PtM Book 17 - Chapter 22: Neck and Neck

1/2 this week.

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The arena was set. The battle lines were drawn. The Puppet lightning Sect’s leadership would be determined, and the losers - the ones who survived - would be exiled. It was a harsh solution to their conflict, but a necessary one give the size and importance of the Puppet Lightning Sect.

The battle took place not far from Puppet Lightning Mountain – just close enough that it was in plain sight, but not so close that either side could draw on the mountain for support. As an extra assurance, but battle platform was composed entirely of sacred earth. No natural lightning could strike it, and even invoked lightning would have trouble damaging it.

“Clear Sky, do you have any thoughts on my battle arrangements?” Grand Artificer Fei asked Cha Ming after conferring with her colleagues.

“Only that Dao God Thunderclash will likely go last,” Cha Ming said. “He’s in the possession of a Tier 1 lightning spirit, so I’m the only one who can fight him.”

“But your cultivation realm…”

“Is meaningless,” Cha Ming said. “My fundamentals are countless times stronger than his. Just arrange me as his match, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

A youthful female cultivator flew up from the other side. As the challenger, Grand Artificer Liu was required to send out the first participant.

“Don’t underestimate her,” Grand Artificer Chi warned Grand Artificer Fei. “That’s Elder Wu. Last I checked, she was the reigning arena champion.”

“She’s not an artificer?” Cha Ming asked.

Grand Artificer Chi shook his head. “No. A good quarter of our elders aren’t. But she’s a darned good puppeteer. Her style is orthodox and refined. I suggest sending Elder Meng up against her.”

Grand Artificer Fei did as he suggested. “Go ahead, Elder Meng. Wear her down, but don’t kill her. I think she can be convinced to join us if the others are defeated.”

“I will do as the Grand Artificer commands,” Elder Meng said. He bowed to before heading onto the platform.

“You,” Elder Wu said to Elder Meng.

“Me,” Elder Meng replied with a smile. “I don’t suppose I can convince my dear student to abandon this foolish course of action?”

“I no longer your student,” Elder Wu said. “And following the duly appointed Grand Artificer is not foolish; it is our duty. Your rebellion is inexcusable, and it will be I who metes our your due punishment.”

Elder Meng clicked his tongue. “I’m afraid I’ll need to teach you one last lesson then. Are you ready?”

“I’ve was ready fifty years ago, back when you left the arena rather than fight me,” Elder Wu said.

“I was old and the arena was in need of fresh blood,” said Elder Meng. “But if want to fight me so badly, I will oblige.”

Both Elder Meng and Elder Wu jumped backwards as the fight began. They immediately summoned four puppets of near identical build. These puppets, Artificer Chi explained to Cha Ming, were based on the four divine beasts, the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Turtle. Two law projections came into effect on the battlefield from each side, splitting it neatly in half.

“Puppeteers, like artificers, benefit greatly from control-type laws,” Artificer Chi said. “In the arenas, most puppeteers stitch this kind of law to start off. Elder Meng’s second law has to do with controlling more simultaneous functions across all his puppets, while Elder Wu’s second law is one of fine control. She can control a single puppet better than Elder Meng can.”

“They’re avoiding each other’s actual bodies,” Cha Ming said.

“In the arenas, only puppets are allowed to fight,” said Artificer Chi. “Let’s see if either of them willingly breaks that convention.

Elder Meng organized his puppets into a standard formation. His black turtle assumed the vanguard, while the azure dragon zipped around it in search of an opening for a speed flank. He sent his white tiger puppet to attack Elder Wu’s white tiger.

The vermilion bird puppet was the odd one out. Not only did it fly and regenerate quickly, but it also possessed mid-ranged fire attacks. It supported the white tiger in attacking Elder Meng’s white tiger.

To Cha Ming’s surprise, it took these two puppets to restrain Elder Wu’s white tiger puppet. Hers was nimbler, and thanks to this finer control, she was able to edge away from the encirclement with the help of her azure dragon puppet and damage Elder Meng’s azure dragon puppet.

