The Grand Duelist

Chapter 146: Start of an Epic Journey[7]

Chapter 146: Start of an Epic Journey[7]

[You are now an evil immortal! For the sake of those who do not have any knowledge about xianxia. An Artificial Intelligence Pixie Fairy is made available to help you. Summon the Pixie Fairy by calling its name! The Pixie's name is listed within your updated Skill Tree...]

[Your Skill Tree has been updated...] 

Joseph opened his eyes and he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Or was it a ceiling?

Joseph wasn't so sure since what he was seeing right now was a ceiling that was made out of rocks. 

Joseph skimmed through the system notifications that blocked his eyes and he was intrigued by what he had read.

A Pixie Fairy? I have someone to guide me? Nice!

Joseph hurriedly opened his Skill Tree and found that he only had a single skill available to him.

It had the icon of a beautiful fairy. Joseph tapped on it and found that the name of the Pixie Fairy was Elizabeth. Closing his Main Menu and the Skill Tree, Joseph opened his mouth and called upon the name of the Pixie.

"Elizabeth!"

Joseph uttered and a flash of brilliant light appeared within the cave.

The light lasted for only several seconds at most before it dissipated, revealing the figure of a fairy that looked to be the same size as a ruler. The fairy had wings attached on her back and she wore a green dress that expressed the harmony of Spring with nature.

It really suited Joseph who came from the Kingdom of Nether.

[Pixie Fairy Personality has been decided according to the tastes of the Player!]

[Initializing...]

According to my tastes? What in the hell does that mean?

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows, but he couldn't hide the anticipation on his face. 

[Initialization complete...]

The Pixie Fairy Elizabeth finally opened her eyes and as soon as she saw Joseph. She almost immediately frowned and assumed a cold facade that greatly astonished Joseph who inwardly lampooned.

You made her like Alice!

Yes, that face! That cold face right there looks completely the same as Alice!

What the fuck, system?!

Joseph facepalmed. But since everything had already been decided and there was no use crying over spilled milk. He couldn't do anything other than sigh and stare at the Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.

Yes, Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.

That was the name floating above the head of the Pixie.

"You're the one that summoned me?" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and scanned Joseph from head to toe, her eyes that radiated infinite coldness seemed to be inwardly mocking Joseph.

"Yes, I'm your master, and what's that look and with that tone of voice?" Joseph frowned.

"Is there something wrong with my tone of voice?" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth asked.

"You forgot to add the "master" at the end!" Joseph criticized.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth rolled her eyes and didn't bother about Joseph anymore.

What the fuck... Aren't I the master among the two of us? Why does it feel like it's the other way around?

Joseph gnashed his teeth and asked, "Tell me about the objectives of this King's Trial..."

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth momentarily glanced at him and said, "You didn't read the system notifications? Sigh... I really didn't expect that not only I would get a not-so-handsome master, he's also quite lazy!" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth sighed.

Veins bulged on Joseph's forehead as he thought.

Fuck, he's not just Alice! Her insults sound like Alice but on steroids!

Joseph took several deep breaths and calmed himself down.

Afterwards, he then stared at the Pixie Fairy and replied, "I did read the system notifications but the objectives are too vague! I'm now an evil immortal and I need to comprehend the concept of Justice, Law, and Order? Just what the hell are concepts in the first place?"

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth stared at Joseph for a moment before she sighed, seemingly surrendering to her fate on needing to teach her ignorant master about the common sense of this world.

"You are now an evil immortal that cultivates the Art of Discord and Disorder. You are currently at the Core Formation Realm and you are trying to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm..."

"However, to make that breakthrough, you must understand the Concept of Justice, Law, and Order first and summon the Heavenly Tribulation and then survive against it..."

"As for how to do that, you can use any method for as long as you can evoke the wrath of the heavens. I know that this is quite vague and because of that, there's no definite deadline to this King's Trial. You can research for as long as you want, but keep in mind that you will not be able to return to the world of Victory unless you succeed or fail."

Joseph repeatedly nodded his head as he listened to the explanation of the Pixie Fairy.

When the Pixie Fairy was finally done with her explanation.

Joseph had a look of excitement on his face.

