Chapter 3: Beating the Kitchen Maid

"Sounds like there's some nasty woman in there cursing me out?" Duke Jaynes muttered, frowning as he headed back toward the village. "Backwater mountains breed backwater trash!" The Beautiful Woman had sharp ears and sharper eyes. Her gaze turned icy. With a clean ring, her sword slid from its sheath, cold light flashing as she lunged straight at Duke Jaynes. The middle-aged man beside her started to reach for the hilt to stop her, but at the last moment he held back. He wanted to take the chance to see what Black Turtle Village was really like. At worst, he could apologize afterward. Whoosh! The blade tore through the air. Duke Jaynes's expression changed. He bent at the waist on pure instinct, narrowly slipping past the strike. "This turtle's reflexes aren't bad." The Beautiful Woman guided the sword with her mind. It arced back around and stabbed for his chest. "The hell are you? Where'd you crawl out from, coming here to murder people!" Duke Jaynes reached for the Purple Mist at once and drove his Black Turtle Divine Radiance. A turtle-shaped phantom surged out of him and slammed into the incoming blade. The Beautiful Woman sneered. That turtle Divine Radiance looked ordinary enough. How could it possibly stop her Wind Spirit Sword? But the Divine Radiance Duke Jaynes controlled swelled like a colossal turtle swallowing the heavens. Its devouring trait awakened, and in a single gulp it dragged the sword into its belly, ready to refine it. Hidden beneath the cover of the "Tortoise Shell," outsiders could not tell what state his Divine Radiance had taken. Unfortunately, the Wind Spirit Sword was a Spirit Sword. Sword Light erupted from within it in a broad burst, ripping the Divine Radiance apart and slashing again. Duke Jaynes did not panic. In the split second before impact, he used his strength to partially awaken the Black Turtle Shell, gaining a thin layer of defense. A deep-blue curtain of light spread across his body, bracing against the Wind Spirit Sword and the Sword Light that filled the air. "Pierce him!" The woman and the Wind Spirit Sword moved as one. Sword Light flickered at the tip, cracking the blue curtain. In that instant, the Black Turtle Shell released a faint, ancient pulse that jolted the Wind Spirit Sword loose and knocked it down. Duke Jaynes glanced at the sword on the ground. Cracks spidered along the blade. He sucked in a cold breath. The Black Turtle Shell was vicious. "What? My Wind Spirit Sword!" The Beautiful Woman's heart clenched. She took a step forward, then stopped, wary. "You actually ruined my Wind Spirit Sword. Damn you…" "Are you still trying to kill me? Do you have any respect for law at all?" Duke Jaynes's temper flared. She had been the one cursing him first. "Whose law? Don't make me laugh." The Beautiful Woman curled her lip. She was only a County Lord's maid, but she knew exactly how the Celestial Dynasty ruled Celestia Continent, dominating countless mountains and rivers. Strictly speaking, Skyspine Ridge lay on the very edge of the Aether Celestial Dynasty's territory. If not for the fact that this place only opened once every thousand years and travel was brutal, the Celestial Dynasty's armies would have finished swallowing it long ago. In the distance, Duke Jaynes spotted Vermilion Bird approaching. Her graceful figure was wreathed in red misty light, hiding the breathtaking beauty of her face. Over the past few days, Vermilion Bird had been persuading demons wherever she went. She had fought her way to Southeast Demon Ridge and battled a pack of demon kings for days and nights, savoring every last second of it. When she had seen this war chariot heading for Black Turtle Village, she had followed. "Jaynes, what happened?" Vermilion Bird asked. Duke Jaynes hesitated, then explained everything in one breath. Vermilion Bird's smile vanished. She held back the sky-splitting killing intent that surged in her chest. Out there, she could tear the heavens open and no one would care. Here, she had to obey the village rules. "It's all a misunderstanding. I am Ezra Yoder, vanguard general of the Aether Celestial Dynasty." The middle-aged man sensed Vermilion Bird's unusual presence. Combined with the fact that Duke Jaynes seemed protected by some treasure, he