energy. But she effectively negated his attack, and used the momentum to propel herself backwards. Devon wasnt quite certain if she hadnt noticed the shift in the chains until he saw her squeeze her hand, restricting the flow of blood. Most likely intentional, then, and well within the expected style of fighting.

Rather than letting Devon continue his offensive, after allowing herself to be pushed back Vera immediately sprang forward, seemingly intent on tackling Devon. He twisted to the side, bringing his elbow down on the back of her head. She still got an arm around his midsection and drove him backwards, but she was leaning to the side. Even so, her hand gripped around one of Devons chains, ignoring the damage it caused.

From there, the battle turned into a close quarters brawl and wrestling contest. If Devon was unrestricted, he could completely wrap his chains around Vera with little but a thought. Instead, he had to attempt his restrictive moves with the more limited length and mobility of his own limbs. Vera was a slippery target, never letting him get a good hold while tossing Devon around. He wasnt certain if she actually caused him more damage with that than she did to herself, but she seemed pleased with the results.

Eventually the two of them broke apart, and they faced off again. Devon carefully watched her movements, thinking about the best way to take her down. He would prefer one solid blow. He wasnt certain how literally this particular member of the Hardened Crown Sect was taking the name, but it was easy to assume her skull in general was tough. And she would know that, so when Devon charged forward and punched directly towards her face, she chose to take the blow rather than dodging it.

The chains around Devons arm tightened along with his muscles, forcing his arm lower at the last moment- just enough to strike her chin instead of anywhere else. His artificial arm, specifically. It wasnt made to the same specifications as the swordmaster Chikere, but it was tougher than his natural body with a decent amount of tempering. And with just the right angle, the jaw was a perfect target.

Vera grabbed onto his arm near the elbow. He felt her beginning to wrench and twist, but then she staggered back half a step, letting go. She looked at him, her head at an angle. And then she toppled onto her back. Devon took a step closer, ready to stomp on her ankles if she tried to get up without admitting defeat. But fortunately he didnt need to try any of that. Ugh, I lose, she said after a moment. She sat up, then fell onto her front. When she managed to get into a neutral position again, Devon reached out a hand to help her up. Vera didnt look particularly upset about losing, which made Devon think hed made the right moves.

After the battle, Aerona came up to Devon. That was brutal. Shes covered in dozens of cuts.

Indeed, Devon said, surveying his own body. When he released the chains coiling about him, he could feel his body straining. He supported himself with natural energy, releasing his restrictions. More than a few places were broken. That included a couple fingers on his artificial fist- he was glad this model was self repairing, as long as sufficient natural energy was supplied and the core mechanisms werent damaged. It was not a lengthy battle, but quite intense.

I doubted you a little, you know, Aerona said. Fighting with those restrictions

Devon shrugged. I could have lost. But I wouldnt get seriously injured.

Are you sure? she asked. Because some of that stuff looks well, I know Ive seen worse on you. But still.

Devon held up his arm. Things like this are the only things that matter. Everything else can be repaired.

I dont know if Im equipped for something like that.

A strong hand clasped onto Aeronas shoulder from behind. Naamah. Is that so? Perhaps you should join me for some training, then.

Aerona looked back at Naamah. Then at Devon, her eyes wide.

Well, it might be useful, Devon said. But dont forget that her area of expertise is quite different from yours. So you should alter your expectations. Its up to Aerona if she wants to, of course. Its not really necessary.

Aerona frowned for a moment, then nodded. Fine, Ill do your training. But only if you do my training.

Pfft. Sure thing, Naamah said. I can do anything.

-----

A day later, Naamah came up to Devon, flopping over the end of a couch. Uuugh. How is it possible?

How is what possible? Devon asked.

She has all the beans! Naamah said.

I think Ill need an explanation.

Well, we each started with some beans. And a bunch of other people. And then we had to negotiate to get them from each other. And somehow I ended up with nothing!

And what did you learn? Devon queried.

Dont let Aerona make the rules? And never give her beans!

I assume you knew that last part going in. And yet, you ended up with nothing.

Well, the deals sounded good at the time. Individually. And then poof! Nothing! Naamah said.

Thats the whole point. Devon said.

-----

The following evening, Aerona showed up out of nowhere and lay on Devons lap. Well, he had obviously sensed her coming, but she didnt say anything during her approach. He lay his hand on her head, petting her hair.

Physical training sucks, she said.

At least you got Naamah first, Devon pointed out. Though that might have made things worse.

I feel like everything is broken. But almost everything isnt. Ive been forbidden to use medicines to accelerate my healing.

Need a reminder on how to accelerate healing? Devon asked.

Naamah showed me plenty, Aerona buried her face in his belly.

Then, reducing the pain and side effects. Was that included?

It was not.

Ill show you two methods. One for mid combat, which involves ignoring your body and is probably a bad idea most of the time. And the other for the rest of circumstances, which is slightly less all or nothing in terms of pain.

Great, Aerona said.

It took about an hour for Devon to go over the methods, though mostly because neither of them were in a hurry. Neither were particularly special, just manipulating the body beyond directly spurring healing.

As the negotiator, Im not sure why I let her talk me into this, Aerona admitted.

Because you believed it would be better for the both of you. And because shell actually be harsh on you in training and Im not very good at that, Devon added.

Youre right. Youre too gentle.

I dont know if Vera would agree. I was even about to snap her ankle, you know?

We both know you could do worse, though, Aerona shook her head. You had it difficult.

Only for a short while, Devon said. Just a few years.

At that time of your life it was a lot more, Aerona said. And it wasnt just physical pain.

Yeah, Devon agreed. So much had been lost, at the beginning of everything. Most of his family, including those closest to him. And he still didnt like to remember it. Then again, who would? He still liked the memories of when they were alive. Even those had been painful for a while. Now, he was in the business of keeping things like that from happening to others. So how are the negotiations? The real ones.

Slow. The Exalted Quadrant dangled impossible promises over the heads of previous generations, and nobody wants to recognize that theyll never come true. But they also have grown close to the natives, which is already a step up from where Ceretos was. I feel like at worst well end up with a few uncooperative factions. That does mean theyll probably get some information to those in the upper realms, but its pretty much impossible to avoid that. Unless we went to extreme measures.

Devon nodded. Its a shame, really. The people can be decent, but what the Exalted Quadrant does to people makes them much worse. The Trigold Cluster is even worse, but that doesnt make things any more tolerable.

It seemed war would be avoided. That was good. Hopefully, things would go well with the Shining Cooperative as well. At the very least, agreeing to stay out of each others hair would be reasonable- but they didnt really know much of anything about the other yet, so it was difficult to say what they would want or how they would act.

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