As he expected, from the words, "Immortal" alone. Joseph had already deduced that this King's Trial had something to do with cultivation or cultivating to fight against the heavens as he had read on those Eastern Fantasy books.

Joseph had always been a fan of Eastern Fantasy books and it was his favorite pastime to read these kinds of books whenever he was bored. Now that he had a chance to display his knowledge and wisdom regarding the world of Immortals, how could Joseph not be excited about that?

In fact, he was actually even profusely thanking the P.H Works right now for giving him such a precious opportunity.

Seeing that Joseph didn't reply...

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth frowned and asked, "Would you like to know more information about the Cultivation Realms in this world?"

Joseph lightly smiled and said, "Just give me a brief summary regarding them..."

"I just need to confirm something."

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth nodded and started talking, "The names of the cultivation realms and their description are quite literal so if you have a few brain cells remaining in your brain, I think you will be able to instantly understand what they mean..."

"The first realm is the Qi Gathering Realm, Second is Foundation Establishment, Third is the Core Formation Realm, and the Fourth is the Nascent Soul Realm which is the highest Realm achievable by anyone in this world and is considered as the front door to the world of Immortals..." 

"Only by stepping into the Nascent Soul Realm could one call himself a genuine Immortal. In other words, a Core Formation Realm cultivator like you is nothing but a fake Immortal."

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth scoffed when she completed her sentence.

But Joseph who had already thought that he should treat Pixie Fairy Elizabeth like how he always treated Alice whenever she was ranting didn't mind her mocking at all.

Instead, he merely nodded his head and asked, "What functions do you have aside from answering my questions?"

Joseph casually asked, but the Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's expression paled.

She hurriedly pulled her skirt downwards and covered her chests, "What do you mean? Why are you asking something like that? Could it be that you're thinking of...?"

"Fuck off! Why would I think about something like that?" Even Joseph couldn't take it anymore as he violently cursed. He already had Alice, why would he be a pervert towards other women?

Particularly when that woman was a Pixie who was only as big as his palm.

Joseph explained a few more times before Pixie Fairy Elizabeth was finally convinced.

Afterwards, she promptly replied to Joseph's question earlier.

"I can do anything that you want me to do for as long as I am willing and it's within the limits of one's imagination..." A cold look could be seen on her face as she explained.

It seemed like, despite Joseph's explanation, she still wasn't convinced that Joseph wouldn't do something untoward against her.

"So, you can do anything for as long as it's actually possible, eh? In that case, can you turn me into a mortal and vice-versa?" Joseph asked.

"Why would you want to be a mortal?" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth asked with a frown.

Being an immortal in this realm meant that Joseph could do almost everything that he wanted to do save from destroying the entire world, yet why was he abandoning such power for the sake of being a mortal?

It didn't make any sense.

Joseph shook his head and stared at her with visible mocking like how she stared at him earlier and said, "It seems like you really don't understand. Yes, I may be an Immortal but I am trying to comprehend the ways of the heavens, and in order to do that. I must abide by the laws of the heavens first, meaning. I should cease fighting against the heavens..."

"Being an immortal is fighting against the laws of the heavens. That is why I won't be able to comprehend the heavens if I remain as an immortal. Only by becoming a mortal could an immortal become a true immortal. These are the lessons that those books that I read on a daily basis told me..." Joseph had a proud look on his face as he explained.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth looked confused, but since it was the will of his master to be a mortal. She did what he wanted her to do and within the next few seconds. Joseph promptly collapsed onto the ground, his knees collapsing under the weight of his body.

"What the fuck? Why can't I stand up? Hey, what did you do?"

Joseph angrily glared at Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth rolled her eyes and said, "Your body is the body of a thousand-year-old immortal. A mortal's lifespan is a mere hundred years at most. Meaning, if you became an immortal at that state, you will definitely die in just under a minute since there's no way that a mortal could be more than a hundred-years-old."

"Then, turn me back! What the hell are you waiting for? Do you really want me to die that much? I am your master, you know?!" Joseph retorted.

Thankfully, Pixie Fairy Elizabeth promptly complied and strength returned to Joseph's body.

But since he still wanted to become an immortal, he gave her another set of instructions.

"Since I cannot be a mortal with that old body of mine. How about you turn me into a youngster and afterwards, you transform me into a mortal in that state using that body? In that case, I won't need to worry about my body collapsing and turning into ashes, right?" 

