Rapturous Rhapsody

'Xiao Tian!' The old war god shouted in excitement. 'I can't sense any cultivation in them.'

That shook the driver out of his surprise at the sight of a six year old boy knocking out a Spirit Building cultivator in one blow.

'What sort of body lets a mortal child fight a Spirit Building Cultivator?' Xiao Tian asked. That was a bit too domineering, wasn't it? Were the heavens even fair? 'Are you sure it isn't a transformation technique?'

'Look at their eyes!'

Xiao Tian did and, after a bit of focusing, noticed what his mentor had as well.

Both of the young boys' eyes were a deep green and, ever so slightly, slited like a snake.

'Dragons!' Xiao Tian exclaimed internally.

A dragon's entire body was a treasure. Their skin and bones could become weapons and armor, its blood could be used for pills and every organ was a delicious tonic that could increase one's talent.

Basically, they were the dream of every cultivator.

'Infant dragons that haven't begun cultivating,' the war god explained. 'Or at least they have the bloodline of dragons. Their odd hair and eyes are probably caused by this.'

Which means that they were weak.

'That doesn't make sense,' Xiao Tian argued. 'Beasts need to cultivate before assuming human form.'

'Not if their bloodline is strong enough,' the war god lectured. 'If both of the parents are already strong enough to have human forms, they can give birth to beasts with that form right away.'

'Then...' Xiao Tian hesitated, sensing a crisis. 'Wouldn't their parents come cause trouble?'

The clothes the pair wore, while odd, was in no way low quality. They weren't holding any weapons or jewelry, but their chubby faces and strong bodies spoke of diligent and indulgent raising.

Even if he wanted to catch the treasures right in front of him, Xiao Tian needed to be able to live long enough to use it.

'If they are around and know its you,' the war god said. 'These two are definitely not from around here. Based on how they acted, they probably ran away from home to cause trouble. If you can get them before their family finds them, your Bloodline can wipe away all traces.'

Xiao Tian's eyes shone as he realized that the heavens were favoring him once again.

'For now, you need to make sure nobody else realized what they are,' the spirit cautioned. 'If you can leave without incidents, you can return alone and catch them.'

Xiao Tian understood immediately. If these two boys were discovered by the big sects, would there even be a drop of blood left for him?

All this was passed between master and student by spiritual transmission in a heartbeat.

Xiao Tian, watching Mu Bang spit out a mouthful of blood, decided he needed to do something quick.

The longer they remained here, the greater the chance someone would catch on.

"The day is short and the road is long," Xiao Tian said, hoping down from the carriage. The others looked at him in surprise, unsure what to do given the shocking strength of the 'children.' "I hope the two Young Masters can let us go and we can make it worth your while."

'What are you doing?' One of the other disciples sent to his ear quietly by voice transmission.

"What'u got?" The curly haired one asked casually, also putting his hands on his hips to imitate the other.

'To be able to beat Senior Brother Mu Bang so young, these two must not be simple,' Xiao Tian answered, sending his words to not only the disciple's ears, but to the others as well. 'They must be the two Young Masters of some sect out to experience the world. It is better not to antagonize such a force as we don't know if they have a hidden protector.'

Even if they did, Xiao Tian had confidence in his ability to find and kill them later with his Void God Bloodline.

After all, what were the odds that someone like Shuang Ai would be around them?

"We're only simple outer sect disciples on a short mission to Wulin," Xiao Tian said aloud and threw a storage ring to the blonde. "I hope this is enough for the Young Masters to let us go?"

The blond caught the ring and looked at it curiously.

Xiao Tian was even confident in fighting them right now. Mu Bang had been careless and the boy had taken him by surprise. They were strong, but if the other two disciples acted as one, plus Xiao Tian, they could take these two on.

If the other boy was as strong, they might be in a bit trouble but that was only if the Young Miss Ling Mei, the Golden Core Cultivator, wasn't there with them.

'Listen to Junior Brother Xiao Tian,' Ling Mei ordered. 'Once we settle this, we can investigate them in Wulin.'