stepped forward and bowed. He looked mild, but Duke Jaynes could feel an overbearing power coiled inside him, stronger than all nine drivers put together. "Fellow Daoist, the junior acted rashly. I offer my apologies." Ezra Yoder smiled at Vermilion Bird. "Who cursed Jaynes?" Vermilion Bird ignored him and stared at the bronze war chariot. "Come out." A flash of irritation crossed Ezra Yoder's eyes. He had already shown his credentials, made it clear he was a fourth-rank Immortal Officer, even apologized. What more did she want? Worried Vermilion Bird might suffer for it, Duke Jaynes started to turn back toward the village to call for help, but a soft, gentle voice drifted from inside the chariot. "If you did wrong, you take your punishment. You worthless slave, when did you learn to hide behind others? Get out and apologize." "County Lord, I…" Smack! Elara took a slap across the face. Terrified, she stumbled out and dropped to her knees with a thud. "I was blind and foolish. I apologize." Duke Jaynes was a little dazed. This "County Lord" carried herself with an absurd amount of authority. And Elara, kneeling up front, was fair-skinned and striking, with a lush curve to her hips and a pair of peach-blossom eyes that could hook a man's soul. "Fellow Daoist, are you satisfied now…?" Ezra Yoder asked, forcing down his anger. "According to Black Turtle Village's rules, insulting someone without cause earns fifty strikes." Vermilion Bird's voice stayed calm. "That's outrageous!" Ezra Yoder surged toward her in fury, but his spiritual senses caught something else entirely. The woman before him changed. She seemed to become a peerless demon immortal rising from the earth, roaring with boundless, dazzling Divine Radiance. Ezra Yoder froze stiff. Fat beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Only he could see it clearly. Ordinary people could not perceive Vermilion Bird's true state at all. When Duke Jaynes saw Ezra Yoder offer no objection, he found a thick, long branch. He swung it down on Elara's round backside, striking hard again and again. Elara clenched her teeth, tears trembling at her lashes as she endured the blows in silence. After fifty strikes, she still knelt there, her delicate body shaking, head lowered. It was not submission. It was fear of her master. "Brother Daoist, just now we-" Ezra Yoder began carefully. Vermilion Bird cut him off, indifferent. "Who was it that tried to stab someone with a sword? Come out." Ezra Yoder stared, dumbfounded. Could this woman let anyone finish a sentence? "The one who cursed me and the one who drew the sword were the same person," Duke Jaynes added. "Eighty strikes," Vermilion Bird said. Ezra Yoder hurried to explain, "Brother Daoist, when she said she'd kill him, it was only a joke. Please don't take it seriously." "Threatening someone's life?" Vermilion Bird's eyes did not even flicker. "Add another eighty." Ezra Yoder was completely defeated. He had never seen a powerhouse this rigid. "This is Black Turtle Village," Vermilion Bird said. "So we follow Black Turtle Village's rules." The County Lord stepped out of the war chariot. She wore black-and-gold armor that traced every curve of her full, shapely figure. Her ink-black hair fell loose, and her pale face carried a luminous sheen. The glow was strange, snowy and crystalline, circling her body and outlining her like a holy Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva Divine Radiance! It was a rare Divine Radiance, terrifying in might, capable of releasing boundless Bodhisattva light to suppress powerful enemies. Duke Jaynes's eyelid twitched. Facing this County Lord who looked like a Bodhisattva, a savage hunger twisted in his gut. He wanted to eat her. The feeling was the same as when he looked at the village's chickens, ducks, and geese. "I've been starving myself for my grand weight-loss campaign," Duke Jaynes thought, shaken by his own mind. "Why would I suddenly want to eat a person?" He decided he would drag off the yellow ox at the East End of the Village later and roast it. The County Lord bowed gracefully to Vermilion Bird. "For Elara's sake, she is young and ignorant. Senior, could you spare her life? She can serve as a slave, a maid, anything to atone." Elara sat dazed on the ground. Serving a lowly