Torsten Hewson
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v5c33: Shadow of Intent
🕑 Added 2024-08-03 01:49:23 +0000 UTCLast Night:
Lu Ri was quite impressed when the defenses around First Den had activated. They were old and had nearly crumbled to dust—yet they were wards and defenses from the Age of Heroes. Even after thousands of years of degradation, even after so much damage had been done to them, they valiantly rose to do their duty again, even though they sparked fitfully as they did so.
A befuddling mist rose, ghosting along Lu Ri’s senses. It sought to misdirect and beguile before it recognised him as a friend, disappearing from his mind and sight. Another ward activated some manner of shield, and he felt Miss Yuanlin’s power surge slightly as the formation chose her as its master and the defender of its mortal charges, empowering her.
Then, all at once, that power disappeared. Lu Ri nodded in satisfaction. The wards were subtle. It should be enough for the mortals to simply hide within, along with Miss Yuanlin. They would be safe there, hidden away, and that would give Lu Ri leave to continue scouting the north or return to Hong Yaowu, and ready for the potential demon attack.
He was just letting a small smile come to his face when he noticed a dark shape flying through the air not too far away.
It was a bird. A bird that was looking directly at where First Den was, its gaze unnaturally still and its flight perfect. Its head tilted, and its eyes locked directly onto Lu Ri.
Lu Ri had studied the lives of base animals, as the Honoured Founders had instructed. Animals were desperate to survive, and each action they took was purposeful. Each action they did was for a reason, no matter how absurd it seemed to a human at first glance. In observing base beasts, one learned to look underneath seemingly random actions to find the true purpose for them; this was their first lesson on the path to understanding the actions of men, and then, of cultivators.
So Lu Ri knew well how a base beast’s eyes looked. He knew well how birds flew, how their eyes twitched, and how their wings angled.
No base bird flew like that. No base bird’s eyes were so still.
And a secret hiding spot was only good if it remained secret.
Lu Ri was beside the creature in an instant, black blood gushing over his blade as he executed the demonic scout. Yet his slaying of the beast was not perfect, as a tiny pulse of Qi erupted from the corpse of the enemy. He tried to catch and snuff it out, but the thin line of Qi was already attached to something, and even though he got part of it, whatever was on the other end of that line would have surely been alerted.
Lu Ri grimaced and landed. Miss Yuanlin would have to be warned. If their foe was competent, they would investigate this sudden death of one of their scouts, and while the vision from the prophetic mortal had shown weaker demonic forms, Lu Ri would take no chances.
He had sworn an oath that the mortals of Clan Nezin would come to no harm.
=======================
Miss Yuanlin joined Lu Ri as they scoured the north. This time, they relied upon stealth, a thin mist covering them as they searched for anything that would dare threaten First Den… until, to Lu Ri’s surprise, they found their enemy.
They were two hundred in number, charging through the burgeoning storm directly toward First Den. They were armoured in black chitin and were slavering as they hurled themselves forward.
This proved that there was a demonic assault heading for Lu Ri’s Junior Brother. Lu Ri attempted to send a transmission, but within the storm as he was, the only thing he got was static.
Lu Ri frowned heavily as they retreated slightly. The two of them together should be able to ambush and destroy this force of demons, but…
“That is no main force,” Miss Yuanlin said authoritatively. “Whatever is controlling the scouts is likely controlling them.”
“I concur,” Lu Ri said, acknowledging Miss Yuanlin’s point. “But is this a scouting force, a vanguard… or the reserves?”
“It's a damn lot of the bastards whatever it is—and I think I saw other tracks leading south too, but it was too far to tell,” Miss Yuanlin cursed. Her lip curled, revealing a too-sharp canine as her amber eyes turned to slits.
Lu Ri pondered their predicament. “We shall retreat. Miss Yuanlin, I will find a suitable place to erect the Raging Cloudy Sword Formation.” He would have to move swiftly, as he required around an hour to properly set up the formation. “After I have accomplished this, I would request that you lead the enemy to me. After that, retreat to First Den and ensure that nothing strikes it.”