"A ring?" The curly one scowled and crossed his arms. The blond bit the piece of metal and also frowned. "We have a bunch of rings. Why would we want another ring? We want stuff! Yah, know..." The boy seemed to struggle to find the words, then shrugged. "Give us all your stuff!"

Xiao Tian blinked, not understanding.

Yes, it was only a side ring and not his main one, but it still had a enough spirit stones and herbs to be considered a fortune for outer sect disciple like him. It should be more than these two boys expected.

"We can't give this to mom," the blond finally shook his head and dropped the ring to the ground. "Her punches will hurt way more if she wears rings during training. Give us shiny stuff..."

"Or plants. Mom likes cool plants," the curly boy interjected. "She'll definitely forgive us if we get her flowers. You guys are from that sect, you have poisonous flowers right? Or maybe plants with teeth? Or medicine that is supper rare?"

It was Ling Mei who caught on first.

"You..." Her voice was as beautiful as ever, but the disbelieve in it robbed it of some of its elegance. "Don't know know what a storage ring is?"

"What's that, miss?" The blond asked, looking at the carriage with interest. "And why aren't you raising your legs like we told you? We're robbing you!"

"You!" One of the other disciples shouted, face red in shame and anger as he almost lunged at the boy.

Ling Mei, though, spoke before he could attack, her voice more exasperated than angry.

"Do you know what that means?"

""Of course."" Both six year olds answered as one, puffing their chest in pride.

"We read a lot," the curly one added, this time it was his nose pointed at the sky. "Raising your legs means walking out and giving us your money! So come out and give us stuff!"

"It's part of the second line Daddy told us to say when robbing people," the blond explained. "You guys are really cool! We got to use all three. Nobody else gave us the chance to brag about Daddy."

Xiao Tian didn't know if he should laugh or cry.

These two dragons sure were unique.

"How about I give you a bag of plants and you let us go," Ling Mei said teasingly, a note of laughter in her voice.

Mu Bang spat out another mouthful of blood as he realized that the Young Miss wasn't going to do anything against these 'bandits' and even found them funny.

Shame and humiliation filled his chest, but there was nothing he could do. It was his fault for being weak and careless.

"And medicine," the blond said.

"Food too," the curly one said in a hurry. When the blond looked at him, he just said one word. "Boss."

"Yes, food." The blond hurried to nod, his face slightly pale. "Definitely food or we won't be able to go home."

"Alright," Ling Mei laughed lightly as she descended the carriage, quite charmed by these little 'robbers.'

""Woah.""

The two boys looked at the young miss with wide eyes as she approached and held out a small pouch. Less useful than spatial rings, Qian Kun pouches still held a lot more than they should. This could be considered a small trick on the little bandits who couldn't understand that the ring on the ground was more valuable.

"So pretty," the blond muttered. "Are you a Mom?"

Ling Mei stumbled and almost tripped at the sudden and rude question.

She didn't answer before the other boy smacked the first on the back of the head.

"Don't be dumb. She's clearly not a Mom. She's like Aunt Val, Aunt Em, or Aunt 'Lyta."

"I'm not dumb, if she's not a Mom, then she's also not an Aunt. That means she's a threat. Mommy Artoria said all pretty women who aren't Moms or Aunts are threats." The blond pushed the other boy back. "You're dumb."

"Nuh uh. Mom said I was a genius."

"Mommy Medea told me I was a genius."

"I am."

"No, I am."

"Me."

"Me."

Within moments, the two young boys had dissolved into a childish argument over who was dumb and ended up wrestling on the ground, completely ignoring their 'victims.'

Truly, even heroes fall victim to beauties... Cough cough... I mean villains.

Truly, even villains fall victim to beauties.

Unsure what to do in front the wrestling boys pulling each other's cheeks and hair, Ling Mei looked back at Xiao Tian for help.

The young man was almost ready to just leave them to it. The sooner they left, the sooner Xiao Tian could come back for these little treasure troves.

"May I ask your names," Ling Mei finally decided to interrupt the childish fight.

Both boys sprung to their feet instantly, their fight completely forgotten. Both were strong enough to break trees if they wanted and hadn't been damaged at all by a bit of wrestling.