“Give up, old man,” Elder Wu said. “You might have been arena champion back in your day, but you’re washed up. Surrender before I’m forced to hurt you.”

“You’re awfully arrogant for someone who’s never even fought their predecessor,” Elder Meng said, pulling his black turtle and azure dragon closer together.

“Only because you were too much of a coward to face me,” Elder Wu said. Lightning shot out from her body and onto the battlefield, manifesting as a Tier 4 lightning spirit in the shape of an owl. Her control over her white tiger increased several fold as a result. Elder Meng could only mimic her move and summoned his own duck-shaped lightning spirit, which he used to bolster all four of his puppets.

Cha Ming squinted as he observed the battle unfolding. “Elder Meng isn’t in good shape. She’s going to break through eventually.” His prediction soon played out. Elder Meng was already barely holding on with his traditional defensive formation when suddenly, a surge of lightning poured into Elder Wu’s white tiger, increasing its speed by 50% for a few seconds.

“Interesting,” Elder Chi said as the white tiger puppet landed a critical strike on the vermilion bird puppet she’d been ignoring this whole time. “She supercharged the puppet. If it doesn’t fall apart during the match, she’ll have to replace more than half of its components.”

“Can Elder Meng win?” Cha Ming asked.

“We’ll see,” said Elder Chi.

“You modified the white tiger puppet,” said Elder Meng, said as he ran currents of puppet lightning through the remnants of his vermillion bird puppet. “Bold.”

“It’s a gamble, and I probably wouldn’t try it in my prime,” said Elder Wu.

“Gambling against a veteran?” said Elder Meng. “No, that’s not gambling. That’s idiotic. Explode!” His damaged vermilion bird puppet suddenly detonated, as did his own black turtle puppet.

The resulting shock wave caught Elder Wu by surprise. Not only was her white tiger puppet caught in the blast, but Elder Meng’s own azure dragon and white tiger puppets used the momentum from the explosion to rush past her own defensive arrangement and charge straight at her, the puppeteer.

“Despicable!” Elder Wu said.

“Winning is all that matters,” Elder Meng said. “By the way, my own puppets are modified too.”

His azure dragon and white tiger puppets began to pull apart in mid-air. Binding coils shot out from each of them and ensnared the defenceless Elder Wu. She tried frantically to escape, only to find that her puppet lightning was attracted to these coils and only accelerated her demise.

“Two can play at that game,” Elder Wu said. “Puppets, explode!”

Even before she spoke, Elder Meng was already running backwards and off the stage. He’d only sacrificed two puppets, but she was sacrificing three.

The weakened blast also caught Elder Wu. Both contestants fell of the stage as it filled with lightning and shrapnel.

“First Round - Draw!” Sect Master Sacred Earth announced. “Since Grand Artificer Liu’s team sent out a contestant first, Grand Artificer Fei’s team will send out the next contestant.

Grand Artificer Fei motioned for Grand Artificer Chi to go up. “You’re the most well-rounded. You do the honors.”

“As you command, Grand Artificer,” Grand Artificer Chi said with a mocking bow. Artificer Jiu flew up to meet him.

Both artificers summoned their puppets. Grand Artificer Chi wielded eighteen spiderlings that were much smaller than the average puppet. As for his opponent, he was using something called puppet armor.

There were many types of puppet armor. Some were several times larger than the cultivator that controlled them, while others were just add-ons that made life easier. Artificer Jiu’s made him fifty percent taller and gave him six scorpion-like stingers on his back. He used these stingers to destroy one of Artificer Chi’s spiderlings.

“Will he be all right?”  Cha Ming asked.

“Don’t worry about it, that’s just his style,” Grand Artificer Fei assured him.

Grand Artificer Chi was not disturbed in the least bit by the fall of his spiderlings. Six more spiderlings fell in quick order, and in response to this, he pulled out several replacements and continued fighting.

Such behavior was completely at odds with the behavior of arena fighters. To Grand Artificer Chi, puppets were tools. Mobile tools with great versatility. He didn’t hesitate to waste dozens of them to buy himself time. At no point did he so much as damage his opponent or his artifice.