commoner? She did not dare argue. When the ruler demanded a subject die, the subject could not refuse. That kind of obedience had long been branded into her soul. Vermilion Bird glanced at the County Lord and saw through every thought in her head. A hint of amusement lifted Vermilion Bird's lips. She looked to Elara. "Can you cook?" Elara nodded blankly. "Then stay. Cook for Jaynes." Vermilion Bird knew Duke Jaynes had awakened successfully. Her storage pouch held many demon corpses, and she needed a little kitchen maid to prepare medicinal meals. "Thank you for your mercy, Senior. I won't impose further. We'll take our leave." The County Lord turned away. Ezra Yoder followed with a sigh. When the war chariot tore through the air and vanished, Elara's sobbing finally broke loose, silent and shaking. Duke Jaynes scratched his head. He had gained a slave? It felt absurd. One sentence from the County Lord had made Elara kowtow and apologize. A second sentence had made her a slave and maid. That kind of casual power over life and death overturned everything he thought he understood. Maybe this was what "law" truly meant at the highest level. And that law had been trying to curry favor with Vermilion Bird. Duke Jaynes realized Black Turtle Village was not as simple as it looked. "Aether Celestial Dynasty. Outside forces," he thought. "White Tiger said they came to fight over Immortal Fate. In the Immortal Fate contest, there's no retreat. Only forward, fighting to the death, because we're all enemies." "That County Lord looked like a good person," he thought again, then remembered Vermilion Bird's warning. "You never really know someone. Always look past appearances. Never give anyone a chance to stab me in the back." "The Azure Dragon Elder said enemies must be uprooted completely, so there's no future trouble." After this, Duke Jaynes grew cautious. He was a cultivator now. If he caused trouble outside, it could bring danger down on the village. … Inside the war chariot's quiet chamber, Ezra Yoder spoke in a low voice. "County Lord, that was far too risky. That woman in red… her cultivation might be at the Grandmaster of the Great Way realm. If you plotted like this, there was a chance she'd sense it." Near Black Turtle Village, the Seventh Princess sounded unbothered. "I already prepared for everything. Besides, what do you take a Grandmaster of the Great Way for? How could she possibly be one?" She spoke with absolute confidence. "I changed the plan on the spot because that turtle boy is close to the woman in red. As long as Elara can lie low at his side, my plan is already half-successful." She trusted Elara. Not only did the girl have an extreme yin constitution, she had trained in all kinds of charm arts since childhood. She excelled at disguise and could survive and fight in the most vicious environments. "I just hope Black Turtle Village doesn't grow suspicious," Ezra Yoder said, fawning. "This improvised little play rattled me. Only you, County Lord, could keep your composure." He continued, "But about that war a thousand years ago… according to the intelligence you obtained, Black Turtle Village gained an Innate Divine Radiance? It's unbelievable." Innate Divine Radiance was born of heaven and earth, nearly impossible to encounter. That kind of Divine Radiance could fuse into the body, allowing someone at the Embryo Stage to possess two kinds of Divine Radiance. It could even be inherited. "The source won't be wrong," the Seventh Princess said. Her ambition ran deep. There existed a ranking of Divine Radiance across heaven and earth, with eighty-one of the strongest. Radiance of the Heavens Divine Radiance, Immortal Sword Divine Radiance, Heaven-Piercing Divine Radiance, Ascension Divine Radiance, Vast Heaven Divine Radiance, Merit Divine Radiance… Their rankings barely had any clear superiority between them. "My Bodhisattva Divine Radiance is already Supreme Divine Radiance." The Seventh Princess's eyes gleamed. "If I obtain an Innate Divine Radiance, and Dual Divine Radiance emerges together, who could stand against me?" She felt lucky to have been born in this era, in time for the Millennium Immortal Fate Contest. Perhaps she could raise Dual Divine Radiance high enough to stun an entire age and leave her name carved into history.