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth snorted, "That's right, you should've told me about that earlier."

"Hey, hey, hey! You already knew that me becoming a mortal in that old body was detrimental but you still turned me into a mortal despite knowing that fact. Are you sure that you are here to help me instead of trying to kill me?" Joseph angrily retorted, there was a wronged look on his face as if he was greatly hurt by what she had done.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's expression softened.

Of course, she knew that turning Joseph into a mortal while he was still using that old body was detrimental, but she was nothing but a mere servant. She needed precise instructions from her master and only through that could she do everything that he wanted her to do.

She promptly explained about her circumstances to Joseph...

But her explanation made Joseph frown instead as he lampooned. 

"So, it turns out that you still need exact instructions to work even though you are made with a highly-advanced Artificial Intelligence. But it doesn't really matter, I just need to give you proper instructions, right?" Joseph turned to look at her for confirmation and Pixie Fairy Elizabeth nodded her head without saying anything.

She felt like Joseph was somewhat mocking her, but since she couldn't grasp if it was the truth...

She resorted to not saying anything instead.

"Before you turn me into a mortal, can you explain to me what concepts are? Just what exactly is a Concept and what can I do using it?" Joseph asked, even though he had an idea of what concepts were. it was still safer to ask since asking questions wasn't even a crime anyway.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth stared at him for a moment before she sighed and explained: "Concepts are sometimes called Laws. Cultivation is basically the same as fighting against the heavens, but if you want to fight against the heavens and survive, you must comprehend these vague ideas called Concepts..."

"There are a lot of unheard Concepts in the world and they are ever-changing. Of course, there are Concepts that never change or can never be changed such as the Concept of Time and Space, Concept of Death and Life, and the Concept of Change. One can only use a Concept if they thoroughly understand what it was and how it worked..."

"Combining these vague concepts along with understanding the core of one's life or the internal aspects that makes up the life of a cultivator is the only way that one can thoroughly fight against the heavens and even stand on par against it!" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth looked incomparably proud after her explanation but Joseph merely chuckled.

"Yeah, that indeed sounds awesome but your explanations are quite empty. I want an explanation that even a five-year-old can understand! Explain it to me again like I'm five!"

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth froze, a wry smile escaped on her lips as she stared at her master.

Seeing that he looked to be completely serious about what he had said. Pixie Fairy Elizabeth sighed and promptly explained, "Concepts are what makes up the universe and to use it is the same as utilizing the underlying meaning of that particular Concept..."

"Say you are using the Concept of Time and Space. If you thoroughly understand that Concept then you can easily manipulate Time and Space. You can speed up the passing of time, slow it down, or even pause it..."

"For example, say that you want to instantly harvest the fruits of a particular tree..."

"You can use the Concept of Time and Space to instantly make it bear fruit. That's basically how it works. If you still don't understand it, then how about you just use it?" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth made a proposal that astonished Joseph.

"I can use it?"

"What?" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth rolled her eyes and said, "Did you already forget that you cultivate the Art of Discord and Disorder? Interpret the meaning of "Discord" and "Disorder" then try to use them according to your understanding of them..."

"Try to use them according to my understanding of them? Heck, I don't even know what the word "Discord" means..." Joseph shook his head and inwardly chuckled.

He opened up Mister Google and found that the meaning of Discord was basically the same as conflict, while disorder was quite easy for Joseph to understand.

But to cause conflict and chaos... Wait, isn't conflict basically the cause of chaos and chaos is the effect of conflict?

Could it be that Concepts... Even though there are too many of them, they are still intertwined with each other in some ways or another?

Joseph fell into deep contemplation.

Afterwards, he stared at a certain rock on the ground and tried imagining how he could cause conflict within that rock that would make it shatter.

But despite being in a staring contest against the rock for several minutes, nothing was happening.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth noticed what Joseph was trying to do, and even though she knew that what he was doing wasn't even the correct way of evoking the Concept of Discord and Disorder. She didn't stop him for she thought that it was quite amusing to see him struggle like this.

"What the fuck, why is it not working? Do I imagine something happening or not? You said something about the limits of imagination earlier, yet why is my imagination not affecting the world?" Joseph turned to look at Pixie Fairy Elizabeth with frustration clearly on his face.