Cha Ming suspected there was more to this strategy than met the eye. After all, Grand Artificer Chi had come up with the contingency plans for their escape and take over of the Puppet Lighting Sect.

His speculations were confirmed when Artificer Jiu took a wrong step. Many damaged ‘puppet parts’ suddenly came together thanks to his Tier 2 lightning spirit. That same lightning spirit paralyzed his opponent’s puppet armor. It wasn’t long before he was covered in puppet barnacles that coursed lightning through his body, preventing him from moving.

“Do I spare him or not?” Artificer Chi asked Grand Artificer Fei.

“Just push him off the stage” Grand Artificer Fei said lazily. “It’s the last three that need to die no matter what.”

Artificer Chi gave the man a swift kick, sending him tumbling off the battle platform. “Artificer Chi is victorious,” Sect Master Sacred Earth announced. “Do you wish to remain and fight or switch out with someone else?”

“I think I’ll stay here,” Artificer Chi said. “Scout things out.”

“Artificer Long, you go first,” Grand Artificer Liu commanded. A sinister man with a sallow face and dark fingernails stepped up on stage. His appearance made everyone in the righteous faction turn solemn.

“You look like you swallowed a fly,” Artificer Long said to Grand Artificer Chi. “What’s wrong. Spiderling got your tongue?” He then turned to Grand Artificer Yong. “Oh hello, I didn’t see you there. It’s so like you, letting others fight in your place.”

Grand Artificer Yong was about to charge up when several of his companions blocked him. “You monster,” he said. “To think I would spend over a century teaching you, only to have you turn to sinister corpse puppet arts and start refining living creatures.”

Cha Ming turned to Grand Artificer Fei for an explanation. “Artificer Long was originally a traditional artificer. He eventually grew bored with our realm’s material limitations and forswore Grand Artificer Yong. He started using demon corpses as materials.

“Back then, demon corpses were considered non-traditional materials. On its own, it wouldn't have been a problem, but fifty years ago, he began capturing and experimenting on live specimens. He was censured by the council of elders and kept under supervision.

“But when Grand Artificer Liu took office with Dao God Thunderclash’s help, things changed. Thunderclash brought puppet refinement methods from the Heartforge Realm that could be used to create puppets from human remains. Grand Artificer Liu approved this plan, as long as a certain percentage were contributed to fight the fiends.

Grand Artificer Yong had finally calmed down and wandered over to Cha Ming and Grand Artificer Fei. “Artificer Long has crafted no less than a hundred early law stitching grade corpse puppets,” he said. “Many of those began with living refinement materials. That’s not even counting the countless failures that paved the road to his success. It was his actions that prompted us to rebel, which in turn gave Grand Artificer Liu the excuse to imprison us.”

It was clear from Artificer Chi’s actions that he also loathed Artificer Long. His fighting style became aggressive and erratic. But Elder Long was patient. He defended with what were obviously human puppets, never exposing any weaknesses and keeping the battlefield clear of debris.

“Oops, looks like Old Chi is all out of puppets. He only has one trick left,” said Grand Artificer Fei.

“Unfortunately, Artificer Long is one of the few that knows about it,” said Grand Artificer Yong.

Grand Artificer Chi’s lightning spirit was ball-shaped, not animal-shaped like the others. He absorbed the lighting spirit and filled his body with lightning, then proceeded to shoot around the stage.

Artificer Long quickly pulled back the three corpse puppets he had summoned and had them take out shields. He focused his own Tier 3 lightning spirit on speeding up his movements and cancelling out Grand Artificer Chi’s interference. Several long needles of lightning tried to sneak through but were unable to pierce through his defences. At best, Grand Artificer Chi wasted a portion of Artificer Long’s energy before decisively jumping off the stage.

“Grand Artificer Chi has been defeated,” said Sect Master Sacred Earth. “It’s up to Grand Artificer Fei to send up a replacement.”

“He’s my mistake. Let me take care of him,” said Grand Artificer Yong, brooking no argument. According to the original plan, he was slated to go up next.