Miss Yuanlin nodded at his words, instantly grasping Lu Ri’s intent, before she frowned slightly. “That is a great many demons, Master Lu Ri, and likely not all they have. I would reckon that they have stronger forces than this current showing as well, if so many are on the field. If a peer combatant arrives with similar numbers of chaff… would you be able to hold, after maintaining such a hastily prepared formation?”
Lu Ri considered the predicament. “If not, I am confident in my ability to lead them away further still.”
Miss Yuanlin went quiet for a moment, before speaking hesitantly.
“What about if we used First Den?”
Lu Ri raised an eyebrow. “You would consent to leading the enemy to the fortress?”
“They already know where it is. We’ll use it to do what a fortress is best at—butchering attackers on prepared ground. The protections also allow me to help support an ally—you would not have to worry about Qi as much. And if this is the level of our foes, we may be able to draw them all out and crush them here,” Miss Yuanlan stated the bold plan with a calm voice.
Her points were valid. If this did escalate, and if Lu Ri had the support of First Den’s own protections…
“Very well then,” Lu Ri finally agreed.
===================
Present:
Back at First Den, Lu Ri sat, eyes closed, within the greatest technique of the Honoured Founders.
The Raging Cloudy Sword Formation.
Outside its embrace, the hordes of demons had paused—the first of their number had charged into the clouds and the first of their number had all perished in an instant.
To the enemy, it was like they had simply been cut down by a near-invisible sword. The truth was much greater than that.
The scripture for this technique was freely available to any Senior Disciple and could even be requested to be studied by Outer Disciples, if they filled out the proper forms.
Yet few did, even though this most sublime of techniques could technically be used by even the least of cultivators, if only but once because they lacked the Qi to maintain it. All it required was the requisite understanding and the formation could be deployed.
It was utterly mind-bending to contemplate. The technique clouded one's intent and form from being observed by their enemy; rendering unto the disciple the state of Indeterminate. In this state, to the enemy, one is both there and not there. Their blade is both sheathed and unsheathed. A strike has already been completed—yet never happened at all.
That is why they were called the Cloudy Sword Sect: their intent and blades were so shrouded that their enemies could not comprehend what they were going to do next. Even its name was intentionally misleading; ‘Raging’ implied something different than what it actually did.
Lu Ri had discussed the concepts of the formation once with his Junior Brother, phrasing it as a thought experiment rather than the greatest technique of the Sect. That had led to a rather confusing tangent about cats in boxes and a man called Shuding Er... that after several hours of contemplation did make a sort of sense.
Miss Yuanlin’s knives flashed out, spearing the last of the birds in the air and with some thudding into demonic flesh. The demons roared at this, and the pause in their advance ended. The demons charged into the clouds that were being supported by mist.
Lu Ri beheaded the first artificial demon to enter. The strike was made perfectly, from out of vision and with no room for retaliation.
One of the demon’s comrades immediately launched an attack, trying to strike down Lu Ri. But Lu Ri was not there. He never had been.
The demon who had tried the attack was slain. A perfect thrust through the heart—again, with no room for retaliation. Then, Lu Ri was gone again; he had never been there.
He was not Elder Ge, to simply think his formation was full of his blade and make it so. He still had to swing his sword.
Another demon died to a blow that was perfect. Then another. Then another and another and another and another.
Artificial demons did not know what fear was. They were soldiers without compare. Tireless, devastatingly strong, as durable as Spirit Beasts. Yet their minds were not fully developed. They were scarred and traumatized by their horrifying transformations. They could not comprehend what was happening.
And thus, their fates were sealed.
Within the clouds, Lu Ri was rendered unobservable. Indeterminate.
Within the clouds, Lu Ri was in every state he could possibly be at the same time.
Upon attack, his sword swung down in a perfect killing blow. On defense he was simply never there in the first place.
This was the pride of one of the greatest sects in the Empire.
This was the Raging Cloudy Sword Formation.
This was the technique that eclipsed strength. For if an enemy could not comprehend what the practitioner was doing… they would never be able to strike their foe, no matter how hard they tried.
Lu Ri stood with his hands behind his back as the Great Enemy died in droves. There were no earth-shattering techniques. There were no thunderous flashes of Qi.
There was simply perfectly applied force, with no collateral damage.
The Senior Disciple of the Cloudy Sword Sect killed and killed and killed. His blade was everywhere.