"Right," the curly one nodded. "Its important to say your name when robbing. I am Sarig Senju, the older brother!"

"And I am Jiraiya Senju, the oldest brother!"

Even the introduction was almost enough to start another fight.

"We were born at the same time," Sarig growled at his brother.

"Nuh uh," Jiraiya shook his head strongly which sent his wild hair flying into his face, which he hurried to wipe off. "I'm older by a whole fifty eight seconds! Daddy said so."

"That's not even a minute!"

"That sounds like something the second born would say," Jiraiya said with a smug smile, uncaring by his brother's reddening face as he taunted. "Number 2."

"Rargh!"

As the pair returned to their wrestling, Mu Bang finally managed to return to his feet, head still ringing from the blow and with a fist print on his face.

"Then we shall take our leave Young Masters," Ling Mei finally said, deciding that as amusing as the boys were, they had been stopped long enough.

None of the other sect disciples looked please to just leave, but they didn't say anything, know that the Young Miss' words were law on this mission.

Sarig and Jiraiya kept fighting.

There was no loyalty among thieves.

Ling Mei left the bag in front of them but picked up the spatial ring and gave it back to Xiao Tian with a smile.

This children's tale could have ended here.

Though the heroes had been hurt and delayed, the villains had been outwitted and fallen into infighting, leaving our dear protagonists to go free.

Unfortunately, the perils facing our heroes were not over yet.

Right before Ling Mei could re-enter her carriage and continue her voyage, a sinister voice called out.

"There you are!"

An oppressive force exerted on the small section of road where the heroes had been waylayed, pushing all to the ground. The carriage was crushed and the blood-sweating horse turned to paste. Ling Mei, not yet in the vehicle, was able to keep her feet, though even the Golden Core Cultivator's back was bent. The others, even Xian Tian, were not so lucky and were crushed directly into the ground, unable to stand up.

"I heard the Twin Heavens Sect had a promising young genius, but Miss Ling Mei is also a beauty." The man who descended from the sky, radiating power, looked over the group appreciatively. "Tsk, tsk. Your sect sure is lucky to have you."

His robes were embroided in black and red, a skull without eyes proudly displayed. This was a demonic cultivator from the Peace Pavilion, no doubt here for no good.

One just had to look at his evil mustache to know his vile heart.

'A Profound Sky cultivator! One near the peak.' The war god warned, ignoring Mu Bang who spat out another mouthful of blood from being crushed like everyone else. 'You cannot fight him, you must escape!'

Unwillingness filled Xiao Tian's heart as his pride battled with his reason.

It was not that he had a grudge against whoever this was or even felt particularly loyal to Ling Mei and the Twin Heavens Sect, but being oppressed like this, unable to do anything due to differences in cultivation, was humiliating.

Greed for the two young dragons also held him firm.

"Ling Mei greets Senior," the young genius said through gritted teeth as she bowed her head, cupping her hands in respect. "May this one know what has attracted Senior's attention and how the Twin Heavens Sect can help?"

There was also the fact that Xiao Tian wouldn't be able to return to the Twin Heavens Sect without Ling Mei, who he was technically supposed to protect, even if he was 'only' a Foundation Laying cultivator.

"Hmm," the Profound Sky realm expert rubbed his evil mustache of evil... evily as he scanned her body from top to bottom. "I just heard my old friend had a wonderful daughter and decided to come invite you to tea at my pavilion to get to know the genius of the younger generation."

Without the Twin Heavens Sect, there would be no way Xiao Tian could get close to the Shuang Twins and the Long Island Sect.

"This Ling Mei would be glad to talk to Senior," the young lady, despite going a bit pale at the idea, maintained her respectful posture. "Unfortunately, this Ling Mei has been tasked by the Sect Master with a mission. Once it is finished, she will of course visit the Peace Pavilion."

'There's no way the Twin Heavens Sect would take this laying down,' the old war god urged his disciple. 'The demonic sects are trying to start a war. You must flee. Do not be-'

Before Xiao Tian could come to a decision, or even begin channeling his bloodline to disappear, a slightly squeaky voice shouted.