"Pffft..." Pixie Fairy Elizabeth couldn't help it anymore as she laughed out loud. Her shoulders and wings continuously trembled and she even almost fell onto the ground due to her laughter. 

Joseph raised his hand and sent a slap towards her direction.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth promptly stopped her laughter and evaded the slap.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a frown.

"That should be my line! You're the one mocking your master here so I should be the one that should be angry!" Joseph angrily retorted. After taking several deep breaths to calm himself, he continued, "Tell me what's going on. How do I use that Art of Discord and Disorder."

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth rolled her eyes and replied, "You use Qi."

"Qi? Oh, that makes sense." Joseph closed his eyes and started meditating according to the method that he learned from his years of reading eastern fantasy novels.

But his actions made him look pretentious to the eyes of Pixie Fairy Elizabeth as she asked, "I still haven't told you how to do it. In fact, do you even know how to use Qi?"

Joseph didn't reply to her question.

He just kept his eyes closed and his senses sealed off from the outside world.

Soon, Joseph felt an inexplicable sensation...

He guided that sensation towards the tip of his fingers and pointed it on a random rock on the ground and with his will...

Bang!

... A ray of crimson light flew from the tip of his index finger towards that rock, crushing it into smithereens.

"So that's how you do it!" Joseph exclaimed in excitement.

"What...? You... You already know how to summon Qi... How did you learn it that fast?" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth had a look of visible confusion and shock on her face as she asked.

But Joseph ignored her as he proceeded to play around using his newfound power.

He formed several rays of crimson light and made them circle around his body. He even turned them into several shapes such as a sword, spear, rapier, and even a bow and an arrow. 

Wow... So, Qi is actually like a lump of clay that you can transform anything for as long as it's within the limits of your capabilities and imagination. By imagination, I mean, you must not only have a clear picture of something. You must also understand how it works...

I tried creating a Nuclear Bomb through my Qi, but it didn't work. That means that even though I can imagine how a Nuclear Bomb looks like, as long as I don't understand how it works. I cannot create it through my Qi. 

Joseph repeatedly nodded his head as he inwardly thought to himself.

But is this really using the Concept of Discord and Disorder?

Joseph turned his attention to another piece of rock and he tried to use the Concept of Discord and Disorder within it but to no avail. However, Joseph suddenly had a brilliant idea. 

What if I sow discord and create disorder within the minerals that make up that rock?

Wait, that is actually a great idea!

How did I not think of this earlier?

Joseph had the urge to facepalm, but his curiosity got the best of him as he stared at the rock once again.

This time, he imagined creating discord and disorder among the minerals that make up the rock and...

Crack...

Bang!

... Viola!

The rock abruptly shattered before turning into dust.

The excited Joseph hurriedly turned to another piece of rock and through the same method, he also turned that rock into dust. Afterwards, he turned to find a tree, then a mosquito, then a frog, and then finally, he turned to look at the Pixie Fairy Elizabeth and smiled.

So the Concept of Discord and Disorder is actually just taking the meaning of both words and imagining what scenario you wanted to happen according to the meaning of those words.

In the case of that rock earlier, I imagined conflict between the minerals that make up that rock and since their relationship became disharmonious, the rock exploded and shattered.

A look of curiosity flashed across Joseph's face as he stared intently at Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.

I wonder what will happen if I create conflict between what she knows as reality and imagination? Would that make her think that the real world was just her imagination or a dream? Or will her imagination manifest into the real world in an unknown form that I still don't know about? 

There's only one way to know the answer to this question!

Let's try it out!

Joseph decided...

"Conflict between what is reality and imagination in her head!"

Joseph inwardly uttered and Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's eyes abruptly widened.

But it was quickly replaced with a blank look that Joseph hurriedly took advantage of.

"I am your master and you absolutely love me..."

"You do everything that you can do to please me, and you will never betray me..."

"You will attack those that dare to harm me and you will protect me with your life."

Joseph casually ordered.

He even looked pleased since he thought that he had finally placed the arrogant Pixie Fairy Elizabeth in her place.

But little did he knew that this so-called casual and small order of his was just the beginning of his troubles in the future.

1. Eastern Fantasy