Against the Fate

Chapter 17: North Luna’s Past

Ding Ze commented, “This is the first time I have passed on knowledge of cultivation. When I was taught, I was dropped from the sixth floor. My mentor made me feel the effects of Refine through treating my trauma.” Having said that, he extended his hand out.

Okay, I choose to thank you. Cui Ming grabbed his hand, Ding Ze pulled him up, and then the two swung down the mountain. Ding Ze’s laziness didn’t include his mouth[1]. Compared to North Luna, he answered every question and introduced the practice of six Principles very clearly. Six Principles had a requirement of order, only after learning a principle could you practice the next principle. And from well-learned to skilled took a very long time to accomplish.

Cui Ming curiously asked “If you fight in a ring, can you beat Boss?”

“We tried that before.” Ding Ze said while puffing out smoke, “The process was like a boxing match. I repeatedly knocked her down, but there was no way to KO her. If victory was determined by time or points, then I would have won. If it was a life-or-death battle, and there was no time limit, I would die. Among cultivators, Strengthen Type was recognized as immortal, and main Strengthen Type and secondary Enhance Type was recognized as strong immortal. I completely lost interest after playing with her the first time. I had no desire to fight with her again.

Cui Ming imagined, asked: “If Boss were to fight another Strengthen Type…”

“She would win because she mainly cultivates Enhance Type. Enhanced attack is quite powerful, and Strengthen Type lack dodge skills and abilities.” Ding Ze said: “There is no cultivator who had absolute strength, the battle mostly depends on the relation of your cultivator type with opponent’s. Thus, companions were very important in the cultivator world. They had each other’s backs. In the case that two Strengthen Type cultivators fight, the result depended on who starved to death first. At that time if there was an Energy Type such as me joining, we could easily defeat the other side. If it was another Strengthen Type, it would make no major change at all.”

Oh, I understand. Strengthen Type has attack power D level, defense S level, skill D level. Energy attack power A level, defense force D level, skill A level. Main reinforcement system auxiliary strengthening system, attack power B-A level, defense A level, skills D-C level.

Ding Ze explained that real battle was not so simple, and could not be analyzed like data. You had to rely on skills and not only fighting skills, but also a necessary amount of mental skills. Many cultivators would have a secondary Type and that made endless changes, but also have their own weaknesses. Finally, Ding Ze added that he and North Luna’s fighting experience was also very limited, purely on paper.

“The purpose of North Luna for joining the Aura Alliance is to find her father, who is a member of the Aura Alliance. I do not know the reason that he left the Aura Alliance, but he settled down at Dawn City, where he met North Luna’s mother and then fathered North Luna. When she was ten, her house burned to the ground and her mother died. When that happened, North Luna was being carried to Zenith Mountain’s peak to practice. After returning home, she found that it did not exist anymore, and that her mother had died in the fire, her father had disappeared. On the basis of memory, North Luna inferred that her father had a lover when he was in the Aura Alliance and before the fire happened, her parents repeatedly quarreled. She suspected that her father killed her mother and left Dawn City with his mistress. She wanted to join the Aura Alliance, and then use the privilege to find her father and asked for a clear answer.” Ding Ze said: “North Luna’s logic is correct. It would have been easy for her father to save a person in the fire.”

Cui Ming nodded, it seemed that North had also experienced a lot of things. A 10-year-old girl had to grow up by herself, no wonder that changed her personality so much. But that still could not prove that North Luna was ‘her’ or not, unless she told the story of the crystal. Cui Ming asked: “How to join the Aura Alliance?”

“Pass an exam. The Aura Alliance will make one based on the number of applicants. The exam is hold in a special site, where the natural energy was strongest. The applicants participate by form of five-members team. The teams had to pass through many difficult tests. However, from the fifty years of statistics, the rate of passing the exam was only 1% for the teams formed by temporary groupings. There was only one temporary team that passed the exam, it was lead by a man who wore a mask and was nicknamed ‘Black Crow’.”

“Black Crow?” This was the second time he heard this name.

“Yes, he is a very strange cultivator. A lot of people are very curious about him because he integrated the defense of Strengthen Type, the fierceness of Energy Type, the controlling of Psychic Type, and the animal control of Animus Type. That situation has never  been seen before. In general, cultivators only have one main Type and one secondary Type, but Black Crow revealed four Types. the ability of each Type was as strong as his main Type.” Ding Ze said:” Unfortunately, after becoming a member of the Aura Alliance, Black Crow disappeared, and it has now has been more than a decade. No one knows the origin of Black Crow, no one knows his whereabouts, and he became one of the most mysterious members of the Aura Alliance.”

Cui Ming’s knowledge of the cultivator world was very limited, so he listened to the story of a mysterious cultivation master without any longing in the eyes like Ding Ze. He asked: “Wait, Boss said I have to work for her for five years?”

“Actually, she just wants you to help her pass the exam.”

“Why did you join the team of Boss?” Cui Ming said: “I do not know how strong cultivators are, but I think you are definitely an expert. Why…”

“Hey, not ‘definitely’. I really am an expert,” Ding Ze grinned at Cui Ming’s added goodwill and they just quietly walked for a while. Ding Ze seemed to have one more thing to add: “I also have my own reason to join the Aura Alliance. As to why I’m joining North Luna’s team and not the other, that is because of a very particular reason of mine…”

Ding Ze drove the car back to the Dawn City. They arrived at around ten o’clock. The car had driven into a district with a nine-story residential building. His dwelling was on the seventh floor. Ding Ze lazily parked and gave the room key and a manuscript to Cui Ming: “Room 701. You can practice the remaining Principles by yourself. The room has a phone, so if do not understand anything, you are free to call. We already paid the rent for the first month.”

“That’s all?” Cui Ming question.

“You’re not a baby.” Ding Ze waved to tell Cui Ming get out: “Clothes are ready, we considered very thoughtfully, One month later, come back to our office to report. Goodbye.”

“Oh.” Cui Ming got out of the car and Ding Ze drove away.

Cui Ming went to his temporary new home with only the clothes on his back. The first impression wasn’t bad, the house had two rooms and one bedroom, the refrigerator was full of food, had enough clothes, and even the toothpaste and toothbrush were thought of. But… there was no oil, no sauce, no vinegar, no toilet paper, no pot, no chopsticks… The most important was that there was no living expenses, not even a dime. Where was the ‘thoughtful consideration’ they spoke of?

Cui Ming tried to make a call, but when he picked up the phone he nearly went mad: The phone was there, but he did not know North Luna’s office phone number. Contact the investigation desk, there was no phone number registered to the office.

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[1] “laziness didn’t reach his mouth.” is an idiom for how someone is running their mouth off, bad mouthing, or just chatting shit. It’s used when someone is lazy, but not lazy enough to shut up and stop talking so much.