"HEY YOU!!" Sarig Senju, covered in dirt from wrestling his brother, pointed his finger angrily at the flying demonic cultivator. "You can't rob them! We're robbing them!"

"Yeah!" Jiraiya agreed. "Only we can rob pretty women!"

(At this point in our children's book, it should be noted that cultivators, as a rule of thumb, didn't even consider mortals to be the same type of creatures as them.

Even those from the righteous sects wouldn't care if they accidentally destroyed a city of millions in a fight. The only difference between the righteous and demonic factions were in their cultivation methods.

This led to certain internal cultural differences in how they treated mortals.

Righteous, or more accurately orthodox, sects simply didn't care about them. Demonic, or more accurately unorthodox, sects would use mortals as materials for cultivation resources, just as all cultivators used beasts.

There were exceptions, of course. Some, like the lovely princess of our story Ling Mei, were kinder than most. Others were extra evil, like our mustache twirling villain.

But those two were the predominant cultures of the cultivation world.

So, when a mortal blocks the way of cultivators, righteous or demonic, they are often simply killed. No attention paid to jobs that went unfinished without workers, the families that lost loved ones or the children who would starve without parents.

When these mortals went so far as to shout and point at a Profound Sky Sect Elder?

It was like being slapped in the face by a fly.

Then the fly shat in your food, slept with your mother, and shaved your dog bald.

Truly, it was hard to tell who was more evil between the old man and the two boys... I mean... two bandits.)

With narrowed eyes, the demonic cultivator turned from Ling Mei looked at these two 'mortals' for the first time.

Despite his spell, they were unbowed under the pressure he was using to cover the area and block the signals.

More than that, they seemed wholly unaffected as they glared up at him.

Special physiques, perhaps? If so, he'd turn them into living pills for angering him.

Then he noticed.

Incomparable to even the old war god's fingernail in his prime, the demonic cultivator was still a Profound Sky expert and could notice the faint slitting of their eyes.

For a moment, he considered that they were transformed beasts, but that wouldn't explain their lack of cultivation and still being able to stand his pressure.

Unless?

"...Dragons?"

The word was muttered under his breath in shock as he looked at the boys in a new light.

Everyone heard it though.

"Yeah," Sarig yelled back. "So hands off our stuff or we'll beat you up!"

All eyes locked onto the children, the Twin Heavens Sect disciples openly gaping the 'bandit Young Masters' who had accosted them.

Greed overtook the demonic cultivator but he was not rookie. He knew that safety was best, even in front of these two small treasures.

Thankfully, the pair didn't seem that smart, based on how they were acting despite their weakness.

"I hadn't realized you were amazing dragons," the demonic cultivator said, all smiles now as he cupped his hands in respect. "I'm sorry for trying to interfere. How about I make it up to you? Where are your parents? I'd like to tell them what splendid sons they have."

"Yeah we're awesome," Jiraiya puffed out his chest in pride. "You can't tell our Mom though. She'll beat us up in training if she learns we snuck out again. If you want to make it up to us, you don't have to do much. Just give us all your treasure... and food. We gotta make sure Boss doesn't tattle."

"Wonderful," the sect elder said, practically vibrating in joy. "Then why don't you and Young Miss Ling Mei come with me? I have plenty of food."

"No way!" Sarig said, crossing his arms. "Daddy said if a creepy old man tells us to go somewhere with him, we should kick him in between the legs as hard as we can and steal his wallet! Then we take his body to-"

"WAIT!" Jiraiya suddenly shouted, even as everyone stared at the curly haired boy in horror. The blond's eyes, however, were only for Ling Mei. "Pretty Threat... You are a Young Miss?"

Ling Mei, seeing an opportunity for survival here, hurried to speak before the demonic cultivator could interrupt.

"Yes, I am the daughter of the Second Elder of the Twin Heaven's Sect. If you can tell call your fami-"

Despite her mouth continuing to move, no sound escaped as the demonic sect elder cast another spell.

Neither boy noticed though.

"Little Bro!" Jiraiya pulled his brother's sleeve to get his attention, his eyes shinning with excitement and joy.