Yet still in its sheath.
=====================
Every single demon of the reserve force Huian was counting on perished in less than half of an hour—and then Lu Ri set about cleaning up and storing the corruption. It would not do to have it sit and spawn another Demon’s Grave Ravine.
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A little short, this one. But an exploration on why the Cloudy Sword Sect is considered so strong.
Quantum Xianxia bullshit.
Huian, Chixia and Yulong would have been able to put up a fight. A bunch of artificial demons? No chance.
One more chapter this week.
Edited by: Massgamer, BargleNawdleZouss,
Comments
Steven Sather
All hail Shruding Er!
Caliburn0
And I thought it was just lightning attacks or something. I seriously underestimated the CSS.
Lanter
Oooh great point 👉
Randall Brynsvold
The CSS wasn't living up to those standards at the time Jin left, but they've gotten better again.
Paul Boros
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/HC1pjTowG5tmw5y9/
Geminus
Quantum Xianxia is such a great and imaginative concept!
Paul Boros
and Elder Ge's niece.... foreshadowing
Timothy Dana
The cat metaphor is super confusing and misleading. Also think of misunderstandings. What if Tigu over heard their conversation and thought they were covertly referring to a poison assassination plot against her!
Timothy Dana
I am annoyed that Jin used Schrodinger’s cat as the thought experiment. Clearly the delayed "Choice" quantum eraser thought experiment proposed by Yoon-Ho Kim, R. Yu, S. P. Kulik, Y. H. Shih and Marlan O. Scully is more appropriate. It matches Lu Ri’s concept of the Indeterminate.
Angel
Well said!
Thomas Brusilovsky
Delightful. Glad to see that that fic that focuses on the cloudy sword sect pretty much nailed the way it works.
Laura H
That's why Lu Ri and the Lord Magistrate get along so well -- they are both willing to really *listen* to other people and accept their ideas if they're good. It's hard not to like someone who treats everyone fairly and equally, no matter their rank or status. And why the Cloudy Sword Sect is the greatest -- they not only have the mightiest techniques, but the respect for others to keep an open mind.
Alex Browne
It's Wa Shi... he's gone to plaid
Old Dog
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat
Sebastian Osterbrink
well, maybe not intentionally or in organized form, but if you think that the mortals and smaller sects who's land was being poisoned by the corpses didn't dispose of the trash and poisonous bodies down the apparently bottomless ravine I have some prime land below some highway bridges to sell to you ;)
Marta Barańska
😳ouchie
Marta Barańska
😂
FuschiaKnight
IIRC, from word of author in discord and sb, Demon’s Grave Favine wasn’t a disposal site, but rather a place where they won an incredibly, massive victory over the demons, but all the demonic qi from the bodies leaked out without cleaning because the CPE was in a rush to get to the source of the demons in the north.
BigBro Bluesman
Holy shit it's a Schrodinger attack! I always thought it was using clouds as blades in a huge thunderstorm to blind the enemys sensus
linkhyrule5
Sidereal Martial Arts are best martial arts, accept no substitutes. :3
Just A Dude
Indeed. There's a video by Veritasium that rather neatly points out that the cat is still interacting with the rest of the world via the medium of the box material, so the quantum probabilities either never actually collapse or are already collapsed. Incomplete knowledge is not superposition.
Just A Dude
There is only one meme that can accurately sum up the quantum fuckery of the RCS being deployed. Lu Ri: "Omae wa mou shindeiru." Demons: "Nani?!"
Evander
This is why group reading is nice. Thanks for the clarification.
Rat with a Pick
It isn't fully working, yet.
Brent
It is a bit short, but I feel like it needs to be to be to properly show of Lu Ri as the hidden badass he is. Great chapter!
Evander
I'm talking about activating the formation around the village to recall him. I thought it could teleport the villagers away or bring Lu RI there.
Gremlin Jack
The formation is still a formation, those have a defined area of effect. Doubt Lu Ri's teleportation trick can take him outside that area.
Randall Brynsvold
Elder Ge's version is like that ("his formation was full of his blade"). Lu Ri has to intentionally poke each demon, remotely but perfectly, while his sword also rests in its sheath.