“Be careful,” Grand Artificer Fei warned. “And don’t let him get under your skin.”

“Teacher, it’s been so long,” Artificer Long greeted as Grand Artificer Yong appeared on stage “Are you still holding a grudge after all this time?”

“Be silent!” Grand Artificer Yong said, his rage mounting, and his laws settling down onto the field. He summoned dozens of floating orb puppets, which blinked at their target with eerie red eyes. “Either you perish, or I perish. There is no third ending.”

“So be it,” said Artificer Long. “I was willing to go easy on you for old times sake, but since you insist on being merciless…” Another law settled onto the field, this one dark and sickly. “My law… is a law of death and decay.”

The field was once again divided in half. Grand Artificer Yong’s laws were centered on control, which typical for puppeteers and artificers. He used these laws and his superior lighting spirit to deftly control his orb puppets.

Unfortunately, this left him ill-equipped to fight back against the laws of death and decay, which Artificer Long used to directly leech away his health and vitality. None of the mechanical puppets were affected, but Elder Long’s corpse puppets became stronger and swifter thanks to the corrosive yin energy.

“Admit it, teacher, my path is the correct one,” Artificer Long said. “These are apocalyptic times. Only by using all resources at our disposal will we - the Puppet Lightning Sect and the Puppet Lighting Region - tide this disaster.”

“You are a monster, and no student of mine,” Artificer Yong snapped. “Assemble, divine ray formation!” His orb puppets flew up into the sky and linked together via lightning tethers. Energy circulated in a pattern that was familiar to Cha Ming, drawing on top-grade transcendent crystal dust to built up a frightening amount of energy in a short amount of time

Artificer Long paled. “Top-grade energy?” The cultivators from the various sects spectating the struggle lit up. Some of the more intelligent ones focused on Cha Ming.

“Though I disdain to use this masterwork on someone like you, I won’t shirk from my duties,” Grand Artificer Yong said. “I made you, and now, I will unmake you.”

“Corpse puppets, detonate!” Artificer Long commanded decisively. Two out of three puppets jumped out and exploded with their stored death energy to disrupt the formation attack - only for the formation to break apart at the last minute to diffuse the shock waves and smoothly come together again to continue accumulating energy.

Artificer Long did not let this setback affect him. He summoned two more human puppets from his storage ring and commanded them to attack Grand Artificer Yong directly. Since his puppets were currently charging up, there was no one left to defend him.

But Grand Artificer Yong was no rookie. He did not have puppets to spare, but he took out a pack of talismans Cha Ming had given him, and formed walls of earth, blades of gold, and other variations of the five elements to defend. This bought him the time he needed for his puppet formation to fully charge.

“Kill!” Grand Artificer Yong commanded. A beam shot out of the orb formation puppet towards Aritifcer Long.

Elder Long sent out his two human puppets to block, then immediately cut his link with them and summoned two more. Unfortunately for him, his puppets weren’t nearly durable enough to block this concentrated beam of energy. It pierced right through the row of puppets and caught Artificer Long in the heart.

Artificer Long was no Dao God, but he had refined his body. Several pieces had been changed for puppet parts. Unfortunately, his heart was not one of these converted parts. The loss of this critical organ caused his entire body to fail.

“I… wasn’t wrong!” Artificer Long gasped, coughing out black blood.

“Regardless of who is right and who is wrong, you’ll never hurt a living soul again” said Grand Artificer Yong.

“Artificer Long has been killed!” Sect Master Sacred Earth announced. “Grand Artificer Liu, please send up your next contestant.”

Grand Artificer Liu did not look surprised by the outcome. “This Grand Artificer will go up next. Should I be incapable of making decisions in the future, Dao God Thunderclash is our next contestant.” The meaning of his words was quite clear: If he couldn’t avoid disaster, Thunderclash had better not think he could get out unscathed.

Cha Ming’s eyes narrowed. Grand Artificer Liu was only an early law stitching cultivator stitching cultivator, but he possessed many powerful puppets. He was also over two thousand years old. Since he already knew about Grand Artificer Yong’s puppet formation and remained this calm, something must be wrong.