"Who are you calling little!" Sarig fumed, but the first born didn't even bother repelling. He just said a simple sentence that dispersed the younger boy's anger in a heartbeat.

"Young Miss is what they call Princesses here!"

Sarig, about to get into another wrestling match, suddenly stopped. His eyes also went wide.

"...Really? You're not lying like that time you said Boss was behind me when we stole cupcakes are you?"

"No way!" Jiraiya said, practically vibrating in place. "Mommy Ichi was complaining to Mom the yesterday day about form... forma... about rules and stuff here. She said Young Misses were just like all the other clan princesses she knew."

"A Princess..." Sarig said, now looking at Ling Mei in awe.

Ling Mei had given up subtlety as was desperately trying to get the boys to call their family by use of hand gestures.

"Hey you!" Jiraiya suddenly said, pointing at the old cultivator. "That's our Princess! You can't have her."

Mo Xi, a venerable cultivator in the Profound Sky realm and Elder of the Peace Pavilion, was being careful. The entire time the boys had been conferring, he'd been scanning the area. Even if these two dragons thought they had snuck away from home, it wasn't rare for powerful families to assign secret protectors to their children without them being aware.

It would be a tragedy if there was a Nascent Soul, or worse, hiding nearby.

Yet, even caution had its limits.

Not only had he not discovered anything, but the old cultivator had been insulted and pointed at again.

If he let this stand, would he still have face left?

"You're courting death child." Mo Xi's began to twitch.

"No. Daddy is."

Fully giving up the pretense of a kind elder, Mo Xi decided speed was his best bet at the moment and swept his hand in a grand gesture.

He intended for this one move to be enough to not only crush the extraneous Twin Heavens sect disciples so they couldn't report anything, but also to capture Ling Mei and the little boys.

There was only one small problem with his plan and it wasn't the bandits' 'hidden protector.'

See, despite being only six years old, these two boys were still dragons.

Specifically, they were the eldest sons of Tsunade Senju and Mikael.

While they were nowhere near the strength of their parents yet and the cultivation world was a deep ocean filled with monsters, a Profound Sky cultivator wasn't the oppressive force Mo Xi thought it was, limited as he was to a small corner of a small continent in a small world in a small universe.

So, when Mo Xi swept his hand to hurry and finish things as quickly as possible, lest he be caught this close to the Twin Heavens sect or by wandering dragons, he didn't even consider the fact that resistance was possible.

After all, these were just children to the centuries old cultivator, who had a much higher realm.

Only... nothing happened.

There was a beat of silence as the disciples of the Twin Heavens sect waited for death, yet it never came.

"You just tried to take our Princess, didn't you!" Sarig shouted, not in question, but in accusation.

"He did!" Jiraiya nodded fiercely, suddenly right beside Ling Mei.

He barely came up to her thigh.

"Rargh!" Sarig launched himself into the sky with a scream of primal (squeaky) rage, jettisoning himself toward Mo Xi.

Unsure what had just happened, but assuming the pair had some sort of defensive treasures, Mo Xi hurried to extend his full power to try and smack the boy from the sky.

Even if the young dragon died, it would only be a small loss. The body was valuable enough on its own.

The boy wasn't traveling fast, like a Profound Sky cultivator, but had just jumped with the force of, perhaps, an initial Golden Core realm.

Only... nothing happened again.

Sarig crashed into Mo Xi's chest head first.

The demonic cultivator, right before he was hit, felt his power fluctuate around his body.

BANG!

Both fell from the sky and crashed into the ground.

Sarig landed beside his brother, his soft, curly hair not even ruffled by the impact.

Mo Xi crashed into the forest, his body breaking through three trees before finally coming to a stop.

"Blegh!" Sarig said in the direction of the fallen cultivator, sticking out his tongue after high-fiving his brother.

Mo Xi spent a moment trying to understand what had just happened.

The boy had been strong for a 'mortal,' equal to an early stage Golden Core, but it was the weakness right before the impact that had ensured Mo Xi had lost this exchange. What had caused it?

In a world where the strength of cultivation was paramount, nobody really knew how to prepare for when a fight wasn't decided on brute force, or at least they were unprepared for a battle of 'concepts' at this low a level.

