For all those reasons, the Bashe was an extrely rare thing to see in Yano or even in elite circles where exotic beasts were occasionally exhibited.
It didn't extend the level of absolute rarity of a hydra like Ren's, which hadn't reached Gold rank as anyone's beast in either city in literally hundreds of years, setting aside its extravagant jade mana as well. That was an almost impossible standard to match.
The Bashe wasn't so unknown. It had been the beast of so high command officers in Yino in relatively recent history, according to Selphira's recollection.
As recently as 80 or 100 years ago, there had been distinguished tars in Yino who possessed Bashes cultivated to remarkable ranks and used them effectively. She'd t one such tar during a diplomatic visit, watched the serpent demonstrate techniques.
But the exchange between Yino and Yano being what it had been for decades, practically nonexistent during prolonged periods, ant that for the present audience it was basically the sa as an absolute rarity.
So when Liora manifested the Bashe and its miasma made the air feel heavier for a mont, the expectation was considerable.
The atmosphere shifted noticeably. Even those in the furthest sections of the stands felt it, a subtle pressure. Spiritual weight pressing down on material reality.
Murmurs ran through the stands as everyone leaned forward to see the legendary creature that rumors had built to almost mythical proportions.
"Is that it?" soone whispered.
"Isn't it supposed to be huge," another voice responded, tinged with uncertainty.
"The stories said it could swallow its sa rank Bull Elephants whole..."
The energy of manifestation swirled, obscuring clear vision. The crowd held its breath.
And yet... when the serpent materialized completely and its form beca visible without transition energy clouding vision...
It felt less spectacular than expected in a way that was almost disappointing.
Because the "fad" giant serpent wasn't as large as rumors had suggested.
It had to be admitted that it wasn't small in absolute terms. Any serpent so dozen ters long and as thick as 5 human torsos together qualified as impressive by ordinary standards. It was bigger than any silver rank snake, certainly bigger than anything non-Gold-Rank-tars would have.
But many people in this audience had seen the Red Royal Cobra of the now-punished and deposed forr leader of the Zhao family, a beast that had been exhibited many tis during public ceremonies before its owner fell from grace.
And that cobra had been massive in ways the Bashe simply didn't match, fell short of.
Legendary? It was just... big. Not legendary. Big.
Gold-rank 1 serpents in possession of different noble house leaders weren't uncommon to see during important events where power was displayed as demonstration of status. Several of those serpents were even superior in size to the Bashe now positioning itself opposite the wolverine.
Or even worse in comparison with Selphira's own massive White Serpent, though that was a slightly unfair evaluation since it was a beast of higher rank than Liora's Gold 1 Bashe.
But it was a comparison that ca naturally to mind because although seeing it wasn't common, Selphira had manifested it during the war a few years ago. And her serpent had been easily 2× more "giant" than this supposed Bull Elephant devourer.
The disappointnt rippled through sections of the crowd in visible waves. Shoulders slumped. Excited chatter died down. So people actually sat back, apparently deciding this wouldn't be as interesting as anticipated.
Liora's Bashe had a dark purple color that was disturbingly similar to the tone of corruption many had seen in infected creatures, and the miasma emanating from it didn't help that impression.
For those with superstitions about anings of beast colors, and there were many such people in any crowd, they saw it as a "bad color" suggesting corrupt or dangerous nature in ways that generated instinctive distrust.
Purple like bruised flesh. Purple like poisoned blood. Purple like the corruption that had ate at Yino's edges and slowly spread despite all efforts to contain it.
"That thing doesn't look right," soone muttered.
"Unnatural," their companion agreed. "It shouldn't exist."
Additionally, the aura of spiritual miasma the serpent constantly emanated, slightly visible haze that floated around its body like a personal cloud, didn't help improve the initial impression.
The mist moved wrong. Not flowing with air currents but following its own logic, curling and twisting in spiral patterns that had nothing to do with wind or temperature… It clung to the ground, then it reached upward and it did both simultaneously in ways that hurt the brain to watch too closely.
And its face, which wasn't as conventionally serpentine as the audience would expect, was considered "terrifying" by several spectators who murmured comnts about the creature's unnatural appearance.
But that was largely superstition without foundation in rational threat analysis.
The relatively long, undulating "hair" of the serpent and horn-like structures growing from its head that didn't exist in ordinary serpents, made it strangely resemble a demonic woman with a mouth permanently open in a creepy smile displaying considerable fangs.
Not a snake's face at all, really. Sothing else wearing a snake's body…. Sothing that looked at you and saw prey or plaything or both.
And the spiritual glow in its eyes, a luminescence that didn't co from light reflection but from internal energy, were the only things truly different from a conventional serpent beyond costic peculiarities.
It was still tangible, a solid physical body occupying space in the material world in ways the wisp hadn't.
The Bashe couldn't yet turn intangible as the spirit had demonstrated during its battle with the wolverine. Its spiritual power wasn't so deeply rooted in its fundantal nature yet, that would require more cultivation before unlocking capabilities that blurred the line between physical and ethereal completely.
Perhaps at Gold 3, when its spiritual essence had matured sufficiently. Perhaps not until Platinum rank, when the transformation from primarily physical to primarily spiritual would accelerate dramatically.
So yes, it was a rare beast that generated interest through the novelty of seeing it. But it wasn't as visually impressive as so had expected after hearing rumors about "the largest serpent" that supposedly could swallow a Bull Elephant of the sa rank easily, a feat no other comparable serpent could achieve.
It didn't look capable of that no matter how wide it opened its mouth, demonstrating 180-degree jaw amplitude that would be impressive in any other context. Especially when other serpents of similar rank were slightly larger and also couldn't execute such an act.
"Maybe it's exaggerated?" soone whispered in the stands.
"Has to be. Look at it. It's big, but not that big."
Perhaps it was an unfounded rumor from Yino's inhabitants who hadn't seen the "true" giant serpents of Yano, a story that had grown in repetition until it beca accepted "fact"?
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