Elijah Overland
A superpositional sword formation LMAO yeah that’ll put you under “great sect” status for sure
Randall Brynsvold
"Must bring entire fox clan here NOW!"
Randall Brynsvold
Maybe he could teleport within the Formation... but he'd have to extend the Formation to cover the area from his location to Jin's location. Which would probably take a whole lot more Qi than he's currently using. And don't sell "Chariot of the Earth" Chun Ke and "Prince of the Heavens at LUDICROUS SPEED" Wa Shi short...
Evander
Lu Rui should be able go teleport to Jin through the formation to assist with the conflict, no? Jin may be able to eliminate another peer cultivator since he doesn't have to keep the kid gloves on, but a 3rd who focuses on poison? No way. Does meimei's ability to jump to an earth realm level of cultivation work when the earth spirit sleeps?
Evander
That guy had a terrible reputation now. I hope he avoids that reference.
Harish
That moment when the Cloudy Sword truly lives up to its name. CF did a masterful job with his lore. Hearing Sci-Fi and Cultivation in the same story hits me hard too
BlueMage Theneras
I'm imagining the scene in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where all the things in the sand were slapping them for thinking. But shovels. And not light slaps.
BlueMage Theneras
Not quite how I thought it worked, I had thought it basically spawned a cloud full of only partially physical blades, a cloud made of cutting qi. The state of being indeterminate, of being there but not there, striking without moving, that it cool as hell. And the idea even an Outer Disciple could study it? Dude, CSS is BADASS
Angua de Blubb
So how much is Yuanlin going to fangirl over Lu Ri now? A worthy target of such awe indeed *-*
Angua de Blubb
(And I meant all this not to countermand CF about his own characters, but more as an "Well, there might still be a way ...". Got a little carried away ...)
Angua de Blubb
For those interested, I recently bought a book, "ACE" by Angela Chen. There's a bit about this in the introductory part that you can read via Amazon's "Look inside" feature.
Michael Otton
What I've always found hilarious is that Schrodinger cat was devised to mock the ideas of Quantum mechanics saying "look at how ridiculous this idea is it obviously makes no sense".
Angua de Blubb
Not necessarily. There is a spectrum of asexuality. Myself, I'm simply not interested, but also not repulsed. Others are actively repulsed. Others again don't enjoy like "normal" people do, but also don't mind engaging, using things as a sort of bonding ritual with a person they love (ace unequal aro).
Sebastian Osterbrink
That explains one name: It seems a good part of the empire disposed of demon bodies in the Ravine. Like a giant landfill. But lacking someone like Forrest sweeper it festered und is constantly spawning new demons
Nathaniel Jacob moore
Really embodies the whole humility is the greatest teacher trope!
Kasinki
That's pretty damn cool. Schrodinger would probably be pretty bad ass
Alex Ingraham
Based on watching my sister's cat play in cardboard boxes, Tigu would be having too much fun (getting in, climbing out, getting back in, tipping the box on top of herself and wandering around looking through the holes in the box all solid-snake style, trying to sneak up on the catnip mouse toy while still under the box, etc.) to learn something "utterly mind-bending to contemplate" quickly enough to say it comes naturally for her lol
Alex Ingraham
Yes
Barry Morgan
And would the technique come naturally to Tigu?
Rune Shadow
Casual has mentioned in post that he is asexual, he feels kind of bad for doing that to the elders granddaughter
Toua77
Quite a COST-effective farming technique at that...
Z H
Not just scholars, but slave scholars that had to build their techniques in secret to overthrow their masters, so this kind of thing is perfect for them
Truedragon5374
Dishonorable? High level cultivators routinely throw mountain busters at each other and hide behind mind shedding illusions. Power forgives all and all that. For those that care about honor, it usually centers around Who they fight or Why they fight, not How. And not only was this technique born of the Age of Heroes, likely to kill demons, but it is basically a nuke you can drop on a pitched battle, kill all your enemies, and leave your allies unharmed. There is much honor in protecting many friends.
Angel
So satisfying to get an inside look at the technique we’ve read so much about! And I love that you let Yuanlin show her strategic genius instead of all the good ideas coming from Lu Ri. And he so graciously accepted her plan once he thought it through. Once again he shows me why he’s one of my favorite characters!