Perhaps if Mo Xi had transcended the Nascent Soul realm and achieved the fabled Dao Hall stage, coming into contact with a Dao to study, he might have gotten a basic sense of what just happened.

It didn't matter how strong was, if one wasn't exposed to a wide range of ideas, one would simply lack the context to understand when the 'rules' of the world changed.

So Mo Xi had no way of knowing that his power had simply ceased to exist for a moment while his attempt to use it only empowered the attack coming his way.

Had he arrived earlier, he might have had a clue.

Why was it that when the two boys were fighting, there was no damage to the road?

Why, with the strength equivalent to a Golden Core, had the wrestling of the two brothers looked just like the actions of mortal boys their age?

Was it because Tsunade Senju, their mother, was famed for her control and passed it onto her sons?

Impossible.

Anyone knows that little boys, no matter their training, have zero control without a history of abuse that Mikael and Tsunade would never allow?

So why had the pair been as week as six year olds on moment and strong enough to hurt Mo Xi the next?

Why had Mikael and the Family let these two boys 'sneak out' in the first place?

Mo Xi couldn't know this, but he did know that even with that weird weakening of his Qi, he hadn't been really injured and the dragon had not been faster than him.

Which meant he could win.

From the forest where he'd fallen, Mo Xi rose to his feet and dashed back toward the road.

In less than a heartbeat, the demonic cultivator appeared behind Jiraiya like a ghost, blade set to decapitate both children in one move. He wouldn't give them a chance to use whatever technique it was again.

But it wasn't a technique.

Jiraiya and Sarig Senju were, surprisingly, not Life Dragons like their parents.

Their Elements, instead, could be said to be the two halves of what makes 'Life'.

So, when the spiritual blade, a treasure from a hidden realm, fell upon Jiraiya's neck no blood flowed.

Instead the blade rusted over and disintegrated as if it had spent countless years without use or upkeep.

A weapon of War could never hurt a Dragon of Peace.

Sarig, surprised by the appearance of the 'Princess Thief,' quickly launched himself at Mo Xi once more.

Despite his shock at loosing his treasured weapon, Mo Xi had been ready to retreat at a moment's notice.

Only... his Qi was sluggish to respond, his mind was slow, and he nearly tripped over his own feat as he turned.

A man at Peace is never prepared for a Dragon of War.

Sarig's foot landed squarely in the old man's groin.

The scream was heard for miles.

If one were to say that the eldest children of Mikael were weak, one wouldn't be wrong. They were barely Tier 4 as the Family didn't want to give too much power to children until they matured more.

Yet, despite being children, one also wouldn't be wrong to call them strong.

When the Dragon of Peace and the Dragon of War worked together, even if they couldn't beat someone, they would never lose to anyone under Tier 7... or Dao Hall stage, as this world would call it.

Truly, evil was a strong and omnipresent force, taking the most unexpected of shapes.

Ling Mei, who had watched this entire scenario from start to end and been able to follow along, still couldn't believe her eyes at seeing a venerable Profound Sky Elder rolling on the ground screaming in pain.

Not only for the fact he had 'lost' to children so decisively, but because... Well, the pain shouldn't be that bad, comparatively.

Certainly, getting hit there would hurt, and it was generally considered uncouth to do so, but cultivators regularly dealt with pain much worse.

Whether it was broken bones from fights, poisonous concoctions, rampant Qi, or even just day to day pain of opening meridians at the Foundation Laying realm, it should all be worse than a kick to the groin. There were even some cultivation methods where castration was the barrier to entry.

Yet here was a demonic sect Elder screaming like he was a mortal who'd never been in a fight before suddenly losing his... manhood.

Sarig kicked him again.

"W.h...y" Mo Xi rasped, tears streaming down his face at the pain.

"Daddy said if someone touches themselves between the legs near us, we should kick there," Jiraiya answered 'helpfully' with a cheerful, boyish smile on his face.

Then he also kicked Mo Xi in the groin.

Mo Xi spat a mouthful of blood and passed out in anger and pain.