Artificer Fei was also concerned. “Grand Artificer Yong, be careful.”

“Rest assured, I’ll take care,” Artificer Yong said with a smile. Now that he had slain his unfilial disciple, he had no more worries. His relaxed attitude only caused Cha Ming’s doubts to multiply.

“It has been a long time since this Grand Artificer has fought,” Grand Artificer Liu said, stepping onto th estage “But I see that you have something to rely on. A Tier 2 lighting spirit. A peak early grade lighting formation. Not bad. But not enough!”

Cha Ming’s intuition screamed out as Artificer Liu summoned a puppet from his storage ring. “Get out of there!” he shouted, but to no avail. Artificer Yong was just in the process of charging up for an attack. He was completely unprepared for what came next.

A puppet, much stronger than any Cha Ming had seen to date, jumped out of Artificer Liu’s storage ring, merged with his Tier 2 lighting spirit, and sliced at Grand Artificer Yong in one smooth motion.

Grand Artificer Yong collapsed. He was dead before he hit the arena floor. Blood drained from Grand Artificer Fei’s blood-spattered face as the cold reality of what had just happened dawned on her.

“Weak,” Grand Artificer Liu’s said to Grand Artificer Fei, chilling the hearts of those in the righteous faction. “This is a time for our sect to stand tall and strong. We don’t need weaklings and weak ideas like this supposed Grand Artificer Yong.

Grand Artificer Liu’s puppet returned to his side. It was insectoid and had scythe blades for hands. If there were preying mantis demons out there, Cha Ming was certain they would look like this.

“Impossible!” Grand Artificer Fei exclaimed. “The last of the guardian puppets were lost. How could Dark Vengeance have landed in your hands?”

Cha Ming looked to the grieving Artificer Chi for guidance.

“Our sect’s history is quite long,” Artificer Chi explained. Many guardian puppets were sealed thousands of years ago before the plane’s energies leeched away. Only a few survived the test of time, and Dark Vengeance was one of the last to disappear.”

Can you do something about those puppets? Cha Ming asked Luther.

Naturally, Luther said. Though it will be taxing. Why should I even bother?

I think you’re forgetting something important, Cha Ming answered. You bear my slave seal, and at any moment, I can cause you untold agony.

I… I could find a way, Luther said. Just don’t expect me to be useful for anything else.

“Grand Artificer Fei, I have the means to take care of this puppet,” Cha Ming said. “Please allow me to go up next.”

To his surprise, Grand Artificer Fei rejected his offer. “I’m more concerned about the next fight, Clear Sky. It’s obvious that Thunderclash has a Tier 1 lightning spirit. By my estimate, he should have more puppets of a similar grade. Tell me, could you handle two such puppets?”

Cha Ming questioned Luther before replying. “I could, with difficulty.”

“Then I will handle Grand Artificer Liu and avenge old Yong,” Grand Artificer Fei said. “Dark Vengeance was once a set of three. Since Grand Artificer Liu already has one he might have the other two. That being said, I know that your cultivation is lacking. I will take care of Grand Artificer Liu and test Dao God Thunderclash. If he’s too much for you to handle… Elder Zai came prepared to die, and will be more than willing to take your place.”

“There will be no need for that,” Cha Ming assured her. “I will go up next. Just do me a favor? Return alive.” Grand Artificer Fei gave him a curt nod, then flew onto the battle platform.

“Four Grand Artificers in a single generation,” Grand Artificer Liu said. “And unlike that old fool, you’re not inflexible. Fei Ruxing, don’t force me to kill you.”

“Who will kill who has yet to be decided, Liu Tanshou,” said Grand Artificer Fei. Her aura flared up, and laws began imposing themselves on the battlefield. First one, then a second, and finally, a third!

Grand Artificer Liu’s expression turned solemn. “You broke through.”

“I broke through,” confirmed Grand Artificer Fei. “Puppets are lovely, but I find that power is much more reliable.”

Grand Artificer Liu sneered. “You condensed a lighting law. It’s not a proper fit with your first and second laws. You must have grabbed the first law that came along and forced a breakthrough.”

