Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"Just what exactly did this girl do?" he though to himself.

Elder Shen quickly packed several items and left his halls. At the base of the institution was a number of courtyards and he went to one of the largest ones. Located at the edge, it was a large field the size of an arena.

Bai Ying followed after with its tail wrapped around Ming Yue\'s tub. From behind, Elder Hua, Hei Yue and Xiao Yin, came walking.

"Place it there", Elder Shen pointed at the center of the field.

With Ming Yue inside, Bai Ying quickly put down the tub and leaped away. A violent clash of energy emerged from Ming Yue, her expression was conflicted and in pain and her body writhed under the power.

"What\'s going on?" Elder Hua asked.

"I said I could possibly heal her split mind. I didn\'t say I would go against the Heavens to do so", he said.

"What? That\'s impossible. There were no signs of any effect when she was struck by the heavenly tribulation of Clear Spring Mountain\'s Sect Leader. Why would it take effect now."

"Hah, you underestimate the power of the Heaven\'s. A tribulation will affect all those in its way. Perhaps she managed to overcome it but that doesn\'t mean that she has the capabilities to deal with it fully. Perhaps a trace of it never left and it seeded deep into her mind. Now it has sprouted. It is too late now, she is undergoing a tribulation. Not even I could help her."

"But that doesn\'t make sense, how could this be?"

"The Heavens are a fickle entity. It will not leave just because one measly tribulation didn\'t do the job. You of all people should know, heaven-defying pills go through waves of tribulation lightning do they not. This is no different. It seems that the Heavens are trying to snuff a genius before she could even make her mark. Never mind that, get some more elders to help me detain her. We cannot let the tribulation energy leak around the institution!"

Seconds later, several figures descended from the air garnering the attention of multiple students of the institution.

In total, there were nine of elders that have gathered.

"We felt the energy of a heavenly tribulation here, it wasn\'t extremely powerful but we had to investigate", said one of them.

"Ah good, surround that girl over there. She is the source", said Elder Shen.

He ruffled through the items her brought before giving them all an orb.

"Hold this and stand at these points. It will detain the power of the heavenly tribulation."

"Who is this girl?"

"Stop asking questions and do as I say, before the situation becomes worse!"

With that, everyone went into positions that Elder Shen assigned them and the orbs began to glow, forming a barrier around Ming Yue\'s tub. Once everything was settled, Ming Yue\'s energy could not break past the barrier.

"Wait, Elder Hua, isn\'t that the girl you came back with a while back?" one of elders said.

"Er, yes. I didn\'t think she would have such a condition. I do apologize for implicating you all."

"Hey, it\'s that Star Owl and the variant Mistral Fox. I see, so she\'s their master. I\'ve always been curious about how she came across a variant. Perhaps when she wakes up, I could ask her."

This elder was muscular and deeply tanned. His hair was put into a long ponytail. He had a somewhat rough face but his expression was quite gentle and full of curiosity. Although he wore yellowish robes, it would not be able to hide the scars on his neck. They were numerous and resembled claw marks from various beasts. If there were so many on his neck, just how scarred was the rest of his body?

"You brought someone back Elder Hua?"

"Oh yes, when I came to congratulate the Sect Leader of Clear Spring Mountain. She piqued my interest and she is pretty handy with a sword. You might find her peculiar as well, Elder Xiang."

The one named Elder Xiang was simply a rugged old man. His dark blue robes were well kept, decorated by an emerald ribbon that wrapped around his waist. His grayish hair was tied to a small bun and his face carried apathetic expression.

"Who knows?" he said.

"Will you all shut up?" Elder Shen yelled out, "The energy is beginning to grow stronger now!"

At the center of the barrier, Ming Yue\'s body showed signs of struggling. She thrashed about violently before raising her hand up high. In an instant, a flashing light flew through the barrier to which she grabbed onto tightly.

As the light disappeared, what was in her grasp revealed to her sword, Drifting Sky. Clouds started to gather as the sky darkened before they quickly dispersed.

Then the Grand Elder made his appearance and looked at Ming Yue\'s current appearance.

"To think she would undergo a heavenly tribulation right now. Fortunately, it is a minor one or else I would not have been able to hide it from the Heavens."

"Grand Elder!" the other elders called out his name with respect.

"Hm, continue watching her. She may awaken soon", after saying his piece, the Grand Elder left silently.

Ming Yue\'s energy only grew more violent by the second and she clung to Drifting Sky with great strength. The Seven Wood Tub could no longer contain her as she flew out of it. Pushed into a blind rage, she sent off attacks randomly, shaking the barrier constantly.

"Damn it! The barrier might not hold!" Elder Shen yelled out.

"Should I step in?" Elder Xiang pulled out a simple dagger.

"Hold on, don\'t you even think about hurting her!" Elder Hua glared at him.

Ming Yue\'s energy grew more and more violent as her internal battle grew closer to a climax.

Facing her other self, the two of them were locked in battle. Both of them used the same moves, their timing was impeccably sharp. With Ming Yue determined to defeat this fragment of her consciousness, she slowly adapted and matched her opponent.

Two blades blurred in the air, sharp clangs and rings sounded off as the blades cut down on each other. Their power simply flowed out like rivers, each attack they made created chasms in the ground. The colorless world of her soul was suddenly filled with upturned land, craters, and rifts.

"Come, prove to me that you ought to remain in control, that you are better than me! That moment of time I spent in control was nothing compared to the eternity wandering this world! In that moment, I did so much better than you! I killed your enemies!" her copy yelled at her constantly, goading her to push harder.

"Fight, fight, fight, is all that you is how to fight?" Ming Yue yelled back.

"Why is that so wrong?! You must kill to survive! You must be strong to thrive! If you are incapable of either one, then death is the only end for you! Is that not what you wanted? The moment I took control, the last thought you had was to survive. Even if you had to massacre your way through, the only thing that mattered was to survive. That was what I did, I killed my way through and lived. That was what I wanted! I wanted to live! Not stay here and merely watch. I wanted to experience what you had!"

Saying those words, Ming Yue\'s counterpart looked at her with rage, jealousy, and emotion.

"And if I want to live, then you must die", Ming Yue looked at her as she spoke.

"So be it, do you dare to end this in one strike."

"Stop talking, this must end."

The both of them rescinded their auras, instead focusing it into their swords. The next move would decide this fight. Quick as the wind they moved, in that split second time seemed to slow. Ming Yue found herself to be slower by a single instant. Once it passed, the blade of her other self would behead her.

Her counterpart smiled, victory was at hand!

Then, she faltered. Suddenly, two beasts materialized out of nowhere. Only their silhouettes appeared and they attacked the arm of Ming Yue\'s copy, slowing her down before disappearing.

"Hei Yue, Xiao Yin!" Ming Yue thought excitedly and then she pushed herself, forcing Drifting Sky into the heart of her other self.

"This...don\'t forget this..", she struggled to utter those words as her body turned into dust.

As that dust scattered about, it began to fill the damage in the land.

Ming Yue looked around before a wave of lethargy washed over her. She felt strangely weak but nonetheless she was grateful for the aid of her two little friends.. She could no longer fight the weight of her eyelids as they closed.