Laura H
Thanks for the amazing quantum xanxia bullshit! Is the cat in the box or not?
Barry Morgan
Seeing Lu Ri and his Quantum Qi Cuisinart in action was great. Now I just hope that he will head south to Fa Ram with all speed.
WarStrider72
Lu Ri scythed through those demons like wheat
Cyrus McEnnis
I can easily see Jin taking the Raging Cloudy Sword Formation and using it to "break" the atom >.> Not that he needs more protagonist-fu, you understand.
Katharine Gould
THE CLOUDY SWORD SECT IS THE SECT OF QUANTUM SUPERPOSITION? You just merged my two favorite things cultivation and Quantum mechanics. And it happened in my favorite story beware of chicken. This is the best day ever!
CringeWorthyStudios
As I said, that’s amazing! 🤣
Old Dog
As always, thank you for the chapter. Nice to see Yuanlin get a little love from the ancient formation. Not to mention how Lu Ri shines in this chapter and how his actions are going to make the attackers shift strategy because of it.
Runcible Technician
That really does sound like a farming technique.
Jacob
Well we got quantum bullshit now we need timey wimey stuff
Old Dog
And thank you Casual Farmer.
Monkeytoster
Elder Guh has used it first, though the fanfic explained it first as Shrodinger's box.
litalmexy
What would the equivalent for Jin’s shovel be? Wack-a-mole? Acme shovel trap?
Jens Mortensen
Ahh, quantum Bullshit, a true protagonist weapon.
Donovan Napolitano
Funny that the BoC fanfic got to introduce the Cloudy Sword signature technique first. Doesn't make it any less cool though.
Cyrus McEnnis
I misread that last bit as "Sword-bender" and instantly thought "Sword. Staff. Spear. Shovel. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony..."
Noah Andrulis
Pretty much explicitly so.
Cyrus McEnnis
He's willing to do his duty to the Sect, and is I _think_ betrothed now to one of the Elders grandXchildren, but yeah Elder Brother is focused more on foundations than fripperies.
CringeWorthyStudios
Asexual or just completely oblivious? Because I’m not sure if he actually even noticed, regardless of if he’s Ace or not.
Lanter
Oh right, weren't they founded by scholars or something?
CringeWorthyStudios
Meanwhile Jin gets access to the technique and makes the Calm Overcast Shovel Technique, because it’s *clearly* just for digging out a field real quick.
D375
It would be hilarious if Jin works in a way to call him Karl Malone, the mailman.
CringeWorthyStudios
I believe that “what the fuck Xianxia?” is the only appropriate response to that one…
Gwyn
I think Lu RI is like, Asexual, but I still ship him and Yuanlin.
Brayden
It may have been made to use against the demons and then
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
CringeWorthyStudios
Does the Raging Cloudy Sword Formation use fucking *quantum superposition* as its main function? What the fuck Xianxia, that’s amazing! Thanks for the chapter!
WarStrider72
Thanks for the chapter boss!
Casualfarmer
Elder Ge makes his formation look like that, and it hides that fact that hes quantum-bullshitted his sword so that it fills every inch of cloud. If you touch the black clouds you get cut to peices and basically dinsintgrated from the fact that his cloud is a constant sword-blender.
Aaron Schwartz
That…. That is not the sort of technique that a cultivation sect would normally think is honorable. And it doesn’t match with what the elder did earlier in the series when he was mad at the outer sect. It looked like some kind of giant Titanic pillar of lightning and storm clouds. Although while it might not fit a sect, IT IS A PERFECT TECHNIQUE FOR LU RI. Quite efficient, deadly organized.
Rune Shadow
A little anticlimactic but makes sense considering in universe rules and their situation. Would actually be unbelievable if they actually managed to push him with so many advantages stacked his way
dragonslaver
Schrödingers cultivator
Drendude
I love "Quantum Xianxia bullshit"
MockingBird
"One more chapter this week." Thank god.
Sean Ulrich
Dang…
bob50000
Lu Ri, quantum swordsman
Mike_MURD
Thanks for the chapter!
Logan Jones
Nice chapter
BargleNawdleZouss
Lu Ri delivers. Again.
