The Lotus Blossom Sect was incredibly impressed with the performance of Jen's new techniques, but it was the ability to summon a large number of seemingly living target dummies to fight against that they were most intrigued by.
They hadn't realized that Luna could summon humans as her Golems, and it opened a huge realm of possibilities for their training.
They always had the most problems when they were facing other humans, not the various demons and beasts that Luna usually summoned, so if they could train against human targets that they wouldn't feel bad about going all out on, they could test a lot of theories in practice, without their lives being in imminent danger from the very first time that they tried.
Jen rejoined the group now that her battle was over so that Penny could heal and refresh the energy loss and the few wounds she had taken.
"Oh Luna, lovely Lady Luna, my friend. Could you make us a specific group of cultivators to train against? There is someone that I didn't get enough chances to slap in person." One of the Disciples asked Luna, who was about to go back to make more sweets in the kitchen area.
"Of course. Which Sect's team?" Luna asked with a mischievous smirk.
"Not a team, you know those guys in the black robes with purple trim that are a few Sects over? That fat pervert and his friends? I don't think I could ever get tired of beating him to death." The girl replied with an evil glint in her eyes.
"Sure. At original strength, or should I ramp them up a little bit so that they are a better challenge for your training?" Luna asked.
"I had friends with me the first time, so his buddies were handled. I think with a smaller group, we should have enough trouble handling him, and it will be a good release for everyone." The Disciple explained.
"You don't need to justify yourself to me. Slapping stupid people is its own reward." Luna told her, then summoned a group of ten young men in black and purple, led by a man almost as wide as he was tall.
"Fight the challenges that you are called for in the training area, but don't kill anyone," Luna informed them.
The ten young men bowed and went to the open area to wait while Elder Ling looked on in amusement, interested to see what the team of three girls was going to be able to do when this heavily outnumbered.
The three took positions and then issued the challenge to the ten Summons, who only waited a second before beginning the attack.
Summons can communicate mentally with each other. There was no need to confer or wait to make a plan. They could do it in an instant and would all follow it without question. That made them much more dangerous than their real selves almost every time, given that human nature would lead to rivalries and bad feelings between even fellow Disciples.
They quickly encircled the team of three girls and launched their attacks, with five attacking and five activating defensive skills to cover for their teammates.
That startled all of the Lotus Blossom Disciples right away since it wasn't how their Disciples worked together in reality, not even during the Tournament.
The girls were more powerful but outnumbered as they were. They were hard-pressed to land a single strike through the defensive skills of their attackers. The three were all Inner Sect Disciples, while the ones they had asked to challenge were outer Sect Disciples with low-level skills, even when they were summoned at Luna's level and Greater Golem Quality.
The match was drawing a lot of attention from the other Disciples, who had realized that Luna could be bribed to let them vent personal frustrations at any time. They weren't quiet about it, and that only brought more attention, even a few curious looks from their neighbors, who couldn't see the match in progress.
When the word made it to the Sect whose Disciples had been cloned, they didn't find it nearly as amusing as everyone else did, and an Elder flew up into the sky to take a look at what was going on in the Lotus Blossom training area.
To him, it only looked like the girls bullying clones of some outer Sect Disciples, not a big deal as far as he was concerned. Even his own Sect bullied those morons. But when one of them began to activate a Secret Technique that nobody outside his Sect should know, the Elder panicked and launched an energy blade, killing the Summon directly and causing both Chaos and confusion among the Lotus Blossom Sect.
"What in the world was that? Did someone in their Sect think that they were betraying the Sect by training with us? Should we explain to them that these are just summons, not the real people?" One of the girls in the ring asked Elder Ling, with blood still splattered across her robes from the destruction of the Clone.
The blood would vanish in a few seconds, as all Summons did when they died, but the confusion was very real.
They didn't know that he was going to use a Secret Technique. In fact, they didn't know that Luna's Summons would even have the ability to use the Secret Techniques that their living counterpart knew. Common sense dictated that they should only know the ones that Luna had seen them using or ones that Luna herself knew.
"Dismiss those Clones right now. How dare you mock our Disciples?" The Elder in Purple trimmed robes demanded from just outside the Lotus Blossom camp borders, clearly irate and still hovering in the air, a skill that marked him as an Immortal.
"Elder Peng, it seems there is some misunderstanding. They are just golems summoned by the Forbidden Treasures Sect, not your Disciples. Your black and purple contrast so well with our white and blue that she chose them to make it easier on the fighters. There was no disrespect intended." Elder Ling assured him.
It sounded very reasonable, but it put him on the spot to explain why he would have attacked someone inside their camp. It would be embarrassing to admit that he thought the Golem was going to activate one of their Sect's Secret Techniques. It was just a Golem Summoned by a little girl, according to Elder Ling.
But he was certain of what he saw. It really was going to use That Skill.
The Golems approached the Elder, recognizing him from the memories of the real people that they were based on, and bowed politely to their Sect Elder.
"See, Elder Peng. They just vanish when defeated." The Disciple who had asked for them to be summoned explained, stabbing one in the back and through the heart, letting the body slump over in death before vanishing a few seconds later.
"I think that only made him more upset." Her friend pointed out as the man began to look irate.
"If they're mindless Golems, why did they recognize me and bow?" He demanded.
Luna silently ordered them to remain mute and not speak until the meeting was over, then thought better of it and simply dismissed them.
"Sorry, Elder, they only last so long. They have basic cognition and can recognize who they need to be polite to, but like other males, their sense of propriety is as limited as their personal hygiene." The girl who asked for them to be summoned explained while her friends tried to hide their shock and amusement at her words.
That definitely could have been phrased better, but the Lotus Blossom was well-known as Man Haters anyhow, so the Elder shouldn't be surprised.
"Summon them again, and let me see." The Elder demanded, looking at Luna, who he had seen performing Summonings during the matches of the Outer Sect Disciples, where these young men had competed.
"Sure, not a problem." Luna agreed.
She summoned the ten again, and the man looked them over carefully, noting how exactly they matched the Disciples, right down to the amulets and talismans that they wore outside their robes.
"The detail is exquisite. But how smart are they?" He asked, then turned to the fat one and asked him a question.
"What is one thousand minus seven?"
The Golem began counting on his fingers, and the Lotus Blossom Disciple burst into laughter.
"Nevermind. Even if it was as smart as the real one, he is an idiot. You, what are the ingredients to a simple healing potion?" He asked another Golem.
"Lifeweed, Spirit Grass, and an Energy Core." The Golem answered simply, having learned basic Alchemy many years earlier at the Sect.
"Well, they have some memories, or is that basic knowledge that they all get? Either way, what would it cost to buy that skill?" The Elder asked Luna.
The look on his face said that he wanted it for extremely questionable, noncombat reasons, so Elder Ling stepped forward to save Luna the embarrassment of dealing with this scumbag Elder.
"I am sorry, Elder Peng. It is a Forbidden Treasure Secret Skill. If they teach it to anyone, it will be to us first." Elder Ling informed him, making the middle-aged man frown and turn away.
"Fine, just don't summon my Disciples again unless you wish to start an incident."
