Still Learning To Live As A Cultivator

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Two - His ex-girlfriend is pregnant

As the time to begin the new tournament approached, the excited air surrounding the event thickened.  Not only was this competition a first, it was a chance to compare the five main Cultivation schools of Xulaphrey.  Plus, first years would have a chance to compete, not that in actual fact many would, but the dream was there.  Who asked them to be mainly without records of achievement, reputation and experience?  No one was really expecting any first years to take part in the competition, however very few were surprised when Jin Li appeared in a team.  Even if he was not well known out of the martial arts schools, rumours tended to spread and as such his reputation proceeded him.

However, seeing a short youthful first year with long brown hair and generally thin limbs in amongst the famous Bowyer's team, did cause a few ripples; it seemed Jin Li's roommate, Sun, had snagged a spot.

Actually, it was not his doing at all, he'd been nonplussed about competing seeing as it was unlikely that any first year (Jin Li being the obvious exception) would compete.  He planned to cheer along, supporting his roommate and roommate's small alchemist and his two peers, Pike and Bowyer.  But this unexpected event happened to occur, cause by a sequence of choices and decisions that started as long as 150 years ago, as short as last week.

The core protagonist in this story was not Sun nor immediately related to Sun in any way.  She was in fact, a woman with her own ideas and morals that while might fit in some civilisations, often caused friction in others.  Her name was Nereid and she was the Headmistress of the Azure Heights Finishing School's little sister, she was currently pregnant and had casually placed the blame on Corvus.

"We broke up almost 150 years ago, how could I be your baby's father," Corvus had accused her, when she had managed to corner him successfully, unlike her older sister, who Corvus had always managed to give the slip. 

Nereid had not been surprised to learn that Siren could not capture him in order to make him take responsibility, this was part of the reason that she had used him as a shield.  Her sister was too set in both thought and schemes.  Once a person understood her clearly, there was less chance that they would be defeated by her.  This was one of her weaknesses.  However, she's still managed to stay in a respected position in their world for so long as just because one became familiar with her techniques, did not make those techniques any less powerful nor fluent.

"I know you are not," Nereid had openly admitted, "but you know my sister; she would not let it go if I was not to say a name."

"But you still said mine knowing that she would hunt me down to take responsibility for you and it," Corvus was not one bit amused by her careless manner.

As if she did see the irritation in his eyes, she thoughtlessly sighed; "She's just so old fashioned!"  Who needed... who wanted to settle down with a man anyway!  Dealing with a chauvinist husband as a little wife, peh peh peh!  Watching sisters married off, watching their personalities become meek and obedient in front of their husbands, all she'd felt was disgust.  It was why, when her mother had started introducing her to prospective mother-in-laws, that she had written a letter to her older sister, who'd also thrown off the yoke and chain of expectation by becoming a Cultivator, to beg her and take her away from this household!  Otherwise, she'd shave off her hair and become a nun!

Fortunately, her sister had always been a sis-con, couldn't bear to see her favourite sister throw her life away like that, but it was never going to be as easy as just walking left at a forked road when she'd been told to go right.  If she had had no talent for cultivation, then she would not be able to enter her older sister's world.  Luck was on Nereid's side.  Although her potential was not as astounding as Siren's, that which burned so brightly that her Master gave a lot of good treasures to the family in order to have her as a disciple (something that would have been unnecessary if she'd been a boy at that time), she would still have the ability to hold her own.