“Even so, there’s as big difference between middle and early law stitching,” Grand Artificer Fei said. “Prepare to die.” Her three laws pressed down on the battlefield, suppressing Grand Artificer Liu’s strength by sixty percent. His body slowed down to a crawl, and even his own puppet seemed a little sluggish. She summoned five shield-shaped puppets. “Well? Are we doing this?”

In response, Grand Artificer Liu mobilized Dark Vengeance. Despite their power disparity, it was far faster than either of the Grand Artificers.

But not faster than shield puppets controlled at point-blank range. Grand Artificer Fei rebuffed its attacks and mobilized her law of lighting. A bolt of crackling violet electricity crashed onto the arena and attacked Grand Artificer Liu.

Grand Artificer Liu dodged, and the lightning splattered on the arena floor like a droplet of water. Grand Artificer Fei controlled them to attack him from the ground, thereby causing a small amount of unblockable damage.

“It’s useless,” Grand Artificer Fei said. “You can’t breach my shield wall, and my Law of Eternal Storm will whittle away at you until you perish.”

Grand Artifice Liu chuckled. “Nice try. Those shield puppets look inanimate, but I can see that they are quite energy intensive. Dark Vengeance’s speed is fast enough that less than five of them won’t be enough to block me. Your energy consumption far outstrips mine.”

“Let’s see exactly how long you’ll last,” Grand Artificer Fei said.

A battle of attrition began. Dark Vengeance could not pass her shield wall, and Grand Artificer Liu could barely defend himself against her lightning attacks.

“When did… when did Grand Artificer Fei break through?” Artificer Chi asked Cha Ming.

“She was always close to a breakthrough,” Cha Ming said. “Her fundamentals were solid. All she needed was a high energy density environment.” Artificers Yong, Chi, and Fei had all been close to a breakthrough. But each of them had their own problems. Artificer Chi wasn’t serious enough, and Artificer Yong’s heart demons were too powerful. Only Artificer Fei managed to make a breakthrough, though she kept it secret from the other and requested that Cha Ming keep this secret.

The battle of attrition continued. Grand Artificer had control of a third law, but she’d only broken through recently. She’d yet to refine her style and techniques. As a result, she spent twice the energy her enemy did. Even if she won the battle, she would be unable to continue fighting.

Grand Artificer Liu was in the dominant position, so he continued whittling away until their energy stores hit rock bottom. Only then did he throw in the towel. “That’s it, I’m out!” he shouted. He retreated towards the boundary.

But how could Grand Artificer Fei let him have his way? She had long prepared for this eventuality. All along, she’d been trickling lightning onto the stage. She had it merged with local spatial energy and used it to form a cage.

She then proceeded to step through space and appeared beside Grand Artificer Liu. She poured the last of her energy into her palm strike and smashed down onto his head “Lightning Annihilation palm!” she bellowed as she attacked the shocked grand artificer, shattering his remaining defenses.

Dark Vengeance collapsed as Liu Tanshou’ s bound puppet lighting spirit perished.

“Artificer Fei, you’d best come down,” Cha Ming said. She nodded and flew towards the puppet to collect it. Yet before she could collect it, a flash of lightning shot out onto the arena. “Despicable!” Cha Ming shouted as Grand Artificer Fei was forced to abandon the puppet and quickly exit the arena.

“I’ll be taking control of this puppet, thank you very much,” Dao God Thunderclash said. His puppet lighting spirit hopped out and howled. It was his Tier 1 fox-shaped lightning spirit.

Dark Vengeance rose and joined two more puppets that hopped out of Thunderclash’s storage. One puppet resembled a lion with the tail of a scorpion, and another was a serpent composed of multiple segments.

“Can you handle him?” Grand Artificer Fei asked, limping up to Cha Ming.

“I can try,” Cha Ming said. He flew up onto the stage and prepared to face his nemesis.

“The leadership challenge will be decided by the winner of this battle,” announced Sect Master sacred earth, though it was clear to all present that any victory by the sinful faction would be a pyrrhic one. “Begin!”